How To Take a Wife: Random Thoughts from a Simple Guy! (via The Male Domain)

As a father of eight wonderful children, marriage is talked about, read about, and thought about often in my home. Through the years, the LORD has laid upon my heart a blueprint that I hope will help my children all get married in due time. The process will look different for my sons and my daughters, yet, there will be some overlap in how both groups go about getting married, should the LORD allow.

In this post, I'll jot down a few thoughts I have on how my sons, and young men in general, should go about the process of "taking a wife." This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, and as a man gets older, say late twenties and beyond, the process will begin to change as well, so what I hope to do is present some unchanging principles that I've learned over the years.

Stage 1: Prepare Yourself
Young men should be about the business of men at an early age in life. This doesn't exclude having fun or playing xbox, but it does mean that there are limits on how much time is spent being burned in frivolous activities. As you age, say early teen to early twenties, what occupies most of your time should look vastly different from your younger years. What the bible calls men to be should begin forging who you're becoming. Study the lists on qualifications for Elders in passages like 1 Timothy 2, and Titus 1, then set those standards as your standards, and become them!

Stage 2: Have Biblical Worldview
Being firmly grounded in mid-air isn't an option! Know what you believe, why you believe it, and how to defend it from scripture. If you cant' defend it from scripture, change your belief so you can. Some key areas of biblical belief are:

• Will your wife work outside of your home?
• When will you begin having children?
• How will you educate your children?
• Will you use birth control?
• Do you understand headship and gender roles?
• What type of church will and your family attend?
• Will you go into debt, or stay out of debt, for various reasons?

Again, these are just a sample of what you should think through before you go entering into a life-long covenant with a young lady. You don't want to ask a lady to follow you if you don't know where you're going. Too many men get married before ever considering any of these questions.

I believe men should be ready to be a dad before ever getting married. I believe the womb should be open to the LORD in "most" cases, and that birth control should be avoided, again, in "most" cases.


To read in full, please go to http://themaledomain.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-take-wife-random-thoughts-from.html

A Young Man's Attitude Towards Women by Paul Washer | illbehonest.com

A good video for young men by Paul Washer.

A Young Man's Attitude Towards Women by Paul Washer | illbehonest.com

For the Children: Are you Saved? - Paul Washer

What a Man is Not - Biblical Manhood Part 1 - Paul Washer

What Is Godly Manhood? by John Thomas

 Biblical manhood is the state or condition of a man who is making progress in pursuing and knowing God Himself (as opposed to merely accumulating facts about God — the facts must at some point lead to a fire in the heart for the Person of God), and who values these above all else.

A godly man is a man who is after the heart of God, who longs for God, and whose own heart belongs to God. This is much more than "I gave my heart to Jesus" when I was 12 years old at summer camp. This is a moment-by-moment giving over of our heart, our self, to the Father, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, with a hope, a desire, a passion for His glory to be reflected in all we think and do. A godly man knows God, so much so that he can say, O God, You are my God. That, in a nutshell, is godly manhood.

Which of course begs the question: So how do I have a heart after God's heart? I think it starts right where you are — with desire (God given, I believe). In fact, I remember having only desire when I eked out this prayer, "God, I want to be a man after your heart, but to be honest, I don't have any passion for You right now at all. Please give me that passion." That simple prayer was the beginning of an amazing journey into the heart of God that continues today. What it has helped me realize is that a godly man is not made by a list, rather he is forged in the crucible of everyday life, where all the events and relationships of which he is a part are being used by God to draw the man into a greater intimacy with Him.

And it is in the crucible where I find God, because I am looking for Him; my senses are "awakened," as it were, to Him. When I am looking for Him, the Scriptures come alive, illuminated by His Spirit; prayer becomes a lifeline of conversation with the Holy One, and on my really good days I find myself like Paul, willing to give up all my religious pedigree simply to know Christ more fully.

Yes, there are a thousand practical things godly men should do, and some are of greater importance than others. We should study the scriptures. We should pay our bills on time. We should open doors for women. We should actively pursue godly relationships. We should serve. We should mentor someone and be mentored by someone. We should disciple and be discipled. We should read good books on biblical manhood.

I do all of these things and more. But if in doing them I have no greater love for Christ, no growing passion for the glory of God to be revealed through my life, no sense of a greater connection with the Spirit of God in my life, no deeper intimacy with the Father, then somewhere I have missed the point, and I need to go back to square one. You can't start at the fruit and work backwards. Fruit is borne out of abiding. This prayer I read long ago from A.W. Tozer is a great place to start:

"O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed."

