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Family Talk: A Conversation with Mom · Enjoying the Journey

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  In our busy world, family time is frequently
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  neglected. It is vital that we give attention to our
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  families while we can, and it is especially important to
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  give attention to what God says in his word about our homes.
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  For the next few moments, let's join Scott Pauley as we open the scriptures
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  and and find God's message for your family.
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  Hello friends, this is Scott Pauley and welcome to Enjoying the Journey. We are
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  having some family talk this week, conversations with
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  individual family members in our own home and talking about some things
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  that we trust will be a great encouragement to you and to your
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  family. Yesterday, I had the joy of having a conversation with Dad
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  about the importance of right priorities, and today
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  we have someone very important on this episode,
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  and that is my sweet mother. I thank God for Mom.
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  She has been a constant encouragement to me
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  through every season of life, and Mom, I'm thrilled to have you with us for
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  the conversation today. It's good to be here. Thank you. I want to begin with
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  a scripture, and I'm choosing this Uh, Mom would
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  not say this of herself, but I can say it of her. Proverbs 31 gives
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  a description of a virtuous woman. It's a lengthy portion,
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  it's a rich passage of scripture, but every time I think of the closing
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  verses of Proverbs 31, I think of my mother.
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  Beginning in verse 25, it says, strength and honor are
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  her clothing, and she shall rejoice in
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  time to come. I love the fact there's There's strength in honor,
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  not just what she puts on but what she's put in. That's her clothing,
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  and it's connected here to joy. She rejoices in time to come. Then it
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  says she openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law
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  of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth
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  not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up and call her
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  blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her.
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  A mom, on behalf of Dad and me and Stacy,
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  we're just so grateful for the love you've shown and the
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  joyful way you guided our home growing up.
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  That's really what I want to discuss today because look,
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  there's a lot of sad people in the world and there are a lot of
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  bad things going on in the world, but if you can keep home happy,
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  you can make it. If children can come back and find
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  a haven and joy, they're going to make it.
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  Um, what are some things God taught you about the importance
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  of joy in the home? Well, I think the
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  very beginning of realizing that there was joy in the home was
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  in my own growing up years. I grew up in a happy home
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  and, um, my parents, um,
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  were just simple people. Uh, my dad was
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  a coal miner. And a farmer. And my
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  mother was a stay-at-home mom. But we had a happy home.
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  It was very— life was simple and
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  not complicated like, like it is today. But I
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  enjoyed being home. I loved home.
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  So that gave me a foundation to want to have a happy
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  home. All little girls dream of growing up and
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  marrying their Prince Charming and having a happy home with children.
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  And so I feel like that's what happened to me. I was able to do
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  that. Very thankful that God put my
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  husband and I together, your dad and I together,
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  and that we have been able to enjoy.
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  But I think the very principle
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  is the foundation that what you build that home
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  on is God's Word. And the
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  consistency in raising your children,
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  the consistency between husband and wife,
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  and that you agree. Sometimes you agree to disagree,
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  but you agree, and the children see a united
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  front, but they don't hear fussing
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  and fighting and a lot of negative things
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  in the home. But, um, you know, keep it happy.
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  I've had music in the home and just keep it happy. So what you're saying,
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  first off, it's a choice. It definitely is a choice.
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  I mean, it doesn't just happen. It's not just some magical
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  thing. You know, people choose joy. That's right.
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  To rejoice in the Lord. Now you saw in Grandma and Grandpa's
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  home growing up joy and simplicity that gave you a framework.
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  Frankly, there are a lot of people today who've never seen that. They didn't grow
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  up in that kind of home. And I think that's where this choice really
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  comes in because people have to say, well, my home was not that
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  way growing up, but I'm going to start right where I am today and
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  I'm going to make our home a happy home starting where I am.
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  Does that mean that happy homes are perfect homes? Oh, definitely not.
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  Definitely not. We often laugh.
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  People sometimes think you have a happy home or a
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  perfect home or a perfect marriage or whatever.
