All to Him I Owe

This article is for husbands and dads! As you pull into your driveway and look at your home remember these three things:

1. Our home is to be our family’s place of refuge, but our workshop. – To often dad’s consider home to be the place where they come home, kick back and relax. Phyically rest is to happen in a home, but spiritually speaking every Godly dad should consider their home a workshop.There are projects living within our homes that need dad’s attention and spiritual guidance. We ought to step into the home picking up the tools of discernment and the Word of God and start applying them to the needs of our family. The home where dad is working spiritually to guide and lead his family becomes a place of sweet refuge for those who live within its walls.

2.It is not a fishbowl but a magnifying glass! Very few will have a full glimpse into the workings of our homes. Even when we have guests we typically act better than we normally do. Our homes are not really fishbowls for all to see into. However, for those living within our home, the home is a magnifying glass showing all who live within it who Dad really is. Our wives and children see and know best who dad really is. The home has a way of magnifying our weaknesses and strengths. Don’t bolt from or disregard what the magnifying glass reveals. Instead, be honest, transparent and quick to fix what it reveals.

3.Our home must be a place our family enjoys not endures. Sadly, many kids (ie. teens) simply think of home as a place to endure. They count down the days until they can escape and free themselves. I continue to be challenged about my role in the task of making the home a place to enjoy. Here are a couple of things that really maximize joy in the home.

• Keep sin out of the home!
• Serve one another!
• Keep the communication in the home clear, constant, and controlled.
• Be creative!
• Work hard at creating a “fun atmosphere” where pure humor (not sarcasm) is prevalent.