A Husband's Sacrificial Love to His Wife & Family

On the first Sunday in October, James began a teaching series on the family at our church.
This subject is James' heart, through & through ... & is the heartbeat of our church.
These teachings have been encouraging to us as individuals ... & strengthening to us as families.

The first sermon was on "The Family Picture."
My favorite part of this was the analogy about a camera.

No matter how expensive a camera is, if it isn't focused properly, this picture will not turn out.

As a family, as a man & a wife, we must be focused & committed to God.

We should work on our commitment to Him above anything else.

If we aren't focused on & committed to Him, we will be miserable ...

And miserable people make miserable families.

We must make Him our focus so our family picture turns out just right.

This was my favorite quote from the sermon:  

"We need to become a master swordsman, using the Word of God that is sharper than a two-edged sword!"

The second sermon was on the origin of the family ... "Where Did the Family Come From?"

These are the things that jumped out from this message:

The family is theological ... a replica & likeness of Christ.

All animals & Adam were made from dirt ... only woman {Eve} was fashioned from a man.

She's extra-special ... a little more refined.

I especially loved this quote from James:
"A husband fails if he only brings home the bacon.
He needs to bring home the bacon AND the BOOK.
He should work hard & he should worship hard!"

The third sermon was on "The Husband's Role in the Home."
This one was excellent too.

Ephesians 5:25 ~ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word...

The main theme was this:  A husband's love is measured by his sacrifice to his wife ...

not about how much the wife does for the husband.

This quote is sooo good:  "We get what we need {fulfillment} by giving others what they need."

Wow...that's revolutionary!

At the end of sermon, James passed out little slips of paper & asked each woman/girl
to write down 3 things that she wanted her husband/dad to do for her that week.
This activity was to help the husbands to mimick Christ ...to act as a servant to his wife & family.

I wrote down "Be sweet, be thoughtful, & take me on a date night!"
The sweet & thoughtful thing, well, he's got that down pat ;)
And date night, he promptly took me to O'Charley's & I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now, the extra-special part of the activity is that James & the boys had the opportunity
to be an extra blessing to our dear friend, Aleisa,
She attends our church, & having just relocated here recently from Virginia, has no family living close.
She's also a single sweetie, waiting on Mr. Right, so James asked her to write down a list
that he & our 3 sons could do for her.
She only had only one request...she wanted to learn how to change a tire.
Very practical & something everyone should know how to do.
Since our boys & I didn't know how to change a tire either, we all got in on the lesson!

She pulled her car into the garage & they got started.
Here they are looking for the tire & all the accessories needed to change it out.

James demonstrated first, as everyone paid close attention.

Aleisa made quick work of it ... she's a fast learner!
She did the whole thing, start to finish with no trouble at all.

Next, the boys each took their turns taking it off & putting it back on.
Gunnar was determined he would change it in the fastest time.
Somehow, all the pics of Riley were very blurry, but he changed the tire too.

Now, the interesting part to this story:  Aleisa wrote on her paper that she wanted to learn
to change a tire on Sunday.
On Monday, she discovered she had a nail in it!
So, not only did she learn how to change a tire, she learned how to patch one too!
God's timing is impeccable!

God is soo involved in the details of our lives ... each & every one of us.
When I really get to thinking of it, it literally takes my breath away.
The God who created the heaven & earth, the galaxy, the stars, the human race, the animals, the trees,
knows me, sees me, cares about me.

He's not a burden ... I'm compelled to serve Him.

"There is nothing under heaven that can constrain a soul like a sense of redeeming love" 
- Charles Simeon (1759-1836) 

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve God in the capacity & with the people He's placed us with.
What a wonderful family of God!
I have grown in spiritual strength & wisdom as a direct result of the direction & the burden 
that God has placed on my husband, James.
He's just a man ... just a messenger being used by God to share Biblical truths that are ever so
relevant {& often overlooked} in today's time.
It's a very humbling & serious responsibility. 
We are strengthened for the task & reminded of the resolve by these verses:

Malachi 4:6 
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers ...

Luke 1:17 
...and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, 
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

John 13:35
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”