That Sneaky Snake!

We've been reading a lot about Adam and Eve in this house lately. Does that signal there is a problem? Well, we've been talking about disobedience, the consequences of disobedience, and making good choices. Madelyn has picked up a new phrase, "I don't want to." We've explained to her that when she says that to an adult, it's the same thing as saying "no". I've also tried to explain that it's okay to say that sentence sometimes, like when a friend is trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do or knows she shouldn't do.

In her Bible that we read every night, it refers to the serpent as a "sneaky snake." So, as we read the story of Adam and Eve, we have a conversation that generally goes something like this:

Me: Was the sneaky snake being nice?
Madelyn: No.
Me: Was he being a good friend?
Madelyn: No.
Me: Was he trying to get Adam and Eve in trouble?
Madelyn: Yes.
Me: Did Eve make a good choice (to eat the fruit)?
Madelyn: No.
Me: What should Eve have told the snake?
Madelyn: I don't want to.
Me: What should Eve have told God?
Madelyn: I will obey.

This morning at breakfast Madelyn decided to use her spoon to flip cereal out of her bowl onto the table. I wasn't downstairs at this particular moment, so this is the story that John David relayed to me:

JD: Madelyn, why did you do that?
Madelyn: I don't know.
JD: Did you know that it was wrong to do that before you did it?
Madelyn: The sneaky snake did it.
JD: Where is the sneaky snake?
Madelyn: The Bible says to not flip your cereal.
JD: Where does it say that in the Bible?
Madelyn: Upstairs.

Hmmm...Obviously the disobedience message isn't getting across as clearly as I had hoped. No wonder we have the Adam and Eve conversation so much.