Friday Celebration

Friday the kids did NOT have to eat rice for lunch. (Everyone was thrilled.) We went to Grandma's work and had a picnic lunch, then headed to the Splashpad.

The kids had a blast. The boys enjoyed the water, especially when the sun finally warmed us up. Emma did not venture into the water, she tried to take a nap.

Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

Lessons learned from The Gratefulness Experiment

The kids weren't the only one's who learned something last week in being grateful. I too was confronted with my lack of gratefulness. I currently have a job that I am not thrilled about, it is not my dream job or what I am passionate about, so I have come to resent it. God spoke to me during my devotions one day about being content in all circumstances. He knows the desire of my heart, He is the one that gave me the gifts and desires in the first place, and He also knows exactly how and when those desires will become reality.

I was thinking about Abraham and Sarah, how in their desire to be parents they got ahead of God's plan by inserting Haggar into the equation. In the end there was discontent and division within a family. I don't want to get ahead of God. I want to be content and grateful that I have a job that allows me to help my family. God is teaching me that His ways and my ways may not look quite the same, but His purposes are bigger and better than mine, and above all I can trust Him.
I just hope I remember this when I go to work tonight. :-)

Day 4

Well Thursday went really well. The boys did very little complaining. I did offer an incentive to them, if they could eat their lunch without complaining and with a thankful attitude they could have a surprise. Watermelon!!
Jackson wasn't too happy about the surprise, he wanted Oreo's, but sadly was told "no, if you want your surprise you have to have the watermelon and be thankful for it." Needless to say, he decided to pass on watermelon.
Stephen again did not finish his whole bowl but had a good attitude throughout lunch. That in and of itself is a huge accomplishment.
Alex is the only one who finished his rice and had watermelon. Considering rice is not one of his favorites he choked it all down just to get to the watermelon. But the accomplishment was that he did it without complaining. He also encouraged the other two to not whine and to be thankful. It was fun to see.

Today (Friday), since I am a day behind in my posts, we are NOT going to have rice. I too am thankful for this. The boys are going to have a picnic lunch with Grandma and then we will head to a local park for some fun times at the splash-pad. If the rain holds off.
It has been a good week for all. We have all learned lessons through this. I will share more on that later. I will also post pictures from our fun-celebration day at a later time.
On a side note, I think rice might be something we go without for a few weeks. :-)

Day 3

Well Wednesday was a little rougher when the boys came to the table and there was once again rice and water. Alex began to cry (his not-so-real cry) and said that he thought they had learned how to be thankful. Ironically we had just left Walmart where the boys had all asked for extra things or "upgraded" items, to which I repeatedly had said "no." Stephen and Alex chose not eat all their rice while Jack wanted more.

I have seen progress in them saying "thank you" more often over the past few days. It's been nice to hear.

The boys then each got a posterboard and were asked to draw what they were thankful for. They had fun but they also had to think about it. Some of what they drew was really good, others silly, but I think they are beginning to grasp that they have so much and they are so blessed. The posters are hung in their playroom so that they can see that they have a lot to be thankful for when they are playing with their toys, which are usually all over the floor. :-)

Day 2 in the Gratefulness Experiment

Well, there were mixed reviews on Tuesday when for lunch there was again a bowl of rice. But they all ate it and they acknowledged that it was so they would be thankful. Jackson wanted more than one bowl, but was told "no". He still said "thank you" when he had cleared his place at the table.

There was no other complaining until bedtime, when the boys began asking that they have something other than rice for lunch. The complaints were that they needed more food so they wouldn't be hungry.

I want them to understand that they don't even begin to understand what "starving" is and that they have so many choices even in the foods that they eat.

Today they will again have rice for lunch. I am sure the complaints will be more than before, but after lunch they are going to work on a project. I am going to have them list/draw some of the things they have that they need to be thankful for and then we will put them on the wall so we can remember. (I am going to buy posterboard.) :-)

Gratefulness

How do you teach your children to be thankful for what they have when society is telling them to try and get more? My children are so blessed and yet their attitudes often reflect a sense of entitlement. So we decided to try something to help them understand how blessed they are:



We are giving them 1 bowl of rice and 1 cup of water (no ice) for lunch each day for a week. They do not get seconds and if for some reason they don't want to eat the rice then they must go without.



A few months ago, our children helped raise money to supply rice to kids who don't have much food. These kids often get 1 bowl of rice for the day.



Yesterday was the beginning. The boys did fine. However they don't know that in about 15 minutes they will once again be having rice and water for lunch. We shall see how this goes over the next few days. I will blog this experience for all to share.

The Beginning

While this isn't truly the beginning of our Christner Adventure it is the first day on a blog. I will recap some earlier adventures at some point.

I can tell that this may become addictive, but hopefully we will share with others some of the love, laughter, and chaos that occurs regularly in our home.

Family is very important to us. We desire to honor God through our family. Not always successful, but we try.