Heard at My Table

"Dear Jesus," Lily begins to pray.

"Please help me to get a unicorn for a pet...." and the prayer continues from there, eventually ending with a "Thank you for our food. Amen."

My dear girl, I think to myself, we're going to have to work on that.

Then, I began to wonder what God thinks of our prayers sometimes. Does He sometimes hear our prayers and think to Himself--

"Oh, my sweet child, you're not exactly asking for the right things. But, you know, that's okay. We can work on that."

Oh no, she di-in't!

Sadly, yes, she did.

While working on schoolwork a little bit ago, Elise was complaining about her Explode the Code worksheets (or game sheets, if you prefer). Complaining about Phonics is nothing new around here. In fact, that is precisely one reason I considered not homeschooling her this year. Anyway, after a couple of warnings to "Cut it out!" (or something like that) I finally told her if she couldn't think of something pleasant to say, then don't say anything at all. (Yep, I went there....but I digress.)

Taking it a step further, I continued that maybe we needed to play Pollyanna's Glad Game, and every time she wanted to say something negative, she should try to come up with something to be glad about instead. For example, instead of complaining how much she hates Phonics, she could say, "I'm glad these books are helping me to read faster because when I get really good at reading, then I won't have to do them anymore." (or something like that).

Elise continued bellyaching about not knowing how to look on the bright side. So, I assured her we would practice because thinking positively is a good quality, one that will serve her well the rest of her life. "And, besides," I went on, "I am getting tired of your complaining."

Would you like to hear what my almost 8 year-old said to me then? Would you?

She said, and I quote, "Then maybe you should take a nap!"

Oh, yes, she did.

She's currently in her room.