I think this Exodus study is going to keep doing surgery in our home. Yesterday there was an altercation in our home between two siblings. I don't know why it's so challenging with these two in particular, but they are like fire and gas - when they come in the same room there is often an explosion. And, the thing is they seem to be unable to stop. It's not that they enjoy it, but they are incapable of fixing the situation.
No amount of words on my part seem to help either, but then last night, it all came together. It was like I was given a master plan from the Master himself. I was told exactly what to say, what to do and how to do it. As I sat by my son's bed, I asked him, "What commandment do you think you broke today?" "Do not murder." "YES!" I basically shouted. "Murder!" I then went on to tell him how in the New Testament takes the "do not murder" command and takes it to a higher level - "everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment and whoever says, 'you fool' will be liable to the hell of fire." I explained this to him and then told him that today he will be reading chapter 22 from Proverbs and he will be searching the Scriptures for help (I'll have both boys do this). They will write out every verse that applies to their situation and they will post them all over the house. Then they will pray every verse every single time they want to break that commandment and they will ask, beg, plead for God's help all day. They will learn new habits by God's grace.
I think this will be different than how I've handled it in the past. I think seeing that it is breaking a commandment might make the change more real, more possible. Then we prayed, my son and I, and we asked for God's help. I left his room amazed at how once again the ten commandments were bringing life to us, not condemnation. They were giving me a solution, a plan, on how to handle such specific issues with my children.
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