I have been reading some books on marriage because I told my friend I would help her find some resources. One book said women should do all the work. Another book said men should do all the work. (In the relationship) I don't agree with either one of them. But it was interesting to read such opposite ideas.
The latest made me realize something interesting and this is what I am pondering:
When God made woman, There was no house to clean, no food to cook, no kids to care for, and definitely no laundry. :)
So what exactly was she supposed to help man with?
And I am trying to think past the one OBVIOUS reason.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
More Thoughts on Authority
I wish I could communicate all that I am thinking without having to use words. I have been shown very clearly how two people can read the same thing and get completely different meanings out of what they read. It makes me nervous now that I have this blog and all! So I want to spell out a couple things:
0. I keep fluctuating between Church and family, hope you can follow me ok.
1. I am supposed to submit to the authority God has placed over me. Husband, Pastors, Government and my Heavenly King. The Bible says so.
2. I will always choose Jesus, if I have to choose. I think that is ok with Him.
3. I do believe sometimes we will have to choose.
4. That doesn't mean we need to get a divorce.
5. This list is getting a little silly.
6. As brothers and sisters in Christ we are all supposed to submit to each other. To put each other before ourselves. The Bible says so.
7. Do we do that? Sometimes, but it is not something Americans are good at. We can't even do it in our families very well.
8. But God is good, He can change anything.
Ok, check out this cool verse on authority:
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. -Ephesians 1:22
Jesus is in authority for us. So cool.
I love, love, love, the church. I love Jesus. I want to be a blessing to His people. If I ever sound intolerant on this blog, I am probably being impatient. I get excited about stuff. Email me if I get out of control. I will be sorry and tell you so. Unless I think Jesus wants me to be excited and seemingly out of control. :)
0. I keep fluctuating between Church and family, hope you can follow me ok.
1. I am supposed to submit to the authority God has placed over me. Husband, Pastors, Government and my Heavenly King. The Bible says so.
2. I will always choose Jesus, if I have to choose. I think that is ok with Him.
3. I do believe sometimes we will have to choose.
4. That doesn't mean we need to get a divorce.
5. This list is getting a little silly.
6. As brothers and sisters in Christ we are all supposed to submit to each other. To put each other before ourselves. The Bible says so.
7. Do we do that? Sometimes, but it is not something Americans are good at. We can't even do it in our families very well.
8. But God is good, He can change anything.
Ok, check out this cool verse on authority:
God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. -Ephesians 1:22
Jesus is in authority for us. So cool.
I love, love, love, the church. I love Jesus. I want to be a blessing to His people. If I ever sound intolerant on this blog, I am probably being impatient. I get excited about stuff. Email me if I get out of control. I will be sorry and tell you so. Unless I think Jesus wants me to be excited and seemingly out of control. :)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Definition of Submission
I looked up the Greek definition of submission used in Eph. 5 and this is what I got: This word was a Greek military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader". In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".
If we love someone, man or woman, we want to help them. We want them to grow in knowing and loving our Lord. We want to share what we have with them, physically (as in food and clothes, of course) emotionally and spiritually. We are commanded in the Bible, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Phil 2:3-4) We are to die to ourselves and live for God and others. All of us, men and women.
I am not saying I love that way, but that is something we all should be striving for.
Ok, I think that is all I have to say about that for the moment.
I did change my last post about 82 times and may do it some more, so if you didn't agree with it, you may want to read it again and see if God has changed my mind yet or not. :)
If we love someone, man or woman, we want to help them. We want them to grow in knowing and loving our Lord. We want to share what we have with them, physically (as in food and clothes, of course) emotionally and spiritually. We are commanded in the Bible, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Phil 2:3-4) We are to die to ourselves and live for God and others. All of us, men and women.
I am not saying I love that way, but that is something we all should be striving for.
Men and women.
Together.
Living for God.
I did change my last post about 82 times and may do it some more, so if you didn't agree with it, you may want to read it again and see if God has changed my mind yet or not. :)
Monday, April 21, 2008
One Woman's Ponderings on Submission (inspired by some books I am reading)
So here is something to discuss.....what is authority and submission? :)
I submit to God because I love and trust Him. I try to do what He wants, not what I want, because I trust He knows what is best and He loves me and I want to please Him and live the life He has planned for me.
