I feel almost silly posting this blog but yep, like the title suggests I do have an imaginary friend named Froggy. No, no, no… I know what you’re thinking; I’m a bit young for a mid-life crisis and I may be a tad crazy for working with teenagers but otherwise I am sane. Whoa, did you see that? The letters on this page are moving …just kidding. Trust me I’m normal, I think. Anyway… I don’t remember when my friendship with Froggy started however we do spend a lot of time together, almost every morning and occasionally in the afternoons.
I just reread the above paragraph and I have to admit is sounds a little creepy. Okay, real creepy, a grown man with an imaginary friend, yep there goes my creditability. However, what you did not know is that my five-year-old daughter had the privilege to introduce me to Froggy on our way to preschool one day. And well, we’ve been friends ever since.
See I decided to “increase the quantity of quality time” I spend with my daughter. Time is of the essences, its nothing but vapor, I will blink and she will be a teenager. I need to embrace every moment I get to invest in her life. Each day I have a 40 minute window of uninterrupted one on one time with my daughter as we drive to and from preschool, what better time to engage in a conversation. Even if it involves her, excuse me, our imaginary friend Froggy.
Those 40 minutes are truly precious to both of us. It is truly remarkable how engaging into the imaginary world of a preschooler adds value to our relationship. I allow her to steer the conversation yet it creates many opportunities for me to speak into her life. In the book “Parenting Beyond Your Capacity” Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof suggests creating an intentional rhythm in our families to impress our values and build the faith of our children. Carey notes, “These times give parents an opportunity to build a relationship through nonthreatening experiences. At some level the parent can actually function as a friend or companion and interpret life together with their children.”
Time in the car is a special bonding time for my daughter and I. We talk about her experience at school, how her day went, what she learned, we sing songs together and on almost every occasion I get the chance to influence her growing worldview. I call them God moments. And well, yeah, we even hang out with Froggy too and have a few laughs.
Call me crazy but maybe you can use an imaginary friend?
Okay, so I am guilty of neglecting this blog. Well, its been four months since my last post I’d have to say neglecting the site is an understatement—in fact, I’ve pretty much abandoned it. Not intentionally of course. I’m not sure if I should blame it on busyness or procrastination. Though I have been busy still, it’s probably the latter.
So here goes, my first rant of 2011: I got stuck in some containers while playing with my daughter, eh. A month ago I twisted my ankles shooting hoops with several of my student and well it still hurts, boo!! About a week ago I had the privilege to check out Chris August, Group 1 Crew and Toby Mac at a private concert for Youth Pastors. It was awesome and had a great time with my wife! Later that week our friends sent us a video where their four-year-old son declares his love for my five-year-old daughter. We have since ended that friendship. The other day I was stuck in traffic for over an hour, blah! Apparently a car caught on fire and the fire truck did too, no joke! I made it late to the doctor’s appointment. Oh and I have no AC in my hooptie so I walked into doc’s office looking like I just played several games of basketball. Talking about basketball, the Boston Celtics just swept the Knicks, boo-yah! LeBron, you couldn’t hold ‘em off in Cleveland doubt you can in Miami, Boston in 6. Orlando had no magic and lost to Atlanta, Atlanta? Can’t blame Howard if he wants to bounce—it was pathetic. People have been blown out of their homes in Alabama and the royal wedding is the number one trending topic, really? Well, that’s pathetic. What’s up with Donald Trump dropping F-Bombs? Presidential candidate? Nope! Well, after the last election, who knows? And why in the word has he jumped on the birther’s bandwagon? Are the ratings of his show that low? While I am not a fan of Obama he is an American Citizen dude, or is he? How in the word is Scotty McCreery still on American Idol yet Casey Abrams not to mention Pia Toscano voted off? I love Amazon’s new cloud player. It syncs lovely with my Android. Ahhhh yes Android… not only is it the number one mobile OS but it also happens to be preferred over the iPhone in the U.S mobile market. I think that deserves a booyah!
Enough of that, I promise the next post will be much more meaningful than this lazy cultural rant. Till then chau!
I love my daughter but boy do I HATE, I know it’s a strong word but I do HATE, playing with dolls! I’m a man; I fart, grow my beard out, shower once a week, tear into meat like a caveman eating at Outback Steak House for the first time, enjoy a good ball game and occasionally even growl. Dolls are not manly! I just hate playing with dolls but I do.
I play with dolls because my daughter loves playing with them. Parents, there is absolutely nothing more important than you spending TIME with your children. Not just “any” time but spending quality time doing what your children love doing most. Get into their world!
I’m convinced there is an epidemic of busyness in our culture and it’s infecting our families. The side effectives are devastating. Parents are raising children they don’t even know, if they are raising them at all. I would argue most kids are raising themselves.
As the full time student guy at Cornerstone Church, I see this time after time again. Read this carefully parents… no matter how much stuff, gadgets or toys you buy your children you could NEVER replace the priceless influence you will have on their lives. And that only comes by spending TIME with them. Love is spelled T-I-M-E.
I don’t wear pink; I don’t plunk my eyebrows however I do play with dolls – what a timeless experience with the world’s cutest 5 year old!
Check out this music video titled “Parent Me” by Christian Hip-Hop artist Json, he does a great job communicating this very point.
Welcome to my journey. I am Eddie Cortes -- an average dude who loves God, a husband, father and the student guy at Cornerstone Church in St. Cloud, FL. Sure, I do a few other things on the side but none of which are as important... continue.
I feel almost silly posting this blog but yep, like the title suggests I do have an imaginary friend named Froggy. No, no, no… I know what you’re thinking; I’m a bit young for a mid-life crisis and I may be a tad crazy for working with teenagers but otherwise I am sane. Whoa, did you see that? The letters on this page are moving 
…just kidding. Trust me I’m normal, I think. Anyway… I don’t remember when my friendship with Froggy started however we do spend a lot of time together, almost every morning and occasionally in the afternoons.
Those 40 minutes are truly precious to both of us. It is truly remarkable how engaging into the imaginary world of a preschooler adds value to our relationship. I allow her to steer the conversation yet it creates many opportunities for me to speak into her life. In the book “Parenting Beyond Your Capacity” Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof suggests creating an intentional rhythm in our families to impress our values and build the faith of our children. Carey notes, “These times give parents an opportunity to build a relationship through nonthreatening experiences. At some level the parent can actually function as a friend or companion and interpret life together with their children.”
Welcome to my journey. I am Eddie Cortes -- an average dude who loves God, a husband, father and the student guy at Cornerstone Church in St. Cloud, FL. Sure, I do a few other things on the side but none of which are as important... 
