My Life as Mr. Mom

Back in the 80's there was a movie made called Mr. Mom. Now in this movie, the husband gets laid off and becomes a stay at home dad while his wife goes back to work. Now, I am beginning to understand what that character felt like.
No, I didn't get laid off, but due to morning sickness, my wife has been unable to do a whole lot around the house. Believe me, she wants to but her upset tummy, nausea, headaches, prevent her from doing what her heart yearns to do. Thus, I have donned the title of Mr. Mom to our little girl and to the housework.
Now several things have become very clear to me as I have attempted, and that is the key word, to step into my wife's shoes.
- First, does anyone actually dust their home each week? My wife insists that people actually do this. What if someone broke in? The police would be able to easily see where the criminal had been and get quality fingerprints from all over the house, right?
- Meal planning. You mean more than opening the fridge at 5:30 and saying, uhm, what sounds good? This is a skill that I don't possess but am learning day by day.
- Laundry. Has anyone else noticed that if you leave laundry alone in a secluded spot, you suddenly have more laundry? Think rabbits...yeah me too. I don't know how in the world to stay on top of this one with our picky washer. (really low water pressure, takes 1/2 hour to fill up)
- Bathrooms. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a self cleaning bathroom? You know, lock the door, set the timer, and walk away? Not in our bathroom and thus I find myself with a sponge in hand cleaning. How did my wife keep up with this on a regular basis? When I was a bachelor, you cleaned like once a month and that worked, right?
-Childcare. Ever try to work on the computer with an active 10 1/2 month old climbing all over the office? Yeah, right. Our daughter is wonderful and a real blessing from the Lord, but my wife is a saint compared to my patience level. (actually, we are both saints according to the Bible, but figuratively speaking, she is more than I am)
-Pregnancy. No, I have not experienced this one firsthand nor will I. But now in the second pregnancy, my beautiful wife is such a trooper. She actually knew she was going to get sick, have yucky days, and all that goes with pregnancy and STILL wanted to have another child. (insert 'Hallelujah Chorus' here)

So as I count the days till my other half can jump back into the life that she desperately desires, and that I desperately wish to hand back when/if she is ready, I see God's hand in both of our lives through this time. For me, I am learning, again-cuz I didn't get it the first time, what it means to serve my wife as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for us. She is being stretched to let go of her desires to do, and wait on the Lord to give her wisdom and strength to do what she can handle.

To you, my dear wife, I salute you and thank the Lord for you. I love you, always.

Till Next Time, this concludes thoughts by an acting Mr. Mom.

Three Weeks Down, A Lifetime to Go

Three weeks ago today, May 31, I was married to the most incredible woman in the world. How do I begin to share the wondrous blessing of marriage that has come upon my life? Excited doesn't cover it. Thrilled, not even close. Yahoo...getting warmer. You see, one can imagine for years the blessing and thrill of something but until you actually experience it, then and only then can you really understand.

All of my life, I knew God was good. I mean God is good, good God, God=good, etc. I was raised in a Bible teaching home where this was an assumed fact in all conversations. Another assumed fact that I was raised with was God is love, God loves me, and God=love. But 10 months ago, I saw a different side of God's goodness and love that I never truly grasped or conceived possible in my life: a wife. When I turned 29 last year, I never imagined that before I turned 30, God would bring me an incredible woman to spend my life serving Him. Yet, as I type, a shiny titanium ring sits upon my left hand, proclaiming that on May 31, 2008 at 2:29 PM EST, I married my best friend!!

Too often in my life, I truly underestimate God. I proclaim His name, read His word, but fail to truly grasp the character of God. As a child, I heard and received God's precious gift of salvation from sin. By grace, through faith, not by my works, God saved me and made me His child. (Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-6, Romans 6:23) Hearing the truth of God's word over and over can have a numbing affect on oneself if one does not constantly renew his mind. Thus, after many years of living life, I had become numb to the truth that God saved me, loved me, and wanted to share blessings with me. Only now at 29, have I begun to realize that I have created a storage unit for God in my life. "God goes here and does this because that is my vision of God." Unfortunately for this near sighted child of God, I was wrong, dead wrong.

