You can't tell me what to do....

My first random question of today:

Is it ethical to let your daughter change her stuffed kitty's name from "Whiskers" to "Nancy" for show and tell on "N" day if you are in a hurry? Eli told me it wasn't.

And what is it about us that doesn't like rules anyway?

Friday I had to have an ultrasound ... the only thing I had to do was not eat or drink anything after midnight. My appt. was at 9 am. Easy enough, I thought. Right. When told I could not eat or drink... suddenly it was all I thought about. I obsessed over it!
The irony? I was having the ultrasound because I haven't had much of an appetite for about a month!

And it's not just me! Tonight, at bedtime, Eli asks me to help him decide between two books.
"Should we read "The Runny Babbit" or "Where the Sidewalk Ends?" he asked.
"Oh honey, I don't care. You pick." I say.
"No - You pick. It's your choice mom, " he insists.
"Okay. How about 'The Runny Babbit'."
"No. I really want 'Where the Sidewalk Ends' this time." he says
"Well then why did you ask me?" I ask.
"Because I wanted you to help me make my decision."

Its funny - and I laugh, but I get it, too. If Jason asks me where I want to go eat... and I'll say I don't know. It's become an ongoing joke between us that if he makes a horrible suggestion... I'll react as if I knew all along where I wanted to go and we get there a lot more quickly.

So what is that about us that doesn't like being told what to do?

Jason shared a great message (I'm not being biased - honest) on Sunday about how biblically, peace is always associated with authority. But it's caused me to reflect more this week on our nature: though it seems most of us are pretty desperate for peace... we resist the sovereignty that brings it to us. Even knowing God has our best interest at heart (and has proved it more extensively than anyone else we have encountered)... we resist Him telling us what to do... or how to do it, sometimes. We want peace tied up and tossed at us with no strings attached... It's a silly thought, really. When our whims and desires run the show and make all our decisions... we run in circles like dogs chasing their tails. Thank goodness our God offers us direction and guidance away from such a fruitless pursuit.

"I will hear what God the Lord will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly. " Psalm 85:8

He brings peace....so long as we don't stubbornly hear His words and decide we know better... or just simply don't want to be told what to do.