Family Values

Fill in the blank: "One value our family holds is ______."

Do your kids know what your family stands for? Download our free kit with activities to help your family discover your values and how to impact your community: http://bit.ly/RMjKj8  -Focus on the Family

Do your children know what your values are by observing the way you live?  Do you spend time teaching them, through conversation, what you want others to see in you/them? 

Many people don't consistently "live what they believe."  They demonstrate certain values on Sunday and others on Monday-Saturday.  Others demonstrate certain values in public, at work or out in the community, and others in the privacy of their own homes.   I pray that you and I are not like those individuals. 

May our whole life, regardless of situation or location, reflect the values that we want to pass on to the next generation.  It is also my hope that the values that we pass on to the next generation are firmly rooted in what God, through Christ, has done for us.

As I write this post, the song "Here I AM" by Downhere comes to mind:

Sometimes Your calling, comes in dream.
Sometimes in comes in the Spirit's breeze.
You reach for the deepest hope in me,
And call out for the things of eternity.

But I'm a man, of dust and stains,
You move in me, so I can say,

Here I am, Lord send me.
All of my life, I make an offering.
Here I am, Lord send me.
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan.
Here I am.

Setbacks and failures, and upset plans,
Test my faith and leave me with empty hands.
Are You not the closest when it's hardest to stand?
I know that You will finish what You began.

And these broken parts You redeem,
Become the song that I can sing.

Here I am, Lord send me.
All of my life, I make an offering.
Here I am, Lord send me.
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan.
Here I am.

Overwhelmed by the thought of my weakness,
And the fear that I'll fail You in the end.
In this mess, I'm just one of the pieces.
I can't put this together but You can.

Here I am, Lord send me.
I want to live my life as an offering.
Here I am, Lord send me.
All of my life, I make an offering.
Here I am, Lord send me.
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan.
Here I am.

Here I Am, all my life an offering to You, to You
Somehow my story is a part of Your plan
Here I am
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/downhere-lyrics/here-i-am-lyrics.html ]


Don't forget to go to the link, toward the top of this post, to claim your free Family Resource Kit from Focus on the Family.

What are You Studying?

"Too many men make the mistake of studying masculinity and trying to practice what they learn without paying enough attention to their relationship with God.” -FamilyLife

 

Our society today teaches us that in order to be a "real man" we need to possess and display certain character traits.  In order not to be mocked or ridiculed, as men we often "go the way of the world."  A real man after all, would only read the directions after al else fails, right?  We need to do things our own way. How often to we stop and ask for directions when we are lost or off course?  This question rings true in both our every day and spiritual lives. 

 

One website suggests the following as "7 Traits of Real Men":  Integrity, Compassion, Confidence, Self-Control, Perseverance, Bravery, and Humility.  I might suggest one more trait- Godliness.  As Scripture tells us, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  This does not mean that we should not strive to model the example that we have been given of Christ and the church within our own marriages and families.

If our relationship with God becomes more of a priority, then we can/will become the man that God has created us to be.

 

Can You List Your Wife's Top 3 Needs (As She Would List Them)

Discover your wife's top three needs and over the next 12 months go all out to meet them.http://ow.ly/dsCbl  -FamilyLife Art of Marriage

 

The link above will send you to the Art of Marriage Events Page. Here you can find information about attending, or hosting, an Art of Marriage event.  Once you have set up an event, you can also register it on the AOM site.  This will give others an opportunity to find out about your event and when/where it will be held. 

 

If you are interested in hosting an event around NW Iowa, you can contact a member of the NW Iowa Ministry Team.  You can leave a comment on this post and I will refer you to the right person/people.  We are willing to travel in order to assist you, in any way we can, with hosting an event. 

 

Patience, They Aren't Just for Doctors Anymore (Pardon the Pun)

Have you ever considered what part patience might play in the resolution of conflicts in your marriage? How much difference might it make? http://ow.ly/dsleS -FamilyLife Weekend to Remember

The link above will send you to an article written by Dennis Rainey.  The article, entitled The Foundation of a "Oneness Marriage,"  provides readers with "divine blueprints that offer hope, direction, and purpose for marriage."

What affect would being a more patient person have on preventing or decreasing conflict between yourself and your spouse.  How different would the conflicts within our marriages look if we made it our goal to live out the words of James 1:19-20?

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

Wouldn't it be great if we would make a conscious effort to ensure that our desires were exactly the same as those of our Heavenly Father?  In spite of our imperfection, we can still strive to achieve the goal set before us in Phillipians 2:5-7:

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; ⁷ rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

Are You Up For A Challenge? Try It, I Dare You!

Give your spouse, in person, one positive statement per day. It can be physical, a character trait, or a spiritual quality. (David Clarke) http://ow.ly/djQh1  -FamilyLife Weekend to Remember

 

The Privilege of Loving Your Wife

A husband's privileged role is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." (Eph. 5:25)

Do you consider loving your wife a privilege?  Is loving your wife more of a burden or obligation?  As husbands, are we loving our wives unconditionally with the love and devotion that Christ demonstrated for us?  Are we loving our wives in such a way that we are giving up on them or for them?  What will it take for you to love your wife like Christ loves you?

Do You Truly Understand Your Spouse?

What do you think it means for a man to "live with your wife in an understanding way?" (I Peter 3:7) http://ow.ly/dk9rh -FamilyLife Art of Marriage