by kathilipp | Feb 6, 2013 | God |
We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so join the conversation!
There is more month than there is paycheck. I can’t keep up with the work — both inside the house and outside of it. My parents need me, my kids need me, and my husband needs me.
Throughout the day, I am reminded that there is never enough.
Enough money.
Enough time.
Enough me to go around.
And so often, it’s easy to put that burden on my husband – He doesn’t make enough money. He isn’t helping out enough with the house. He isn’t helping out enough with the family. Whether it’s silently, or in my attitude.
But when I’m lacking, it’s not up to my husband to meet my need. It’s totally up to God.
SCRIPTURE
And my God will meet
all your needs according
to the glorious riches
in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:19
PRAYER FOR TODAY
God, I pray that I would always be reminded to put my burden where it belongs — squarely at your feet. You already know what I need for each day – you see around every corner.
I pray that I would come to my husband as a partner and helpmate in everything.
Tell me – what are you struggling with “enough” of: Time, money, energy, space? Tell me in the comments below.We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so join the conversation!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
by kathilipp | Feb 5, 2013 | God |
We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so jump in!
Would I want to come home to my house? It’s an honest question. Depending on the day, yes. And no.
There are days when I’ve worked hard at making my home a soft place to land. I’ve spent a little time cleaning up messes, getting dinner on the table, and put some music on the iPod that helps me connect with God.
Then there are other days.
Usually the other days have involved a little too much TV and a lot too much Facebook. I end up scrambling to pray up a miracle for dinner, and am resentful that all of this is left to me to do.
When I spend time in God’s word, I go into my day being grateful for the home, husband, job and family God has given me, instead of being resentful for the interruptions that they impose on my day. How long did I hope for the husband and kids I now have? How many others would love to have the home I now have, messy and mortgage payments included?
I want to walk through my day — and my home — with an abundance of gratitude. So much so, that when my husband, or anyone else — comes through the threshold, they can’t help but get that thankfulness splashed on them.
SCRIPTURE
The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
— Proverbs 14:1
PRAYER FOR TODAY
God, let me be the wise woman who builds up her home and all who are in it. God, don’t let me get years down the road and see that I’ve been the one tearing it down. Let it be a safe haven for all who enter, especially for my husband.
a house of peace….
Tell me one of the “interruptions” you are grateful for today. We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so don’t be shy!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
by kathilipp | Feb 4, 2013 | God |
We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so jump in!
Sometimes my husband gets stuck.
Whether it’s in an old addiction that is trying to get a hold of him, a way of thinking that leaves him believing he can’t change anything in his life, a job he hates, or in a relationship that he knows isn’t good for him, sometimes my husband gets stuck.
I encourage him and love on him, but there are just some days where he feels like he can’t make the changes he wants, or needs to make.
So I pray that he would start believing God for the power to change. That he would abandon his old ways of thinking, (“I’ll never.” “I can’t.”) and start thinking in the way that God designed him to think; That all things are possible for those who believe him.
SCRIPTURE
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
— Romans 12:2
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, I pray that my husband would not look for approval in the world, but only from you. Let his mind dwell on the matters that are important to you. God, I pray that he would know your will and find delight in living for, and loving, you.
Tell me in the comments below what area of your husband’s life you want to pray for your husband’s full belief in God’s power to change our thoughts, circumstances, and patterns. We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so jump in!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
by kathilipp | Feb 3, 2013 | God |
Let me know that you’re praying for your husband and each day we will have a drawing for one of our books. Today’s book is Praying God’s Word for Your Husband.
“If only he would listen to me . . .” Oh, that sentence has gotten me into so much trouble.
How many times have I thought that? If only my husband would take my advice, he would have a better job, be a better father, be healthier . . . (fill in the blank). When I’m trying to control my husband, what I’m really doing is trying to withhold him from God.
I want to be the kind of wife who spends twice as many words praying to God on my husband’s behalf as I do offering advice to my man. I know that what my husband thinks is nagging will drive a wedge between us, but when I pray for him, it draws us closer together.
SCRIPTURE
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.— James 5:16
PRAYER FOR TODAY
God, let me live openhandedly when it comes to my husband. Help me realize that my prayers on his behalf are more effective than any words I could speak to him. Let him always feel safe sharing his needs with me, knowing I will take them only to you.
Remember, tell me in the comments that you’re praying for your man and each day we will draw a name each day to win. Today’s giveaway is Praying God’s Word for Your Husband
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
by kathilipp | Aug 19, 2012 | God |
Are You Satisfied?
Are you satisfied?
We are a family who loves broken animals. Zorro, the black and white cat I brought into our marriage, is what you might call “Socially Maladjusted”. In other words, he lives to beat up other cats. Ashley, the kitten we found out behind our neighborhood church, had to be nursed back to health with an eye dropper. She is now about eight weeks old and is still on medication, twice a day, because her breathing sounds like someone is letting the air out of a bicycle tire.
And then there’s Jake. And Jake? He’s got issues.
Jake is our six year old rescue puggle (pug/beagle mix) and we may have some clues as to why he was dropped off at the shelter.
He can’t stand any man with a hat or jingling keys. He can’t be in a room by himself. (I’m just like all those MOPS moms who haven’t been to the bathroom by myself in YEARS…) He won’t go into our back patio unaccompanied. But the weirdest thing is his food. He will only eat his wet food downstairs, and his dry food upstairs.
I told you it was weird.
