It is interesting how quickly persectives can change when we change our focus. This afternoon I had some pretty grouchy faces at my house. It seemed that nobody could make allowances for one another - I'm not sure what caused it, you'd almost think they were all suffering from a bad bug... I wonder if they all caught it from the same source.....Anyway, with so much discord I decided it was time to do something to bring things into focus. We dropped everything that we were all doing and gathered in the family room. I got out the timer and a paper and pen, then we chose one person to focus on and everybody else had to rattle off the things that they really appreciated about him or her before the timer beeped. If the timer beeped and it was your turn you got a point - the idea was to not have any points. Well, we focused on each individual several times around and pretty soon grumpy faces were beginning to smile and laughter was heard as we each reveled in the good qualities and things we enjoyed about one another.
Once the game was over and the winner was declared, we were all able to go back to the things that needed doing with less criticism and a better, happier focus. My joy today is in my children. They are amazing and even though we have to deal with grumpy times, it is so wonderful to see them pull out of it and act in love and kindness once again. Supper was a little bit late due to our spontaneous game, but each child expressed gratitude for the meal, and I had several willing helpers that assisted in the preparation of it. I am reminded of a scripture in 3 John 1:4
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