Cooking Liberian style!

As many of you know Courtney is Mommy's girl and loves to be in the kitchen. What you may not know is that all four of us girls are working on a Liberia report with huge detail this summer so we can learn more of where Elijah is from and help us welcome his culture as well as him. Well, last night Courtney prepared dinner and helped to incorporate the "food" section of our report all in one. We enjoyed a Liberian feast...Jollof rice and fruit salad (mangos, bananas, pineapple sprinkled with lime and sugar water). I think Elijah is going to be a man after Duane's heart...a passion for the spicy foods!

Impacting Our Sons

Last night I attended a Mother's of Boy's Conference held at our church. Did you read that...Mother's of Boys! :) I was ready and eager to go so I could get some pointers as to how to raise our son. The topic was "preparing him for the other woman". The more I sat, the more I absorbed, the more I absorbed the more panicked I became! I know the responsibilities of raising our girls, and I also know we need to do better in some areas as we prepare and train them. Now with a new gender coming into our house I asked God, "do you really think we can do this?" The responsibilities of parenting I take seriously and the perfectionism I struggle with causes me to panic. The impact a mother can make on her son is great...I just never knew how great that was!

The points that were discussed last night were - how we are to teach our boys how to -

1. Be a hero. How they we need to get their minds going at a young age throughout their lifetime how to look for someone to go and help. This trains them to be that hero in their wives life.
2. Be passionate. Have them be part of different ministries with us, so they can learn to be sensitive for those around them. This will teach them to have that compassion and empathy for their wives.
3. Know the heart of a women. Teach them how women are wired more tender and sensitive, this is how God created us. This teaches them when they see their wife full of emotions they will know it is normal, and not seek a way out.
4. Validate their feelings. With so much male bashing being taught through the media and around us, we need to recognize their feelings and talk them through it so they will grow sensitive to other feelings.
5. Express love. We need to be an example of this - in our marriages and with our sons. The sweet things we tell our sons, they will tell their wives.
6. Care about God's will. We need to direct their minds to God's will each day so they know when they are older to look for His guidance.
7. Settle conflicts. Hold our sons accountable for what they say, and to not make excuses. When Mom & Dad are arguing, stop and ask our son to pray for us as he is dismissed. Constantly ask him to pray for different situations, so he learns to resolve a conflict you need to start with God.
8. Fight for his friendships. We need to prepare and teach them how to handle imperfect people and to pray continuously, recognizing God first. As our sons mother, we need to also honor their friendships...greet their friends, build relationships.
9. Honor women. In order to teach we need to acknowledge..be their cheerleaders, recognize and be thankful for when they do open a door for us. Also we need to demand their respect. We need to date our sons! We need to use this opportunity to train them how to open a door for a woman, pull their chair out, order for them at a restaurant...but also to hold a conversation.
10. Be a Man of His word. Hold him accountable for what our sons say. Have them follow through with the commitment or promise they have made.
11. Accountable and pure. Set our homes as a place of peace because our sons are tempted everywhere they look. (Advertising uses half dressed women to sell their products). We need to pray purity over them, as well as start praying for their wives. Be an influence at what kind of a wife they should be looking for. And when he is tempted, teach him to pray for his wife at that time.
12. Be the provider. Have our sons participate with the family budget at age 13 so they learn how they are to provide and take care of the family. Have them think about their dreams.
13. Be the spiritual leader of the home. Have our sons start reading the Word to us. Have them pray over us or for different situations.

So much to learn, so much I want to instill in our son. So much more I need to turn to God with. I am in agreement with the speaker (Sheri Rose Shepherd) - if we impact our sons to train them to be the Godly leaders they are to be in their home...think of the impact of our families heritage as well as our society.

I encourage you to either check out her website for training helps or go to Focus on the Family's website. (Links posted in the link section.) There is a book titled "preparing him for the other woman", the conference last night was recorded and will be available to purchase. We need to start investing in our families so we can impact this nation.

http://www.hisprincess.com/

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/

Join Us In Prayer

Our Amazing and Gracious Father,

We thank you for this day...another day to celebrate the mercies you bring us once again, to celebrate the greatness of our King, and another day to grow closer to you.

My God, please hear our prayer. We continue to ask that you will break all strongholds on our son, Elijah once and for all. We recognize your greatness and know you are the only one able to bring him home. Father God, we long to receive news that it is time to go and bring him home. But God, we know too your timing is perfect. We know you are going to reveal just how great and awesome you are throughout these nations through all this. But please, as we continue to wait please minister and heal our hearts. Please recognize the anguish, heartache, homesickness, confusion, and perhaps even doubt and help hear every ounce of emotion we experience. Please bring healing, and give us the strength needed during this time. Hold us up with your mighty hand, and guide us through this time, also teach us how to pray during this time. Let us continue to appreciate the children that are with us now, give us the wisdom to teach them as well as the love they too need.

Father, I also recognize and lift up other families that are also waiting. All the hurt they are experiencing please heal it, comfort them too Lord. Let their cries turn to you, their anguish turn to you and may You bring them peace. Father God, we lift up HollyAnn and John, the directors of this ministry. We ask that you bring a hedge of protection around them and their family, and bring full blessings as they have remained faithful to your call. Continue to allow them to be your instruments. Thank you too Lord, that John is being the protector you have called every man to be in their family. Bring them peace too and may they continue to seek your wisdom and your will as they have so many decisions to make.

And for Elijah and for the other orphans waiting to see their new homes. May they look to see the glory you provide each day. May they wait and see how marvelous your works are. And as your timing will prevail, bring them home safely and swiftly. Prepare their hearts that they will be ready for their new parents and families. Protect them and continue to bring food to their bodies. We know you are their first parent and you are much more capable of caring for them then we are.

Continue to increase our love for Elijah, as well as the other parents for theirs. Increase the love the children have for their new families, and above all may we all continue to increase the love we have for You. May those who are watching and continue to hold us in prayer, see the love you have for us through this journey and when they see Elijah's face may he be a reminder of that love. Thank you for those who are praying for us Lord, and helping us stay strong in You.

Thank you God for hearing our prayer!

We have around us many people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God's throne. Think about Jesus' example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying.

Hebrews 12:1-3