This weekend I spoke to a group of 1st – 6th grade girls.  The topic was what they can learn from Queen Esther.  Queen Esther was a very brave young woman.  One of the girls there was to me, very brave.  She asked me question after question about the story, about myself, about whatever came to her mind I assume.

The good thing to me about her asking questions was that it showed me that she was listening.  She was taking in what I was saying and she was processing it.  I believe that asking questions is a good thing.  This brought me to think about, “Do you allow your daughter to ask questions?”  We as parents want our children to come to us with problems, with issues, with fears, but are we open and willing for them to ask questions.

Honestly, this speaks to me, because my oldest, a boy, is a question asker.  I kept thinking that it was his age, he’s six, but I shouldn’t want it to stop there.  I should want him to ask questions as he gets older, because I want to know he’s listening, I want to know he is thinking things through, I want to know that he values what I have to say.

Think about this. . . what do you want your daughter to ask you questions about.  Feel free to share in the comments below:

photo credit: adamci

There are times in our lives when we need someone to go to, but many times we wish we had someone that is removed from the situation that we are going through.  Many times the issues that we deal with have much to do with our family or friends, and therefore going to a friend or family member is difficult and too close for comfort, or maybe we just do not want to hear, “I told you so.”  No matter what the case is, it can be a rewarding to have a relationship with a  “mentor” in your life, someone outside your family or circle of friends to help you deal with the ups and downs of life.

A mentor, is someone who is more experienced than you in life that you can go to in time of need or that you can use as a sounding board to bounce issues off of or to brainstorm ideas with for any given situation.  They may or may not be “older” than you chronologically, but they should be someone whom you feel that you can benefit from in the area of  knowledge and life experience.

A mentor will help you by sharing their life experience with you, may often give advice or at least be there to listen, which is what most of us need in life, a shoulder to cry on a place to go when we just need to vent.

When choosing a mentor you will want to be sure to choose someone that you can trust.  When asking the person to be your mentor you will need to be ready to tell them what you will expect from the relationship and what they can expect from you.  You will want to decide how you will work your relationship and if you will meet together often, or how often you will communicate, generally what your relationship will mean to each of you.  You will want to set your expectations from the beginning so that neither of you are disappointed.

The process of mentoring and being a mentor can be a great experience if you know from the beginning what you hope to gain from it.

Photo credit: Lars Andreas