"I. Don't. Like. Consequences!!"

Some nights being a parent is challenging, really challenging and this is a story about one of those nights. I am sharing it because I feel like it a great reminder to myself. Thursday nights my husband has been leading a men's bible study in our home. The children and I have been getting ready for bed and doing a movie and popcorn night at the same time. This requires a quick dinner and obedient children to do as they are told for all of us to be ready when the guys start arriving. This week was a rough night. I asked the boys to get in the shower and get their pajamas on. Not once. Not twice. Not three times...but Four times to quickly get in the shower and get dressed for movie night. They did not obey. The consequence for disobedience was not taken well. Movie night was taken away and they were told to go to their bed after the shower and they could read a book until bedtime. They were upset. They were crying. Carson was especially appalled. I explained that I asked 4 times for them to obey. 4 times they were given the opportunity to do what was right and 4 times they chose to disobey. There are consequences for disobedience. Carson cried out, "I. Don't. Like. Consequences!!!" I was sad for them. I was upset that they did not listen and obey. I am training them to hear and obey my voice so that one day they will hear and obey God's voice. They had a choice. They chose to disobey. 4 times. With disobedience there is always a consequence. It was a hard lesson. We talked more about Adam and Eve. I am reading them at night before bedtime the first book in the Narnia set "The Magicians Nephew." I have never read them before but loved the way the Lord weaved the first chapter into our lesson of consequences. God told Adam and Eve not to do it. They chose to disobey. The consequence to disobedience was death. "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23 I am so thankful the Lord gives me just the right tools to reinforce what He wants me to be teaching to my children. The lesson I pray my boys were able to grasp is that regardless if they like consequences or not, consequences are inevitable. They will come. Choices. We are presented with choices all of the time. I pray that they would choose to do what is right. They would choose to be leaders of righteousness. They would choose to listen and obey. "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." Psalm 37:13 May the same be true of me. May I always be willing to humble myself to hear the Lord and obey where He is leading so that I may not have to deal with consequences in my life that are directly related to my sin and my straying away from Him.