Kathy,

It gets easier the more you do it. hehe.

Brad



on 12:49 PM 3/12/2005, Kathy Du Bois said:
Brad,
Your parenting  style sounds like a parallel of ours.  It is so hard to
keep your hands off and your mouth shut!
Kathy

At 11:12 AM 3/12/2005, you wrote:
 >Kathy,
 >
 >I think we can catch but a small glimpse of how God works things out in
us
 >by our own parenting. First let me state each child , as we, have our
own
 >bent on life, that is some are learners from others, and some are
learners
 >the hard way, some are seeing is believing and others are trusting in
the
 >word of others, each with their own place in life and sometimes both are
 >good and sometimes both aren't so good. I'll use my son for an example.
A
 >very respectful kid, sometimes can cop an attitude, but hey, he's a late
 >teen trying to work out his way in life and sometimes his attitude comes
 >from his alarm clock going off on about volume #1, and he's late for
 >school thereby earning one detention. And then the next week he has
earned
 >yet another detention from his clock going off at volume #3. The next
week
 >the clock is on #10 blasting away and he just sleeps on. meanwhile his
dad
 >who has need to get ready for work near his room, just lets him quote,
 >"dream on son, dream on".  So son earns yet another detention leaving
the
 >son well frustrated and not knowing what to do. After all quote,
"Someone
 >is turning my alarm clock down on me"... yeah right hahahahaah. Or "I
must
 >be turning it down in the middle of the night"... hmmm maybe, maybe. Or
 >"I'm just not hearing it"... no I don't think that is it. Or... stop. No
 >more excuses. So he goes on haphazardly getting up in time for school
with
 >the occasional detention when he snuggles too close to the line, and
 >meanwhile as I get ready in the morning,  only feet from his room, let
him
 >"quote, sleep on my boy sleep on". But, isn't that kind of mean? No. See
 >I've done the bit of waking him up on time, telling him all the wisdom
in
 >getting up in time, and all that stuff, he knows it. And. The real issue
 >is he doesn't want to get up. He has no problem getting up at 6:00 to go
 >to breakfast with one of his buddies, or 5:00 to go fishing, or any of
 >that. So   I give him opportunity to work it out for himself, learning
 >what he can along the way. It seems mean, it seems unfair because I'm in
a
 >position of doing something about it but I don't, and yet even though he
 >may not see it, it is best this way. Much is the same I think with us
 >being child and god being father. So instead of us looking to see why
God
 >didn't do something about a situation, perhaps we ought look to what we
 >are to learn, or what we can take from a particular situation and grow
 >from it.
 >
 >Brad