Discipline

I think I may have mentioned in one of my earlier entries that we have recently come up with a new form of discipline in order to create consistency when the children do something they know is wrong. I don't know, you tell me, is this one too much fun?!

Vance and I felt like we were threatening too much and we hate giving spankings so, for the first offense of the day they get "nose in the corner". Which is really five minutes to think and have no distractions. The pictures above are of Morgan voluntarily going to the corners. She literally sticks her nose in the corner. I just had to get these shots. Obviously, for her, this isn't quite a punishment, but something fun to do.

On or around the same subject, we've been working on a Terry Family Mission Statement. It's not quite finished and the items may or may not be in order, but I thought I'd share...

1. To honor and serve God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength.

2. Parents are the teachers and rulers that will judge with Christian kindness. If admonishment is needed for rules broken, let it be with hope and positive correction.

3. As parents our job is to prepare our children first for eternity and second for life on their own.

4. As parents we are to let God direct the learning for each child.

5. Children are to have an open mind and open heart to learn what is being taught.

6. Children are to observe the 5th Commandment - To honor their father and mother.

7. Charity or love begins at home and is the key to household peace.

This is what we have so far. It's not finished or perfect, but we review it every day as we learn. I've been reading a book that has inspired a scripture to observe each day of the week so that we can create harmony and less bickering.

Monday - Proverbs 16:24 - Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

Tuesday - I Peter 3:8 - Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted and keep a humble attitude. Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with blessing.

Wednesday - I John 4:12 - If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Thursday - Proverbs 3:27 - Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them.

Friday - II Timothy 2:24 - A servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be kind to everyone; able to teach and be patient with everyone.

Saturday - Romans 12:18 - Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Sunday is a blessing - Revelation 3:21 - Those who overcome will sit with Me on my throne.

We will also be memorizing the fruit of the Spirit and will do some projects with that. Each week we will be developing habits. This week it is the Habit of Obedience. Glen and Ryan and I wrote these items down for this habit:

1. First-time obedience. 2. With a good attitude. 3. When called, answer "Yes, Ma'am" or "Yes, sir" 4. After direction say "Yes, Ma'am (to let me know you understood). Finish a task without stopping. 6. When the task is finished report back to me.

Sounds a little military, but to get school and chores done by 1pm this is absolutely necessary. We also created a chore chart listing all the duties of the house then assigning them equally among everyone - we've even found assignments all the way down to Kael and Morgan - simple tasks, of course. We'll see how long we can keep this system going, especially after Tristan arrives.

Other habits we'll be working on in the weeks to come and hopefully have them down before school starts are: the Habit of Attention, the Habit of Manners, the Habit of Truthfulness...Habits of Thoroughness, Punctuality, Taking Turns, Doing our Best, Prayer and Gratitude.

Speaking of that...(gratitude)...I gave Glen and Ryan and assignment this morning to write five things they are thankful for and why. I offered no suggestion or help, but I wanted to share Glen's list with everyone and have it in the blog for record...

Glen's Five Things He's Thankful For and Why - 1. I am thankful for my family because they are always there for me when I need help. 2. I am thankful for all the land and the house that God has provided for us. 3. I am thankful for God's blessing because even though our family hasn't been doing so hot we have accomplished many things. 4. I am thankful for the money we have to buy food with. 5. I am thankful for Jesus dying on the cross for my sins.

The "not so hot" comment is referring to the troubles we've been experiencing lately: floods, backs, kidney stone, etc.

We're also working on a Terry Family Obedience and Oneness Statement - once that gets close to being finished I'd like to post that, as well. For now, this is probably too much for one post :).