leaders.

i was thinking today about this...everyday i take kristyn to school. we walk to her locker, put stuff away, and then i walk her to the door of her classroom. we hug, give kisses (still! i plan on doing this as long as she'll allow it...), and then i tell her 3 things.

1) i love you
2) do your best today
3) be a leader

she always says, 'ok daddy', and off she goes to sharpen pencils and talk to her girlfriends. and i run on my way to the office or wherever i'm headed.

so i'm thinking about that last one...in light of the last post as well...what does it mean for kristyn to be a leader in her classroom? for me, it's a few things. be good, respectful, kind, listen to the teacher. it's to be an example -- act right, work hard, choose to do good things. and it's to go her own way -- use the brain God gave her and do what He would like her to do, however that looks. i really want all of our kids to be their own people, to not fall into following the crowd, and to embrace the things that make them uniquely 'them'. to me, that's going to be a huge step in making faith their own and relevant in the world we live in.

what does it mean for you and your kids? what do they think it means to be a leader? how do you hope your kids will be leaders in their own settings?