Wednesday

You Lie, You Fry!

I was raised in a strict, religious home.

We rarely missed church and I got saved on a regular basis.

You know, because I didn’t want to go to Hell. It was dangled over us because it was the destination for the sinful.

Oh, yeah, it was one of those churches. And boy, could I tell you some stories.

Looking back, I don’t have any huge regrets for my upbringing.

Because, I turned out so swell.

But when I became a parent, my hubby and I decided we wanted grace to be the prevalent theme in our home rather than condemnation.

And so, we strive to teach our children to obey out of love for God and love for others. Not because there’s a deep, dark hot place for those who don’t.

That’s gone pretty well.

The other day, my daughter and son were being silly at dinner. My daughter tried to trick us with a story. I started teasing her, trying to get her to tell the truth.

Without thinking, I said, “Oh, you lie, you fry!”

“What?” she asked.

And so I tried to explain the saying I remembered from my childhood. “You know, if you tell a lie, you go down there . . . “ and I pointed to the ground and I laughed.

She looked alarmed.

Oops.

The more I tried to explain, the more confused she looked. And of course, now I had my son’s attention too.

My kids know we expect the truth and that lying is wrong.

But frying in Hell? That changed things up a bit.

I started to change the subject with my daughter because I regretted my teasing. But my son caught my attention. He had moved from the dinner table and bowed his head.

I nearly laughed when I realized he was praying!

When he finished, he looked at me, shrugged, and said, “I was praying, you know, just in case. I can’t remember if I’ve lied lately, but I don’t want to fry!”

Hmmm…. Maybe that little saying would come in handy, once in awhile.

Food for the Soul:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”- Romans 12:15

40 comments:

Precision Quality Laser said...

LOL! Kids are so funny!

Anonymous said...

Too funny!

marky said...

Hee hee.. it doesn't matter how hard we try NOT to do it.. those little momma guilt trips happen!
Funny story

Kristen M. said...

My husband (who is on staff at a church) always jokes when we visit a church that he is going to walk to the front to get saved in order to make the pastor feel good about himself. We don't go to that kind of church but we sure know a bunch of them.

Valarie Lea said...

I believe I know which church you are talking about. :) My Dad went to one when he was little, thank goodness he did not raise us that way. When I was little, I would have been continually walking around with my head down praying if I was told that. :o)

Dawn @ simply transparent said...

Glad "that family" knows the difference!

You know it's really a sad truth, that many are raised with such a distorted picture of a God of LOVE.

However, I'm sure your kidz won't soon forget your jest, so chalk it up as mission accomplished on the boy,LOL!

Angela Nazworth said...

Oh my goodness. That is so funny. I had a slip last night while my daughter was being disrespectful during prayer time and I was thanking God for His awesome power, mentioned something along the lined of "you love us so much, but you could zap us at any moment" Yes, I'm a clever one when it's bed time. My daughter didn't catch on though because she was too busy huffing at me. I'm going to add your Fro Me to yours to my personal blog. It should be fun!!

Heather said...

Kids are funny. It's great that they understand, though, that what you said was a little off.

I enjoy reading your blog :)

~Heather :)

The Fritz Facts said...

That is a great story. We use that line, for completely different reasons, but it works!

Karen said...

Kids take things so literally. When you come up with a good way to get them to clean their rooms let me know. :)

Christie O. said...

hahahah i laughed out loud on this one picturing little heads wrapping their minds around FRYING IN HELL. hahaha! too funny.

it's funny how moms voice is like charlie brown's teacher most of the time, and all of a sudden that one comment will grab their attention. (at least that's what happens to me -- it always turns into "oh, you WERE listening. oops.")

Anonymous said...

Oh yes. I completely understand this one! Sometimes, though, I think my husband and I have focused so much on the positive daily relationship with Christ theme that we've minimized by default "the rest of the story."

Memarie Lane said...

OMG I grew up in a church like that too, and it really scarred me. Everythign was about the end of the world. I used to get up in the middle of the night to make sure my family hadn't been raptured without me, and that the moon and water were the right colors. That is no way to grow up. So I take my kids to church, but it's a church that focuses on life, not the apacolypse.

Suzie said...

What r ya gonna do. We all turn into our parents at some point. I love how he strated praying though

World's Greatest Mommy said...

So cute! I remember a babysitter once who told me that I was going to hell because I showed my knees. I was wearing shorts. She said I was naked in the eyes of God.

After I told my mom, she decided she needed to stay at home.

Poor kids. Mine decided that since they have to love their enemies, that they should pray that Satan will change his mind, and be good. What do I say to that?

Anonymous said...

ha ha! That is funny!!! :) Great Story!!!

Tracy DeLuca said...

Never heard that before! LOL I was raised Catholic so guilt was a big part of everything... I still suffer from the Catholic Guilt Syndrome!

Kids are so funny.

Unknown said...

Ah yes, the trauma of hell. I love the reassurance on my children's faces after I confirm that no matter how many humiliating points we score for the opposite (ahem- Satan's) team (our metaphor for wrong choices) Jesus has won the game for us and while we may not be crowned MVP, we will share in the trophy with him thanks to His grace.

Lisa said...

