DD #5 No Whining Zone

I have declared our a house a no whining zone! It seems like as soon as I pick the kids up from school in the afternoon, the whining commences. It's like clockwork everyday, like a switch that gets flipped. So today I told them we needed to focus more on being thankful for what we have and the good things in our life instead of complaining about what we don't have and everything that went wrong that day.

This isn't completely my kids fault. I know I'm not the most patient and I am easily annoyed at times. I'm not always the best role model for my children. Philippians 4:4-8  ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Why is it that we fall victim to doing the exact opposite of what we're told to do in this passage?? Personally I know its because when I neglect my relationship with the Father, I tend to fall to those little temptations that satan puts before me. Really its a vicious cycle...the less time we spend rejoicing, the more time we spend complaining. Then we forget to go to God in prayer when problems arise. It creates turmoil because we want to be in charge, but things aren't working like you expected. Wouldn't we all be happier if we could just follow these simple instructions?

Tomorrow morning before school I'm going to read this passage with my kids and talk about praying to God when something happens and letting Him take control. Megan and AnnaMarie tend to be my pessimists, so this is something I really hope they can learn to do, especially as we go through the next year. I want them to find peace in God and learn to trust Him in every situation. I will be praying this passage over my children as they deal with Daddy being gone and the upheaval that causes. I can't wait to see the results!