Rule #1

Aaron and I have had a variety of "rule" talks in his first ten years of life. I've had several opportunities, like the time he took two bites out of the teacher's apple--right off of her desk--and put it back, all because the bag of chips he'd had for snack time left him a bit peckish...oh, yes, I've had lots of talks. But, really, what's been important? Early on I figured that parenting by slogan might be effective with my kids, and we've explored lots of sayings on which to found our behavior... Rule #1? Never lie, cheat, steal or hit. We had to add the "or hit" part after temptation led us into strikish poses once or twice, primarily between brother and sister... And why is this rule #1?? Because our lives are premised upon our integrity; this is essentially what God has taught us, and what he has provided for through His son's sacrifice (talk about integrity) and through His Holy Spirit (since our integrity is both decidedly insufficient and really unlikely without His help and intervention). So we seek God's grace, and we work to live lives of peace and honesty and integrity...and faith.