The Return of the Anger Experiment, Take 2

Lent is only a few days away.  I don't really know how we started practicing this, but now, even when the day approaches, all of us just automatically start thinking of habits or character traits or disciplines we'd like to overcome and we know that we need a start day and some accountability within the family to make the changes we want to see.  I don't like to think of it as just a Catholic thing as we aren't Catholic.  Instead, I prefer to think of it as a way we can pursue holiness, not a legalistic tradition.

One of the main areas my little people suffer is in the way they react to one another.  The mini fits of rage they have are awful which in turn makes me react and the cycle continues.  I happen to be giving a talk on anger in May and it isn't good to give a talk on something that is a struggle in your own home.  We had achieved a certain amount of victory in this area a few years ago.  We had done an "anger experiment" and had seen God do many things.  In fact our home became a home of laughter for a long time there, still is.  My kids make me laugh all day and not just the younger ones with their cute comments, but the older ones have me in stitches a lot of the time, too.

But somehow, the little ones have missed that lesson, maybe they were too young when we first did it, and I sense anger has tried to creep back in, so it is time for a restart.  We're going to attempt to give up anger!

Starting Wednesday (which happens to be Valentine's Day!), each child will be handed $20 in loonies, as well as the adults.  Each time one of the children raise their voice to a level of yelling, they pay either me or the other child who is yelled at.  However, if the child yells because he was provoked, I definitely get the money (I'm going to be rich).  If I raise my voice or lose my temper, I also have to pay.  The last time I had to give every child a loonie.  This time, it'll probably just be to the child I'm frustrated with.  I can't afford to lose it all in one day!  

This past week I gave them a practice run all week.  Each time one of the kids raised their voice, I said, "You would have lost a loonie just now."  Then I would see a kid make another child mad on purpose, "You would have lost a loonie just now."  They started to see they will be poor starting Wednesday.  This is so good for them, for me.  They are simply stuck in a habit of reacting, stuck in a habit of, "If I don't get my way, I have to yell."  This can be broken.  It can be stopped.  It doesn't have to be this way.  The goal is self-control.  I figure if it is one of the fruit of the Spirit, that means God intends for us to have that fruit.  I intend to bring back the spirit of peace we had there for a while.

Other kids will be giving up stealing my phone (good one) or Instagram (love/hate Instagram) or exercise (adding it, not giving it up!) and other things we haven't entirely settled on.  Turns out it isn't actually 40 days.  It is 46 days.  Catholics let themselves have a "day off" of Lent on Sundays!  But we're going to go for the whole 46 I think.

Should be a challenging week....oooooooh, that makes me so mad!!!!  Lol!