"I telled a LIE!!!"

My sweet little Reese has told a couple lies in the past few weeks. This is a new thing for him. The first time was when I sent him downstairs to get his socks and shoes on for church. I was upstairs still getting ready. After a few minutes I hollered down to him, "Reese! Do you have your socks and shoes on?" To which he quickly replied, "Yeah!" With hurried relief, I went about getting ready. But when I came downstairs, there was Reese, playing video games, with BARE FEET! He had a little grin on his face, like, "I tricked you. That was fun." The little stinker! From then on, I knew I couldn't place all my trust in his responses.

The other night, I sent the boys to brush their teeth before bed. They were awfully silly and playful in the bathroom, so as Reese walked out, I asked him, "Did you brush your teeth?" To which he replied, "Yes." Being skeptical of him lately, I narrowed my eyes and said, "Let me smell your breath." He shyly let me examine, and sure enough, he had NOT brushed his teeth! Another lie! This time, I knew I needed to take action, so he would learn that lying is not a game. I told him, "Reese, you told Mommy a lie. You said you brushed your teeth, but you really didn't. That's a lie. It makes Jesus sad. And it makes Mommy sad." At which point, he burst out into tears. It's like he was heartbroken that he had made Jesus sad and Mommy sad. I wanted to cry with him; he was so sincere about it. Quickly I said, "Reese, let's try again." And I went on to ask him if he had brushed his teeth. This time (thru tears) he told me the truth.

As he entered the bathroom, I overheard him tell his big brother, in a sad, sad voice, "Mark...I telled a LIE!!!" What a sweetie!!!! He melts me. Truly melts me.