Truth to speak

At work we have this cool thing that happens every other week—we get together and watch an Andy Stanley teaching. Right now we’re going through his series called Guardrails. It has been REALLY encouraging, inspiring, thought provoking, and challenging.

One thing that Andy said last week that caught my heart was “Kids are a welcome addition, but you are already a family.” (talking about married people and about a marriage centered family, opposed to a kid centered family.)

WIth that statement rolling around in my brain, thinking about Zach and I and our future kids, I collected the following scriptures while reading my word this morning. Scriptures that pertain to us....my family. Grab 'em for your family, too!

But they're verses that I want to pray over us. Verses that are promises from the Lord or ways to raise our kids or things to strive for as individuals and as a family. Verses that I want to live my life by and teach my kids someday. Verses that I want to describe us.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6



The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7 (don't incur debt, or get outta debt)


Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him. Proverbs 22:15

Do you see a man who excels at his work? He will stand before kinds, he will not stand before unknown men. Proverbs 22:29 (translation: hard work pays off!)



Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words or knowledge. Proverbs 23:12 



Do not withhold correction from a child. For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. Proverbs 23:13-14 (NKJV)

Okay, I am not going to abuse my kids. The Message version is a good, modern translation for this verse: Don't be afraid to correct your young ones; a spanking won't kill them. A good spanking, in fact, might save them from something worse than death. Proverbs 23:13-14

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. Proverbs 23:18

Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3-4

For a righteous man may fall 7 times and rise again. Proverbs 24:16

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles. Proverbs 24:17

As I noted all of these for future reference, I thought, "wouldn't it be great to start a collection of these verses as I run across them and put them into some kind of book?"

YEAH!

More like a dedicated file on my laptop! :)

Before I got married, I didn't have my own family, But now that I am married...Zach and I have to make decisions on what our family will be, what our standards will be, what we will and won't do, what we will and won't say. I think these things are just as important now as they are when we have little ones. 


Andy Stanley also said this: "Nobody plans to mess up really bad. But most don't plan not to."