Standards

So I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that our church is doing this amazing marriage study at the moment. I am loving it. One of the things that I think has caused Mr. Perfect and I so much trouble in our marriage is that we didn't really get good pre-marital counseling. We had some, but no where near what I would recommend to an engaged couple. We were pretty much left in the dark with so much so these sermons have been a definite wake up call in our marriage.

Our preacher spoke to us today on the roles of parents, husbands, and wives in a marriage. I'm not going to give you the whole sermon, because frankly I don't remember it all. Good memory- I do not have.

What stuck out to both Mr. Perfect and myself was the section on setting standards in our marriage. Our Sunday School teacher actually did an excellent job preaching on this. I set a lot of standards for myself and people I surround myself with daily. I expect a ton from my co-workers because I have such a high standard for what I produce. And I usually do just what I set out to do. I definitely got my parents hardworking gene. Thanks! Mr. Perfect is the same. He sets very high standards for his employees. I always joke that there is no way I could work for him because he expects so much! However, it gets him the respect he deserves as their boss.

Where we both lack is the same; we don't set standards for ourselves in our home.

Huh?

We're very chill at our house. It works for us right now, but what we got to thinking about was setting a standard for our family. Example: I have told him time and again that when we procreate (love that word) the TV is gone. I kid you not. We will not have a family television. Mr. Perfect used to just dismiss this as one of my many passing fancies. But I'm serious. Have you seen what's on television today? I'm guilty of encouraging it by what I watch but come on. Saturday morning at work we were watching cartoons and a condom commercial came on. Are you kidding me?!? I don't want my children seeing that. My other thing with the tv is the materialism it breeds. I don't want my children "wanting" things that the tv shows them over and over and tells them they "need". I don't judge people that do allow their children tv time, it's just not what I think I want at this time. We will keep our small tv in our room for DVD's and such though.. I do need my FRIENDS!

I want my children to see Mr. Perfect and I set standards for relationships. I want them to see that he always opens my door for me and that we hug, and touch, and are affectionate. I want them to know that their parents love each other, therefore making it easier to love them. I want God first in our house. I want us in church when the doors are open. Our SS teacher said if you raise the standards so high, your children will more than likely set theirs just a bit below that. Well by golly, I'll set mine so high that their lower standards are still high!

We felt such a conviction on this today. We were disappointed in ourselves that we do set such high standards everywhere else but our home. That the second most important relationship we have in this world is the one we expect the least from. That's not how it's supposed to be. So we'll be setting up our standards for our family. I'm sure it's going to be a process but oh how worth it it will be. By the time God decides to bless us with our little one, I want the strongest foundation we can possibly have on which they will grow.

I love sermons like today when it's just what I needed to hear...