Parenting...ouch.

Sometimes parenting is a walk in the park.  Sometimes, it's the hardest thing you'll ever do.  Tonight it was the latter.
Jackson is 3 years old and has been going through a "false-hood" stage.  Jeremy and I have worked diligently to "train him up" and to know right from wrong.  I'd say we've done a pretty good job because now when he does something wrong (don't we all?) he tries to cover it up.  Case in point: He was wielding his foam ninja sword tonight in the living room while Kennedy and I played on the floor.  He accidentally knocked over an almost empty soda bottle sitting on the coffee table.  Although I did not SEE him knock it over, he frantically scrambled to set it right and said "Oh sorry!"  Being silly I ask, "Did you knock that over?"  He looked me dead in the eye and said "Uh-uh!  Miss Kennedy did it!"  I began to explain all the reasons it couldn't be her so I asked him again.  This time his story changed.  "Uhhhh, I think a monster did it."  He got to sit on his stool for awhile until he could confess his sins.  Later, we found the Ten Commandments in one of his kid bibles and talked about this in depth.  No spankings, just hugs and instructions.
When Jeremy got home I ran through the, now funny, story for him.  He went to ask Jackson about his day and if he got in trouble.  Once again, lies escaped his sweet little mouth.  He was told about consequences if this continued.  We were feeling laid back tonight and let him eat in his room.  He came and told us he had eaten everything on his plate (HA!  This is a rarity.) so we asked again and made sure he wasn't tickling our ears.  Jeremy reminded him of their conversation earlier and he was adamant....big blue eyes and all!  Well, he seems to have a problem. Jeremy found that someone had put food BACK on his plate! He told Jeremy he was ready to eat, but alas it was too late.  He received his punishment, a few hugs and was sent swiftly to bed where he boo-hooed for quite awhile.

Oh how these lessons hurt a mama's (and daddy's) heart!  But, oh the hurt could be SO much greater if our sinful nature was left unchecked.  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6  Yes, he's only three.  Yes, he's absolutely ADORABLE.  Yes, he cries for mama when he's upset.  But he has been entrusted to us for a short time.  We are instructed to prepare these little ones to be workers in His field.

So now....I go curl up on the couch waiting for him to fall sound asleep.  Later I can sneak into his bedroom to curl up next to him and pray for his little man heart to fully love the Lord.  Please pray for us as we train up these two little'uns.

Singing His Praises
#12  My babies
#13  Jeremy who keeps me strong when I want to melt into those big blue pools
#14  Parents and in-laws that still pray for their two big kids
#15  Brand new mornings that bring brand new chances for little ones and big ones