Getting me into trouble

"(Cookie Monster) is trying to get me in to trouble," LaRue came crying down the stairs. Really? How can he be doing that?
How funny I thought? I think that's my excuse (albeit unspoken or hidden) when I do something wrong.
Satan got me in to trouble.
The tv got me in to trouble.
That box of cookies got me in to trouble.
That gossip magazine got me in to trouble.
And, finally, (and maybe the one I try to justify the most), the salesperson got me in to trouble.
How easy it is to blame others for our mistakes and sins. LaRue was blaming Cookie Monster for "getting her in to trouble," but little one, why are you even out of bed at this hour I wondered?
It reminded me of the many times I have failed to take responsibility for my own actions. It made me think of a loved one who's stuck doing that consistently in their own life.
So many Bible stories come to mind when I think about how easy it is to fail to take responsibility for my own actions: Adam blaming Eve, Eve blaming the serpent, Abraham and Sarah...the list goes on.
Thankfully, I have the promise that God forgives all of those sins, or my failure to even acknowledge them. I am also quite thankful that He has given me the desire to teach those same principles to my little babes.
That way, when someone is "trying to get me into trouble," they will know WHO to turn to and where to turn AWAY from.
Sweet dreams LaRue, Cookie Monster, Farmer Boy, the Princess and God's Grace!