Month: October 2025

My first son-in-law became introduced to our family 23 years ago and instantly became a Virginia Tech fan, 99% because it was his future wife’s university, but also because the VT football fan craze contagion cannot be avoided by anyone! He became the Dad of my very first grandchild which is a very distinct honor! So, the journey to our “family building” began with him!

Thank you God that this son founded his household on the Firm Rock, Jesus Christ (Luke 6:47)! I do not worry that any earthly floods of sorrow or suffering will overcome this strong foundation. Thank you God that Your eternal Word fell on his heart’s good and rich soil long ago so that he is a faithful and fruitful husband, father, son, brother, co-worker, and friend. Multiply his fruitfulness to a hundredfold (Mark 4:8-9). Let him be a man who boasts that he knows and understands You Lord, and therefore flows with Your steadfast love, justice, and righteousness (Jere. 9:23-24). For his humility and kindness, I am so grateful. Thank You for giving him a heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:23-24), for this reflects the Spirit of the Living God in his life of faith. Thank You that he is a man of prayer.

This faithful fixer of broken things is a builder and restorer of gasoline and diesel engines. For that matter, he is also handy at most all domestic repairs and minor renovations. He has a servant’s heart and a thoughtful personality. He is ready to share himself whenever there is a need. Dear God, please remove any “weariness in well-doing” that comes close to him, because he instead will trust You in all things. You have given him the gift of practical stewardship with which he blesses our family continually. He is our most dependable mender of appliances, painter, hammerer, nailer, wrencher, tightener, purifier of swimming pool water, mower, mulcher, carrier of heavy objects, washer of pots and pans and plates after a meal, smoker of meats, and automotive magician. No job seems too big or too small. The list goes on.

I pray that my son-in-law will continue to love the Scriptures and be strengthened in the grace of Christ to speak and act as a trustworthy and reliable witness who can teach others (2 Tim. 2:1-2). I pray that You will prepare him to preach the Word in season and out of season with patience and care (2 Tim. 4:2). I ask that You develop his leadership and teaching gifts in his church community. I pray that You will widen his spiritual sensitivity as You speak to him through Your Word.

Finally, I pray I Thess. 1:2-4 over my first son-in-law. God, will You greatly expand this son’s works of faith, labors of love, and steadfastness of hope? As You deepen his faith, give him many opportunities to let others see Jesus in his responding, especially when his faith is sorely tested and his circumstances cause stress. As You deepen his love, give him the caring attention and understanding needed by his wife, maturing daughters, parents, extended family and friends. Extend his compassion and mercy to the unsaved with whom he interacts. Use his practical skills to bless those who need his expertise. Lord Jesus, let him always be Your hands and feet. As You deepen his hope, give him Your perspective on world happenings. Let him sense Your Sovereignty and unthwarted purposes always at play. Let him find rest for his soul and body in Your capable hands.

Amen.

Another son entered our family in 2015. Coming from a Tennessee family, he was drawn to Virginia for preparation as a highly skilled surgeon. And, by God’s providence, he was also on a road to start a life with our youngest girl. He was then and is now, as his name means, a gift of God!

Lord God, I ask that my TN son-in-law would be one who seeks diligently after You, to understand You, and to look first to You in all circumstances (Psalm 53:2). May he be like a flourishing green olive tree in God’s house, prosperous, enduring – deeply connected to and trusting in the Good Shepherd Who lays down His life for us (Psalm 52:8).

In the relentless demands of life, will You lead him to be still and really know that You are God (Psalm 46:10)? Be his rest, his energy, his motivation, his clarity. Will You supply him with good courage and the ability to walk evermore by faith rather than sight (2 Corinthians 5:6-9)?

Prepare my son-in-law’s mind for the requirements of the day and the unceasing calls for discernment and precise skill. Prepare his body to be strong and healthy so his journey through each day will be infused with grace, mercy and peace. Prepare his soul for life’s sorrows and joys, disappointments and celebrations, strengths in times of weakness, and ultimately the crown of life eternal.

Grant that he will be a curious and persistent disciple of Christ, always inquiring of the Lord answers to the many challenging questions of his heart and mind. May he be a compassionate husband and life partner, a wise father to his little girls, an attentive son, and a devoted friend. May he be an asset to his superiors, a support to his colleagues, and an encouragement to those he trains and leads.

In the midst of his life’s calling, will You generously give him abundant practical wisdom to detect problems, the keen imagination to consider solutions, and all the skills to apply remedies and save lives? At the same time, will you minimize the flood of demands that can easily overwhelm in such a consuming vocation? Will You make Your glory shine through the life-saving expertise You have given to this beloved son?

I pray Ephesians 3:14-19 over this son-in-law, that he will be strengthened by God’s Spirit in the inner man, so that he may be able to comprehend and know the love of Christ. Dear God, be my son-in-law’s Rock, Refuge, safety, guide, and leader. Give him broad shoulders and a deep heart. May his life always reflect Your love, joy, and kindness.

Amen.