Tag: words

Perhaps you can relate to this: waking up to the sound of monkey noises coming from the child who is both climbing on you and attempting to pull you out of bed simultaneously.  The house is a wreck from the day before spent NOT doing any chores, the kitchen has no clean dishes, the children are claiming near-starvation, you need at least ten hours sleep more which apparently isn’t going to happen, and those monkey noises just will not stop!  Maybe toss in a headache and a full to-do list and you can see how this sets the stage for a not-so-great morning with a less than stellar attitude.

In our home, when the kids get to arguing or make a poor choice, we give them an opportunity for a “re-do”…to do-over the action that they just did incorrectly and have the chance to make a better choice next time.  Taking this time to stop and restart is like a reboot to the day, turning a frazzled, frustrating moment into a hopeful one where wisdom has been gained and hopefully a lesson has been learned.

There are those days (like the one I mentioned above) where things just get off on the wrong foot.  For whatever variant reasons, I just don’t have the best attitude and tend to be short and snappy in my dialogue with my husband and children.  My flesh wants to just push through and figure it out on my own, to conquer my own bad attitude, from my own strength.

Anyone care to guess how THAT goes??

Yep, not so much in the success department on that one!  So, I’ve found that, just like my kiddos, sometimes I need a do-over as well, a chance to reboot my attitude and start the day with a fresh perspective.  Great…sounds nice…but HOW?

For me, my best re-do’s come when I pull out my guitar and have some time spent in active worship.  It requires me to stop in my tracks and intentionally do something else.  It’s pretty difficult to snap at my kids with a nasty attitude while I sing praises to God.  (It IS possible…but difficult…and most certainly convicting if it does happen!)

In a matter of minutes, my focus shifts from my frustrations to God.  There is no better attitude adjustment than that!

And, yes, there have been times where I have worshipped with a toddler-tantrum in progress, with kids begging me to stop and get them a snack, with my phone ringing and my to-do list tempting me to go on the attack.  But, the way I see it, I’m a more compassionate mom and more capable woman if I take ten minutes to worship my God than if I don’t and try to tough it out.

Our kids have learned over time that when I say it’s “music-time in the Cohen house”, I mean it and no amount of whining or distractions will deter me.  There’s no telling how many days have been saved so far!  How many terrible words have I avoided speaking?  How much negativity has been kept from spewing everywhere?

Maybe you don’t play guitar, but I’m pretty sure you can turn on some music and sing like a fool for Jesus in the living room.  It’s absolutely okay, and often necessary to say to God, “I need a do-over today!”