Without delay

Tedd Tripp defines obedience this way:

It means more than a child doing what he is told. It means doing what he is told -
Without Challenge
Without Excuse
Without Delay
(Tripp, Tedd. Shepherding a Child's Heart. Shepherd Press: Wapwallopen, PA: 1995. p134)

That definition has been very helpful to me in communicating to Elisabeth what I expect, and in setting expectations that make for a peaceful home. (That definition also makes the front-end work of parenting much more time consuming, but in the long run, tremendously happier.)

Our day-to-day challenge right now is without delay. When I tell Elisabeth to do something, she often dawdles or wants to do something else first. So right now I find myself spending a lot of time in communication and discipline. I explain to Elisabeth that delaying is disobeying: she has not done what she has been told to do. She must apologize for her disobedience, receive the consequence, and then do what was asked of her.

As I said, right now it is taking a lot of time, but I can already see her learning that delaying is disobedience, and won't be tolerated. Praise God!