Out of the Mouths of Babes

My Happy Meal --
I'm lovin' it!

Beyond the obvious tooth-rotting reasons, my five-year-old doesn't get a lot of sugar because he gets so wound up that the rest of us are either forced to flee or to sit on him. However, it was Halloween recently, so I conceded one mini Kit Kat (his favorite) out of his stash. Ten minutes later, he wanted another.

"Absolutely not," I asserted. "You just had one. You can have one tomorrow."

"Please????" he begged.

"No way. What happens when you eat sugar?" I asked.

He thought for a minute, then grinned. "Right, I get su-u-u-u-per hyper, and then I get in trouble." A brief pause followed, and then he happily added, "Oh, I get it now! You're not giving me candy because this is how you show you love me!"

How could my heart not melt at his sweet and joyful acceptance of discipline and parental authority? Although I'm nearly eight times his age, in this case, I believe he's the one setting the example.

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My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,

but don't be crushed by it either.

It's the child he loves that he disciplines;

the child he embraces, he also corrects.

Hebrews 12:6 (Message paraphrase)