By Jennifer Mills-Knutsen

Have you seen the trendy new poem-statement-manifesto that people are posting in their homes (and on Facebook and Pinterest)? You can buy them from all kinds of Etsy shops and online crafters, as signs or vinyl wall decorations. They are often referred to as “House Rules.”

http://www.lacybella.com/Family-Room-Quote-In-This-House-We

I don’t have one in my house (it’s just not our style), but I’ve been thinking about getting a small one to give to my son. The list of “rules” places a heavy emphasis on grace, and I have been struggling to teach him what that means. He seems to understand the rules of behavior, but he does not yet grasp the rule of grace.

He’s generally a quite well-behaved child, and his infractions are minor. A lost temper that includes hitting his dad in the shoulder, a ball thrown in the house that knocks over my laptop, a careless…