But there is something else he does with food that is really strange. We feed all the animals at the same time, and Jake, even with food that has been served to him, that is sitting right in front of him, will be way more interested in what we are serving the cats.
He can’t take his eyes off of the cat food. He whines and complains that they are getting food, even though his food is sitting right in front of him. He is way more interested in what someone else has, than what he has.
And when I think about it, it’s not so weird after all. ‘Cause I do the exact same thing (not with cat food, of course.)
I see what other women are getting to do, (go on missions trips, write best-sellers, travel the world,wear a size eight,) and I can spend so much time focusing on what they have, that I miss the great stuff that is sitting right in front of me.
Usually the dissatisfaction starts subtlety. Maybe it’s a magazine pic of a kitchen that I would love to have, or my neighbor gets a new car and parks it near my 13 year-old beater. There are so many little things can trigger that dissatisfaction.
God has blessed me with a life that, when I really look at it, is pretty awesome. I have a relationship with God that is filled with grace, every single day. I have four kids that I love. They are not perfect kids, but they were raised by a not-so-perfect mom and dad, so that’s to be expected. I have a ministry that while not huge, is what I love and is a huge blessing to me (and some other people and their marriages.) I’m married to a great man, who I adore and who loves me back. All in all, not a bad life.
But it is so easy to get into that place of not being satisfied when I start to look at my sister’s plate.
Practicing Gratitude
One of the projects I’m working on this week is a Gratitude Board. Pictures of the things in my life I’m grateful for. It sounds simple and I’ve done the reverse (a Dream Board), but I really want to have a visual reminder of all that God has trusted me with and done for me.
I went to a site called www.photovisi.com that can help you create a photo collage. I’ve just taken picture off of my computer of gifts – my kids, Roger and I on trips, my mom recovering in the hospital after her cancer surgery – and have put them on one board. When I’m reminded of what God has given me, it’s a lot easier to not sit in that place of discontentment.
Putting My Heart in the Right Place
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.
When I’m feeling unsatisfied, I can usually trace it back to busyness. When I’m busy, and not spending time with God, my focus is on my world, instead of God’s plan for my world.
It usually takes a couple of days, but when I realize that I’m in that stinking place, I know I need to be back in the God place and put my heart squarely where He is.
Q4U – When do you feel that discontentment rise? Is there something that you do to not look at your neighbor, but sit in your own place of godly satisfaction?
by kathilipp | Jun 16, 2012 | God |
This is Kathi. I often get asked to speak for Mother’s Day at churches, and I thought that for Father’s Day, it was only fitting to have a real live father blog for us. Meet Rob Tiegen; he is a dad who not only works at my publisher, Revell, but is a real, live author on the topic of fatherhood. He is sharing some keen insight today into where your husband really needs your prayers.
When Kathi invited me to share some thoughts on how wives can pray for their husbands in their fathering I was excited but a bit overwhelmed. There are countless ways each man needs prayer as a father, so in ten seconds I had thought of ten different things that I would love to know my wife was praying for me about.
As I continued to think it through, I decided to focus on just one thing–time. This is something that God has been burdening my heart with in my own life lately. I would be encouraged to know that my wife was standing in the gap and holding me up in prayer as I face the challenge of making ample time to spend with our kids.
I’ve been reading a great book titled Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids by Dr. Kara E. Powell and Dr. Chap Clark. The authors include disheartening statistics about the 40 to 50 percent of “church kids” who leave their faith behind in the college years. As a father who is trying to raise my kids in the Lord that is a hard statistic to hear. I desperately need prayer to make time with my kids, because time leads to relationship, and relationship opens the door to sharing my faith with my children through each stage, age, and challenge that comes their way.
As important as it is to work hard to provide for our families, to set an example of service to our churches and communities, to stay physically fit, and to connect with our wives, kids desperately need their dad’s time so they can receive love, spiritual guidance, and training. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (ESV) The passage is assuming the father is sitting, walking, and ending and beginning his day with his kids. The deep truths of our faith are passed on during intentional time together.
Wives, your husband will benefit so much from your prayers and encouragement with this. Pray for your husband to have a heart to spend time with your kids. Since you probably organize the family calendar, make room for him to take each child out for some one-on-one time. When you see him making a positive connection with your son or daughter, point it out and be his cheerleader. We need to know that our wives are in our corner praying for us and encouraging us to keep pressing on with our kids, even when it’s hard. Ask God to create opportunities for us to pass on our faith, and for opportunities for you to be an encouragement to him as well. Your love and support mean more to us than you can know. Thanks for praying!
Friends -this is Kathi. I want to take the verse that Rob shared with us above and pray it for the men in our lives this Father’s Day:
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (ESV)
Heavenly Father, I pray that your words, your love, your direction would flow through my husband’s heart. I pray that my husband would find time in each day to pass on your wisdom to our kids. Lord, let every moment they spend together be something to grow both my husband’s heart and my child’s heart toward you. And Father, show me ways every single day to call out those things in my husband that are your way – your good and perfect way. Amen
One little bonus – as of the time this blog is going to press, the price for Rob’s great book 88 Great Daddy-Daughter Dates is only $4.99 for the Kindle download.
Plus, as always, let me know you prayed for your man and I will enter you into the drawingfor Rob’s book (a real live physical one!)
You can follow Rob on twitter at @strongdads
We are giving away a copy of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband to one of our commenters today, so join the conversation!
