Game Time!
It’s the 4th quarter and the clock is winding down to zero. Your team is exhausted from the relentless effort that your opponents have played with. The only way that you are going to pull this off and walk away with a win in hand is by playing smart and working together. Every play in these next few minutes and seconds is crucial. The opposing team is smarter, more energetic and faster. Their star player is in his 3rd year and has shut down some of the best players in the league. He’s managed to get into your head and is now playing off of your every weakness. Their number two player, who happens to be his sibling, has an incredibly high energy level and has been coming at you with intensity all night. The objective is clear: get both of them… in bed. No easy feat. Dad, your authority has been challenged and you have a crucial decision to make: do you lose it and put your foot down OR give one more warning? You look to your wife who senses your frustration. She gives you an understanding look but encourages you to take a deep breathe and without words, reminds you that losing your cool will not make bed time any easier. You make the right decision and after 30 minutes of negotiating you manage to get your kids in bed…tonight.
It takes teamwork to make the family work. Successful parenting requires that we lean on our wives as seen in the above scenario (which is an almost nightly occurence in our house). So here are 4 keys to working hand in hand with your wife!
- Show your kids who God is! God made man and woman as compliments to each other so that they would display His image completely. Without one or the other then God’s nature is only partially represented in our families. It is vital that both you and your wife share the responsibilities of parenting because your kids’ view of God depends on it!
- Fight the same Enemy. Your wife is your military ally. In Genesis 1-2 God says to Adam that he will give him a “helper.” This word in the Hebrew means a military ally. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our wives in this spiritual battle for the spiritual well-being of our children. We have an Enemy. He hates Godly families. He wants to destroy you, your marriage and your children. We need our wives to fight this battle.
-
Talk often! Parenting is fast-paced. School, soccer, camps, vacations, sickness, laundry, meals, naps, diapers…and the list goes on. One of the most helpful ways Lydia and I spend our evenings is by sitting on our couch and talking. It is in these moments that: angry moments from the day are confessed, challenges with the kids are talked about, strategizing about how to handle future conflicts happen, and we re-align ourselves with God’s eternal perspective.
-
Pray consistently. Nothing will change your family more than praying with your wife for your kids. I am a living testimony to this. I struggled with this for years but within the last year we’ve made a habit of praying together almost every day. Prayer is like jet fuel for your family. It will propel you forward into God’s best! The other day Azariah showed some signs of softening his heart to the Gospel as he asked Jesus to give him a new heart! Only God and only prayer.
Leading your home means standing shoulder to shoulder with your bride and kicking butt!
Next week is the last part to our series, “Lead Your Home.” We will discuss how the Bible defines manhood and how it affects us as fathers!