Day 37: Where Children Are Involved

"The most important thing a mother will do for her children is to create an atmosphere of peace and joy by deeply loving their Daddy and being satisfied with life."  Debbi Pearl

Head:  If you don't believe this quote, maybe you will by the end of this post.  Mrs. Pearl goes on to talk about an study she and her husband did.  Out of 75 children interviewed only 3 children said their home was "happy".  Out of the children who did not think they had a happy home, their number one wish was simple...they wished Mom and Dad would learn to love each other.  This is a post that involves marriages with children. 

Those 75 children and their answers lead the Pearl's to the conclusion that in order to love your children we  as wives should "Love their daddy.  Honor their daddy.  Obey their daddy. Forgive their daddy."  Of course the same goes for husbands concerning us but this study isn't for our husbands, it's for us wives.

Mrs. Pearl also gives examples of letters from women who live in "tense" home situations and how they are looking to God to break a cycle.  Tense does not equal danger, so don't mistake the two please.    If you and your children are in danger, seek help immediately.  If you call your medical insurance company and doctors office for advice one of the first things you will hear is..."If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911".  The same goes for your marriage. 

Children do not make marriages better.  They do not fix problems and the do not change husbands.  Only Jesus can change husbands that need to be changed.   Did you catch that...only Jesus, not even you.  Children are a factor in marriages, they even bring stress.  No woman ever wants her husband to feel negatively towards their children but it happens.  Some women do keep having children in hopes that it will change their husband or fix their marriage but that's just not going to happen.  I think I've seen it happen on TV a few times but not ever in real life.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it"  (Proverbs 22:6)

Heart: One day, all of us mom's are going to stand before God and give an account on how we have trained up our children.  Being a mother is an honor and it is a job, it's not a grandmothers job, a teachers job, or a baby sitters job to train our children.  It is a privilege to be a mother and to honor God in the way we raise them.  Don't let the word "training" confuse you.  It does not mean discipline as some texts say, its true Hebrew meaning is to "dedicate".  In order to dedicate your children, you must dedicate yourself, your time and your child to what God desires.  It is not a suggestion, it is a command of God that we train them and training them is a full time job.  It also means that you are dedicating your time to your child to show them the good things in life that God has to offer and how to live a life to honor God.

Dad's and husbands can not take the place of a momma but they offer security.  Your husband is depending on you to do the rest.  A husband that works hard everyday to provide wants his wife to respect him, even husbands that don't work want respect.   Although husbands may not always know how to show us their love like we would want them to, take notice and give praise for the husband that does work hard to provide security for his family and you can handle the rest. 

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth." III John 1:4

Now, all this being said I will say that these are things I practice but I often fall short of my own responsibilities.   However,  this is day 37 of my challenges and I have to say that respecting how hard my husband works has made a difference in our marriage and God has given me a calmness at times when I normally would lose all patience with my children.  These are not words that I do not practice myself and I have to remind myself to seek God daily.  God reveals his works daily and the closer we walk with Him, the more often we see his works, especially in our marriage.  

Today's Challenge:  When you talk about your husband or your children's father  in front of you children do so with encouragement and respect.