As I was in the process of giving Kristina instructions on what to cook for supper I almost already knew it wasn't going to go like I had instructed. Have you ever had that feeling? You are explaining to someone what you want done but by their tone you know that they aren't paying attention or they don't care. Well, that is how this conversation was going.
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As I walked in the backdoor I looked straight at the stove and saw there were no pots sitting on the eyes. "Kristina," I said "did you not cook the veggies and mac-n-cheese like I said?" She stood there with this blank look on her face as if I were speaking Greek and then she finally muttered a response. "Well, ummm, I just thought I would wait until the pork chops were done before I cooked that stuff."
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After having a typical Monday at work I just lowered my head and looked at my feet while I thought carefully about the next words I would utter. After a few seconds I looked back up and said "I knew it wouldn't take long for the pork chops to cook and I know how long it was going to take for the veggies and mac-n-cheese to cook so that is why I told you to cook it all at one time!" The more I talked the louder and more aggravated I got. By the end of my sentence my teeth were gritted and with each word her eyes got bigger and bigger knowing that I was about to my limit.
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"But, Momma" she said "I just figured I would do it this way..."
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I cut her off in mid-sentence, "Kristina, I am your Mother, I don't have to explain myself or give reasons why I tell you to do what I tell you to do. You are the kid. You do what I tell you and how I tell you and don't question my thinking."
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"But, Momma, you're just not understanding..."
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I snapped around and with this look across my face that must have said "ENOUGH!" without actually using the words because her response was a swift "Yes ma'am!"
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We worked together and finished cooking supper with not much idle chit-chat between anyone. Gabe tried to lighten the mood to no avail. After some time I calmly finished my conversation with Kristina explaining to her that I know she is 16 and she knows absolutely everything about everything but as long as she was living in our house she needed to understand that I expect her to do what I say when I say it without questions, arguments or frustration.
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How many times do we question God? How many times does he tell us to do something and we sort of do what he instructs us to do but then we sort of change a few things to suit us? Isn't it funny how we as adults/parents expect our kids to do as we say but we are so guilty of not following what God says? I'm the worst of them all! I get scared, embarrassed, nervous, etc. What about you? This is not the day that we are to understand the laws. This is the day that we obey because our Father told us to!
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"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will write them on their hearts so they will obey them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, 'You should know the Lord.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins." Hebrews 8:10-12 (NLT)
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