Protect this House

I couldn't sleep last night. I had so much running through my mind some of which I wrote last night. It's long. and it's for Christians. If you don't believe or live the Christian faith, I don't expect you to understand. If you are bitter towards men, you might not appreciate it either.

Dear Fathers, Husbands and Grandfathers:

I firmly believe, for Christians, God ordained men to the be head of their households. Not to dictate over the family, not to boast about his family with power but rather to lead his family, to provide for his family, and to protect his family. All of these responsibilities require much of men but none so much that God hasn't equipped him for. Yet all of them too big to be accomplished by his own ability and accord. All require a strong faith, a strong commitment and a strong desire to follow and seek God's will for his family. Leading his family also requires a very hard act of balance so much so that when 'off kilter', his family can fall apart or become victim to the cruelties of this world. For some reason, given today's culture and path America is taking, I can't help but think about our men and their role to protect. I'm not talking about men vs women in the military. I am talking about how men choose to protect their families and the great lengths they go about to do it. I, also, often think about men who don't protect bc of various reasons...they don't see the need, they don't know how, they are simply just lazy or they are so wrapped up with trying to be successful by other means than their family. When I think about men and how they are to protect, I can't help but think about how their families need them to protect, how their wives and children not only need it but want it. Our fathers and our husbands are the safety blanket of the home. They are the 'guardian' standing outside the door. However, when I see some of the issues that are being 'fought' across America...anywhere from education to religious freedoms to the subtle everyday dangers that don't always go noticed unless you are looking for them...I can't help but notice that there seems to be fewer men fighting these battles. I'm not saying that there are no men at all but it seems to be ever decreasing. I've noticed more moms and wives stepping up to the frontlines. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong direction and if that is the case, I am ever so happy to be so wrong.

I hear of fathers and husbands not even aware of some of the most dangerous issues that plague the family. I hear of fathers and husbands apathetically ask, "what do you want me to do about it?" Well, if you really want to protect, you follow the greatest laws of protection...You prepare and you gain knowledge. Armies don't send their troops to battle without preparing them, without teaching them, without training them. Sports teams don't play their seasons and their next game without preparation, without training, without building endurance. Avid hunters don't on a hunt without preparation. One of the ways to prepare is certainly physically but another just as equally important...knowledge. And for the Christian family, you can add spiritual preparation. Militaries want to know everything there is to know about their enemy. They want to know their weaknesses, their strengths, their numbers, their strategy, their agenda and then take what they have learned and prepare the best way for victory. They further prepare for battles that may be lost realizing that there is still a war to defeat. Teams want to know everything there is to know about their opponents....their weaknesses, their strengths, their reactions to certain pressures, their strategy, their best players, their weakest players and from that knowledge, they prepare the best way to defeat them. Hunters learn about their prey. They research the best method to kill their prey. They learn the land, the environment. They aren't going hunt in the cold mountains without the proper wardrobe and necessities to survive. Even Under Armor understands this strategy..."Protect this House".

Dear Fathers, Dear Husbands, Dear Grandfathers...I plead with you to protect your family. I plead with you to prepare for the battles so that the war may be won. If you truly understand in the Christian faith, there is an enemy that roams this Earth seeking whom he may devour. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. And the 'whom' he seeks to devour and kill, is your family. No, he may not come so blatantly into your home and snatch your family, although, this is one way he acts..kidnapping, murder. But he comes in more subtle ways that can be just as dangerous...deception...one of his most victorious strategies. He has a heart of evil but a presentation of beauty. You see, he uses television, the internet, social media, education, politics, hobbies, careers/jobs, books, relationships, and so many other outlets to destroy your family.

Fathers, Husbands and Grandfathers...I plead you to prepare. I plead for you to become knowledgeable of his deception and his ways. Do whatever it takes so that when he walks up to the door of your house, he's greeted with you as the guardian of your domain, standing there with the full armor of God (your way of showing 'protect this house') looking him in the eyes with no fear bc God has your back...saying to him... "Not with my family you won't."