With Jason....I pray God will move his heart in the direction He wants and I don't usually have to deal with it :) But when we do disagree...i.e. homeschooling, I thought I should, Jason said "No way, we are not even going to discuss this" and I said "Are you sure?" And he said "It is not an option." So I thought, "Alrighty then, guess I don't need to worry about that!" and it has worked out perfectly :) We have always given each other the freedom to be who we really are and don't usually have unmet expectations of one another. I love who he is, flaws and all and he seems to do the same for me. We are a team most of the time and both enjoy helping each other. We have different strengths and weaknesses and cover each other in those areas. If we disagree, sometimes we end up throwing things at each other and sometimes we calmly talk about it. If we are making a decision, he gets the final say after I have shared my view with him. He knows me better than anyone else does, except maybe my sister, and that is my favorite thing about our relationship. I share all that I am with him and he accepts it.
I have authority in ministry and as a mother and it is much harder to not abuse my authority as a mother. Because I am bigger than them and they need me a lot more. And it is much more constant and demanding. I have so many opportunities to either love them, or cause them pain.
In grown up land, we submit because we chose to, not because we have to. I don't have to submit to the Pastors, I could go to a different church or not at all. I submit to them because I love them and have learned to trust them. To trust that they are following God and seeking Him and want what is best for His people. (I should have trusted them to start with, but that was something I had to learn.) I want to be with them, so I submit to them. I will still ask them questions if I don't understand something though. To me, that is relationship, not rebellion.
People under me in ministry love me (hopefully)and may look up to me (very scary) and need my love to encourage them and help them be all that God has planned for them to be. So, I think of authority as responsibility to love. Not even to lead, (because that makes me focus on myself too much) but just to love and consider their needs before my own. And to provide what I can and protect them from harm. I wonder what most people think it is??? I really don't know....
And submitting is choosing to love too. To follow even when we aren't sure if it will turn out the way we want. As long as we are not sure they are wrong. If I am sure someone is wrong, I will not submit to their unrighteousness. I still need to love them and respect them but I do not believe I should submit to something that goes against God's Word, or His character, revealed to us by His Word. If my husband were to want me to do something I believe is wrong, I would not. Even if it is just us being selfish or uncaring about something. I would still love him and respect him if he did it, but I would not do it. And I believe he admires that about me.
Submission to God is easy to understand. He says it, I am supposed to do it. Period. Unless the Bible says something that some people say is absolute and some say is relative. Then I have to seek Him until He gives me the answer Himself. Submission to imperfect humans is more complicated. I get confused about the line between submitting and dishonesty. This is also where people tend to divide. I think if we submit but didn't want to and are resentful, that is not right, I find it dishonest. I also find it unloving (because of the resentment) which violates everything that Jesus taught.
From an authority standpoint, I would much rather be questioned and possibly saved from doing something wrong than just blindly followed, by my kids and people under me in ministry. I would also hate to have people resenting my authority instead of feeling loved and protected by it.
So the only way to submit (according to my convictions) is willingly or it doesn't count as righteousness. Self-righteousness, for sure, but is it righteous before God? And I don't believe we should ever choose man's authority over God's word.
So, what do you think??? :)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple."
~Jesus (Luke 14:26)
I submit to God because I love and trust Him. I try to do what He wants, not what I want, because I trust He knows what is best and He loves me and I want to please Him and live the life He has planned for me.
With Jason....I pray God will move his heart in the direction He wants and I don't usually have to deal with it :) But when we do disagree...i.e. homeschooling, I thought I should, Jason said "No way, we are not even going to discuss this" and I said "Are you sure?" And he said "It is not an option." So I thought, "Alrighty then, guess I don't need to worry about that!" and it has worked out perfectly :) We have always given each other the freedom to be who we really are and don't usually have unmet expectations of one another. I love who he is, flaws and all and he seems to do the same for me. We are a team most of the time and both enjoy helping each other. We have different strengths and weaknesses and cover each other in those areas. If we disagree, sometimes we end up throwing things at each other and sometimes we calmly talk about it. If we are making a decision, he gets the final say after I have shared my view with him. He knows me better than anyone else does, except maybe my sister, and that is my favorite thing about our relationship. I share all that I am with him and he accepts it.
