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We go to movie theaters once or twice a year, for the special experience of watching a new movie with friends and family.<\/p>\n
My wife and I wanted to see the new Star Trek movie, so one night after the kids were all asleep my parents took up the watch and we snuck out the door. The local theater was only showing 3-D at $13 a ticket, so we made the trip to the cheaper theater only to get there late and find the doors locked. We ended up going home and trying again another day.\u00a0Call us penny-pinchers, but $26 is a lot for two people to watch a movie!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m learning to appreciate three dimensions in another realm of life, though.<\/p>\n
Ed Welch, in his training for biblical counselors, says we should help each other see life in three dimensions.<\/p>\n
What does he mean?<\/p>\n
The 2-D view sees me<\/strong> and my problem<\/strong>. Me and the other person. Me and my desires. Me and my child.<\/p>\n But the 3-D view sees me<\/strong>, my circumstances<\/strong>, and God<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Whether life goes smoothly or is full of challenges, we\u2019re often tempted to see situations two-dimensionally. Here\u2019s what this looks like in parenting:<\/p>\n But if God is at the center of what we\u2019re doing, parenting looks different:<\/p>\n It was so encouraging to read the responses to our parenting survey (more than two thousand of you!) and hear you say, over and over, that your main goal as parents is to raise children who know, love, and serve God.<\/p>\n What a wonderful thing we are doing together! How important it is that we keep this perspective, with God at the center.<\/p>\n I can take or leave a 3-D movie, but when it comes to parenting, 3-D makes all the difference in the world.<\/p>\n\n
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