Growing in Faith & Love

What kid doesn't love to be measured? They ask you to measure them today, even if you measured them yesterday. It's so sweet to hear my children's desire to grow big and tall and strong, "just like Daddy!"

Since my oldest, Savanna, was big enough to stand on her own, we've measured her little frame with pencil against a finger-smudged walls. When we moved to our current house, my husband and I talked about how we want to stay here for a long time. We've moved around so much and we'd love to see the kids grow up here and graduate. So we had no qualms about starting a new growth chart on a similar finger-smudged wall. We happen to have a small wall in the kitchen that wasn't being used for anything and so that's where we started. We've been putting pencil marks on the wall since we moved in May and I just felt like I wanted to do something more permanent. Something nicer that would be a sweet memory of the kids stretching their necks and standing on tippy-toes to try to gain an extra inch.

But I wanted it to be more than that. Sure it's important to help them grow in stature, having healthy bones and a sound mind. We feed them veggies and proteins (or at least attempt to) and we make sure they get plenty of physical activity. But we should also want to feed their soul and help them grow in faith and love as well. And then I found this verse:

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you... your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of each of you is increasing." 2 Thessalonians 1:3

God isn't concerned as much about our physical growth as He is about our spiritual growth. After all, if they grow as tall as David Robinson and have not love, they have nothing (for those of you who miss that reference, he is a former basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs and is a solid Christian). So we made our new growth chart (more like a mural) and as we worked on it together, I talked to the kids about how God wants our faith and love to grow. I showed them how tall Daddy and I are on the wall and explained to them that we are not going to grow any taller but we can keep growing in our faith and love forever and ever. They thought that was pretty cool. 

So if you're looking for a simple project to both spruce up your classroom area and offer you a teaching opportunity EVERY time you measure your child, here's what we did :)

I measured the wall and put a dot for each inch from 24" to 72" (2ft to 6ft). Then I wrote the inches at each foot marker. We already had some pencil markings that I traced over with colorful sharpies. We made an accent for each foot marker as well and then wrote our Scripture verse (2 Thess 1:3) on the wall. You can do whatever design you like. This was a simple design we could all do and it only took about 30 minutes. So be creative and have fun!


I am excited to see how much my children will grow over the years. Will they hit 6ft? I don't know. But I'm even more excited to see them grow in faith and love.

Bye for now,
Kristina