I have authority in ministry and as a mother and it is much harder to not abuse my authority as a mother. Because I am bigger than them and they need me a lot more. And it is much more constant and demanding. I have so many opportunities to either love them, or cause them pain.
In grown up land, we submit because we chose to, not because we have to. I don't have to submit to the Pastors, I could go to a different church or not at all. I submit to them because I love them and have learned to trust them. To trust that they are following God and seeking Him and want what is best for His people. (I should have trusted them to start with, but that was something I had to learn.) I want to be with them, so I submit to them. I will still ask them questions if I don't understand something though. To me, that is relationship, not rebellion.
People under me in ministry love me (hopefully)and may look up to me (very scary) and need my love to encourage them and help them be all that God has planned for them to be. So, I think of authority as responsibility to love. Not even to lead, (because that makes me focus on myself too much) but just to love and consider their needs before my own. And to provide what I can and protect them from harm. I wonder what most people think it is??? I really don't know....
And submitting is choosing to love too. To follow even when we aren't sure if it will turn out the way we want. As long as we are not sure they are wrong. If I am sure someone is wrong, I will not submit to their unrighteousness. I still need to love them and respect them but I do not believe I should submit to something that goes against God's Word, or His character, revealed to us by His Word. If my husband were to want me to do something I believe is wrong, I would not. Even if it is just us being selfish or uncaring about something. I would still love him and respect him if he did it, but I would not do it. And I believe he admires that about me.
Submission to God is easy to understand. He says it, I am supposed to do it. Period. Unless the Bible says something that some people say is absolute and some say is relative. Then I have to seek Him until He gives me the answer Himself. Submission to imperfect humans is more complicated. I get confused about the line between submitting and dishonesty. This is also where people tend to divide. I think if we submit but didn't want to and are resentful, that is not right, I find it dishonest. I also find it unloving (because of the resentment) which violates everything that Jesus taught.
From an authority standpoint, I would much rather be questioned and possibly saved from doing something wrong than just blindly followed, by my kids and people under me in ministry. I would also hate to have people resenting my authority instead of feeling loved and protected by it.
So the only way to submit (according to my convictions) is willingly or it doesn't count as righteousness. Self-righteousness, for sure, but is it righteous before God? And I don't believe we should ever choose man's authority over God's word.
So, what do you think??? :)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple."
~Jesus (Luke 14:26)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Another Need for Patience
I was taking one of my "I must take a walk and pray, or I will not get through this day" walks. I was fussing at God about something I was frustrated with and the thought came to my mind, "It doesn't have to be perfect, Child, is it good?". And what I was fussing about is very, very good ~just not perfect. I was only fussing because I was wanting perfection.
I don't consider myself a perfectionist either.
So then I started wondering if God didn't put this longing for perfection in humans? Or maybe we were created for perfection and that is why we want it so badly? We all say "I know I will never be perfect" and try to forget about perfection ~but we can't. So what if we just decide to be patient instead?
Everything will be perfect someday. But not because we made it that way. :)
All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
-Rom 8:21
I don't consider myself a perfectionist either.
So then I started wondering if God didn't put this longing for perfection in humans? Or maybe we were created for perfection and that is why we want it so badly? We all say "I know I will never be perfect" and try to forget about perfection ~but we can't. So what if we just decide to be patient instead?
Everything will be perfect someday. But not because we made it that way. :)
All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
-Rom 8:21
Thursday, April 17, 2008
What Does God Long For?
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings but you wouldn't let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.
Matthew 23:37-38
I have been wondering what God is longing for since my last post and this verse keeps coming to my mind. How many times has He tried to show me His love and I have rejected Him? What other things does He want for His children that we are ignoring? That we won't let Him give us?
Good, scary things.
Oh Father, let us fear you in a healthy way. Not in a selfish way. May we trust you enough to let you love us!
Matthew 23:37-38
I have been wondering what God is longing for since my last post and this verse keeps coming to my mind. How many times has He tried to show me His love and I have rejected Him? What other things does He want for His children that we are ignoring? That we won't let Him give us?
