Loving My Husband and Delighting in My Children

Loving My Husband...

This is one of the things that God has so graciously been showing my lately. In my times with the Lord, God, through His Spirit has been convicting me that I have not been loving my husband like He calls me to.

There's a chapter in the book "Feminine Appeal" by Carolyn Mahaney that's entitled "The Delight of Loving My Husband" that I have frequently read since I've been married. It's one that is so helpful to me in that it reminds me how I am called to love Ryan with a tender, affectionate and passionate kind of love and make him my priority after God. I have picked it up again and have been encouraged by the Authors words:

"Loving our husbands with a tender and passionate love is not something that happens automatically in our marriage". So, we must learn it and go to older women and God's Word to be trained in how to love our husbands.

Ultimately, the thing that stuck out to me most was this :
"Sin destroyed my tender love... If we find that our affection for our husband is waning or has subsided altogether, then we do not need to look any further than our own hearts. Where sin is present, warm affection dissipates. Anger, bitterness, criticism, pride, selfishness, fear, laziness-all vigorously oppose tender love. This love cannot survive in a heart that harbors sin."

However, she doesn't leave you there dwelling on how hidiously sinful you are, she then exorts you to evaluate and examine your heart, repent, and put on tender thoughts of love and behavior towards your husband.

This book is so encouraging that I decided to read the whole thing again!
However, let me tell you that this book is not just geared toward married women. This book is centered on the teachings of Titus 2 and is for all women, single married, young and old, who want to grow in their biblical role as a godly woman. "Read it! I know you'll love it!"

Delighting in My Children...

The 2nd most important thing that God has been teaching me is how to train my children (or, child in my case).

My sister-n-law encouraged me to read this book "Don't Make Me Count to Three" after I related to her my struggles with discerning when and how I should begin to train and discipline my son. Even though he is only 10 months old, he is already capable of understanding me when I say "No, you may NOT touch that" and is also throwing fits and temper tantrums when I move him away from something or take something away from him.
I have only read the first 2 chapters and am benefiting a GREAT deal from this woman's godly council. The Author, Ginger Plowman, graciously instructs the mother's reading her book on how to apply God's word in training their children. She then goes on to define discipline and reveal how our society today views it verses what God, in His word teaches about it:

"Society portrays discipline as punishment that involves anger, yelling, and severe or even cruel acts... They simply try to control their children, focusing only on their outward behavior."

"While society relates discipline to an uncontrolled use of physical punishment, Biblical discipline involves love, the heart, and God's Word."

She then goes on to say that "we have to get them to think right and to be motivated out of a love of vurtue rather than a fear of punishment. We do this by training them in righteousness. Righteous training can only come from the Word of God."
When we work on the issues of the heart, outward behaviour will follow.

Now, I know that Kai's not going to be able to understand me right now when I teach him about what God says regarding sin, anger and selfishness. But, it will get me into the habbit of training him in righteousness by lovingly warning him, following through with discipline and lovingly explaining to him his sin and leading him to repentance.

I am very excited to read on and continue to learn how to train and discipline my children biblically. I know it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be rewarding until they are grown up but I know and trust that God's grace is sufficient for my every need.

Read with me! Tell me your thoughts as you go through these books. I would love to hear how God uses these wise women to speak truth into your life and further mold you into the image of His glorious Son, Jesus Christ!