3 Characteristics of a Godly Father

I realize this is a blog for homemakers, and therefore there may not be a whole lot of fathers reading this.  You can share this post for the fathers in your life to read, or you can use it to pray these things for them.

As I mentioned in my Characteristics of a Godly Mother post, I was blessed with Godly parents, and have learned so much about parenting through watching their lives.

I wanted to take the time to share some of the things that my own dad did right.

1. He admitted when he was wrong. 

No one on this entire earth is perfect, and that includes my father.  When he made a mistake, he was willing to admit it.  He didn't try to pretend that nothing was wrong.  Instead he apologized when he'd lost his temper or failed to walk in the Spirit.  Instead of thinking less of him for making mistakes, we children learned valuable lessons from those instances.  We saw by example how to handle our own failures – by confessing our sin, getting up and going forward rather than trying to cover things up.

2. He was submitted to the Holy Spirit.

It was obvious to me even as a child that my dad was humbly submitted to the Holy Spirit's work in his heart. I watched him study scripture, pray, learn, grow, and change. Wherever God led him, he followed. He still does to this day. I enjoy having conversations with him about what we are both studying in scripture and what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us through it.

What better way for a father to encourage his children to walk with the Lord than to focus on his own relationship with God?

3. He was a nurturer.

When I think of what a Godly father should be, I immediately think of Ephesians 6:4, which is directed specifically to fathers:

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The word “nurture” brings to my mind the idea of a tender plant.  In order for that plant to grow and thrive, the caretaker must tend to it regularly — pulling weeds, watering, fertilizing.  It requires lots of time and careful attention, and neglecting it will either cause it to die or at least come close to it.

My dad paid careful attention to his children, always finding time to play with us and listen to us.  Because of that fact, his tender plants grew and thrived.  A father who berates, ignores, or makes his children feel unimportant will find that they will wilt. But a father who encourages and tends to the hearts of his children will strengthen them.

So, while my dad wasn't perfect a perfect human, these are some of the things that impacted me as a child and that I still appreciate about him today.

I am thankful that I had such a loving father who pointed me to the loving heart of God!

My dad with my little boy

The Secret to Living Debt Free

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10 Week Healthy Living Challenge

Do you want to take some steps toward a healthier lifestyle, but aren't sure where to start?

Join me for a 10 week healthy living challenge!

(You can jump in to this challenge at any time.  There is no particular start or end date, so the best time to start making positive changes is NOW!)

This will not be anything overwhelming; instead it will be one simple change you can make in your household that will have a big impact!

You'll find yourself more energetic and happier about the way you are caring for your family.

Sound good?

Enter your email address to join the fun!

(Note: if you are already subscribed to email updates, you WILL need to sign up separately for this challenge.)

How to Pray for Missionaries (With Free Printable)

A couple years ago I posted about how we keep all our missionary prayer cards in a photo album.  We can flip through it and pray for a different missionary at each meal.

I hope you have some sort of system in place that you use to pray for missionaries as well.  And I hope that your prayer is more than just “God bless the missionaries.”  They have specific needs, and it is our responsibility to intercede for them as they face the obstacles that the adversary sets before them.

It is easier than it ever has been to pray for the specific needs of each missionary that we know.  Most of them send out updates by email, and you can get their most up-to-date prayer requests right in your inbox.  I try to pray for specific requests that come through immediately as I read them.  Later we add those requests to our family prayer time as well.

A couple months ago, we had a missionary in our church (Brenson Jennings, missionary to Niger) who preached a message on How to Pray for Missionaries.  He gave some general ways that we should be praying for our missionaries on a regular basis.  I am not sure I got 100% of the outline down as I was trying to hurriedly scratch it on the back of a receipt, but here is the gist of what he said: (posted with his permission)

1. Pray for their Deliverance

• from Wicked Men – there are many who oppose the work of the Lord and will do everything they can to hinder it
• from Wasted Time – they need wisdom to use every minute wisely
• from Weary Bodies – one of Satan's weapons against those doing God's work is to attack with illness
• from Worldly Attitudes – they need to remember that all things work together for good — even when it doesn't seem like that is happening at the moment
• from Wrong Choices – they need discernment to use their resources wisely, to know who to trust in a strange country, etc.

