the curse of the sticker chart...

Sticker charts are great and simple motivators for a kindergarten classroom, for a 2 year old who is potty training, for a 5 year old who still struggles to sleep in her own bed.  Sticker charts have been a sanity savor during many phases of Emily's childhood.

And she absolutely loves doing the sticker chart.  She will even find her own reasons that she needs a sticker chart because she loves the challenge and the reward.

BUT this morning, we retired the sticker chart idea...

Because although it's been great in so many ways, it's also been not so great.  In a lot of ways, she's getting the implication that she has to "earn" recognition, love, affection, rewards, etc.  She is also leaning toward the implication that she only has to "do the right thing" if there is a reward involved.

And that's not how I want things to be around here.  That's not how Jesus did it.  So, this morning... ( I got this idea from a pastor a while back who experienced the same thing with his daughter, but for some reason I'm just now implementing it)...I took her half-full sticker chart and filled it up.  All the squares are full.  And then some. Stickers everywhere.

And I showed her that her sticker chart is the story of the Gospel.  Jesus loves her.  Mommy loves her.  And she didn't even have to do anything.  When He died on that cross, our sticker charts were filled.  We have so many stickers that our chart can't hold them all.

And today, we are going to get ice cream, or go to the playland, or ice skating, whatever Emily chooses... not because she deserves it, but because I love her.