Today is the day they load up my belongings into a truck and send us halfway across the continent. God has filled our lives with blessings and I am grateful that we have been so loved. We really made an effort to reduce our collection of “STUFF”. Things that we had in storage and hadn’t seen in years are now just gone.
For those of you who knew, our dog was really sick. To the point that the doctor (vet) basically said they weren’t sure if he would survive a move. They had Big Dog on really serious meds to dull the pain, but it wasn’t working. After we prayed for wisdom and discernment we talked to the vet, and gave Big Dog some aspirin-like (NSAIDs) meds. He got a lot better really fast. Yesterday he was back to his 12 year old puppy-like state and today he is barking at the neighbor’s pool guy again. I don’t think I could have handled a move after my puppy died. God is great.
The move is going really well. I’m gonna call in a few favors to get a couple of things fixed and cleaned, but other than that, we are on track.
I know we usually talk about something serious, and I make some scripture inspired brilliant observation, so I will not keep you in suspense any longer:
The wife and I have been a little snippy during this transition. We have dealt with many major life stressing evens (see. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale) including the move across country, two family members getting really sick to the point of not knowing if they would survive ( and yes, one is my Big Dog), changes in both of our work status, and so much more.
Today’s piece of wisdom to remember is this:
We are on the same team !
Men, we are called to protect our family from the stress, not add more to the fire. The enemy will use life’s stressing situations to wreak havoc on families. We are the final battle ground for and the first model of Christ’s love for the world. And his model was this
Eph 5:25 – Husbands, love your wives, as The Messiah also loves his church and gave himself up for her sake…
With that as the model, do you think it matters who did that dish belong to, or who forgot to pack that shirt? Life is stressful enough alone, God paired us together so that we come together as one unit and be supported in our unity.
If you are getting frustrated because you don’t understand than I suggest you study you wife. Ask questions, LEARN, so that, like we are told in script, we can love our wives in an understanding way.
1 Peter 3:7 – Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
Did you catch that last part? “So that you prayers not be hindered” means exactly that. And, as your partner, though she may be physically weaker, she is your “co-heir” in the kingdom. She is your partner.
So if Christ is our model and we are called to lead and Love like Christ, That means we are the model of Christ’s Love in our families. READ Romans 14 (Rom 14:1-15:1 ) . This chapter is about those weaker in faith and strength in the Lord. I assure you, both in and out of our families, we will run into those who, though they claim to be believers, are weak in their faith.
My challenge to you, just as the spirit is challenging me, is to love them through their growth process. And remember: They are watching YOU, and judging your claims and beliefs byt your actions.
1 Cor 10:23 – Everything is allowable, but not everything is profitable. Everything is allowable, but everything does not build others up.
Even though, as followers of the Living God, all things are allowed for us, NOT ALL THINGS PROFIT the soul. ( 1 Cor 10:23 ) Not ours or our brothers and sisters in the kingdom. If the weaker vessel of a marriage, and the young in age or faith are watching you, can you honestly say your actions are building the image of a Loving and Loving God in this world?
Rom 14:15 – For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy that one Christ died for by what you eat.
Rom 14:21 – It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fail.
We are the body of Christ. Show His Love every day.
I have to go, (the movers are coming).
Thanks for reading and may Jesus bless your path today. ^_^
May Jesus have His way with your day
He is Founder and consultant for Tek Management,
Founder of the Men’s Leadership site: CalebStrong.org,
Co-Founder of the online Bible study app: BibleCounts
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
© 2008-2021: All content on this and other pages within the TekMan family of domains are the specific intellectual property of the owner of the site, Tek Management and/or TheStrongFoundation.org.
Content may be reused or reproduced according to the licensing restrictions without the specific permission of the owner or a reference to the source as per the licensing restrictions found at the link above.
Opinions of the authors may be generated from content obtained from other sources and such content is referenced as appropriate.