Oh I love this posting, but I also enjoying reading everyone's comments as well. I did not grow up going to church very regular but was told by a cousin when the moon was an orange color that the world was going to end. That sure made me nervous a lot growing up fearing I was going to die in the night. I had a very unhealthy fear of life AND death. But I do wish I would have know that phrase when I was raising my kids!!! Might have come in handy a time or two!

Unknown said...

Very cute! And I can see how trying to explain something like "hell" would scare the daylights out of any small child!

Shelle-BlokThoughts said...

How funny! As a kid I remember feeling like when I lied or was dishonest that I was going to go straight down to...you know where...

But I was actually just reading in a book..."Standing For Something" by Gordon B. Hinckley...and I think he states it so well, what as an adult we should think about when we stretch the truth, are dishonest, or lie, so I had to share, thought you might like it:

"In our day, those found in dishonesty aren't put to death, but something within them dies. Conscience chokes, character withers, self-respect vanishes, integrity dies. How cheaply some men and women sell their good names!"

Good right?

I would use the saying You Lie You Fry though if it got my kids to pray! :)

Melanie Sheridan said...

I was raised Catholic so there was no hellfire and brimstone, but TONS of guilt!

Megan said...

Tee hee - I love this story. My 7 year old often catches me saying things that, to his literal boy mind, are quite overwhelming.

Too cute.

Amanda said...

You know, that's not the best story to share with a mama at her wit's end with a 7YO liar. Were it not for my fondness of sleep and the nightmares I know would ensue with such a statement, I would totally use it right now. As in RIGHT NOW. Perhaps you should pray...

The Maid said...

How do you keep up with all of your comments? I mean do you still really read them all?

LOL

Anyhoo...okay so I am so stupid that I thought you meant french fry until you clarified. I thought you were calling your kiddo a "fry" as a term of endearment.

Not as in..."hell dweller."

Too funny.

Oh and I am pretty sure I will have friends in both places.

The Maid

Wifeof1Momof4 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Wifeof1Momof4 said...

That's cute! Thank God for grace!

Thanks for stopping by my blog recently. I was pleasantly surprised!!!!

Rebecca said...

lol that's funny, I have images of your boy reverently praying *just* in case he lied that day!!

Thanks for the giggles! :)

Anonymous said...

Such a cute story! I'm still laughing!

Tonya said...

catchy phrase, never heard it before. I am with you on teaching grace over condemnation. Cute story.

Tammy said...

Well, when I was growing up we used to sing a rhyme that went like this (sung to frere jacque)

Revelation,
Revelation
21:8,
21:8
Liars go to hell,
liars go to hell,
ding, dang, dong.....

The Park Wife said...

Hilarious! I say some of those kind of things from growing up and my boys and well, my husband too, just look at me like I am crazy.

I am so glad that His grace is abounding.

The Park Wife

Andrea said...

There's nothing wrong with a little fire insurance! Too funny.

MT said...

LOL! Reminds me of making my First Confession when I was seven and the nuns demanding that we ewxamine our souls for the stain of sin.

I was clueless -- I mean, my knees were always grass-stained. And my shirts usually had a chocolate ice cream stain in the summer. But my soul getting dirty with stains? I was a pretty literal-minded kid then.

I'm remembering how I was so worried I would screw up my First Confession...which I thought would mean I'd have to go right back and confess a second time and hope the priest didn't recognize my voice.

Funny memories - thanks for posting this!

twin power mommy ♥ said...

Just yesterday during my womens small group, i was brought to a verse that really made me think.
The crux of it was that if you know something needs to be done, and you CHOOSE not to do it, then it's a sin.
That really made me put some of my actions into perspective because i realized that i was neglecting certain needs on purpose (for laziness or whatnot) and i realized that i was in fact sinning.
SO with that said, i told my girls today that if they knew their room needed to be picked up then they needed to go clean it.
They denied it needed to be done.
I knew it was a mess!
I told them the "sinning" verse i had learned and it really made them rethink their cleaning.
They ran into their room and booked on the cleaning.
YAY!
i'll have to remember that for future uses! :D

Growin' with it said...

Oh you poor thing! I couldn't help but laugh out loud and then want to cry a little on this one. Be sure and have your kids look back and read it someday!

Mommy Mechanics said...

That is too funny. I agree, it might work for some but I would definitely rather not teach to obey by fear.

Marni's Organized Mess said...

You're hilarious. I LOVED this!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh too funny!

Uncle Mick said...

Your kids are as funny as mine were.. There is a deeper issue here though. Even though God is Love, He is also a jealous God and a just God. He is all-knowing and knows the content of your heart tomorrow, today. Every little hair on your precious head is numbered. Our God IS Awesome but He can be tried... He hardened Pharaoh's heart, he bargained with Moses before destroying Sodom. How many Cannanites were murdered by the Israelites to conquer that land?
In other words, I believe God is to be feared, more than anything, because of his power over all of the universe. Of course we are saved by His grace, (unmerited favor), but we can never just take it for granted...
Only through the sacrifice of Jesus can our sins be cleansed. I struggle with sins on a daily basis. No not the sins of commission but the sins of omission, those things that we know we should do but don't. Those scare me everytime I see someone holding one of those signs at an intersection that says, "Help me, I'm Homeless and Hungry May God Bless You"