The Kids of Integrity Challenge is finished!

Fizzled out?

Well, we didn’t exactly end our Self-Control lesson with a bang. I wanted to use the object lesson of the shaken-up pop as our final illustration, but for some strange reason, the soda didn’t spray out like it was supposed to. There we were, in the back alley, ready to make a nice BIG mess, and . . . fssst . . . it only came out in a little blurp. Pretty anticlimactic! No idea what went wrong. I shook it really hard! Does it have to be a clear bottle like the lesson said (I used a can)? My husband, Rob, thought maybe it should have been colder. I would do it over again if I thought it would work . . . ideas, anyone?

Anyway, I explained to Ben and Jess what was supposed to happen and we still went through the discussion questions. Maybe Jessi is still a bit young to connect fizzing liquid with uncontrolled emotion because when I asked her for examples of when she felt like exploding, she looked puzzled and said she’s never had fizzy pop coming out of her before! After further discussion, I think she kind of understood, but the whole thing didn’t have the impact I had hoped for.

The part of the lesson that did hit home was the “Praying and Preying” (getting into nature) discussion. Both our kids love animals, so it was easy to get them excited about making a list of animals that must use self-control to survive. And though the lesson only lists predators, Ben was able to figure out that sometimes those being hunted also need to be self-controlled (by being still) so the hunter doesn’t detect them.

Earlier in the week, Rob had gone through a couple Bible stories with the kids. He found that they preferred talking about the ones that appeared in Ben’s beginner’s Bible – perhaps because those stories were familiar, or maybe because they had pictures. The story of Jesus being tempted by Satan was not in Ben’s beginner’s Bible, so the kids were not as interested in discussing that one. Maybe we’ll stick with those we can find in Bible story books for now.

It was interesting to note how often this lesson came to mind when I began to fume over something these past few weeks. But I’m a bit disappointed that the self-control mindset didn’t spill over enough into other areas of my own life. (I’ll admit I didn’t pray about it every day.) We should have talked more about the temptations many adults face: overeating, overspending, watching too much TV, overloading schedules, overreacting, etc. Self-control should extend into all facets of life . . . not just anger management. Next time we do the lesson, we’ll put more emphasis on a broader range of behaviours that often lack discipline.

Soooo . . . which lesson does Mommy need next? Oops. I mean, which lesson would most benefit the kids next? Rob and I will be in discussion (and prayer) over that, and you’ll find out the next time you tune in!

P.S. Don’t forget to let me know if you have any tips for making that pop can fizz!

Tags:

• Self-control