Posts
Anyone who knows the Carlisle
family knows that we are very happy. We
enjoy life. We enjoy our children, and
we cherish our family lifestyle. There
is no doubt in my mind that the success of our family is due to our
relationship with God, our Father.
First, both Jessica and myself have a personal relationship
with God, and we are constantly working to be better for one another.
I could give several examples when I have
failed to be the man that she deserves, but despite that she has always
forgiven me and we have grown as a couple.
We insist on keeping God at the head of our family and our
household. We do our best to make sure
that what we do as a family pleases and brings glory to the Father. We believe that by raising our children to
love Him we are fulfilling our call as parents, and by being obedient in the
raising of our children, we qualify for the blessings and protections that God
promises in His Word.
Most of us are familiar with the verses in Malachi chapter 3
and II Corinthians chapter 9 that talk about tithing and multiplying seed.
Since we have been married, Jessica and I
have tithed as we are commanded by God.
We don’t just believe, but we know that because we have been faithful to
tithe, God has blessed us financially. Not
only does He provide use with resources to meet our needs, but we have above
and beyond our desires. Just as
important as tithing, we make it a priority to speak the Word of God over our
family everyday.
The following
confession is something that Shaun has been saying since he has been able to
speak, and we believe that Ben will be saying it soon.
We are healed, whole, blessed,
protected, safe, prosperous, obedient, good listeners, intelligent, athletic,
anointed, tough, strong, patient, honest, and have a sound mind.
Shaun also blesses the food before every meal. We thank God each and every day for the
blessings that He has bestowed upon are family.
It is important for us to make sure that what goes on within our family
and our household is pleasing to God.
For that reason we are currently asking God to bring anything to our attention
that does not please Him. There is
always some way that we can improve, and what is encouraging is that when we
obey, we see obvious blessings and answers within our family.
We teach our children that God is our answer
in all things. If Shaun complains of a
physical ailment, we immediately instruct him to pray about it. We also have Shaun pray for us if we have a
headache or some other attack on our body.
I have had Shaun pray for my headaches and they have cleared up within
seconds. I am not going to say that it
happens every time, but it has gotten to the point where I am not surprised
when it does happen. I have even told
others, “let Shaun pray for your headache.” We don’t ask Shaun to pray for
headaches or physical ailments because we don’t want to, but because God has
given him a physical anointing through prayer and lying on of hands. By
encouraging him to work in this anointing as a young child it allows him to see
God work through him, building his faith.
What we are doing is more than teaching our children about
the ways of God. We are making it the
norm for them. I started really growing
in my relationship with God and believing in the things of God when I was 19
years old. I often wonder how great my
relationship with God would be and how great my faith would be if it would have
been bread in me from birth. Well, we
believe that we are going to see it through our children. Part of our calling is to raise our children
to have more faith in God than the tangible things of this world. They will truly walk by faith and not by
sight.
