Serving These Communities

Covering the Heart of Hamilton County Since 1983

We have been discussing the Home, and how to have a successful one through an Extreme Makeover. There is a Myth we deal with: Somewhere, some place, there exists people who don't disappoint, relationships that don't cause pain, people who are only givers, not takers, and people who are easy to love. This obviously is impossible, but we have been talking about some tools that may help in improving home life relationships. The basics we have been discussing has been Blueprints, Foundation, and now Weatherproofing. God meant for families to be together forever. Ephesians 5:31 "For this cause shall a man to leave his father and mother, and be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh."

Weatherproofing Your Dream Home. Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus deals with the home and weather conditions, by illustrating what happens when a house is built with the foundation made of sand instead of rock. Obviously, if a home is built on the right foundation, the Rock, Christ Jesus, it can and will stand firm against all the storms that come against that home. Hurricane Katrina proved that our country is vulnerable and unprepared. Not many structures can remain standing without any damage after a fierce hurricane comes roaring through. It is a picture of the fragilities of man. We may build some of the most beautiful, and structurally solid buildings, but that does not mean they will stand the tests of time. The reality of a family. Satan will try everything possible to blow it to pieces unless it has the right weatherproofing. It is going to happen. Storms will come. confrontations will happen, how can you protect and resolve them.

James 1:19 gives us three simple but powerful resolutions. 1. Learn to Listen, 2. Tame That Tongue, 3. Sweeten The Speech. Storms begin with just a little bit of wind. The same thing is true in a home. Little things like "learning to listen," comes from Proverbs 18:13, paraphrased: (He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame). Psychologists tell us we only retain about 20 per cent of what we hear. Have you heard this? "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, But I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

Tame That Tongue..(be slow to speak). There is a big difference between speaking slowing and being slow to speak. Sometimes we may fail to recognize we have a "motor mouth," which means a tongue loose at both ends. Check out the conversation with each other in your home. What would the rating be? G, PG, PG-13, R, or X-rated? James 3:5-8 Calls the tongue "a fire," "a world of iniquity," "defiles the whole body," "it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." The tongue can damage our parents or children for a life time. It must be controlled. Learn to keep your words warm and sweet because you may have to eat them.

Sweeten The Speech..(slow to wrath). Never go to bed angry. (You may not go to bed for days). Confrontation will not go away. Don't avoid it. Love your mate enough to confront and allow confrontation. You should not appease. Sometimes marriage partners just give in. Also, don't attack. Problems can be resolved in a family if we attack the problem, but not each other. Remember what the Bible says, "a soft answer turns away wrath." We learn to Accommodate. "I will change first." "Accept" (he may never change), "Adjust" (we will both change).

Putting the weatherproofing on our home can be summed up with: Learn to apologize. Always be ready to say, "I'm sorry." Always learn to say, "you're forgiven."

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