Follow Mii ...

I played on a Wii for the first time about a 2 months ago. My husband Tom and I boxed. I found out pretty quickly that I'm one of those Wii players for which the wrist bands on the controller are necessary. I get very "involved" and need to be physically backed up from the TV and constantly reminded that there are small children and breakables in the room. After doing our taxes, looks like we'll be getting a little bit back this year. So despite the economy, better judgment and practicality, we decided it would be fun to get a Wii for our family. (That's one of the great things about having kids ... you can justify wreckless adult decisions by saying, "It's for the family." ) Anywho, we brought the Wii home, got it hooked up and started playing right away.

One of the things you have to do to get started is create a "Mii". A Mii is the identity you use to play games. Once created, your Mii saves and stores your game data. You can make it male or female; choose its body type, hair, coloring, facial structure, birth marks, eyebrows, smile, frown, scowl, etc. It goes on forever. But it's pretty fun to try and create yourself based on physical menu options. Of course you can also create someone who's nothing like you. We all had fun making up our Miis. Tom and I were pretty true to our physical characteristics - give or take a few pounds. Max, our 6 year old, started building this guy with long hair, a beard, sort of lean and lanky ... Tom and I kept commenting on how rough his guy looked. Max never said much while he was thoughtfully choosing a beard and mustache. When you're done creating your Mii you name it by punching in the letters on a keypad. Max slowly searched for each letter ... "J" ..... "E" ....."Z" ..... "U" ...... "S" .... He turned to his dad and I, "Jezus is my guy." I swear the kid's a prophet. Max uses Jezus for snowboarding, cow racing, bowling, boxing and even ping-pong. I look up, there's Jezus delivering an upper cut or slashing through some gnarly snow. Max's Jezus IS in everything he does, no matter how mundane or trivial.

It is just part of the game to build simulated characters, but I believe what Max did was very intentional. Regardless of how well he understands it, Max made Jezus "his guy." And really, that's all Jezus ever asked us to do.

Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths,
but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.
-- Ann Frank