Book Notes: Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes by Turansky and Miller

Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes at Amazon

Kim's Notes Part 1

I have gleaned so much from Say Goodbye..., I thought I would go ahead and post my notes online. That said, I will not share all my notes, as I feel that would be unfair to the authors. Many of my notes are direct quotes from the book, I've italicized those.

Showing someone honour is a gift.

I loved their idea of gift wrapping bags of dirt and candy bars  (separately) and then giving them out at the dinner table. They suggest using these gifts as a launch pad to discuss honour. I want to try this with our kids, using these items to talk about the kind of presents they like to give and receive. It's a great lesson in looking at what we give others with our attitudes, actions, and conversation. Sweetness or dirt?

Look up Mark 6:1-6, what does this verse say about honour?

Also, James 2:1-6, What does this verse say about a form of honour that is wrong?

Reminder to self: Just teach it. Don't expound on it toooooo much!

Tolerance + Patience = Honour and it adds a bit of grace to all our interactions.

Children do not grow out of bad habits, they grow into them. Counteracting bad habits is crucial. (Wow, ain't that the truth!)

Honour is the oil in the machine of family life. Honour allows for less friction and more grace in our daily workings and interactions.

Look up: Romans 12:10

Idea: Put butcher paper on the dining room table and write things we are grateful for before supper. Grace our table with gratitude. 

We also talked about our prayer times with the Lord. On nights we don't know what to thank God for (maybe we are just too tired and spent), we could simply begin our prayer time by praising God for those things we so often take for granted. I challenged the kids to thank the Lord for at least eight or ten things, their ages, as they lay in bed. When they meet that number, I encouraged them to see how many more things they could thank the Lord for before they fall asleep.

 

I love how the concept of honour (at least to me) is connected with gratefulness. Honouring others must begin with gratitude for others. Let's be intent on growing gratitude in our hearts, for it will never grow on its own. You and I must choose to plant the seed of gratitude in our soul soil if we want it in our garden. The fruit? Grace and gratefulness live in our lives. We grow in peace, and I dare say contentment. 

Okay, enough for one day. I'm getting too wordy. It's my intention to keep the blog short and sweet! Blessings to you on your parenting journey this day. Remember, it is a journey, not a destination. The destination is wholly and soully God's work :-)

 ~Kim

To be continued in a day or two....