Welcome to Day 29 of our Journey through “31 Days to Bless Your Family”!

Today’s theme is Present & Participating. This topic was one of the more difficult images I could find that might communicate in an image our subject for the day. In today’s image I see a family actively involved together. They are present with each other, and they are participating together.

This is where the proverbial “rubber meets the road“. It is putting meat on the bones for our skeleton of topics, and giving life to our words. This is “the moment of truth“.

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I haven’t made it a secret that I have been divorced and my son is from my first marriage. When that marriage was being dissolved the most important thing to me in the world by far was that I maintain my rights as a father to be present and participating in my son’s life. Nothing else mattered, and my only plea to the judge was to honor my desire to be actively involved in my son’s life geographically and with as much time as I could possibly be allowed. In a difficult situation like a divorce I was thrilled to have my request honored.

When we have a lifelong vision of parenting, and a commitment to complete our blessing in our children’s lives, it becomes a natural conclusion that we dedicate ourselves with every possible effort to be geographically present in the lives of our kids with quantity and quality time to engage with them. Whether you are a traditional family, a blended family, or a single parent – if you are reading this with the intent to Bless Your Family then you know what I am talking about.

This is of course important to be present and participating if we are to bring life to our commitments, to lead by example and to bless our children. It is a necessity if we are to live out our topics in this series like: Courage, Leadership, Communication, Undying Love, Trust & Safety, Faithfulness, Integrity, Gratefulness, Generosity, Responsibility, Finances, Prayer, Boundaries, Margin and Consistency (just to name a few). These are just some of the practical elements children can thrive in when modeled in their immediate environment.

Most everyone goes into their marriage expecting a slice of “Heaven, right here on earth”. I’m fairly certain no one expects to wind up at the Hotel California, where you can “check out, but you can never leave”, feeling trapped and alone. But marriage can seem like these extremes if you have a spouse that either is, or isn’t, present and participating.

One definition of Hell is simply the absence of God’s presence. If marriage is our picture or metaphor for God’s love and presence in our lives, then it’s not difficult to see how quickly we can experience either, a heavenly joy wrapped in Oneness and Completeness with a Loving Partner, or a little taste of hell if our mate isn’t really a part of building a life together at all.

If being Present and Participating is “putting meat on the bones for our skeleton of topics, and giving life to our words” – then in the bond of marriage it is also giving us “a little heart and soul”. If you want your heart and soul to be warmed and full of love, it becomes easier to experience when you and your mate show up in every area and category of your lives together: Mentally, Emotionally, Spiritually, Sexually, Financially, etc. – making every effort toward Oneness together, helping, serving, and sacrificing for each other and your life together.

The culmination of all the topics in our playlist moves us from Completing, to Present and Participating, and into Intimacy and Sex – for a lifetime of blessing our marriage and family through the short and long seasons – the Sprints and Marathons of life with our spouse and children.

We need to choose to be the right spouse, modeling love and blessing and all the 31 topics (even the hints of playfulness and intimacy that kids giggle at, and find security and hope in what a marriage can be someday). You can’t even make the ‘right’ person choose to ‘be the right person’. We can only make that choice for ourselves. If you are to Bless Your Family you must choose to first be the right person, the best person you can be, and to be Present and Participating in your marraige and family relationships.

Thank you for allowing me a little fun with the rock’n’roll section titles…

When you Bless Your Family by being Present and Participating in your marriage and with your kids they will be crying  “more, more, more”. They will want more of you because really, that’s all they wanted and needed in the first place. And don’t forget about your rock’n’roll legacy… by being there for your family, actively engaged, you become their star, and you just might get inducted to the Hall of Fame. What’s more, the music you create with them can live on in the generations of your family. You might have helped raise the next generation of marriage and family super stars! Encore!

[shareable cite=”@Eric_D_Jackson”]It doesn’t matter what field or endeavor you want to talk about. If you don’t show up and make your best effort it’s all just talk. You must be Present and Participating to Bless Your Family.[/shareable]

Today’s “Dares and Prayers” shared in the video:

• Love Dare – “Motivations“
• Love Dare For Parents – “Listens“
• Power of a Praying Husband, Pray for – “Her Service” /edj
• Resolution – “to leave a Legacy“
• 31 Days of Building Your Family Values, Bible App Devotions – “Commitment“

 

<YouTube video coming soon> 

 

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Special Thanks to Kendrick Brothers Productions for their books The Love Dare, The Love Dare for Parents, and The Resolution for Men. You can check out their movies, books etc on their site. Their site recommends a local church finder at:

• TrueLife.orgwhich also links to a prayer online, chat or text site – ChatAboutJesus.com

For prayer from KLOVE Radio staff:

• Positive, Encouraging K-LOVE Radio – Submit a Prayer Request
• “You can also call [the] prayer line at 800-525-5683”