May 22-28; Chapters 20 & 21; His Attitude, His Marriage

This week there was a paragraph that spoke to me in the Attitude chapter. For some reason not necessarily having much to do with the kiddos or husband, I've just had a little bit of a down attitude about things, allowing little problems take more of a place in my heart than they should. I think, hey, everybody with two small children, a husband that works nights & overtime, who is trying to buy a house is stressed has a right to snip a bit, right?
Apparently, WRONG! :)

On page 150, Stormie says "The Bible says we have a choice as to what we will allow into our heart (Ps 101:4)...We choose to receive the love of the Lord. We permit an attitude of thankfulness to rise in us."

-Do you react to negativity in your husband? How so? Do you immediately go to the Lord in prayer about it? How can you respond more positively?

Then, in the chapter about praying for His Marriage, I can identify. Not being the sports-watching type, (I enjoy playing them, not watching them unless it's with friends and a chocolate fountain!) I also prayed God would send me someone who wasn't WAY more into sports tv than I was. Well, God had a sense of humor, and instead gave me a "gamer." :) We have also come to the same conclusion that it is in our marriage's best interest to agree, he tries not to go overboard on how late he stays up playing, and I don't have to even PRETEND to care about it. :) The situation works, most of the time. ;)
I do like the verse she included, though, don't take your marriage for granted, no matter how great it is. "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (I Cor.10:12)

-Read I Cor. 7:10,11 in your Bible. Have you or your husband ever viewed divorce as an option which you would consider? (the joke in our house from our premarital counseling days: Divorce will NEVER be an option. Murder, perhaps. But never divorce! :) Write a prayer breaking the power of those thoughts of divorce and turn them over to God.

Love you, girls, have a great week!

May 15- May 21; Chapters 18-19; His Fatherhood, His Past

Hey girls, here is your food for thought for this week:

-What is the way for a man to become a good father? What is the best way to have a father's heart? (pg139)

-Does your husband have a good relationship with each of his children? Do you feel like he has bonded with his children? What are ways (other than prayer, obviously) you can encourage this to happen?

-Read Phil.3:13-14 in your Bible. Do you feel your husband is able to reach forward to all God has for him? How do you think your prayers might help him to do that?

-Read Isaiah 43:18-19 & underline it. What are we to do about the past? What does God promise if you do that? Do you believe this for your husband? For yourself?

have a great week ladies, keep reading and praying! :)

May 8- May 14; Chapter 16, 17; His Priorities, His Relationships

Hello Ladies,

I'll admit, the first chapter this week, His Priorities is a subject I have often had to revisit throughout the years that we've been married, probably mostly due to the fact that he is a night owl and I am not, he has often worked evenings and while I do not, etc. So it's always been a little bit of tug of war for keeping what is important in balance with "allowing" or encouraging him to take the time he needs for rest and friendships. So yes, the prayer at the end of this chapter will definitely be ringing in my ears this week!

here's your food for thought

-Read Matthew 4:10 in your Bible & underline it. What should be the top priority in your husband's life? In your life?
-Can you think of ways you could set aside time for you and your husband to be alone, doing something HE would enjoy? Do share with us! :)

-Read II Corinthians 6:14. Does your husband have any close friends or business relationships with people who are not believers? I want to encourage you to pray for their salvation.
-How is YOUR friendship with your husband? I know some of us married our best friend, and others are in a more "opposites attract" marriage. Do you think your friendship could be improved or deepened? How would you pray to that end?

May1-May7; Chapters 14,15; His Integrity, His Reputation

hey girls, hope you're all doing well, and praying your hubbies are being prayed for regularly! :)

here's your food for thought:

-On page 118 Stormie quotes Prov. 20:7, she points out that this week, in praying for our husbands to have integrity, it's sort of a "two for one special" in that it is something that is passed on to our children as well. That makes me want to be sure I continue to pray for his integrity so much more, and that he passes that on to his sons, that they may be men of integrity, honesty, dependability, etc! Also remember our prayers for their integrity help shield them from the negatives that can cause them to doubt themselves.

-I also hadn't thought about praying for my husband's reputation as having a part in my own, such as in the Proverbs 31 woman: her husband is "known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land"... thoughts?

here are your discussion questions for yourselves and with your partners:

Read John 16:13. In light of this Scripture, how can you pray for moral and ethical guidance for your husband?

