Monday, March 12, 2012

The Job Bowl

The Job Bowl
by Carri P.

According to BibleGateway.com, the word “work” appears 555 times in the Bible!  One should probably get the idea that God is trying to tell us something.  God worked.  God made Adam to work.  Jacob was willing to work for a total of fourteen years for the woman he loved. (Genesis 29:18-30) God expected His ministers to work “He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD” 1 Chronicles 28:13 NIV
The bottom line is that God created both man and woman to do work.  If we fail to teach our children a good work ethic they may fall into the trap of laziness as it states in the scriptures, “The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.” Proverbs 21:25 NIV  We can begin this process when they are very young.  When my son was 2 years old he was helping with his laundry, helping to pickup his room, and he was putting the silverware on the table.
Why is it that God wants His children to work?  Because He created us to do His works, ”For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.” John 5:36
Although we want our children to build a good work ethic to have a good life, we more importantly want to help them develop a good work ethic to do the work of their Heavenly Father, the works that will earn them an eternal reward.  Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
Of course remember that “By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.” Genesis 2:2 NIV.  There is a time to work and there is a Holy Day set aside for worship, rest and family time.
Challenge:  Take a good look at your child’s work ethic.  Are you making things too easy on him or her?  Pray about what steps you need to take to ensure your child is prepared to do the work God created them to do.
Job Bowl - How to:
In my home we have a job bowl on our counter.  We have been using this system for a couple of years and it is absolutely the best reward system I have ever used!
Rather than giving each child a set weekly allowance we allow them to earn their allowance and they save up and purchase the items they want for themselves.  (My son recently saved up $120 to pay for half of his computer and our children save up for their vacation money as well)  I do not buy them anything but clothing.  They either earn it or ask for it on their birthdays or at Christmas.
Inside the bowl are 3 votives, one for each child.  Around the votives are glass beads. (see pictures)  Each job is worth a different amount of beads.  Once a child has completed a chore they may go and put the correct number of beads into their personal votive (they each have their name on them in stickers).  Each bead is worth $0.05.
Each child, including my three year old son, has a list of chores they are to complete each day.  We agreed upon a price for each job and have posted it on our refrigerator as a daily reference.  For instance, unloading the dishwasher is 6 beads or $0.30.  They average about $3 to $5 per week before tithes and savings.
By making each bead worth $0.05 makes it easy, each payday, for the children to group the beads into piles of 5. (we have our payday every other Friday)  Each pile of 5 beads is worth one quarter.  I pay them in quarters and we count them out together.  This is a terrific math lesson!  Once they have been paid they give 10% to God, then 20% to savings, and the rest goes into their spending container.  This is an excellent lesson on tithes and savings.

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