MPF 299: Beauty, art, imagination and your kids with Andrew Peterson

Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

Beauty resets our compass. It reminds us of who we are and what we are made for. ~ Andrew Peterson

Summary

Our children will grow no matter what, but how they grow and what they learn is heavily dependent on their environment. Parents can shape the world of their children to include beauty, freedom of artistic expression, and space to wonder. In this podcast, we talk to Andrew Peterson, singer, songwriter, author, father and now grandfather. Over the last 25 years, Andrew has used his creative talents in the world of music and fantasy books for kids. He has done this out of the firm belief in the power of art to commuicate eternal truths and draw people into relationship with God. Our family has been blessed by his work over the past 25 years and we hope that all our families will be too!

Key Takeaways

• Parents need to shape the world to be beautiful for their children. Beauty evangelizes even to the very young child. Art, in all its expressions, is essential to life.

• Beauty resets the compass. It reminds us of who we are and what we are made for. It awakens within us the desire for the Kingdom - God’s Kingdom here on earth and in heaven.

• Delight in your children. They need to know that they are wonderfully made and they learn that by how we respond to them.

• Sin is when I forget who I am. Our kids need to be solid in their identity as a child of God and so do we!

• We need to learn to desire things in the right order. Sin happens when we live a life of disorder. As parents we can help order the lives of our children in the right way.

Couple Discussion Questions

• How does our family experience art (music, literature, movies) in our home? What do these things communicate to our children?

• Do we delight in our children? How can we do this more?

• What are we doing in our home to help our children “desire things in the right order?” How can we shape the environment in our home to do this?

Resources

• God in the Garden

• Wingfeather Series (books)

• Wingfearther series (series on Angel studios)

• Andrew-peterson.com

• Music list on spotify