Life at Oak Grove

Today, I got reminded while reading through the chapter of The Power of a Praying Wife that as a provider for the family, my husband needs to feel appreciated for what he does.  Their identity is attached to their work apparently.   Personally, I have trouble seeing this.   I guess it’s because I don’t have a “normal” man.   My husband is very sensitive to the fact that he wants to spend lots of time with his family.   

On page 51 of the book, a particular paragraph popped out for me.

None of them (speaking of two previous examples in the book) had parents who prayed for them to have their gifts and talents revealed, to know the calling of God on their lives, to have doors opened to them, and to become all they were created to be.

This year I wrote – to do for my kids – because I find it important that each one of them (not only the boys) will be used by God in the future.   Being their mom, I can pray this for them right now.

Lord, I pray and hope that You will reveal to Alexandre, Dominic, Jérémy and Jasmine their gifts and talents early in life so that they can develop them to be able to serve You in whatever calling You have for them.   May they know when to identify the opportunities You put on their path, go through open door and trust You with every aspects in their life.   Help them grow to become Your ambassadors – just the way You created them.

Back to my husband… after all this S.H.M.I.L.Y. is for him alone…

Praying for Rob is an act of love.   It is especially important to pray for his work as he is a contractor and depends on contracts regularly. 

Lord, I pray that You will continue to open doors of opportunities for our business and for Rob.   May everything goes well when he is at a contract.   May new contacts pour over the business and new contracts be available.    I also pray that relationships with clients and with employees will be strong and healthy.  May we recognize your hand when we get new opportunities.   Give him success in his work but also fulfillment in what he does.   Guide him during decision making and give him a vision for the future.  May you make the next step clear for Optimized Consulting and for LobsterNetwork.  Inspire Rob for other projects and open doors of opportunity for him that no man can close.   Develop his skills so that they grow more valuable with each year.   Show me, as his wife, how I can encourage him on a daily basis.   I pray that his work will be established, secure, satisfying, and financially profitable.   Amen.

Psalm 90:17

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.

Tomorrow we will covers his finances.

Read the post on Dandelion Seeds.

I am participating in the 2011 Mommytography 365 Project! For this year long project I will be posting an image a day, to get me out shooting, using my camera and learning new things with it daily. Anyone interested in photography can join, no need to be a Mommytographer. We have teens to adults, male and female, as well as people from all over the world. Come join the fun!

So glad to have this play structure in my backyard…

Last year, I participated to a full month of S.H.M.I.L.Y. while going through the book The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.  The objective was to pray on a daily basis during the whole month of June for our husband.  S.H.M.I.L.Y. stands for See How Much I Love You.

Well today, June 1st, we are doing it again.  More than 696 women are participating.  If you want to join the group, please go to the facebook event page and start praying.

You can also follow the leader’s blog at Dandelion Seeds.

During the month of June, I will attempt to blog about my journey through the book.

I use an older version of the books but if you don’t have them, you can order them at amazon.ca.   I prefer having the devotional as well as it give more questions to ponder about each chapter.  

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While re-reading chapter one of the book, I realized that I still have to work on some things in my own life.   It was a good reminder that I can not change my husband, only God can.  But most importantly I can only changed myself.   So my prayer is – “Change me, LORD”.   Plain and simple.   

I got reminded of the importance of letting go of the past and the hurt associated to it.   Funny that this specific sentence stand up while I was reading the chapter.   I have realized something in the last couple of days that is bothering me.   Quite a bit.  

Last Sunday, we drove to Massena to do a bit of shopping on the US side.    At one point, I was strapping our daughter in her car seat, all the boys were already sitting in the truck as well as my husband.   I was alone still not in the truck when I close the door next to Jasmine.   Panic in my stomach…  What would I do if Rob decided to take off just like that?   Where this that come from?   I didn’t like it.  While thinking some more about this, I realized that I have felt like this in the past trips we have done – in the US, in Toronto…   Why?    Again this week, while we were in Wal-Mart in our part of town – which by the way I could walk back home easily – the same feeling came back.   I decided to open up and talk to him.    He supported me and suggested that maybe it was a fear of abandonment.  

Abandonment.  Hmmmm.    He also reminded me of the times I told him that when I was going skiing with my dad, he would take off after a while for more challenging hills – leaving me alone.   And I thought of the time when I was alone on a street in Montreal – panicking because if was getting darker and my parents were nowhere to be seen.  I had made a foolish decision to ask them to come and pick me up.  They thought I was back in Repentigny.   I wasn’t.   Geez.   And then there is the fact that my dad did left the family when I was in my 20s.  Separation and divorce is not easy even for older children.

So I need to let go of the fear of abandonment.   Change me, LORD.    Help me to realize that my husband is not my dad.   He is not him.  

The other section that touched me is this one on page 37 of the book.

Your home should be a peaceful sanctuary…  A source of contentment, acceptance, rejuvenation, nurturing, rest and love for everyone.

I was reminded of the decision of homeschooling our kids and of me staying at home for them.   

So today I pray the following:

Lord help me to identify the areas in our home that are not safe.  May it becomes a place where creativity, communication and encouragement are found.    May you help me to be wise with the opportunities you bring to me as well as with my time.    If for whatever reasons blogging is becoming a problem I ask You to pull the plug on it.    Help me to keep our home cleaned, to do the laundry on a regular basis, to prepare healthy meals for my family, to find good deals when I need to buy something, to be a good teacher for my kids and a great wife for my husband.    Encourage me and help me to loose weight and be more healthy physically, mentally, sexually, and spiritually.    Help me to let go of the past and remove this fear of abandonment in me.   It is unjust for my husband that I have these feelings.   Please transform me from within.    Strengthen our marriage.   Breathe life into it on a daily basis.    Help us to work together as a team for every situation that might arise in our life.   Help me to realize when my expectations for my husband do not coincide with the reality of who he is.  Help me to develop a spirit of respect toward him.  And as Galations 5: 22-23a mentions, fill my up with the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Amen.

Proverbs 24:3-4

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Here is the entry post of Dandelion Seeds on the subject.

Tomorrow the chapter is about the work of our husbands.