My Wonderful Hubby!

"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make a helper fit for him." Genesis 2:18

According to the creation account in Genesis, I was MADE to be a HELPER to my husband. This is my main responsibility as James's wife, according to God's great design. While I am to help him in many areas of life, the Lord has really been teaching me one particular aspect of this responsibility over the last couple of months - encouragement. I have realized that it's really easy to encourage James when things are going well; however, it takes on a whole new meaning when times get tough.

My husband is an amazing man. There are many things which make him wonderful, but one thing is that he understands his responsibility to provide for our family. I know that it is a huge burden at times, particularly now, with a fully commission-based job and a slow economy. It is very easy for him to get discouraged, which is understandable, considering he has a wife and daughter at home for whom to provide. I can understand why he feels so pressured, but I can't fully empathize with him, as I don't carry that burden myself.

This is where encouragement comes in. I've learned that what he needs the most from me during these times is encouragement and support. I don't always know the right things to say and when to say them; I don't always know when I should just keep my mouth shut and lend a caring and loving ear; I don't know when all he needs is a hug. But thankfully, the Lord has been teaching me these things. Don't get me wrong, I still often feel inadequate for such a huge task as encouraging my husband, but I know the Holy Spirit will guide me. It's just a matter of relying solely on Him and making sure I'm in His Word daily. If I'm not Gospel-focused it is impossible for me to truly encourage my husband, for hope can only be found in Him, not in our own talents, abilities, desires, etc. I just ask you all to pray for me (and him!) during this time in our lives. Pray that we will focus on Christ and that our greatest desire would be for Him and to grow closer to Him. Pray that I will be able to continue to lovingly support and encourage James and that I will be diligent at home, so that he can come home to his "En Geddi," and not to a stressful home. Also, please pray for James that he will get some leads at work, if it's the Lord's will. If not, pray that we'll find joy in our trial and in learning to lean fully on Him.

Ok, now I'm going to shift gears a little bit and brag about my husband! :) I can't even begin to tell you what a joy it is to see my husband interact with his little girl! I just love to watch the two of them play and interact. Hannah absolutely loves her Daddy, which is easy to see whenever she says, "Da-ee," because it's always exclaimed with much enthusiasm and accompanied by a smile. When she hears him coming up the stairs and putting his keys in the lock after work, she drops whatever she's doing and runs to the door (hopefully someday she'll learn not to stand right behind the door, as that can be dangerous :) ). I thought you would enjoy some pictures and a video (which was taken tonight) of James with his little girl!

This is how Hannah prefers to get her teeth brushed.

You can ask James about this one. :)

Bible story time!! Thanks for the Bible story book,
Uncle David and Aunt Michelle! We're really enjoying it!
A video of James and Hannah jumping. Well, of James jumping and Hannah trying to jump and laughing at Daddy jumping.

I hope all of that made sense. I had a lot I wanted to say, but wasn't quite sure how to word or condense it.