I wake to the sound of my alarm. Gently, I lift my head from the pillow to turn off the buzzing annoucement that morning has come. My head pounds from a sinus headache but I want to get started on the day before the kids wake up. Just as I’m putting on my shoes so that I can ride my exercise bike, I hear the sound of feet slapping on the tile floor.
The boys are up early.
And my youngest has woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
It’s a rule in our house that they cannot be up before 7am. If they happen to get up before then, I send them back to their room. On this morning, my youngest begins whining and fussing right away. He wants to play a computer game. I remind him of the 7am rule and that they are not allowed to play computer games on the mornings that we have to go somewhere.
“I WANT TO PLAY A COMPUTER GAME! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT RIGHT NOW!”
Children are as real as a person can get. No pretense, no masks, no pretending, they say and do whatever is on their heart. Unlike adults, it’s often easier to get to the core of their problem. There aren’t layers and layers of denial hiding the real problem.
We sit down for breakfast and I talk with the boys about how our hearts want what we want. That’s our heart condition. We talk about what would happen if I let them do and have whatever they wanted everyday. I point out that God restrains sin and that the world would be a lot worse if He let us be as sinful as we could be.
I then look my youngest in the eye and said, “Jesus came to save you and give you a new heart that wants what God wants instead of what you want. He came to save you from that sinful desire to always have what you want.”
Isn’t that my own heart? I want what I want and I want it now. My little one reflects my own heart back to me, reminding me of my own need for the cleansing truth of the gospel of grace.
It is this truth that I rest in: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:25-27
Yes Lord, wash me clean! Give me a tender heart of flesh that desires You above all else. Help me to never forget these gospel truths. And continue Your gospel cleansing work in my boy’s hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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I have a little giveaway today. Does your child like to color? I am giving away a coloring book titled A Bible Alphabet- Activity Book
To enter, just leave a comment below and/or “like” my Facebook page. If you “like” me on Facebook, tell me so in the comments. Random.org will select the winner next Wednesday. Giveaway update, 7/25/12, Kristin T. is the winner of this giveaway.
Linking up with:
Thanks for sharing! Great giveaway! I already like your facebook page!
could almost hear those words coming out of his mouth… our true condition is so evident in their moments of struggle…
i want it — give me what i want…
love how you can take the everyday moments and turn them into a life lesson moment
Would love a copy of the book. I have already liked your facebook page.
Great post! Thanks for sharing!! My husband and I were just talking about this last night. We are trying to teach our kids one thing while we are doing the same things!
Amen. Beautiful prayer, friend! Prayed with you… It’s these moments each day when you realize He truly is the only answer for our human hearts. For these human heart conditions don’t change much over time, do they! I still want what I want when I want it, too ; )
Good reminders. I feel like I need to apologize to my kids for my own selfish desires more than I need to correct theirs most of the time. My desires: peace, quiet, clean house. Slowly, slowly, God is changing my heart.
I already like you on FB!
YEY!
I got to use your “I want it now!” lesson with my two year old this morning, of course, a simpler version, but the message was still the same. Being 2 is tough…
May God continue to give us a New Heart….as difficult as it is to let go of what “we want”. And may we…as parents…be good examples to our children, in modeling purposeful self-denial…that can certainly be tough. (especially in early mornings)
I like your facebook page! and I love your posts. They encourage me to point my son to Christ in every conversation… thank you!
Great words this morning. Thank you for the gentle reminder!
My son Loves to color and it would be a ton of fun to give this to him! Great post also!
Love this! Great reminder and I always love how you bring your kids back to the truth of God’s word. I think often of how you do that and try to do the same. Thank you for sharing and being so transparent. Love the idea of the coloring book too. I think Abigail would love this!
Watching my children so often teaches me lessons on myself. Thanks for sharing.
Jessa
herejessa.blogspot.com
Thanks for the giveaway!
What a great giveaway! My son and I are starting a letter of the week homeschooling series this fall and I’d love to add this in! Thank you!!!!
I pray too that my heart always desires what God wants and that it does not always fall back on selfish motives. Thank you for this reminder. You are such a good Mom to your children, always leadng them on God’s path. They are blessed to have you as their Mom! Thank you for linking up. I always appreciate it!
Shari
Hi! Love the new layout and background! I like that idea of a 7am wakeup rule…I feel a need to get our times more consistent in the morning but summer sometimes gets a hold of that!
Seems that life…and God just make more sense when we really take the time to explain to our children- that we didn’t just “dream up”rules as parents….
Blessings to you!
Great example of bringing it back to the Gospel! Thanks for sharing. In my experience, there has been nothing in my life to constantly point me back toward the Savior like being a mom!
Mary Beth @newlifesteward
Really appreciated this post, bless you!!