Coaching Your Kids

This past weekend I had the chance to go snowshoeing up in Rocky Mountain National Park. I could have gone alone, but I decided to take my 8 year old son Joshua along with me. He had never snowshoed before, so I knew there was probably going to be a bit of a learning curve.

I’ve heard it said, “If you want to go FAST, go alone. If you want to go FAR, go together.” I want my son to go far in life, so I decided to invite Joshua along with me on this adventure.

I knew that this was a great opportunity to teach my son about perseverance, overcoming challenges, and the power of positivity.

Although the pace was slower than if I had gone alone, and although we had to stop pretty often to let Joshua catch his breath, I am so proud of my son for never complaining and for steadfastly climbing a mountain with me!

Together we finished a 2 hour hike in snowshoes, crossed two frozen lakes, and ascended to an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level. It was cold, it was snowing, and it felt like there was no oxogen to breathe! But we did it! And we did it together.

To celebrate, we headed down to Estes Park and scarfed down a large pepperoni pizza and talked about how good it felt to face our fears and to climb a mountain together.

The picture of my son and I on top of a mountain reminds me of the role I play as teacher, coach, mentor, and father to my son. I want Joshua to go further than I’ve gone. I want him to know that he can climb mountains and face his fears. And I hope that someday, he climbs mountains with HIS son.

Whether or not you have kids, you can invest in the lives of the next generation. It’s great to accomplish our dreams, but I think it’s even greater to be Hero Makers and to help the next generation go further, faster.

Who can you invest in? Who can you bring alongside you, even if it means traveling at a slower pace?

Imagine how differently our churches, our cities, our world would look if we all intentionally invested in those coming up behind us. Imagine if our ceiling, the heights we ascended, were the floor, the starting point, for those that come after us. That’s a world I want to live in. I want to invite you to join with me in creating that better future.