Kind Words

I don't know about you, but there are mornings where I would like to invent some sort of device that would allow me to ram my children's faces into and it would enable them speechless. Gracious alive! I think mornings and late evenings is when teenagers think they know everything...oh wait...no I'm wrong...that's ALL THE TIME! haha

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I'm just being dramatic but if you have a child (or a husband) then you completely understand the frustration of getting dressed in the morning to a smart mouth. And no matter how hard you try to hold your tongue it is as if they keep pushing until you explode. Maybe that's just my house...but nonetheless my mornings are usually full of button pushing.

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This morning as we were trying to get out the door I look up and Gabe is throwing his books down on the porch. He has had the flu so today was his first day back to school and he was all in a tizzy. Kristina was being...Kristina and everyone was about to the end of their rope. Well, I think Gabe had arrived. I rolled the window down asking what was wrong and he yelled "My coat is stuck in the door!" I growled back with "Well, that's why you WEAR the coat and not CARRY it!" As I rolled the window back up I dared not look up at him. I could feel the glares blazing from his hazel eyes.

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As he got in the truck I told him that he needs to work on his anger and make sure he doesn't get enraged. Try to breathe and focus on things when he feels his anger starting to build. If there is one thing I am learning about teenage boys it is that they can get angry in the blink of an eye and if the situation isn't diffused you've got the Hulk on your hands before you know it. As we drove to school he calmed down and got out of the truck in fairly decent spirits.

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Kristina's car has sprung a leak so I had to take her to school. Heaven forbid a Junior ride the bus to school! heehee As we pulled out of Gabe's school, Kristina starts putting on her make-up and her technique intrigues me. I start asking her questions which just infuriates her and before long I realize that she and I are arguing over applying make-up. I just shut my mouth and drove on to her school. I muttered and fussed to myself most of the way while I tried to make small talk with her. As we arrived at her school she jumped out of the truck without a word. It's moments like this that I must gather myself because I truly wanted to jump out of the truck, run after her screaming "I LOVE YOU PRECIOUS!!!! GIVE MOMMY A KISS!!!" Oh man, can you imagine?!?!? Sigh, the things that run through my mind...

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So, anyway, I come to work and I'm thinking about my kids, my morning and my day. I open the internet to get my daily Bible verse and I found my daily dose quite humorous. "A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare." Proverbs 15:1 (NLT). Well, how about that for some shut up juice! Here I instructed Gabe to hold his temper, breathe, work through his anger and I turned around and did the exact same thing with Kristina. What does it matter how she puts her make-up on? Who cares?

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My Heavenly Father has this uncanny way of disciplining me without waiting. I do it, He gets me. Oh, Father, forgive me! It is so easy to see what others do and to guide and direct my children but it seems that I often times don't realize that they are learning from me. They react to circumstances just the way I would. I am their image and not a very good one at that sometimes. Thank you for showing me that I have an anger problem, I have an angry tongue...oh Lord change me!