For Christmas, Arabella got a little camper for her American Girl doll and it has been fun, but what good is a camper if you can't wheel it around anywhere with a decent vehicle? She has been begging for the jeep that hooks up to it. I usually don't buy them a lot of toys and reserve those gifts for special occasions because not only do they grow unappreciative of what they have, I become super frustrated with toy overload and go on cleaning rampages that leave my children looking at an empty toy room with only a balloon, a rock, and a hula hoop left to stare at. Okay, maybe its not that extreme, but I have locked the majority up in a closet and only take things out one toy box at a time so that I can maintain some level of sanity.
As a side note, yet still important to the story, the girls have these chore charts that earn them marbles for their marble jars and when filled, eventually lead to a $10 shopping spree. They have chores to do in the morning and if they get all of them done by the time the timer goes off, they get a marble for each task they finished. (If they don't finish in time, they loose their break/free time at school to finish incomplete chores). They also get marbles at random when I see them do something that is selfless or kind. I just wanted to establish some sort of positive incentive for motivating them. It's also good for me to have something that I can be proud of them for. I don't want my kids to have a mommy who constantly said "do this, do that, get it done" and never hears, "Im so proud of you, look what can be done with hard work." It helps make me a better mommy and I love rejoicing over small victories with them. I know the marble jar season of training will end one day all too soon as I continue more intently teaching them to make the wise choice because its right and pleases Jesus and not because of reward, but I cherish these tiny moments of joy we can share in. I'm thankful that Jesus gives us tools and freedom to teach our children in ways that can be customized to their needs as well as our own.
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| The Marble Jars and our Character/Discipline Chart |
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| A closer look |
Arabella had been begging for this jeep and I explained that if she wanted the jeep, she had an opportunity to earn it. The deal was that with the $10 for her marble jar she had earned, and the money that she had in her piggy bank (previous birthday and spare change) she was welcome to buy the jeep if she had enough money. Now, I just knew that the piggy bank was full of mostly pennies and that there is NO WAY, she had enough money to buy that jeep. I was secretly excited about this thought because I wanted her to learn the value of patience and saving. Being faced with the hard decision of waiting for what she wanted by filling her marble jar three times would be a good learning lesson. I wanted her to be faced with the decision of spending now and settling for lesser reward or waiting to get something better. We have tried this before and she settled for a lesser reward. She's so easy going that even the lesser reward brought her joy, yet in that situation, she does learn through much conversation not to ask for the things she could have if she had saved a little longer.
So, off she and daddy go to cash in the change in her piggy bank. Little did we know that when all tallied up, the cash would total a whopping $85....WHAT?!??! Where did all that come from? I would have been giving IOU's to her all this time had I known that!!! Why am I giving her $10, when she should be giving it to me? ;)
So off to target we go! She grabs the $30 jeep, we bring it home, we hook it up and man does it make me wish I were a little American Girl Doll. I could live in a little trendy silver camper and travel the world telling people about the love of Jesus. (I also really appreciate their hair and clothes...perfection always!) Maybe one day when we get the girls all raised up we can retire into missionary mode and hit the road Jack. (Yes, I am in my 30's and I already cannot wait until retirement and grandchildren!)
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| Arabella's Doll- Emily (far left), Trinity's doll- Lily (in the Jeep), and Arabella |
Daddy asked her what she wanted to do the rest of the money. I thought for sure she'd want to blow it on something else for herself, she had the cash in hand to buy whatever else she wanted in that store. Instead, what does she say? I want to give the rest to the little girls and boys In Reynosa, Mexico. It's an orphanage for kids at Rio Bravo ministries. This is a ministry our church has supported for years and it tells you a lot about our Children's ministry that the kids are being exposed to supporting those much less fortunate than themselves.
My heart melted, I cried a little, and then thanked God for blessing me with a child who has a heart to serve others. In the midst of all of that, God began speaking to my heart. I realized that the lesson I was trying to teach her about patience and wisdom was not a lesson for her as much as it was a reminder for me. God was teaching me through my own parenting a lesson about my own heart. I wanted her to be faced with a hard decision to train her and teach her a lesson about waiting and patience and instead she already had everything she needed and the benefit from it came so easily.
God is doing that for me everyday. Even though I have moments of hardness and challenges (as did Arabella each day doing her chores...and more importantly Jesus did in his earthly life) none of my concerns compare to those who live in the midst of suffering and did nothing to deserve the pain they endure (as do the orphans...and especially Jesus when he suffered on the cross). I get to live in a free country, I get to go to church and worship the name of Jesus without worrying that my family will endure pain or death for the God I worship. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, a healthy family, and more importantly, In Christ alone, I have access to Jesus daily and heaven awaiting me when this earthly life has ended. He is my reward! I don't have to do anything to earn his goodness for me...its just there like a full piggy bank waiting to be cashed in. Jesus death on the cross paid the penalty of my sin and selfishness. I can keep that reward all for myself or share it with others. This is a good reminder for me when I become so self centered that all I can see is what I don't have when in reality, what I really need is already there. May God continually guide me into just waiting on Him, trusting in Him, and drawing from Him the investments that He has made on my behalf.
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| Philippians 4:19 |
P.S. We are taking Arabella on a mission trip to the Reynosa, Mexico orphanage with Rio Bravo Ministries this summer and she will have an opportunity to serve those boys and girls she has a heart for. We are excited for her to experience what those kids live like and see what her "hard earned cash" is going toward. :)
~~~~~PICTURES FROM THE MISSION TRIP~~~~
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