So what does this have to do with my three week old marriage? Simply put, I had boxed God in and assumed what I knew God would do rather than walking by faith. I headed off to train for the mission field last August, bound and determined that I knew God and His will for me. Well, I did, sort of. The greatest truth that I have realized since then is two fold: 1. God can never violate His character and 2. God will act according to His character and His perspective on time. Thus, I knew that God was good and loving, but I severely underestimated just how deep His goodness and love went. I had already received from Him the most precious gift in life: salvation from sin. But God saw that it was not good for this man to be alone, and he blessed me with a wife.

I could have lived the rest of my life single and satisfied, really. But God, in His great wisdom and love, gave me a partner and best friend to share every aspect of this life for the rest of my days. She is precious, beautiful, patient, but above all she is a gift from God. So on this the three week anniversary of our wedding, I want to honor the Lord and thank Him for the two most life changing events in my life: salvation from my sin and marriage.

To my loving wife, may I truly love you as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. I love you and will always be grateful to God for the privilege and honor of being your husband.

Lookin Good at 37 years!

They were young and full of life when they met at BMA camp oh so many years ago. He was on active duty with the Army and knew that within the next year, he would most likely be headed off to war. Their was only a little gap in his schedule, but it was indeed the hand of God that placed him at that camp, filling in and helping out. At the adult coffee break one night, he spotted her, doing what my mother has continued to do, serving others. Though there are many more details one could expound upon, one need only know that the chase was now on for him. He saw her and pursued her. By Christmas of 1970, the deal was settled with a solitaire diamond ring slipped upon her ring finger. The soon to be groom took his 'Tammy Wynette' home to meet the family and soon the bride to be began to see just what kind of a family she was marrying into. A July wedding was planned. The young 19 year old bride to be continued her classes as a nurse while the 22 year old groom served at Ft. Leonardwood awaiting the day in which Uncle Sam would call him overseas.

The call came but not as the young engaged couple planned. Uncle Sam wanted him and he wanted him right after their planned wedding. Rather than marry and ship off to war a couple of weeks later, they moved the wedding up and were married, 37 years ago today, April 10. Thus, the newlyweds were married three months before the new groom was off to a foreign land ready to wage war pushing papers for Uncle Sam. Though this beginning was not the most desirous of circumstances, their young marriage began a pattern that would lead them through the next 37 years: by faith and trusting God for the next turn.

Throughout the next three and a half decades, this couple walked with each other, walked with God, and led their children into their own walks with God. Their would be the mountain top experiences of five children blessing their home, while in the valley they buried their first son. Their would be the mountain top experience of finishing seminary and getting their first pastorate while in the valley they questioned why God moved them out of their second pastorate so abruptly. Their would be the mountain top experience of four children graduating Bible college while in the valley they adjusted to an empty nest. Their would be the mountaintop experience of holding their first couple grandkids, but in the valley they bid farewell to their grandkids for the next four years while their parents were missionaries overseas. God was faithful to them time and time again as they walked with Him.

As they stand on the cusp of a fourth decade of life together, this observer is overwhelmed at the example that has been laid before him and his sisters. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, this couple has fought together, cried together, and walked romantically hand in hand together for thirty seven years. Where God will lead them in the next few years, only He knows. This is for certain: they will faithfully walk with God following His leading one day at a time.

So, to my parents on this their 37th wedding anniversary, my message is two fold: the first is congratulations on keeping the commitment alive through all of the joys, trials, and tribulations that God has allowed. The second, is thank you for laying out what commitment really is and what the Bible talks about when it speaks of true love. Lookin good at 37 years, Mom and Dad!

With all of My Love,

Your only Son