For the law was given through Moses, <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n John 1:17\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n If you didn’t read today’s chapter, you’re probably wondering what in the world a can of WD-40 is doing in our blog today!! \u00a0If you did read it, you will know exactly what it’s meant for! \u00a0Read on…..<\/p>\n When I read the script Priscilla mentioned in the first part of this chapter, I have to admit that I was feeling a bit uneasy.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because I felt like she was talking about the script that was written about my home a few years back.<\/p>\n The Lord is really working in me the last couple of weeks.\u00a0 Last week, we talked about loving our kids; and the difference between loving them and being their friend.\u00a0 This week, we are talking about grace in the home.\u00a0 This chapter, we are talking about expectations \/ grace within the home.<\/p>\n I admit when I first moved into this home, I had no experience being a step-mom.\u00a0 I have been a step-child before, but never a step-parent.\u00a0 I had good and bad experiences as a step-child.\u00a0 I learned, or rather I thought I had learned, what to do\u2026and what not to do.\u00a0 But, as life would have it, I realized very quickly that I hadn\u2019t learned anything about step-parenting.<\/p>\n I had it in my head what I thought my new home was going to be like.\u00a0 My husband and I talked a lot about what my responsibilities would be.\u00a0 I thought I was going to just walk in and everything would just be peachy-keen!\u00a0 Not!!<\/p>\n I can go back now and see the reason why things didn\u2019t go so smoothly.\u00a0 I was bullheaded.\u00a0 My expectations were extremely high, especially when there had been NO expectations prior to me living in our home.\u00a0 ANY expectations that I would have had would have been considered too high because of the lack of expectations before me.<\/p>\n To me, I wanted the kids to understand that I was just doing what their dad wanted me to do.\u00a0 To the boys, they just wanted me to go away, and leave them to do whatever they wanted, as they had been doing for almost two years.<\/p>\n I was an intruder.\u00a0 I was a spy.\u00a0 I was a tattle-tale.\u00a0 I was the enemy in their little world that had been so rudely interrupted!<\/p>\n Grace?\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know that word back then.\u00a0 None of us did.\u00a0 We were one of the most dysfunctional families in the neighborhood.\u00a0 Neighborhood?\u00a0 Nooo, in the whole town it felt like!<\/p>\n I expected the fairly tale setting.\u00a0 I would move in.\u00a0 We would all love each other.\u00a0 We would all get along.\u00a0 We would all have a great time.\u00a0 And so on\u2026..\u00a0 WRONG!!!<\/p>\n I and everyone else in this family found out rather quickly that was not to be!<\/p>\n My expectations were to have respect for each other.\u00a0 You did what you were told to do.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t bad-mouth each other.\u00a0 You, in no way, showed violence.\u00a0 You kept peace in the home.<\/p>\n Some may say that doesn\u2019t sound like my expectations were too high.\u00a0 But in this home, it was, only because it had never been reinforced before.\u00a0 Now I come into the home and I was reinforcing these things, and the troops were not happy, at all!!\u00a0 I was truly the enemy.<\/p>\n I admit now that I blew it.\u00a0 My expectations should have been adjusted to a lower level, until we learned about each other.\u00a0 Instead I just marched in and laid down the law.\u00a0 Wrong way to go about things.\u00a0 That blew up in my face, and it caused a lot of heartache for all of us.\u00a0 I take the blame for that.\u00a0 If I could go back and do it all over again, I would totally do things differently.<\/p>\n The lesson I learned is that each individual in your home has certain capabilities.\u00a0 The expectations of that person should be based on what that person is truly capable of giving.\u00a0 No individual should be forced into doing something they are not capable of doing, no matter what.\u00a0 It should begin with teaching that individual first.\u00a0 No one can do what they have not learned.\u00a0 How can they?\u00a0 They have yet to learn what is expected of them.\u00a0 They Will Fail!!\u00a0 And so will YOU, if you insist on them performing something they have yet to learn!<\/p>\n Re-evaluate your expectations of those in your home.\u00a0 Re-evaluate how you can adjust your expectations to what is capable for each person in your home.\u00a0 Don\u2019t set the expectations so very high that no one will be able to reach it.\u00a0 If you do, YOU will be hurt, disappointed, and more!\u00a0 You will not achieve what you hope to if your expectations are not attainable.\u00a0 Yes, I agree that we sometimes have to stretch our expectations to help our self and others strive for success.\u00a0 But, what I am talking about here is setting the expectations so high, that no one can attain them \u2026. To YOUR Satisfaction!<\/p>\n If you want peace, fun, laughter, acceptance, love, and a well oiled family unit, whip out the WD-40 (GRACE) and start spraying the areas where the expectations are too high, so you can loosen up a bit!\u00a0 Don\u2019t be a drill sergeant like I was!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Be a woman resolved to show grace in your home!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Grace is the smile that everyone in your home is waiting to receive from you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Truly if you use the grace card in your home, you will see much better results that I did when I first moved in here.\u00a0 Today, we still struggle with past hurts because of how high the expectations had been set, and unmet.\u00a0 We\u2019re a work in progress, but by the grace of God, we are much better than we were back then!!\u00a0 Praise God!!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n _______________________<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s Pray:<\/strong><\/p>\n Lord, I lift to You each person who is reading this today, and maybe struggling with expectations that are too high in their home, or their work environment.\u00a0 Maybe they are the ones with the high expectations.\u00a0 Maybe they need to loosen up a bit.\u00a0 Maybe they need to learn how to use grace in their home or workplace.\u00a0 Father I ask You to give them wisdom and discernment on how they can show grace to each person in their life, or how they can set the right level of expectations for their home, or workplace.\u00a0 Lord, forgive us for the times that we have expected way too much from others.\u00a0 Forgive us for the times that we have tried to force our expectations onto others.\u00a0 Help us give grace to those who need to learn from us.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 Name, AMEN.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your Assignment:<\/strong><\/p>\n Tell us about an area of your life where your expectations need adjusting.\u00a0 How will you go about changing them, and why?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n __________________<\/p>\n Reminder\u2026 on October 1st<\/strong>, we will begin our brand new Online Bible Study, entitled\u00a0\u201cWinning Him Without Words\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0by Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller.\u00a0 If you are in an unequally spiritual marriage, you won\u2019t want to miss this study!!<\/p>\n To sign up for this study, please send an email to:\u00a0Womens@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com<\/strong>\u00a0and we will send you all the details you need to get started!<\/p>\n Now jump on over to our Facebook Group for the daily activity!! If you do not yet belong to this group, and would like to, send us an email at\u00a0GirlfriendsCoffeeHour@gmail.com<\/strong>\u00a0with FB GROUP in the subject line, and we\u2019ll be glad to add you!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/69.89.31.171\/~girlfrk8\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/christi-signature.jpg\" "\\"Christi")
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