Bit in the butt...

     Bedtime.... oh sweet sweet bedtime! Yes, one of my most look forward to times in the day. When the children are peacefully asleep I can relax.... kick my feet up and just sip on a cup of ice cold tea and say "this is the life!"..... well... maybe in some fantasy land, right? Bedtime comes... its chaos! The kids are getting their baths (thank God for the bathtub we have that can fit 4 kids in at one time!).... one will splash another one thinking its hilarious, Austanne gets a nice ice cold cup of water and dumps it on her sister who shrieks... then laughs and returns the favor! They get out... lips turning blue from all the nice favors they returned to one another. They attempt to run through the house naked.... of which I tell them 10 times they need to go get some underwear on! Yes..... bedtime! David tells James hurry get some underwear on or the dog might bite his "he he".... and Tabitha emerges from her bedroom with a beautiful red skirt, bright pink shirt and purple tights.... and if I dare say she needs to change her clothes she informs me she looks beautiful... so I just let her wear it. Aaron gets in the shower as they come out - after much nagging he finally listens and gets the hint - he IS a pre-teen, maybe he should get clean.... yes.... bedtime! 
     It's chaos.... but it was especially more one night when the kids came flooding out of the bathroom like a production line... kid one emerges, they dry off, go potty and leave. Kid two emerges... then kid three.... then kid four. Unfortunatly David did not heed my usual telling to him to get some clothes on. He and James hung out at the kitchen door.... (its a half door - which leads to the back of the house where the bathroom is).... David thought it would be extra funny if he hung on the door (just the bottom half is installed) and James would swing it. All fun and games until... well.... James did not want to play anymore. He must have gotten angry with David.... He did not close David in the door. He bit him right on his bare butt cheek! 
     Lots of tears followed, I had to reprimand James but inside me I was kind of laughing. Seriously!? He bit him IN the butt?! But had David listened to directions, he would have been IN his bedroom getting his clothes on and James would not have had opportunity to bite him. 
     If we think about life.... how many times have we failed to follow through with directions that we have been given and we thought it was okay. We continued on as if everything was perfect, enjoying this new game we have created, forgetting the consequences. But then, the consequence comes in, sneaks up on us, and bites us right in the butt! OUCH we cry! What just happened? It's called cause and effect... you do something, there will be something that will happen as a result of that. My mom always said growing up, "You can make whatever decision you want to make, but you will have to deal with the consequence of that. There are good consequences and bad ones." That has stuck with me. I encourage you to step back, take a moment and think about where you are headed in your life. What are the consequences you are facing? Are they good or bad? Just be careful you don't get bit in the butt! 

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I Peter 5:8-9

⁸ Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack.⁹ But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. 

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