2. Pray for Acceptance

• of the Message – that people would respond to the gospel
• of the Motive – they need people to understand that they've come because God loves them

3. Pray for Encouragement

• In times of Stress – sometimes it seems they are all alone as they face trials
• In times of Sickness – we all have a tendency to feel discouraged when we're not feeling well
• In times of Sowing – it's discouraging when it seems no one is listening or responding to your message
• In times of Separation – being far away from friends and family is hard

There were so many specific examples that this particular missionary gave which illustrated each of these points.  I'm sure that you can just imagine the missionaries you know and why they would need you to pray these things for them and how they would apply in their particular situation.

I wanted to remember these things, so I created a simple 4×6 printable that can go into the front of our missionary album.  If you'd like to print it, you can do so by clicking on the photo above or the link below.

How to Pray for Missionaries PDF

I Am Blessed With a Beautiful Mess

Every day I face mountains.

Mountains of laundry.

Mountains of dishes.

Mountains of exhaustion, frustration, and confusion.

Motherhood is the hardest thing I have ever done.

Last night my husband took the kids out for a couple hours, and I had a quiet house to myself.  (Well, I had the baby with me, but she seems like no work at all when you're used to three other tornadoes in the house!)

You would think I would have enjoyed the quiet.  Having a chance to go to the bathroom without having to referee sibling bickering through the door should be blissful, right?

But you know who the happiest person was for those kids to get home?

Me!

I hardly knew what to do with myself while they were gone!  I was (dare I say it?) bored!

You see, while they are a challenge to face each day,  every one of those mountains in my home is beautiful.

Those mountains of laundry represent a little boy who is full of healthy curiosity about the world God made.  They represent siblings playing outside with one another, climbing trees, playing on the swing set, and picking honeysuckle together.

I want these to be the memories my kids have of home; not of how mom was always complaining about how hard they made her work.

Those mountains of dishes represent meals around the family table, talking and laughing together.  The discussions about how to read the clock on the kitchen wall will all too soon turn into discussions about how their college classes are going.  I don't want to waste precious memories that will pass too quickly by spending my time focusing on the dirty dishes.

The mountains of exhaustion, confusion, and frustration represent long days teaching children how to be kind, responsible, honest, and obedient, even when they are not the most cooperative students.

But each “Yes, ma’am” that I hear brings a renewed energy and determination to work diligently so that one day those “Yes, ma’am”s will turn to “Yes, Lord”s.

And one day when I see my grown children living a life for God’s glory, I will look back and reflect on this beautiful mess that defines my life as a young mother. And I will declare that every mountain I scaled was worth the effort ten times over.

Fight Laundry Stains with Biz

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Biz Stain & Odor Eliminator. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a mom, I deal with stains every single day.

When I given the opportunity to try out Biz stain fighter, I was happy to put it to the test.

I had stains of all types to fight: mud, grass, food, baby blowouts, you name it.

Here is just one example of one of the stains I worked on (or that Biz worked on for me).

I know, I know.  I just had to show you the grossest one!

After treatment with Biz:

You can see that it worked quite well.  Biz contains more stain fighting ingredients than other types of stain fighters.  It contains ingredients to combat all 4 types of stains: protein-based stains, inks and dyes, brightening/whitening, and granular stains like mud and dirt.

Although the instructions say to use Biz by adding it to a load of wash, or to wet the area with warm water and apply Biz for 30 minutes before washing, I found a favorite way to use it that worked well for me.  If something got stained I would immediately put it into a bucket of warm water and add Biz.  That way I could allow the garment to soak in the stain fighting power without having to remember to come back and wash it in 30 minutes.  I could get it into the wash whenever I happened to make my way back into the laundry room.

I had the opportunity to use it on a wide variety of stains.

For instance, my little girl smeared peanut butter all over a white shirt.  After treatment with Biz, it came out whiter than ever.

Another time my little man got grass stain and mud on a pair of tan pants.  The grass stain came out without a trace, which surprised me as that is usually one of the toughest stains to fight.  On the other hand, the mud did not come out nearly as well.

My overall opinion was that although there are certain types of stains that Biz had a harder time fighting, the ones that it fought well were fought extremely well.

Take a look at where to buy Biz and be sure to be on the lookout for the new look:

You can also save $1 on Biz with a printable coupon!

Be sure to connect with Biz on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest for lots of stain fighting goodness.