To Have and To... - Encouragement Café - June 24, 2015
To Have and To…
Café Menu for Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Today’s Special is: Hold Your Mate Close
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Paris Renae
Main Ingredient:
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 NIV
Entrée:
We hold a lot of things close don’t we? Our young children, or grandchildren as the case may be. Our bank accounts, our possessions, our reputations…
Things that are important to us, we hold protectively close. We give our best, work our hardest, safeguards in place, ready defenses...
What about our husbands? Are we guilty as charged of giving him our best, safeguarding our marriage, ready to defend his reputation?
When I was a young mom and going to Bible study with a lot of other young moms, there were two of us who always introduced ourselves the same way. “Hi, I’m Paris. I have three children, and I’m married to the most wonderful man in the world.”
Ladies, I’ve been married 33 years. There have been highs and lows, romance and nomance, peace and quarrels, plenty and not enough, on the same page and what in the world book are you reading – but through it all there has been a glue.
We both know Jesus as Lord and Savior. There were times when I was much further ahead in my growth with the Lord, because the head of our household was busy being the head of the household. Sometimes he hasn’t had the time to grow like I have. Other times I’ve been the one who barely had time to pray, let alone read a verse. But we “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 NIV
Beyond our loving Father who has cemented us to each other, we would credit our long and happy marriage to this: my utmost respect for him of which he has no doubt, and his very obvious love for me of which I have no doubt.
Hold your hubby closer than anything else – from your lips of honey that are his only, let drip words of praise to family, friends, and strangers.
Take Out:
Look for the good qualities in your husband. The more you look and praise him to others, the more endearing he will become. The more he knows you are praising him, the more he will begin to show his love for you. Try it, you’ll like it.
Dessert:
Father, I pray for all the ladies reading this, whether in great marriages or ones ready to fall apart. Show us the qualities You have gifted our husbands with. Help us to hold on to them the way You hold onto us, without shaming, without high expectations and with tenderness and acceptance. Let us also remember our own shortcomings. Strengthen our marriages, Lord, that they may be a powerful witness to all who know us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For more encouragement, visit Paris at Living Braver where we discover what it means to Fear…Less and Paris Renae, where we look at how very extraordinary ordinary is!
© 2015 by Paris Renae. All rights reserved.
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