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  And, you know, we're all human. We're all flesh. And so,
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  no, it's not perfect, but we choose to make
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  it a joyous place. I always desired to have a home that
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  when your dad came home from the office
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  or from wherever he was out working,
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  that he was happy to be home. He wanted to
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  come home. And for you and Stacy, for you
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  all to want to come home when school was over.
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  So that was my desire,
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  to make it homey, but make it enjoyable.
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  Well, you know, I'm convinced fathers are called on to lead their families,
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  but I believe more and more that mothers guide the spirit
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  of the home. The atmosphere of the house, you know, the— I'm
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  sorry to use a word, but it seems shallow, but the feel of
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  home life is dictated so much by the wife,
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  by the mother. And I think one of
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  the things that God has taught me, and I've seen this in you, is that
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  before you can have a happy home, you have to keep a happy heart.
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  That's true. You have really worked at trying
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  to have a devotional life and keeping your own soul glad.
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  That's essential, isn't it? Yes, it definitely is,
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  because life gets tough and every day is not a
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  happy day, but we can be happy within our soul because
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  of what Christ did for us. And if, if we
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  choose to every day begin the day with the
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  Lord and, um, and then from there, then share that
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  with your family, then you can have a happy
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  home. I've told people all over the country, the greatest thing you and Dad gave
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  us— I mean, you gave us material things and you gave us rules
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  and you gave us a few spankings along the way, but the greatest thing you
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  gave us was a good dose of the joy of the Lord. We actually grew
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  up believing it was enjoyable to serve the Lord and you
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  could have fun and live the Christian life. And so I'm
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  very grateful to God for that. This whole emphasis on enjoying
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  the journey for me really started very early on that way.
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  What would you say, just give us 2 or 3 quickly practical suggestions
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  for people who want to keep home happy, try to make it a
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  more joyful environment. Where should they start?
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  Okay. Well, they should start definitely with the Lord.
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  And then after that, then husbands and wives,
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  they need to have a joint effort. That they're
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  a team working together. So they need to keep their marriage
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  happy, their right between
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  themselves, and then to share that with the children.
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  And yes, you're gonna deal with difficulties as days goes by,
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  but the Lord will help you. And then
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  for those that— one thing I might say, I grew up in a home
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  where my mother was a stay-at-home mom, and I realize that in the days in
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  which we live, There are a lot of homes that both
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  husband and wife are working, and you understand that
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  it's not always possible for mama to
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  be home, but you can still have a happy home.
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  That means husband and wife have to work together a little harder and
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  help each other a little more to get through the days so that
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  there can still be that quality time that you spend with your
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  children. Just, you don't have to spend money on them. You don't have to buy
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  them things or take them to do things. Just spend time with them.
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  Read a book, sing, laugh, play games,
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  whatever it is. The time element, I think, is probably one
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  of the most important qualities that I can think will help with a happy home.
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  That's so helpful because growing up,
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  Dad was very busy. He was working in business and in ministry,
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  out of town a good bit. But you worked to make even the little things
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  special for us. And then we all worked, and Dad worked real hard at having
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  family night, and that was not always some elaborate thing, but it was
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  time together, and that certainly helps. I like what you said
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  earlier about playing good music around the house. I think that helps the atmosphere of
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  a home. But I want to encourage everyone that's listening to us today, there are
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  no perfect families, there are no perfect situations, but you can
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  have the joy of the Lord and you can have a happy home.
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  And that's what we're praying for you today. God bless you and your family.
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  For more resources for your marriage and family, visit us at
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  etj.bible and click on the Take the Next Step
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  link, where you'll find many Bible resources that will strengthen
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  your marriage and equip you to raise your children in the
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  ways of the Lord. We highly recommend Scott's
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  book New Testament Marriage. In it, you'll discover timeless
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  biblical principles from the husband and wife team Aquila and Priscilla,
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  and these principles are very applicable to your marriage
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  today. From all of us at Enjoying the Journey, thanks for listening
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  today, and until next time, we pray that you will
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  enjoy the journey.