Tattle Tale

Stomp, stomp, stomp.

I heard Fisher marching down the stairs coming my way. "I'm going to tell!!" he announced to his siblings upstairs.

"Who are you going to tell on?" Easton inquired, racing to the edge of the staircase.

"On Easton!" Fisher clarified.

"Tell on both of us. Okay?" Easton instructed.

"No."

And with a defiant humph, he paraded his little, three-year old self down the stairs.

**********

Every now and again, something works and I must first give God the credit and second, share with others any celestial idea that opens up the heavens and beams down into our home a majestic chorus of divine light, wisdom, and relief.

Notice the spoon.

It is very special in our home. It has been fought over, sought after, and longed for everyday for many moons at the Figert home.

That is, until we began a new game. We call it "Give it Away". There's one rule: the first person to touch the spoon must give it away. Low and behold, a miracle happened in this very house after we began playing this new game. You would not believe how unpopular this most treasured spoon has become.

When we first began playing "Give it Away", I didn't tell the kids. The desire for the spoon had become so intense that my seven-year old son had come into the kitchen one hour before lunch to get the spoon so he could use it for lunch. To his surprise, he found a note on the back of the spoon that read, "Give it away." He was puzzled after reading it, so I explained to him that the first person who touches the spoon must give it away. He immediately tossed the spoon out of his hand like it was a disease or something disgusting was on it. However, he ended up playing the game and proceeded to give the spoon away (with much internal turmoil, I might add). And now, we play it everyday; it's so neat to see a new joy spring up in our kids' hearts when they give the spoon away. They even sometimes try to make it special for the one they give it to.

I am so thankful!

"Give it away" worked really well with the spoon, but it doesn't work as well with the favorite seat in the living room. So please do share any ideas on shepherding a child's heart when it comes to sharing, selfishness, and jealousy. I'd love to hear some ideas that worked for you!