My Husband, The Spiritual Leader of our Home

DJ, Husband, Father, and Leader

This is my husband, DJ.  When we met we had both been through some tough times.  He was raising his daughter alone.  I was a divorced single mother with two little girls.  Neither of us were saved, though we both had spent time in church off and on as children.  We began going to church once we were engaged, but after we were married, we drifted away from it.

It wasn't until our lived fell apart several years later that things changed.  Having serious marital issues, my husband sought help from his father... a pastor.  Within a short time my husband had dedicated his life to God.  He would go to church and encourage me to go with, but at that point I wasn't ready.  I watched the transformation in his life occur over the next few weeks and slowly came around myself.  I say that my husband led me to Christ, even if he wasn't physically by my side when I finally made the decision to turn my life to God.  His influence and example had made an impact on me.  I talked about this before a couple years ago in a post about my testimony.

My husband has grown so much in the Lord that even I am amazed.  His testimony is powerful; from heavy-metal bass guitarist in a secular band to a man with a calling on his life to preach the Gospel.  He is naturally more mild mannered than most people.  He is easy to forgive.  He loves the Lord with his whole soul.

He lost his father nearly two years ago.  My husband misses his father every day.  They were just beginning to really connect in God.  We had only been saved what seemed like a brief time when his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack.  This caused some struggle in my husband, even if he does know that his father is with Jesus.  Mostly, it made him regret not turning to Christ earlier and having more time to share the wonderful fellowship and the connection that a life in Christ brings.

My husband is a wonderful husband and father.  He isn't perfect, but God is moving in his life in many ways.  He works as a mechanic on the midnight shift at a local trucking company.  We have had many setbacks financially over the last few years.  My husband is usually a lot more optimistic and trusting of God in these situations than I am.  He has taught me a lot though about persevering through the tough times.

He is a playful father.  Oh, he'll be firm at times, but most of the time he likes to be light-hearted with his children.  He had to create his own definition of a step-father and work hard at the relationships with my daughters.  It was a tough role to fill since their biological father is often gone serving our country in the Army.  Yet, my husband was successful.  He never tried to replace their father.  He just slowly emerged as a father figure to them.  He built trust with them and loved them.  He is the head of our home, but that is not a role he takes to be Lord over them.  DJ is one of those men that people are generally loyal to because he is loyal to them.

With his daughter, we have had a lot of ups and downs.  He regrets the fact that things have been so tough in dealing with his daughter's mother, even when we've had little options.  His daughter is not here full time, but only a few days per month.  We have struggled, and are honest about that fact, because we miss her and wish she could be around more.  However, we don't want her to be in the middle of a battle zone, so we have left a lot of things in the hands of our Jesus. We pray for her a lot, and do our best to make sure she is included in as much as she can be with our family.  At the moment, she is the only child in public school.

Our younger two daughters have been blessed with having mommy and daddy together.  My youngest daughter, Megan, has never known life outside of our Christian home.  Laura was young when we came to Christ.  My husband and I are in agreement that we want desperately to raise them for Christ.  My husband loves to spend time with the younger girls reading Bible stories or the Bible to them.  He prays with them each night at bedtime that he is home.  He is devoted to his children, and he wants them to know they are loved.

DJ is an exceptionally, Godly man.  It has been amazing to watch him grow in the Lord over the last few years.  I look forward to watching what God is going to do in his life in the future.

My role as his wife is still being taught to me.  I never was taught how to be a godly wife.  I never heard anything about submission except negative, which isn't the truth.  I am learning more and more every day, just trying to serve, respect, and love the wonderful husband God has blessed me with.