Good, scary things.
Oh Father, let us fear you in a healthy way. Not in a selfish way. May we trust you enough to let you love us!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Vision
I was laying in bed last night and couldn't fall asleep and didn't have anything to daydream about. So I pray, "Lord, give me a vision, your people perish without vision, you know!" (He knew I was teasing Him) And then I thought, "For who?" Well for myself of course, isn't that usually my first priority? Then I actually thought, "That is boring, give me Your vision for the world" then I started laughing because aren't I something to ask for that! :)
In our small group we have read from Joshua to almost the end of 1 Samuel and it has been so cool for me to see how God orchestrated all of it. He was there, even if the people didn't see any supernatural evidence. And He had a plan for their generation. The people had to decide if they wanted to live out God's desires or their own. So that ended up being my prayer, "Lord, please give me a vision for what you are desiring for this generation". Now I have no idea if God will answer that prayer or not, it may be none of my business and I am fine with that too. I just want more to daydream and pray about. :)
What do you think He is up to in our generation?
In our small group we have read from Joshua to almost the end of 1 Samuel and it has been so cool for me to see how God orchestrated all of it. He was there, even if the people didn't see any supernatural evidence. And He had a plan for their generation. The people had to decide if they wanted to live out God's desires or their own. So that ended up being my prayer, "Lord, please give me a vision for what you are desiring for this generation". Now I have no idea if God will answer that prayer or not, it may be none of my business and I am fine with that too. I just want more to daydream and pray about. :)
What do you think He is up to in our generation?
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Tearing Down Idols
Today I feel like the richest woman in the world. I realized something this morning. There is no value in ANYTHING but Christ. He is my glory. He is my treasure. He is ALL THAT MATTERS. And He is mine.
Beauty has been an idol for me for as long as I could remember. THERE IS NO VALUE IN BEAUTY APART FROM CHRIST!!! If we can be beautiful with Him, to His glory.....Hallelujah! If, like me, we aren't mature enough for it....Hallelujah! He is merciful and only gives us what we can handle.
He is the only glory I want. EVER.
So do not worry, saying,"What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33
Beauty has been an idol for me for as long as I could remember. THERE IS NO VALUE IN BEAUTY APART FROM CHRIST!!! If we can be beautiful with Him, to His glory.....Hallelujah! If, like me, we aren't mature enough for it....Hallelujah! He is merciful and only gives us what we can handle.
He is the only glory I want. EVER.
So do not worry, saying,"What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Confessions
As I struggle with a touch of sadness from my grandma's death, and my longing for something more (which is with me so much I used to think it was part of who I am) I do immature, impatient things.
Yesterday while I was eating the cookie I got for my husband (yes, I had already eaten mine), I knew I was trying to comfort myself. I knew that when I ate my cookie. I knew I should wait for God to comfort me but I didn't.
The thought came to my mind, "You are not satisfied with me, Child."
I was shocked! "Of course I am Lord, how could I not be?"
"You are satisfied with who I AM, but you are not satisfied in me."
Oh, My Lord, I am so sorry......
Yesterday while I was eating the cookie I got for my husband (yes, I had already eaten mine), I knew I was trying to comfort myself. I knew that when I ate my cookie. I knew I should wait for God to comfort me but I didn't.
The thought came to my mind, "You are not satisfied with me, Child."
I was shocked! "Of course I am Lord, how could I not be?"
"You are satisfied with who I AM, but you are not satisfied in me."
Oh, My Lord, I am so sorry......
Why spend money on what is not bread and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest fare. Isaiah 55:2
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Second Poem I have Written of My Own Free Will. "The Crash" is Something out of *The Barbarian Way* by Erwin McManus
Longings
Reawakened
Stirred
Relationship
Fellowship
Adventure
The Crash
What do I do with them Lord?
Stuff them?
Share them?
You know me, I can't ignore them.
Lead me,
My King
In Your Adventure
Reawakened
Stirred
Relationship
Fellowship
Adventure
The Crash
What do I do with them Lord?
Stuff them?
Share them?
You know me, I can't ignore them.
Lead me,
My King
In Your Adventure
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