Our culture is missing honor. We are so preoccupied with our own progress and contentment, we often forget respect and honor. Although honor is missing in our culture, it is a fundamental part of the Bible. The biggest text on honoring Mom is:
“Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
If your mother is still alive, regardless of your and her ages, you can HONOR her in these 4 ways. If your mom is no longer living, then pass the love on to another one! Feel free to borrow our moms.
1. HONOR HER WITH YOUR WORDS
Men have the philosophy—“I don’t have to say ‘I love you’, you already know it. I have told you before, if I change my mind I’ll let you know!” Or, “I SHOW love, not just say it”
That may be true, but moms need to hear the words, “I Love You!” Children need to hear it. Saying it makes you more of a man, not less!
We have been intentional with making verbal affirmation statements a part of our family culture.
Lately, my (Robin) favorite part of the day is the sweet spot right before the kids get in bed and right after the bedtime preparations have been made. The bedtime preparations part is usually BRUTAL. Homework done, dinner, Baths, PJs, brushing teeth, meds. That can often be like fighting dinosaurs. We have been trying to get that done a little earlier so that we have a few minutes before the kids actually crawl into the bed.
The kids have their pajamas on, their breath is fresh, they are getting sleepy.
This past Christmas, Erica and I casually got them an indoor basketball hoop. Little did we know how BIG of a success that would be. It easily is the favorite and most used gift of the year. We spend some quality time at the hoop each night before they are tucked in.
Here is a clip of me teaching Jude how to post up. If you are an actual basketball player, please keep in mind that I am 5’7″ and have actually never posted up on anyone myself. Jude will need some more accurate training at some point.
Wow! This Texas Winter saw three major weather experiences. School was called off twice for hazardous conditions! In the event this happens again, we all need a good lesson on how to survive this type of wintery onslaught.
Normally, our temps are in the 50s-70s in the winter. However, in a year like this one you will see the thermometer plummet to 30 or even 25! Add to that, precipitation and you have a deadly mix!
1. Dress Appropriately
Quit wearing tank tops and complaining about how cold it is. Seriously, you need to buy a couple sweaters and a ski coat. Or a parka. Wear socks every once in a while. I know that 10 months out of the year this is appropriate clothing. However, when we face blustery conditions, it is imperative to clothe yourself properly.
See the pics below. This might or might not have been me with Erica. A great solution for night-time clothing around the house. Hey! Don’t judge. We were warm and we slid around the kitchen.
2. Stay at Home and do Really Stupid Things
We have all watched movies of people who live in the north and actually have seen snow. Real snow. So imitate them! Find all the tools you can like spatulas, laundry baskets, butter knives, etc. Start scraping, digging, and clawing at all the accumulations around the yard. Don’t forget to find the deposits on the car too! In the pic below, look at the snow on the slide in the back yard. It was a goldmine! We immediately scooped it up and put it in the freezer. It was too special to waste. We wanted to keep it in the freezer so that we could take it out in July and reminisce about the hard winter of ’14.
View from Our Bedroom Window
In the winter of 2011, we had an actual accumulation of 2 inches. So, I strapped on the skis and went down the irrigation ditch (black diamond). It was about a 17′ vertical drop. The neighbors were pumped! We were all off school and work so there wasn’t anything else to do, but act crazy. Check out the Video!
3. Enjoy Family
Honestly, it is a wonderful time to forget about work, responsibility, problems in the world and get lost in quality family time. Build a fire. Play some games. Put a puzzle together. Watch a movie marathon. WARNING: don’t forget to watch the forecast and go to HEB (Texas grocery store) and clean out their munchies BEFORE the storm hits! You won’t be able to travel the roads afterwards. Remember there is black ice out there!! There are patches on bridges that haven’t been sanded.
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