Good morning Ladies!!
I know after a long weekend, and at the start of a new week, sometimes we need to be inspired! Maybe we were inspired at church, or maybe we had a great plan to start a new goal this week, diet, loving words to our husband and children, but it’s Monday and we are just thinking I need my coffee!
Let’s get to work!
Good news! God’s mercies are new every morning! I am here, and will be here at the beginning of every new week, as I will be sending out a new blog! I hope and pray for each one I write, that it will truly bless you. I want these to inspire, to encourage, and to be a little extra help each week to see our relationships with the Lord, our husbands, and our sweet families grow and thrive!
God laid on my heart for this week: Respect. Covered in it. To take inventory of how we respect our husbands, what others hear, and especially our children. How do we talk to our God given husbands? To them, in front of our children, and in front of others? What we say, how we say it, and our tone. Ladies let’s face it, as a friend reminded me the other day, we set the tone of our homes. “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” This statement can be so true.
God gave us such a great responsibility!! We are the keeper of our homes, we are the ones who make it a safe haven or a place to be avoided. There are so many ideas to touch on here. I will try to keep this post directed at just our husbands. But we will be taking a deeper look in other blogs as to how this affects our children, and especially in divorced or blended families.
Ok, so is this inspiring? Maybe not so much…maybe inspiring like getting a rotten tooth pulled. It’s painful, we don’t look forward to it, it may be sore for a couple of days or even weeks! But we still go to the dentist, and pay them to relieve the problem. They may have to cut it out, pull it, give us some anesthesia for pain. They may send us home with an antibiotic so it doesn’t get infected, and some more pain meds. I say all of that to say, if we ignore it it can turn into an abscess or even worse. We need to deal with the root of the problem. We need to take some inventory, and see what our words look like, and what our tone sounds like.
Here are some scriptures to consider: Ephesians 5:22-33, especially 33, “and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” 1 Peter 3:1-6, Proverbs 7:11 “(She is loud and defiant; her feet do not stay at home.” Proverbs 25:24 “It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.” Proverbs 21:9 “It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” Proverbs 27:15 “A constant dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious woman are alike.” Proverbs 21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.” Proverbs 31:26 “She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” Proverbs 21:9 “It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
Let’s take a look at the word Respect: an act of giving particular attention, High or special regard, these are two of the definitions for respect. Oh how I want my words, tone, and actions to give great attention to and to give high and special regard to my husband! To honor him with my words, and how I say it!! I have to be intentional to do this! It does not come naturally, it takes practice. Now, let’s look at the word. Cover or Covered: to guard from attack, to afford protection or security, to place or set a covering over. I am using a few of the definitions to make my point.
We need to, first of all, cover ourselves in prayer, praying our words, our lives, our actions, and yes, even the tone we set, is with respect. Praying God helps us to love our husbands by respecting them. God tells us in His word, we are to have wisdom and speak with the law of kindness. I know just how easy it is to say whatever we want, how we want, when we want. But that doesn’t mean we are right in doing so. Our children listen and hear all that we say and how we say it. We are teaching them to love and respect their daddy, their future husband, their authority and ultimately God, or we aren’t. We could be teaching them how to do the opposite of that, and ultimately we are teaching them there is no order, and We DON’T need a covering. Because ladies our husbands cover us… and we need them too. Otherwise, we will live with the consequences of a generational curse over us and our children. One that says I am in charge, I am a married woman with an unmarried spirit. We teach our girls to say I’m in charge, or our boys to think they are inconsequential. Then we are walking a fine line of standing in judgment before Almighty God. This is a serious subject. We influence our sweet children and others more than we know. As our Pastor says, “more is caught than taught.”
Secondly, we need to cover our wonderful husbands in prayer and respect. This will cause them to be all God has called them to be and in turn make our home and lives a haven of hope! Pray for him to walk in integrity, pray he makes good decisions, that he prays, and leads, that his attitude is right before God. When we do this… you WILL see a change in your marriage. This will lead our husbands to love us the way we need to be loved. It’s not our job to fix him, it’s our job to pray for and respect him. Let God do the work needed in him.
Ok! So now for the encouraging part!!! Here is the antibiotic to make sure no infection gets in, and a little dose of medicine to ease the pain as God does the work!! The amazing part that just happens as a result of prayer, the word, and looking inward. You will grow!!! You will change you!! Your attitude will get better, you will see your home get less stressful, you will see your family members relax!! They will talk better to daddy and each other, they will respect you!! Can you imagine what that looks like? Take a minute with me and close your eyes.. maybe you are just realizing what it has looked like? Do you want peace, joy and love to permeate your home? Tears fill my eyes as I think of all the things I could have done differently. But wait… there is the new mercies I see this morning because of my Savior Jesus!! He helps me to start a new!! I am refreshed by prayer, I am transformed by His word!! Thankful I have Him!
Each day this week read a scripture above and meditate on it and then put it into practice!! Sweet friends, we can do this today and everyday!! Just take that first step! I am doing these too!!
Monday: Ephesians 5:22-33, especially 33, “and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”
Tuesday: 1 Peter 3:1-6
Wednesday: Proverbs 21:9 “It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman.”
Thursday: Proverbs 31:26 “She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”
Friday: Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
God is faithful!! We can see change in our homes!! You can always email me with prayer requests or topics you want covered.
www.happilyevermarried.org email: janene@happilyevermarried.org