Week 8: Chapter 7 — The Blessings of Children: How Kids Point Us to Joy and Wonder

1.Thomas argues that children have a unique capacity to reawaken wonder in adults who have grown too accustomed to the world. What is something your child has said, noticed, or asked that stopped you in your tracks and made you see something familiar in an entirely new way?

2.He suggests that children model a kind of trust and receptivity that Jesus held up as a spiritual ideal — 'unless you become like a child.' What specific childlike quality do you most need to recover in your own life of faith?

3.Thomas explores how the sheer delight parents take in their children — watching them sleep, hearing them laugh, celebrating their discoveries — can be received as a spiritual practice, a form of gratitude and worship. How intentionally do you receive your children as gifts rather than primarily as responsibilities?