For everything that I am teaching my boys, there is something, usually the same principle, for me to learn...again and again and again. Will there ever be a day when my autopilot will just be making the choice to have a good attitude always bringing glory to God despite my circumstances? I pray that God will continue teaching me and changing me to have an automatic happy heart.
Some days I have a really bad attitude. Coincidentally, those seem to be the most likely days that my boys have bad attitudes as well. Hmmm....here comes the light bulb moment...I am the model for my children and they, no doubt, will model my behavior. I am trying to teach the boys that despite what's going on around them - tiredness, inconveniences, altered plans, PMS (for me, of course), interruptions, train tracks and towers that fall due to gravity or baby brothers, etc. - we choose our attitude! I can be having "the worst day ever in recorded history" and I still have a choice about my attitude.
We are teaching the boys to choose a happy heart. We simply ask them what they are going to choose - a happy or grumpy heart. They know that choosing a grumpy heart sends them to the quietness and lonesomeness of their rooms while a happy heart allows them to continue interacting with the family. We remind them of some important verses God has given us in His Word. In case you, like me, need a reminder today as well, here goes...
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." -Philippians 3:14,15
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"A happy heart makes the face cheerful..." -Proverbs 15:13
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him...whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." -Colossians 3:17, 23
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