Dare to Discipline

If you've ever questioned the concept of "original sin"...just spend an hour or two with my toddler. I'm not quite sure where he learned to hit, bite, and throw food on the floor, but he is an expert at it. Its such a humbling reminder of how imperfect we are as human beings. I can just picture God looking down into our apartment and chuckling at our frustration and Ranger's evil laughter after he successfully dumps his dinner onto the carpet. It makes me wonder if God shares in that same kind of frustration when I disobey (not normally accompanied by evil laughter). In all seriousness, our kid knows exactly how to turn mommy's anger on and off....better than he knows how to flip a light switch! Throwing food on the floor is a biggy, climbing on off-limits furniture gets a warning, pulling dvds off the rack and stacking them under the table gets an eye roll and a sigh...but putting his toys in the kitchen trash can is like lighting the fire. Slowly but surely...the sin escalates. And we are learning...slowly but surely how to handle such defiance and curiosity.

Dare to discipline. The book is great....thanks Dr. Dobson. But in all actuality...the dare itself is frightening beyond belief. Don't get me wrong, friends. I'm not afraid of disciplining my son, but I am deathly afraid of doing it the wrong way. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." But which way is right and which way is wrong? Who says I can't do it a certain way and why? So many of these questions have recently encompassed my thinking ever since my sweet cuddler became a rogue toddler. Austin and I are very much on the same page right now about discipline and we've helped each other as best we can to ensure that it is just enough and not overboard for Ranger. If you're reading my blog regularly, warning, I will be sharing with you about how we discipline and how its working for our family.

So here is my take on discipline. "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11. I feel as if Austin and I owe it to Ranger to discipline him for wrongdoing and instill a sense of grace and forgiveness as well. I believe it would be a disservice to him if we did not pray for a strength in our disciplinary actions because how will he understand to respect others and love them at the same time without understanding the consequences for sinful actions? What kind of discipline have we chosen to use?...it highly depends on the situation, the place, and the sin. Little no nos earn him a time out or a loss of whatever toy he was playing with. Ultimate defiance (such as hitting mommy in the face because he's angry) earns a swat. "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death." Proverbs 23:13-15. We don't use a rod...for those of you who are tearing up for Ranger at the moment. We use our hand...and friends, those diapers are an excellent cushion, so his bum will survive. All of our techniques so far have worked on account of one thing...consistency. My son now responds to the countdown..."3...2..."...we have yet to make it to "1". (I'm sure it will happen soon.) His Grumpy (my dad) thinks the countdown is hilarious. That kid is so incredibly smart to have caught on to it so quickly. Now if you take away one thing from this blog (that perhaps has angered you slightly)...take away this: We end every disciplinary technique with hugs, kisses, explanations, and forgiveness. And the best part is...Ranger gets it. He already understands forgiveness in some small sense. Hallelujah! Please let this be a step in the right direction to helping him understand the forgiveness that God has shown us as sinners! Let God be glorified throughout this process with my sweet son and may we raise a boy who might one day be sold out for his Savior.

I painted a canvas  a few months ago that hangs in our entryway. It says, "In this house, we do second chances, we do grace, we do mistakes, we do I'm sorry, we do loud very well, we do hugs, and we do love." We are not a perfect household...and we never will be...but our God is a merciful God and we will do our best to glorify Him in everything that we do.