On NOT Raising Lazy Children

I don't want to raise lazy, selfish kids.

I want to teach my kids that hard work is satisfying.
Even when we don't see the fruit of our labor right away.

That doing the right thing is tough but it pleases the Lord and will give us a peace in our spirit.

Sometimes hard work ends up being something we don't necessarily LIKE to do, but we can still do our job "as unto the Lord" and with a grateful and thankful heart.

I want to let go of my ideas of how things should be done around the house, in order to teach them that they can be a valuable asset to this family and that we function TOGETHER.

This means that dishes are probably going to get broken when being put away, and some of the sticky areas under the kitchen table will get missed, and the compost bin might get dropped before making it to the pile.

It also means that it's okay that the boys don't necessarily fold their clothes before putting them in their designated drawers (they take great pride in their laundry helping abilities, ha!), that flour will inevitably end up in every crevice of the kitchen while making dinner, and that things will take 5 times longer to get done...

I'm learning to let all that go and rejoice in these little ways (which are actually BIG ways) in which we are teaching our kids to contribute to this family and smile at the unity we are building along the way, (even if the activities begin with grumpy attitudes:).