Nightmares. The Dark. Bedtime. These are the things that cheery Friday posts should be about!

Before I break into my two cents about these topics, I want to commend my friend Vanessa's blog post on having her home blessed by her pastor.

Are you back from reading her blog? No seriously go read it. I'll wait.

My wife and I aren't sure if our oldest suffers from nightmares. There have been times when she has woken up in the night but they have been more rare lately. We do know however that we haven't been the best of parental guidance on the issue. In the past we let her watch TV shows like Grimm and Fringe with us. Both me and my wife tend towards the fantasy/sci-fi TV shows. And during the course of Kenzie's watching, these became "scary." They have subsequently been removed from before her.

If you've witnessed my daughter's recent catechism videos you'll notice that there is a little bit of rote concerning being scared. As part of our family worship I try to make the questions practical and apply the language and specific words of the questions to recent events.

Sometimes this is as simple as "your brother is your neighbor" or "faithful means God's always there for us." But the one that has stuck was in reference to being scared. The first question in the Heidelberg asks "What is your only comfort in life and in death?" The answer, as far as Kenzie has gotten, is that she is "not her own" but belongs to her "faithful Savior Jesus Christ." In discussing this particular question I then told her that this is why we don't need to be scared. Its a big thing for a kid to be given a reason to not be scared. And she has latched on to it. 

At bedtime we always prayer, but occasionally now when I put her to sleep we repeat Q1 of the Heidelberg with a climactic ending: "Don't have to be scared!? Right?" Now in our reciting of questions it is spreading to other questions about Jesus Christ. 

Q18 has become the newest victim and the one example of it in the videos. The question/answer is as follows,

Q. Then who is this mediator—
true God and at the same time
a true and righteous human?
A. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
who was given to us
to completely deliver us
and make us right with God. 

Now I don't think "we don't have to be scared of the dark" is the best of practical applications to this question. But there is something reassuring about the answer isn't there? Here are just a couple of the interesting points.

• Christ is for us. In time I hope to explain this to my daughter. Christ and His gift in death are not individualistic. God gave Jesus for His people to save His people. We're saved in a context of fellowship both with Christ and others. That is reassuring.
• Christ is complete. Jesus was fully given. He became human! He completely delivered us on the cross. And there remains no work to be done. We are in right standing with God.

So yes, this question may not mean that Kenzie needn't be scared of the dark. But when the darkness at night is replaced by the darkness of life I hope this question comes to mind with a climactic conclusion (by rote) "Don't have to be scared!? Right."