Gospel-Centered Marriages ~ Part Two ~ FINALLY!

It has been forever since I have blogged.  Our children decided they would pass around viruses of all kinds for two months straight!  It was a little hard to find blogging time during that run of sickness.  But, I did want to share some more highlights from the conference.  One of the things I greatly appreciated was the fact that most of the speakers stressed just the day to day being in the Word of God.  There are suggestions and ideas to help families navigate through the courtship process, but the best preparation for courtship is to ground your son or daughter in the Bible.  Make sure they are hiding God's Word in their hearts.  If not, all the courtship do's and don'ts mean nothing because the foundation has not been properly laid.

It is only by being in God's Word that a husband and a wife know the correct order in a home…how a husband is to lead and a wife be the submissive helpmeet.  This, in itself, is a wonderful preparation for our children to enter into courtship and marriage.  And if you are like most families we met there, you will be the first generation in your family to navigate children through this thing called courtship. So, many of these waters are untested for us.  Another idea that was continually stressed was that courtship looks different for every family.  Yes, there are some main principles, but how you flesh those out among your own children will look different from the next persons.  In fact, it will most likely look different in your own family from one child to the next.

One of the main things I came away with was to make sure that my husband and I are continually praying about and with our children for their future spouses.  We have made it a practice since our first child was born to pray this way.  And now that my oldest daughter is fifteen, she too is praying almost daily for her future husband.  If a family bathes this most crucial time in prayer, I believe God will faithfully help you navigate through courtship with His leading.  

Next time, I hope to share some of the principles of courtship that were shared at the conference.  But, for those of you that are looking to go through this courtship process with your children, saturate yourselves and your children in the Word and prayer.  Then, trust God for the results.  He is faithful to provide all our needs.