Character Training

I’ve heard such good things about the Doorpost character training materials by Pam Forster (www.doorposts.net) that I decided it would be a good idea to get some to help my husband and me in this training adventure.  I spent the past couple of weeks bidding on ebay and finally got what I was hoping for: For Instruction in Righteousness and the If-Then and Blessing Charts.  They came in the mail yesterday, and I had my first opportunity to use the book last night. 

My 5 yo son has been having difficulty being kind to his little sisters (who are 14 months and 2 1/2 yo).  He does things like push them down, throw balls that hit them (purposely?) in the head, sneak up behind them and growl, etc.  For Instruction in Righteousness lists about 50 sins and includes Scripture about them, as well as the biblical consequences of committing those sins and the blessings which God bestows on those who are righteous in those areas.  There are related suggestions of consequences to the negative behavior and rewards for an improvement in behavior.  The last part of each section has Bible stories and memory verses.  

I looked up the sin of “Cruelty/Bullying” and got the following ideas.  We read the verse from Proverbs 21:21 “He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor” and decided that the idea of designing and making a “Name Flag” to fly in front of the house would be a way to “honor” him when he has reached the point of being consistently kind and loving to his sisters.  We also read the story of Joseph and the cruelty of his brothers from Genesis 37.  We prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to help him (he said he thought it would be hard not to be mean to the girls).  So far today he has been doing better!  I will probably be using this book a lot!