"He said we needed to take advantage of those teachable moments!" he said.

"Yah, but maybe we should have waited till this event was done!  Do you know how many times I have had to bite my tongue in the last...um...how long have we been here now?" I whined.  "I was just thinking that my timing probably wasn't that great...I keep having to say to myself...Don't say that, Can't say that either..." he explained.

Wow!  We are so NOT recommending a dining experience at Gino's East of Chicago (in the outskirts of Chicago)!  We understand now why it wasn't so busy.  And, did you know, many places in northwest Indiana are NOT smoke-free.  "We should have eaten at the old-timey McDonalds!" we said in unison.  "Yah, but I thought we could try something different." Daddy said.  I agreed, "Different is good...well...it used to be!"

Pastor talked about taking the opportunities for teachable moments that we are given as parents.  Little did we know, we would be faced with several back to back to back to back in the next 24 hours.  Honestly, I started to get aggravated by the onslaught!  Ted met each one with direct confrontation and explanation.  I honestly don't remember a day that we have had lately that was filled with such...um...well...teachable moments.  Today at lunch...just about did us in...because his teaching stepped all over our own parental toes too!  The subject...complaining!  Believe you me...there was much to complain about in our lunching event...

dirty, crumby table

nasty bathroom

smokey smell

inattentive waitress

slow service

unrealistic cooking/kitchen time

...all observed and noted by the mature adults...who took a deep breath and said to each other, "We aren't in a hurry.  It is fine."

Maybe the waitress was mad because our kiddos wanted chicken fingers at their legendary Chicago pizza place?  We tried to be silly.

But then there was the matter of the audible whining that our children were doing!

Teachable moment...

because...we had plenty of time, vivid illustrations, and a captive audience (They were starving and couldn't leave...cause Dad had the keys.)!

Everything that Ted said...was filled with humbling truth!  When we complain...we are not thinking of anybody else, we are not accepting the lesson that God wants us to learn, and we make others miserable.  All of the things that we complain about can be legitimate problems...but God has something He wants us to learn in those problems!  He will keep allowing those type of situations to come into our life to teach us to obey His Word and His Way.

Ouch! 

Now my tongue hurt...and my toes hurt.  Needless to say, Daddy did most of the talking...and I nodded. 

We can't teach our children what we have not learned for ourselves!

WE TOO ARE STILL LEARNING!

TODAY, GOD SENT A TEACHABLE MOMENT FOR MOM AND DAD!

We finally got fast service...when we were ready to leave and pay the bill.