The "Rules"

I have been tossing around doing "Family Rules" for a little while now. I don't know why we never did Family Rules ... we just never did. LOL. I didn't really think much about it in the past. A few things got me thinking about it more recently though, so after talking with DH, we decided to go for it. There are lots of different examples out there in internet world ... so many talented and creative mamas to use as resources. I love THIS one ... and THIS one. I really preferred the decoupage look but wanted to keep things simple for the kids.

I felt that too many rules would be overwhelming for them. At right about that time, I listened to a sermon that our wonderful physical therapist let me borrow from her home church in Indiana. It was about discipline in a Christian home ... fascinating. The Pastor's family has 4 internationally adopted kids and had their fair share of behavior issues, so I was excited to hear what he had to say. I definitely wanted our new "rules" to have a Biblical basis but just wasn't sure exactly where to start.

He talked about a lot of different things, especially living as God would want you to live and applying Biblical principles for discipline, but one of the main ideas that stuck with me was that the 10 Commandments could basically be summed up in two "rules" if you needed to simplify them ...

1. Love God

2. Love Others

Brilliant. Two rules that totally summarize the 10 Commandments that my kids could actually memorize ... certainly not to take the place of eventually memorizing the 10 Commandments themselves, but a simple way to apply them as rules in our household. I also picked scripture that represented each "rule" to write below, and voila! New Family rules.

I chose Luke 10:27 for "Love God" - "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.'" And then I chose John 13:34-35 for "Love Others" - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out ... it's far from perfect, but nothing in life is. LOL. I picked up an 11x14 canvas from A.C. Moore (on sale - it was only $3!). I first painted the canvas quickly with a leftover red matte paint, let it dry, and then mod podged scrapbook paper with the rules onto it (I used permanent marker to write them) ... I had already cut everything out and planned how I was going to arrange it before I mod podged, and then worked quickly. Once it was dry, I coated the top with another *thin* layer of mod podge. The scrapbook paper did bubble up and shift a bit ... and looking at the canvas straight on, I can see some of it is a little crooked. That's ok though, overall I'm thrilled with my results. I hung it right by the garage door as we come into the house, so we will see it often and it will be a constant reminder. I talked with the kids a bit about our new rules, but I want to work in other ways to make them part of our daily living, especially to correct behavior when needed ... still working on that part though :-)

Lovebug wanted to be included when I was shooting these pictures last week ... I am so in love with his precious little face! He just couldn't be any cuter and SWEETER! Such a sweet little guy. He always tries to do the right thing and loves being a big brother now too. He has fit into the role so well :-) And as is typical with younger siblings, Sunshine *adores* him.