That kind of heart, if it is sincere, will not be ignored by God.

To read in full, please go to http://www.boundless.org/2005/answers/a0001583.cfm

A Family's Guide to the Church - Voddie Baucham

The Problems of Fatherlessness by Voddie Baucham

How Do We Know Our Children Are Saved?

One of the ways I believe we can examine our children’s fruitfulness is their “heart” attitude in all that they do. Some questions to ponder:

1. Do they love God above all else?
2. Love His Word, music, worship, praise, people, church, activities and application of Christian world and life view to everything?
3. Do they want to spend “quality” and “quantity” time in the things of God?
4. Do they want to please their parents and do what is “just and proper” in the sight of God?
5. Do they have generous spirit and giving heart?
6. Do they obey those that rule over them, including their parents?
7. Do they respect their elders and those older than themselves?
8. Are they kind, tenderhearted, humble and forgiving?
9. Is their love shown in what they say and do?
10. Do they love God more than the things of the world, i.e., the lust of eyes, flesh and pride of life?
11. Is God in their future plans in education, career and marriage?
12. Have they made public profession of faith, exercised their faith and witness to others of their faith?
13. Are they obedient to the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper?

For more of this excellent article, please go to  http://reformedwomen.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/children-and-salvation/

Where are the Men? - Paul Washer

Quest for Christlike Manhood: Passive Husbands are Killing Their Wives

Quest for Christlike Manhood: Passive Husbands are Killing Their Wives: "I hope you were able to see Mark Shaw at either Blessed Hope Community Church or Gateway Christian Church in the beginning of April. M..."

Two Little Shadows (poet unknown)

I saw a young mother

With eyes full of laughter

And two little shadows

Came following after.

Wherever she moved, 

They were always right there

Holding onto her skirts, 

Hanging onto her chair.

Before her, behind her -

An adhesive pair.

'Don't you ever get weary

As, day after day, 

your two little tagalongs

Get in your way? '

She smiled as she shook

Her pretty young head, 

And I'll always remember

The words that she said.

'It's good to have shadows

That run when you run, 

That laugh when you're happy

And hum when you hum -

For you only have shadows

When your life's filled with sun.

A Mama's Influence: When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer,
and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight,
and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked...
and wanted to say thanks for all the things
I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

Poet Unknown

A Boy and His Dog by Edgar Guest

A boy and his dog make a glorious pair:
No better friendship is found anywhere,
For they talk and they walk and they run and they play,
And they have their deep secrets for many a day;
And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels,
Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

He may go where he will and his dog will be there,
May revel in mud and his dog will not care;
Faithful he'll stay for the slightest command
And bark with delight at the touch of his hand;
Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals,
Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

No other can lure him away from his side;
He's proof against riches and station and pride;
Fine dress does not charm him, and flattery's breath
Is lost on the dog, for he's faithful to death;
He sees the great soul which the body conceals--
Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!

The Wiggles - Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport Feat. Rolf Harris

hippo and dog singing the lion sleeps tonight

The Common Task

The trivial round, the common task,
Will furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves, a road
To bring us daily nearer God."

 John Keble

Indoctrination in Public Schools - The Call to Dunkirk

12 Disciples Song

(To the tune “Jesus Loves Me”)

Jesus called them one by one
Peter, Andrew, James and John
Next came Philip, Thomas, too
Matthew and Barthlomew.
James, the one they called the Less
Simon, also Thaddeus
The twelfth disciple Judas made,
Jesus was by him betrayed.

Yes, Jesus called them.
Yes, Jesus called them.
Yes, Jesus called them.
He called them one by one.

The Plague Song * by Craig

The Plague Song *

by Craig 
Sing to the tune of “This Old Man”

First God sent, 
Plague number one,
Turned the Nile into blood.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent,
Plague number two, 
Jumping frogs all over you.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent,
Plague number three, 
Swarms of gnats from head to knee.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent, 
Plague number four, 
Filthy flies need we say more?
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent, 
Plague number five, 
All the livestock up and died.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent,
Plague number six,
Boils and sores to make you sick
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low.
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent, 
Plague number seven, 
Hail and lighting down from heaven.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent, 
Plague number eight, 
Locust came and they sure ate.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent, 
Plague number nine,
Total darkness all the time.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
They told Pharaoh “Let them Go!”

Then God sent, 
Plague number ten, 
Pharaoh’s son died so he gave in.
All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low
Finally Pharaoh let them go.