Posted in Train Up A Child Thursday
Yikes , it's Saturday already! How did that happen? We had a busy week. Thursday was open house for our Classical Conversations group. Which is always fun but a little hectic! Especially since I was mixing paint with flour or sand or salt or glitter for our art project right up until it was time to start. Must learn to delegate! Actually, must learn to be better prepared and organized! Thursday evening we had a tutor meeting with all the tutors and I have to admit I tend to steal their time a little because I so enjoy the chance to get together with these wonderful women and talk. We did get alot accomplished, but I kept them late. I haven't even Been on my blog much at all this week to visit my blogging friends
, I miss that. Anyway. I even had an idea of what I wanted to post about for Thursdays "train up a child.' I could just wait until next Thursday, so maybe I"ll just pretend I'm really early this week with this post instead of really late (although technically the new week doesn't start until tomorrow!)
Consequences, the good kind
"If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield it's produce and the trees of the land will bear their fruit."
Leviticus 26:3-4
Many times in the OT, God sets before His people a choice between obedience and disobedience, often going into great detail to describe what each looks like in case there is any doubt! With that choice, He also outlines the consequences that will be applied to those who obey as well as to those who choose not to do so. As a parent, it's easier for me to get so wrapped up in the instruction of what NOT to do and deal out consequences for disobedience that I sometimes forget that my children also need to see the concrete benefits of choosing to obey. Often, when they do something right, or complete a task correctly, or answer me in a way that shows respect, I think to myself "phew, I don't have to correct for anything at the moment" But I sometimes forget that I should be enforcing that obedient spirit with positive consequences, even if it's simple words of praise or our customary "Cha-Ching!"
Today is clean up day in our house, it was a little different this time b/c Mike had some of the men from church over in the morning. Lukas likes to sit in on these sessions, and I'm happy to let him do that as long as Mike feels it's appropriate for him. I kept the girls and baby upstairs with me and tried to keep everyone relatively quiet (didn't always succeed) as we worked on cleaning the upstairs. Toward the end of the morning, I came down the stairs and saw Lukas sitting on the couch near where the men were talking. He was reading a book. I got annoyed and hissed at him to come upstairs. He not so willingly came and protested that he was listening. I informed him that it didn't look that way to me and he needed to help me clean a little. It's his job to clean the hall bath every weekend. I wasn't very nice about it, and he was pouty about it, but I didn't address that, just gave him what he needed and let him shut himself into the bathroom. Soon after that, as I was walking by, I heard him humming a little tune and banging around as he wiped down the sink, toiled and mirror. Later, he came out for me to check his work. He had really done a great job. He pointed out how he had also noticed that the strip light above the mirror was dusty so he had climbed up on the sink and dusted off all the lightbulbs and metal plate. I told him he had a done a great job and he could be finished. He said "Really? There isn't anything I have to do over? Wow! That's only the second or third time I haven't had to re-clean something!" At that point, someone else called me and I went to put out a fire between two of the girls and so didn't finish the conversation with Lukas. Which I need to do. Because I realize that even though I gave him words of praise, he really should have something a little more tangible from me b/c he showed maturity in overcoming his frustration with me for jerking him away from his book (and he probably was also listening to the men) and did a really good job on the bathroom when he could have done a bad job because I hadn't really been fair with him (I had said he could sit with the men, I didn't SAY he wasn't allowed to read at the same time). He also went above and beyond the call of duty by noticing something else in the bathroom that needed to be done and did it without being told. Initiative should always be handsomely rewarded especially when it's connected to cleaning in the bathroom! So I'm going to think about it and see what I can come up with to bless him for being a blessing to me.
"If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield it's produce and the trees of the land will bear their fruit."
Leviticus 26:3-4
Many times in the OT, God sets before His people a choice between obedience and disobedience, often going into great detail to describe what each looks like in case there is any doubt! With that choice, He also outlines the consequences that will be applied to those who obey as well as to those who choose not to do so. As a parent, it's easier for me to get so wrapped up in the instruction of what NOT to do and deal out consequences for disobedience that I sometimes forget that my children also need to see the concrete benefits of choosing to obey. Often, when they do something right, or complete a task correctly, or answer me in a way that shows respect, I think to myself "phew, I don't have to correct for anything at the moment" But I sometimes forget that I should be enforcing that obedient spirit with positive consequences, even if it's simple words of praise or our customary "Cha-Ching!"
Today is clean up day in our house, it was a little different this time b/c Mike had some of the men from church over in the morning. Lukas likes to sit in on these sessions, and I'm happy to let him do that as long as Mike feels it's appropriate for him. I kept the girls and baby upstairs with me and tried to keep everyone relatively quiet (didn't always succeed) as we worked on cleaning the upstairs. Toward the end of the morning, I came down the stairs and saw Lukas sitting on the couch near where the men were talking. He was reading a book. I got annoyed and hissed at him to come upstairs. He not so willingly came and protested that he was listening. I informed him that it didn't look that way to me and he needed to help me clean a little. It's his job to clean the hall bath every weekend. I wasn't very nice about it, and he was pouty about it, but I didn't address that, just gave him what he needed and let him shut himself into the bathroom. Soon after that, as I was walking by, I heard him humming a little tune and banging around as he wiped down the sink, toiled and mirror. Later, he came out for me to check his work. He had really done a great job. He pointed out how he had also noticed that the strip light above the mirror was dusty so he had climbed up on the sink and dusted off all the lightbulbs and metal plate. I told him he had a done a great job and he could be finished. He said "Really? There isn't anything I have to do over? Wow! That's only the second or third time I haven't had to re-clean something!" At that point, someone else called me and I went to put out a fire between two of the girls and so didn't finish the conversation with Lukas. Which I need to do. Because I realize that even though I gave him words of praise, he really should have something a little more tangible from me b/c he showed maturity in overcoming his frustration with me for jerking him away from his book (and he probably was also listening to the men) and did a really good job on the bathroom when he could have done a bad job because I hadn't really been fair with him (I had said he could sit with the men, I didn't SAY he wasn't allowed to read at the same time). He also went above and beyond the call of duty by noticing something else in the bathroom that needed to be done and did it without being told. Initiative should always be handsomely rewarded especially when it's connected to cleaning in the bathroom! So I'm going to think about it and see what I can come up with to bless him for being a blessing to me.
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