the benefits of getting off your couch

i have been looking back at some of my blog posts that i wrote years ago.

it reminded me of the long tiring days with 2 little boys in diapers, 

leading youth group, 

owning our own business 

and financial struggles.

it's good to look back and remember where you have been, and where God has taken you!

i am very passionate about godly, intentional parenting (as most of you know) and am always blessed and encouraged when i see parents who are really parenting the way God wants.

sadly, i feel that there are a lot of christians who are being beguiled into thinking that God's Word is not the ONLY answer.

i believe 100% that God's Word is the only answer!

so here's where i'm going with this.

remembering back to the days of a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old at home...

a lot of my days were spent disciplining and disciplining, over and over.

let me give you 2 options that i had and what each outcome would look like.

i tell my son to pick up the cup off the floor and put it in the kitchen.

he says no.

option 1.

stay sitting on the couch (since i did only get about 2 hours of un-interrupted sleep last night and i am in the middle of reading a book to my other child.)

i can just pick up the cup later, and i don't feel like moving right now.

option 2.

tell the son i am reading to that he needs to hold on for a couple of minutes.

calmly get up off the couch

take my disobedient son upstairs and bring my bible and the paddle with me.

discipline, hug, kiss, pray.

go back downstairs and finish reading my story, while my now obedient son puts his cup in the kitchen.

obviously option 2 takes a lot longer than option 1.

however...

let me tell you the results of option 1 vs. option 2.

fast forward 6 years

result 1.

tell your now 8-year-old son to go upstairs and get dressed for the day.

he ignores you.

tell him again.

he starts whining, and continues to play his video game.

tell him again.

he turns and says that he will do it when he is done

tell him you are serious!

he stomps his feet and looks at you with eyes that are daring you to try and move him.

you throw you hands up and tell him that his father is going to have to deal with him when he gets home.

result 2.

tell your now 8-year-old son to go upstairs and get dressed for the day.

he says "yes mom"

and goes upstairs to obey.

see, this is the beguilement that we fall for...

try things once, twice, maybe even 5 times.

but then mix it with not following through 6, 7 or even 10 times...

and then we don't get the results we want, so we fall back to sitting on the couch.

i can not tell you how many times this has come to my mind this week alone -

i am so glad that i was consistent when they were little!!

because the rewards i am enjoying now are so amazing, 

and i don't even remember most of the stressful days!

i am throwing around this idea in my head of making a video to put on my blog explaining biblical child discipline.

i think that people hear the word "spanking" and freak out.

they picture a woman in a grocery store grabbing her child by the arm and slapping her on the bottom.

then they say "how can you teach your child to not hit, by hitting??"

well, since that is not spanking, maybe if i showed you examples of what it actually looks like, you might have a different idea.

so there you have it.

the benefits of getting off your couch now?

are that you will not have to get off your couch later!

ha!

so seriously. get off the computer.

stop reading this, and take care of your little one who is throwing a fit right now!

it will be totally worth it!!