I am a crazy couponer! I love to get great deals!! Since becoming a crazy couponer we have switched from generic cereals to name brand cereals because I can get them cheaper. Along with the switch comes all the benefits of the name brand cereals.....which includes TOYS in the cereal box!! This is something my kids are not well acquainted with. So as I was getting ready for work yesterday morning, the kids were in the kitchen getting breakfast and WW III broke out!! All over a little piece of plastic.....to toy in the cereal box.
For the last 24 hours I have thought over and over about that battle. My kids have more toys then they could begin to play with up stairs in their rooms and yet they were fighting over a little piece of plastic that would hold their interest for a total of maybe 10 minutes. I recently blogged about "A Lesson in Thankfulness" but, that was a lesson I learned in thankfulness......one I don't think my children have learned yet, and it is my job to teach them.
I didn't grow up "poor" but, I there were many things my parents could not afford to give us. I wore hand me down clothes and did not get all the latest and greatest toys that came along. We did not eat out often and did not take family vacations. My dad worked two jobs most of my young years to make ends meet. So, as a parent myself I guess I wanted to give my kids some of the things my parents could not afford to give us. My kids have Nintendo DS's, Nintendo Wii, each one has a TV in their room, and many of the most popular toys that have come out. There are still things I cannot afford to give them but, they do not want for much!!
Lately I have noticed more and more how they have grown to expect things rather than appreciating what they do have. It is not their fault. I have created the situation. I read a blog today called "Cultivating A Grateful Heart" at www.drkathykoch.com, she talks about how children today have so many material possessions that it dulls their level of gratitude. How can they be thankful for what they have come to expect. Dr. Kathy quotes a colleague that said, “How can children be thankful if they always get what they want simply by letting it be known. I believe sometimes the most loving thing we can do for our children is to deny them.”
In our relationship with God as our Father, He does not give us EVERYTHING we ask for because He knows what is best for us. It is not in our best interest to just hand us every little whim and desire we ask for. I need to follow His example and ask Him for wisdom to know how to turn this situation around and begin to "cultivate a grateful heart."
A large part of gratefulness is being content, being satisfied with what we have; not always wanting for more. Paul models a grateful heart in Philippians....my prayer is that I will model this to my children and someday they will be a model of a grateful heart to their children.
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
Philippians 4:12
No comments:
Post a Comment