Read Prov.22:1. Why do you think God puts such a high value on having a good reputation? Aren't we not supposed to care what others think of us?? :)

What are 3 ways reputations can be ruined? (p.121)

Have a great week ladies!

April 24-April 30; chapters 12,13; His Protection, His Trials

First of all, I'm so sorry last week had to be emailed out, I was NEVER able to get the post to publish, and have 3 drafts of the same post to prove it!! Hope this week is more successful.

-What is a time in you and your husband's life when God answered your prayers of protection over him? (and I'm not just looking for God saved his life by prevention...Ro.8:28...)

-Psalm 91:1,2 and 91:11,12 are good prayers to insert your husband's name praying over him.

-What does Romans 8:18 mean in your life?

-How often do you need to pray when you are in the heat of a battle or a trial? (Ps.55:16,17)

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend, have a great week!

April 10-16; Chapters 8,9; His Fears, His Purpose

Good grief, is all I got to say! Sorry I'm late again....the boys took turns being needy and taking naps on opposite schedules the last few days, and I ended up with headaches at night! Here's this week's food for thought: -I LOVED the paragraph on pg 89, so I'll copy it here for you. :) Hey, copy it and email it to your hubby as an encouragement while you're praying it. :) When you have the fear of the Lord, God promises to deliver you from your enemies (II Kgs 17:39), protect you from evil (Prv.16:6), keep His eye on you (Ps. 33:18), show you His mercy (Lk 1:50), give you riches and honor (Prv.22:4), supply everything you need (Ps.34:9), reveal all you need to know (Ps.25:14), bless your children and grandchildren (Ps103:17), give you confidence (Prv14:26), a satisfying life (Prv.19:23), longevity (Prv.10:27), and the desires of your heart (Ps. 145:19). What more could you ask? -Read I John 4:18. What casts out fear? Who is the only one in the universe who has perfect love? Whose love should you pray will penetrate your husband's life? -On the Purpose chapter, I really like that she goes into the wife's role in her husband's purpose. As a teenager, unfortunately, I saw more than one youth minister or pastor lose his ministry because of his wife. In all the cases, she left him; a few of them cited simply that they weren't called to be a youth minister's wife. Well, if may stand on the soap box a second, "Sorry?! you should've discussed that with your poor fiance attending college youth ministry classes..." Ok. :) Stormie says "...it will fit in with whatever your husband's calling is, it willnot be in conflict with it" whether it be a partner in the ministry or be supportive, in prayer and more responsibility with the kiddos. I also like the part where she says if your husband seeks out God's will, it may or may not mean him leaving his job; more often it does not, and they simply have much more meaning and God-given purpose behind their extra curricular activities (i.e. VBS, etc). -Have you sought God about His call on your life? If so what is it? If it seems it is in conflict with His call on your husband's life, ask God to clarify that to you. It may have to do with timing. Ask God to reveal to you how He will work out the timing of what He would have both of you do together. love ya girls, enjoy the week! :)

Week Four: April 3-9; His Temptations; His Mind

Hey girls, Hope you have a great week praying for you hubbies this week! :) Here's your food for thought for chapters 6 & 7: -Read Luke 22:40 in your Bible. What does Jesus specifically direct us to do here? Do you know what areas of your husband's life are subject to temptation? (at least in my case, I don't think we've just sat down and talked about this question specifically in quite a while...maybe this is a good week to do that. :) -Read James 1:12. If you sense there is a person in your husband's life becoming a temptation, pray this individual be taken out of your husband's life. *On a personal note, this doesn't necessarily mean another woman kind of temptation. In a past relationship I discovered that his friendships can also be just as or more detrimental to him staying in the perfect will of God... What does verses 13-15 say our own desires produce and the ultimate result of that? -Do you believe that God really has given you all the authority over the enemy on behalf of your husband? How would you address the enemy regarding the lies he speaks to your husband's mind? What are the two most powerful weapons against the attack of lies upon his mind? (p.82) -Read Hebrews 4:12. In light of this verse, how could speaking the Word of God over your husband in prayer help to reveal wrong thinking? -Just an idea/challenge: as I was praying the prayers at the end of the "mind" chapter, I thought (no...the Lord led me, as I don't have a habit of doing this!) maybe this is a good time for him to KNOW he's having this prayer prayed over him. So I sent him that Bible verse to him in a text that he will receive at work today since he was on his way in when I sent it. Sometime this week find a way to send your husband a "prayer blessing" in a way he doesn't expect it and see how it affects his day... :)