My husband and I have been married since 1985. We're both serious-minded, God seeking people and He has been faithful to lead and guide us all along... At this point in our marriage, I am home-schooling our two teenage children successfully, caring for my mother who has significant dementia and working a part-time jobs which requires overnight shifts for 7 days every other week, in addition to housecleaning work twice a month.

My husband, age 50, is an experienced carpenter, but over the last three years has worked less and less. Our income has gone steadily down and currently he has only worked three or four days in the last month. He maintains that it is "all he can do" to manage our depleting resources and "not waste gas" by staying at home all time.

I find that in addition to being discouraged, I'm finding it almost impossible to obey the Lord's command that I am to respect my husband. I try to focus on the fact that he is a faithful Christian, and seeks to teach our children how to fear the Lord, but the "elephant" of no income keeps getting in the way. It's obvious to him that I am having a hard time with his behavior, but so far it does not motivate him to change.

How can I regain a positive spirit toward my husband and become a wife that supports and encourages him?