Building, not tearing down...

I've been challenged to think, even throughout the day, of how what I am saying and how I am saying it contributes to building up my home, not tearing it down.

I know how as a wife and mother, I can set the tone for how everyone feels and acts in the home. My mood can make people walk around on egg shells, and make my family think they are responsible for keeping me happy, or I can try to take a deep breath, pray and then respond to what is going on in my home.

I feel the need to wake up each morning and ask that God will work through me, reminding me that I am not just a mother, not just a wife, but I am, in His strength, to be an example of the love and grace of Jesus to my family.

This isn't easy, and that is why I do it in God's strength, not my own.
Of course, I don't do it perfectly, but that means having the humility to admit where I am in the wrong, to apologise, and to be thankful everyday for the grace that God has first shown me.

It is often in the small things, the seemingly unimportant moments of life, where we can have the biggest impact on our family.

It is my prayer that I show God's love to my husband and children, and that I can be Jesus with skin on to them.