Reviving the Soul

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!

~Psalm 19: 7-13

How to Encourage Your Husband as the Spiritual Leader of the Home

Do you need help encouraging your husband as the spiritual leader of the home?

Many women do. I know that when I was a young wife I had not had it modeled to me of how to encourage my husband until much later. I remember devouring books on how to be a better wife for years.

My parents were divorced and I did not want to follow in their shoes. There was much arguing and abuse in their relationship and I knew there had to be a better way. I didn't want to pass the cycle of destruction on to my new little family that I loved so dearly.

So today I wanted to share a little of what I have learned after 25 years of marriage in hopes that it will help someone out there. But please know that I am still not a perfect wife, I don't think anyone out there is--but I have a better and clearer understanding of how to be a good wife and that is what I daily strive to be.

Here are 6 ways to encourage your husband to be the spiritual leader of your home:


1. Look to his leadership - it is so easy to look somewhere else for answers--through friends, social media, online, books, etc. but do we ever stop to ask what our husbands think?

2. Give him verbal affirmation--it is good to say things like "I am so glad that you said/did this because..." this encourages my husband and lets him know that his decisions are good and helping our family.

3. Thank him - be sure to appreciate your husband. You are a team working together to bring glory to God and to raise your family. Thank him for the big things and the small--and most of all don't take him for granted!

4. Communicate biblically - don't be critical, don't be a nag, just give him honest feedback about how things are going in your marriage, parenting, and so forth so he can understand the full picture better. Often times praying before you do this helps you to choose words wisely that are kind and full of grace.

5. Praise him - this goes hand in hand with verbal affirmation. When he does something good remember to praise him and it is okay to praise him publicly too. In fact, I often find it refreshing to hear a woman praising her husband instead of tearing him down.

6. Pray for him - your husband is imperfect (just like you). He needs your prayers to make right decisions, for strength, to battle against temptation, for wisdom in struggles and challenges, and to grow in the Lord. Pray for him daily and ask God to help him grow in godliness.


Let's start encouraging our husbands today! If you need an additional helpful resource on this topic, we highly recommend this practical book.


What would you add to this list?

Our Visit to the Homeschool Conference & What We Found

We have been homeschooling for over 20 years now. I don't always feel the need to go to a homeschool conference but this year I definitely wanted to see if there was anything new or inspiring that I could add to our upcoming school year. So at the last minute we decided to go and I spent most of my time there in the exhibit hall as usual!

I found this lovely Victorian Slot-Together Dollhouse from Usborne:

It was SOOOO stinking cute, I couldn't help but to ooooh and ahhh over them:

The sweet and friendly lady who owned it said she glued her pieces together so she could travel with it.

It was also neat to learn that they have a Castle version and a Theatre version as well (see below). These would make such a fun project for hands on learning.

My boys were smitten with a few other things there like these Bear Grylls books which we ended up getting:

I also found this offical Knight's Handbook that I just loved and got for them:

The boys literally devoured most of the books that we bought for them THAT day! Good thing homeschooling is life-long learning and doesn't just have to be in a school setting.

There was so much to choose from, I even picked up a something fun for little Bella.

This paritcular booth had a ton of mystery novel type books:

We walked around and got to meet one of the gals in the Brinkman Adventures Audio Dramas on real missionary stories and she let us take a picture of her:

That is her here on the left!

Another little gem that I found was this book, George Washington's Rule of Civility & Decent Behavior:

I will use this book for their copywork class. We like to rotate the days--we do Bible, a favorite book or library book, a character book, and poetry. This one is a nice addition to the character category. 

This year I also picked up a little something to get all the kids talking about next year--a packet of animals to dissect. This package came with a frog, a perch, an earthworm, and a crayfish. I also picked up a scalpel.

You can find a kit like this one here. 

I was a little grossed out holding it while waiting in line to pay! My boys who came were in a session and it was the last kit so as a homeschooling mom I did what I had to do and bought it without them. 

I also looked through this planner  for teens and really liked it. I didn't get a chance to buy it because we ran out of time but I will probably order a few online. 

This year I noticed they didn't seem to have as many exhibitors as I have seen in the past. I also usually see more books dedicated to learning character as well but did not see as many this year. I spent much of my time at this booth--Heppner's Legacy. Mainly because they had a lot of fun items in that didn't need to be ordered and you could just take it home with you. I already am pretty happy with the curriculum that we use right now and will use the same thing next year so there was really no need to get any of that.

I was able to sit for a short time through a session. I am grateful we had a chance to drop by!

I hope you enjoyed our pictures!

Did you go to your local homeschool conference this year?

Note: This post contains affiliate links--thanks for your support!

