I Can't Believe You Just Said That!

Here’s a little impromptu poem I wrote when I had only one child:

I do not like it, son of mine;

I do not like it when you whine.

I do not like it about blocks;

I do not like it about socks.

I do not like it near or far;

I do not like it in the car.

I do not like it about food;

I do not like it; it's just rude. ...

Little did I know how much whining I would hear over the next five years (mostly from my own mouth, but also from the children).

If you have kids (or know someone with kids), I’m guessing you also deal with whining. Along with your fair share of lying, tattling, defying, manipulating, interrupting, complaining, blame-shifting, teasing, aggravating, bragging, arguing, yelling, gossiping, and bickering.

If that resonates with you, you need to read I Can't Believe You Just Said That! Biblical Wisdom for Taming Your Child's Tongue by Ginger Hubbard.

I don’t usually do book reviews in place of devotions, but I had the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of I Can’t Believe You Just Said That!. I loved it and wanted to make sure my fellow moms knew about it, because it releases today.

I Can’t Believe You Just Said That! is extremely practical. Ginger explains a three-step plan for approaching your children when they sin with their speech: (1) get to the heart of the behavior, (2) reprove your child biblically, and (3) train your child in righteousness. She dedicates a chapter each to whining, lying, tattling, defying, manipulating, interrupting, complaining, blame-shifting, teasing, aggravating, bragging, arguing, yelling, gossiping, and bickering. For each sin, she applies her three-step plan and gives specific examples and relevant Scripture.

If you’ve read Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp, you’ll recognize Ginger’s priorities. She takes the principles from Shepherding and applies them to real-life, practical situations. Sometimes I read a parenting book and think, “This is great. I agree with this. I love this!...But I have no idea how to do it.” When I read one of Ginger Hubbard’s books, I think: “I am going to have this exact conversation with my child right now.”

And I do.

And it works.

This book doesn’t give a quick-fix, behaviorist approach. It works because it is entirely based on Scripture. It calls sin sin. It trains our children to call sin sin. But it also offers hope. It gives our kids something to do in place of their sin. Something biblical. Let me give you an example from the chapter on tattling:

It is not enough to rebuke your child for tattling; you must also teach him how to depend on the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit to replace sinful behavior with God-honoring behavior.[…]You might say, “David, Hebrews 10:24 says that we are to ‘spur one another on toward love and good deeds.’ If you ask God, he will help you to be an encouragement to others. Rather than tattling, what could you have said to encourage your brother?” If this is a new concept for the child, you may have to offer suggestions such as, “Mom says we shouldn’t throw things in the house. I don’t want you to get in trouble, so you better stop.”

This book is realistic. Ginger Hubbard doesn’t claim to be a perfect mom, and she offers plenty of examples of her own failures. I know my kids aren’t going to be perfect because I read this book.

But since I know they won’t be perfect – since I know I’ll still hear a lot of whining – I’m keeping this one easily accessible as a reference to help me deal with the whining in a way that honors the Lord and truly helps my children.

You can buy I Can’t Believe You Just Said That! here for $4 less than the current Amazon price: I Can't Believe You Just Said That! Biblical Wisdom for Taming Your Child's Tongue

And as a shameless plug, they also have my book on sale for $8.39, which is one of the lowest prices I have ever seen: God's Great Plan

Note: I am beginning to use affiliate links to help offset the costs associated with my blog (things like webhosting and images cost me to send this out each week). You don’t pay more if you use my link; I just get a small kickback.