Full Armor...

Today is Sunday, and we stayed home from church because Mark is very sick with that virus that keeps getting passed around. Fever, sore throat, hacking cough. Yuck.

Anyway, Ryan decided to sit as a family and have our own 'church service' right there on our couch. I love that! So, he chose a passage of scripture to study. Inevitably, the younger two kids got distracted with playing...while Ryan, Mark, and I let our conversation get off on a tangent. And, inevitably, it was an awesome time of sharing with Mark our experiences, our love for the Lord, and our hopes for Mark to grow up to serve God wholeheartedly. We turned to Ephesians and read through the 'Armor of God,' explaining each piece and its present day application. I reminded Mark that his name means 'Warrior' and that our prayer is that someday he will allow God to use him to fight for Truth.

Ryan and I both gave examples from when we were students in high school, and chose to stand for our faith, even when it meant debating a teacher or being looked down upon by fellow students. Mark and I are very alike...we want to be liked by our peers and are awfully timid when it comes to standing out from the crowd. But, I excitedly shared with him stories about when the Holy Spirit emboldened me and quickened verses to my mind that I had learned as a child. Praise God for allowing Ryan and I to both go through tough times in our youth, and praise Him for showing up in those powerful ways. Not only did it show us personally WHO HE IS...but it also provided us with testimonies to share with our kids.

Ryan and I have a renewed purpose, lately, to not only speak of our love for our Lord, but to SHOW it in our daily lives. From spending time on our faces in the morning with our Savior, to speaking scripture to our children in our daily conversation, to sharing our own awesome experiences with Jesus...we want to step it up like never before. We are realizing that it's not enough to just shield our kids from sin (ie: monitoring what is viewed on tv, listened to on the ipod, etc). We need to be much more active in raising up this next generation of warriors...because all around us we see the enemy raising up an army of his own. And we know he is waiting to let loose an all-out assault on Mark, Reese, & Marina as they grow in their faith and become a greater threat to the Enemy. This is such a sobering thought. My! How parenthood changes a person! How it causes us to see life in a much more serious manner! God...please continue to instill your wisdom into our lives. Let your Holy Spirit quicken the Word to us now, even as You did in our youth. Keep us sober-minded. Let our love and devotion to You be so evident. And when our children come to a time in their lives when they question their faith or are confused by outside voices...may they recall the steadfast faith of Mom and Dad. And may they remember the powerful ways they had seen you work in our family. God is so good. His love endures forever!