A Wise Woman is Content

"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

~1 Timothy 6:6

Are you a woman growing in contentment?

Sometimes without realizing it sometimes we can allow negativity, wrong thinking, circumstances, or lies to steal contentment from us.

We can choose to be content or discontent.

The operative word is choose. 

We do not have to wait for every area of our life to be perfect. In fact, that day will probably never come.

There will always be trials and/or hardships in this lifetime, but our outlook on them makes all the difference in the world-- without a doubt, a GODLY perspective is always what is needed.

Some areas that women struggle with contentment might be:

HER MARRIAGE

Expecting a perfect marriage or things to always go her way.


HER CHILDREN

Expecting her children to always be perfect.

HER HOME

Always wanting more and never content with what they have even though what they have may be more than enough.

HER FINANCES

She might be spending more than her family can afford or going into debt.


HER WALK WITH THE LORD

She doesn't get her contentment in the Lord, but instead is tempted by worldly things and she allows herself to be drawn in by them.



THE SECRET TO CONTENTMENT

We can train ourselves to be content by:

TAKING OUR THOUGHTS CAPTIVE

If we start to think discontented thoughts we need to immediately take that wrong thought captive and replace it with Scripture.

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5


Do not allow wrong thinking or entertain lies in your free time. The enemy would love to muddle your thinking with discontentment.

BEING THANKFUL

Remember to be thankful for all that God has blessed us with. Did we wake up this morning? Do we have a roof over our heads? Do we have food? If we did, we are blessed!

He has blessed us with every good thing. If we have nothing except for God, we know that we are still, indeed, rich in Christ!

We need to be thankful for our the marriage, children, home, and finances that we have. Sure, things can always be improved upon, but a thankful attitude is a good place to begin at.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" Psalm 100:4

Father's Day Gift Ideas That He Will Love

Are you looking for a special gift for dad?

You might have several dads in your life---your husband, son(s), father, grandfathers, uncles, in-laws, and friends and sometimes finding them gifts that would be encouraging and clean can be a challenge.

I know that my husband loves spending time together as a family (he is a big family man) but not so keen when it comes to shopping--especially for himself. He only does it when he absolutely has to or when the need arises (which is probably how many husbands are), but I know that can pose a challenge to women who are looking for something to get them. Sometimes we need a little inspiration!

So today we are sharing some gift ideas that might help you! (And the best news is that most of the items listed here you can get in 2 days with free shipping if you are an Amazon Prime Member so you can get it in time for your special guy!)

Let's begin:

1. Bible or Leather Bible

Other books of interest:

Study Bibles
A Man After God's Own Heart
A Leader After God's Own Heart



2. Coffee Lovers - Organic Coffee or Coffee Maker

Get organic coffee here and a coffee maker HERE. 

Or maybe a coffee gift card would do.



3. Beard Grooming Kit

You can find it HERE.

4. Shaving Kit

You can find it HERE.


Or get regular electric shaving kits HERE.

5. Tool Gift Set

You can find it HERE.




6. Jesus clothing

You can find Christian Men's Hoodies HERE.

Or Men's Christian jewelry HERE.


7. Men's Cologne & Body Spray

You can find it HERE.



8. Summer accessories

Sunglasses for men

9. Cufflink Gift Set

You can find it HERE.

10. Electronics Charging Station

You can find it HERE.

And this one HERE.

11. Portable Phone Charger 

You can find it HERE.

Or Wireless Phone Charger:

12. Smart Watch or wristband

You can find it HERE. 

OR get wristbands for the watch he already owns.

13. Art of Manliness books

Get Manvotionals HERE.

Or how about Act Like Men: 40 Days to Biblical Manhood

You can find it HERE.

14. Manly Soap (this was super popular in our Gift Ideas for Teen Boys post)

There is even Sasquatch soap and Cowboy soap!

You can find the complete set HERE.

15. Water or Coffee bottle

You can find the water bottle HERE. 

Or YETI tumbler HERE.

16. Bluetooth Speaker

You can find them HERE.

17. Grilling Gift Set

You can find them HERE.

Don't forget the Grilling Apron!

And Hot Sauce!

These Bear Claw Shredders help to shred meat quickly!






18. Movie Tickets

You can find it HERE.

 19. Gift Cards to favorite place 

You can find these HERE.

Or maybe they prefer coffee at places like Starbucks.



 20. Food (restaurant gift card) --they say a way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

You can the Outback Steakhouse gift card HERE.

Or you can browse different restaurant options HERE.

This one is my favorite of all time!

I hope this list is a blessing to you!

What would you add to this list?




Note: This post contains affiliate links--thanks for your support!