For most of us, our family is the most important thing in our lives. We love our spouses, our kids, our parents and relatives more than anything else in the world. But our love is not perfect. Often times we do not live in love, but rather fear. And there are real reasons to fear; fear of getting it wrong, fear of our marriage failing, fear of our kids going astray, fear of shame and vulnerability and on and on and on...

But God does not want us to be ruled by fear, but rather love. In 1 John 4:18 John writes, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." It makes sense to us, but yet is difficult to put into practice. God's perfect love casts out fear. But remember, this does not mean our families won't face hard times, or danger or even death. But even in the midst of those hard times, we can still live in God’s power and love.

To live in families without fear, we cannot do it alone. We need others to help us fight our fears, to help us have a safe place to be honest, and to help us find courage. In order for this to happen, we need time with others. We need people ahead of us to help us on our journey, to show us the way.

We hope that's what this series will be for you. Through these real life stories we pray you will be encouraged to live with a spirit of power, love and self discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). And we pray that you're able to lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus and live out of love instead of fear.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear... Psalm 46:1-2