Faith Zone Challenge #2

Faith Challenge #2 from Tracie was :

Challenge #2: Let God's light shine brightly through you today - even if someone licks the red off of your sucker. Be kind to those who are unkind. Be giving to those who don't give. Look for the positive in every situation you encounter.

Pardon? If I didn't know better, I'd ask her if she had been drinking.

I've been on vacation this week, except for Monday when I had to work because too many other people were off. I'm not bitter just saying..I would have liked it off as well. But I digress. My two beauties have been bickering all week as we've been getting them prepared to go back to school on Monday. I know it's because this is their fourth week of all day togetherness and they are sick of each other. However, they know I hate fighting so you'd think they would not do it around me. Well think again.

Every day we've been out shopping I've to make the following statements:

"If you two do not stop it right now I will put everything in this cart back, walk out of this store and y'all can go to school with last years clothes. If you can't wear last year's clothes, then you'll just be naked."

"Making nasty comments about your sister is unacceptable and besides that it's not godly"

That works for the store we're in but then I need to repeat it all over again in the next store. Very frustrating. Fast forward to Thursday and Day 2 of this challenge. I had a little problem with the "be kind to those who are unkind".

As I suspected when I started Day 2, my children did everything in their power to push my buttons and get on my nerves. At one point during "Challenge Day 2" we were in the car and the two beauties were bickering back and forth like they were mortal enemies. I yelled "STOP IT!" Then I remembered the challenge. Specifically the "be kind to those who are unkind" came to mind because they were definitely being unkind. So I calmed my voice and began to tell them how ungodly that was and how what they were doing was not a good representation of what is expected of a Christian. We rode the rest of the way home in silence. By the time we got home they were both more congenial and neither appeared to be mad at me (like I would have cared anyway because they were just wrong!)

I wish I could have done this without yelling but after three days of bickering, that was all that was going to get their attention. I'm just glad that God enabled me to turn it around and make it a teachable moment, instead of a yell fest.

Tomorrow I'll be blogging about Challenge #3 and my quiet time this morning. As a teaser I'll tell you, I'm buying stock in Kleenex so I can recoup some of money!

Be blessed! Love God! Praise Him!