Christmas is one of my most favorite times of the year. The excitement that fills our home as we partake in family traditions, the joy that fills our hearts as we participate in acts of giving and the desire to praise my Father even more for His grace, His mercies and His gift to the world.
This week I shared a photo on Instagram of myself and my family. I wrote how thankful I was that God loved us so much He sent His Son. I also shared that I was thankful that He loved me so much He gave me my family.
When you really think about it, as parents one of the most precious gifts we can ever receive is the gift of a child. To have the honor of being a parent bestowed upon us is humbling, at times terrifying and also joy inducing.
There are times when I want to pull my hair out, times when I lie awake at night and worry that I’m doing it all wrong. But more than that, there are times when I find myself thanking God for allowing me to mother two of His most precious creations. I find myself rejoicing in the gift of parenthood.
I find myself praying and asking Him to direct our path as parents, to give us the words, the patience and the wisdom. To help me as a mother, who is obsessed with her babies, remember that they are my children — yes they are mine — but they belong to Him. Their lives are meant to bring glory to Him. They will be kingdom builders. They are kingdom builders.
When I really think of God’s sacrifice and the fact that He sent His only Son that we might have life I find myself having a wow moment.
I am imperfect, I make mistakes and I am certain at times I disappoint Him. But through it all He loves me. He forgives me and never forsakes me. He wants to give me the desires of my heart. He wants the best for me and sometimes that means He has to tell me “no.” That also means sometimes helping me to realize that I do need Him, during those times when I forget and try to do it all on my own.
I think of the way God loves us and I desire to always love my children in that way; a love that always forgives, a love that says “yes” but also says “no.” A love that is so steadfast and so true that my babies know that no matter what happens I will be there with open arms. The way my God never turns us away even when we mess up or go astray.
This season I find myself thanking God with even more fervor for the gift of His Son — His only Son. And at the same time I thank Him for trusting me to care for the two children that He blessed me and my husband with. I want Him to know that I don’t take my role as their mother lightly. That’s my job, and it isn’t just to enjoy them but to prepare and equip them to thrive in life. Our babies only have one childhood. This is our chance.
So I’m stepping it up and part of that includes changing the way I pray. I am also learning to be still so that I can hear from my Father as I seek His guidance in all things including parenting.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” ~ James 1:17 (NIV)
And how He loves us. Look at all He has given us. I have a chance to show our gratitude not just in the saying of thanks but by giving this parenting thing everything I’ve got. Knowing that it may be the hardest thing I’ve ever done but it (along with being a wife to my husband of course) will also be the greatest and most honorable.
Here are 10 Bible verses to pray over your children….
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Nice post. Short and sweet. I will have to post this on our marriage website and give you the honor. Thanks!
Thanks, Pamela! I’m glad you enjoyed it and plan to share it. I’d love to join you on your podcast to talk more about it. And if you are interested, I’d also like to have someone from your site guest post on my new podcast.
Love It! Amen 🙂
Thanks, Cynthia!
Love it keep up great work of God i loving learning more about god what he say about marriage
Vivian, thanks for reading and your encouraging comment!
Hallelujiah and Amen this is a wonderful post so glad you took the time to research and share the scriptures. It gives our husbands good & Godly examples to follow as well as us wives to continue striving to be that Proverbs 31 women that our husbands trust, love, & admire. God Bless & Happy Holidays
Blessings to you too, Linda! Thanks for reading and your very encouraging comment!
Good stuff. However, it says nothing about when a wife makes it difficult for the man to do this. I know for a Christian man to love his wife, it should not to be conditional, but it gets difficult when all you get back for trying to be an Ephesians 5 husband is selfishness and self-centeredness. You work toward making her your best friend and her mum and sisters remain her closest confidantes. You give all you earn to support the family and she stashes her money and make big ticket purchases, like property, behind your back. It gets real tough. God help all brothers in such relationships.
Prayed for you Aaron. Being an Ephesians 5 husband is not easy, and neither is being a Proverbs 31 wife. I am rooting for your marriage! Thanks for sharing.
I’m sorry Aaron that you are going through this. Thats truly not normal behavior for any wife, saved or unsaved. My marriage is not perfect but I’ve always tried to get my husband to be my best friend and confidante, which he always seems to resist. I also personally try to plan purchases with him but it never seems like he’s trying to build for our family and future like I am. I even tried to get him to learn about the Eph. 5 man, he didnt seem that interested. I think the only solution is prayer even though its difficult.
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Awesome article Jackie. Your title captured me as I was on fbook and I had to find out and read more. Keep sharing your gifts with us, much appreciated. Read and shared with my wifey…
My pleasure!
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Interesting. Very interesting.
Aaron, above, has made a strong comment. It’s always tough when the love is perceived to be one-sided. I am striving for moderation in my believe. The best husband ever once had the worst wife never! Cf. Jerimiah chapter 2: God (husband) vs Israel (wife).
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Awesome article Jackie! I read your other article “7 Rings of Marriage” and emailed that article to myself too. Great wisdom for married and single Believers, alike. Please keep allowing the Holy Spirit to minister through you. I am not married yet, but pray continuously that whomever he is, I become the wife that my husband needs and God has called me to be for my husband and that he will be the husband that I need and God has called him to be for me.
Stacey
Thanks, Stacey! I agreed with you in prayer. Blessings to you!
Great Article. God has laid out the responsibilities of a man and woman in both of these two scriptures that were mentioned in this article. Many women look over their responsibilities to a man and want the Ephesian 5 man but they are not deserving of him until she becomes the Proverbs 31 woman first. An Ephesians 5 man is not a good fit for a woman that is not a Proverbs 31 woman and vice versa. If the man or woman is not truly living the life of Proverbs 31 or Ephesians 5, these benefits do not apply to you. You have to follow Gods word and his role for each respective person in a marriage or that union will not be blessed by God. There is a reason why so many marriages are failing these days, you have to follow God’s plan and role that is outline for each person to have a successful and blessed union.
I love this article. It will help me in our couples class
to get the men to really see how we should be to our wife’s
Awesome article, really. Would I digress and say that I feel like Job 31 man seems like the “equivalent” of the Proverbs 31 woman? Just thoughts. Loved your article. A lot. God bless