Here is todays Friday Feature, although it is an evening post. Thank you to our group host Laurie for asking me to provide a devotion to the women who frequent this page. May you enjoy the following excerpt from my book, A Womans Journal for Joyful Living: Successful Steps to Holistic Health. Enjoy! ~ Dr. Natalie A. Francisco Nurturing is easier for women to provide because of our “helpmate” nature. When reviewing chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, once again we can surmise that Adam had completed his assignments after having been given the ability to work and name the animals in the Garden of Eden. Afterwards, God made a declarative statement in His observation of Adam: “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). For that reason, God, as the first anesthesiologist, put Adam to sleep so that He could perform surgery on him. God took Adam’s rib, and from it fashioned woman, building her from the inside out with the exact specifications of mind, body and spirit that were needed to complement Adam in any and every comparable way. As such, Eve was to be flexible, adaptable and suitable so that whatever Adam lacked she would and could become and provide. God knew that man needed help and that woman—or the right woman that is—is the answer that he needs. Wives are to set the proper tone for a healthy family within the home by loving God, loving and respecting her husband, and ensuring that her household is managed well. Her “helpmate” nature is utilized by providing proper nurture in the following ways: 1. Give tender care and protection to her children for their spiritual and natural growth and development; 2. Motivate her children to love and serve God by her example and their own choice; and 3. Encourage her children to flourish by helping them to discover and use their gifts, talents and abilities. Placing family relationships at the top of our priority list will help to create balance and minimize the feeling of guilt or regret that may occur because the family has been neglected or placed further down our “to do” list. Friendships, co-workers and associates all have a place in our lives as well, but that place must be identified as those relationships are placed in their proper order. Here are a few scriptures upon which to meditate that include relevant principles in relation to prioritizing our family and others: Ephesians 6:1-4: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Application Principles 1. Children must be taught to respect, listen to, and obey their parents because it is the right thing to do. Parents are the first representation of authority in the home that children will ever see. In addition, a child’s love for and view of God and a relationship with Him (as opposed to just a religious experience), is both seen and learned by the example that parents set within the home. Setting the right tone within a Christian home involves learning, and therefore modeling what is right or pleasing according to God’s Word and will, as implied in Ephesians 6:1. 2. There is a blessing that accompanies adherence to God’s Word for children. Verses two and three of Ephesians chapter six stipulate the most important responsibility that children have within the home, and that is to honor their parents. In so doing, there are benefits of blessing that follow, namely that the child will in turn have a blessed life as well as the promise of a long life. Obeying the parents that God has assigned as stewards is a sure way for children to inherit these precious promises. 3. The role of the father is to be resident and evident in the life of his child. According to Ephesians 6:4, we can understand why there are so many disheartened, angry children (and women, too). When the father is absent in the life of his child, there will be inevitable, negative repercussions, unless God intervenes. Rather than being an absentee father, or one who does not take his priorities and responsibilities seriously, fathers are encouraged to step up to the plate by providing care, concern, correction, inspiration and instruction. Those are the kind of role models that children, particularly young men, need to see and follow. Proverbs 17:17: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 27:17: As iron sharpens iron, So a man [woman] sharpens the countenance of his [her] friend. Application Principles 1. True friends have unconditional love for each other in the best and worst of times. Proverbs 17:17 reiterates the importance of cultivating growth in the social component of our four-square development. Seeking out and maintaining friendships in primary familial relationships and between “sister-friends” will add to the richness of our lives in ways that are unexpected and certainly unparalleled. Such genuine friendships, and the relationships between spouses as well as between siblings, can be God-sent when prioritized appropriately and managed well. 2. The right kind of friend will add value, strength and accountability as a sharpening edge in the relationship. Just as a knife is sharpened by scraping it against another piece of steel, so a friend becomes sharper spiritually, intellectually, socially and physically by being in the company of one who will bring out the best, the brightest and the brilliance within her. She will begin to grow in leaps and bounds, and so will her friend, because the benefits in such a relationship are mutual. Proverbs 27:17 attests to the truth and power of such a friendship. Husbands and wives have a responsibility to honor, love and respect each other. Parents and guardians who have children, whether they are single or married, are to make sure that their children are well taken care of, and that their homes are havens of love, laughter, peace, security and stability. Forest E. Witcraft reminds us of what is important in terms of prioritizing what I’ve learned that really matters most: “A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” Generations are depending on us to pass on a legacy to them that will last—a legacy upon which they can build and pass on to succeeding generations. When our family relationships and friendships are nurtured properly and valued appropriately, then our homes, communities, nation and world will benefit greatly. awomansjournalforjoyfulliving
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 02:34:06 +0000
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