Just me and God :)

After yesterday's adventures, and me not being a rookie homeschool mom;), I thought it wise to let the girls get a little extra sleep this morning. Frankly, they were wound tighter than spring loaded STP cars last night and couldn't wind down till late...and I'm not one who chooses to poke a sleeping bear. This gave me a little extra time to spend with God this morning. What an awesome treat for a Monday :) 

I caught up on my scripture writing journal; I'd slipped over the weekend, spent time praying over friends and family....then my little 2 minute homeschool moms devotion. Don't ever think for a moment God doesn't know your heart and mind. This morning's devo hit on something I've been thinking about for weeks.

As parents, we are always quick to teach our kiddos to be true to their word; keep their promises. But do we always set the best example or do we excuse and justify ourselves?  There's a fine line sometimes, between keeping a promise and rewarding "bad" behavior. 

Last week I told Gracie I'd take her to Walmart when we were finished with our lessons...the time came. I told the girls to scoop litter boxes while I finished something before we went, then it happened....I looked into their bathroom and saw they hadn't done their chores at all, for days, like they eluded to with every "uh huh" they offered up when asked if their chores were done. Yes, there are consequences for not holding up your responsibilities and then giving the impression you had....but in this case, I was wrong. I was angry and felt justified in breaking my promise to take her to Walmart. You see, I went and did the shopping, ALONE, while they stayed home (with dad) to actually do the chores they'd neglected for days. My promise was contingent on "when we finish our lessons" period, nothing more. I changed the rules. What did that teach my girls?  Yes, they did learn to get their chores done or there are consequences, BUT, one of those consequences should not be a broken promise from Mom. I should have handled things differently, better. And, God being amazing, all-knowing, gracious, and merciful such as He is, gently showed me today that He knows I've been pondering this very thing for awhile now and gave me some extra time this morning to speak directly to me. And, he allowed me these few extra  quiet moments with just Him and I to come to terms with my own ponderings and struggles. He answered my questions, and put it all to rest. We serve an AWESOME God, whom loves each of us in a very real and personal way!