Equality

(written from my phone so please excuse the typos)

Gal 3:28. For those of you wondering about equality (for we have already touched on "well I know what I have to do for him but what does my husband do for me?" and Tim scripture (and it's selfishness of the question). But what about equality? Doesn't God say we are equal? In gal 3:28 he destinctly says we are equal. It is also discussed in John 13:16 Well this is one of the times you've got to look at the full passage. It's talking about in gods love you are equal. And how we are equal in salvation But there are destinct scriptures that tells us just what God thinks about equality in marriage. 1 Peter 3:7 tells his ads to understand their wives and treated with respect and honor as co-heirs with Jesus in the kingdom of god.
In the beginning man and woman were created and were equal. Both had dominion over everything. Gen 5:1-2 But once sin came to pass women and men were no longer equal. Gen 3:16-19. The punishment was clearly imposed. But God did not reduce women to inferior status, nor did he command men to rule harshly over their wives. However, over the course of history, it has sometimes been misinterpreted to be that gods punishment of eve was justification for degradation and subjugation of women. As much as Paul stated we are equal in gal, be points out in 1 Coe 11:3-10 back to men being the authority I. The family. Also iv Ephesians. 5:21-30.
You might ask but what does he ( my husband) do for me. This is where you must remember : you can only change you. Only god can change other people. One way is for you to show Christ in all you do. And maybe your husband will see that and respond. But don't do something to get something, do it out of love. That way if you dosee the change you feel blessed not d
As if you deserve it.
Col 3:22

First Meeting

We had our first meeting this week, on April 18th, and it was... well, um... empty. I kind of knew it would be. A number of the women I invited don't really show up to things even if they're interested in it. And I put it on a day that a lot of people have plans for: churches, families, etc. But it was good. I got to have a peaceful, quiet dinner with my mother, and we went through the lessons for the week. I got some good insite and was able to adjust the information for later. 1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. These are hard words to swallow, but very true and applicable to this situation. It's hard for me to understand and accept this first meeting failure when I felt God moving so strongly for me to do this, to write this. I'm writing almost 6 months of lesson plans because I felt so strongly about this that I couldn't choose any other book. Maybe that is what I'm called to do. All I know is, He will reveal it to me someday. But now, I've got to fight these tears and accept that this failure is a part of His plan. It is hard, very hard to do.

the fear of a child

This morning I was praying and my heart grew heavy with my children: God, give me the patience and strength for my children. Please take away nh anger. A child should fear their parents, but that does not mean for them to be afraid of their parents. Much like my early feelings of God, I thought the word fear was, well, frightening. I thought I was supposed to do what God tells me to do because I was afraid of the consequences. I did not think of it to mean fear as in respect. I mean, yes, God did some amazingly terrible things and such but Jesus came so we wouldn't have that kind of fear. He came for us to learn love and respect for God. No child should be afraid of their parents; but they should fear them... The word fear throughout the Bible has been translated many different ways. Among its more negative (and how I percieved the word to mean) there are also some positive light ones, such as revere, respect, anticipate, honor. And I've even heard the word love to be said in its place. We need to remember this when dealing with others, especially children. We need to love them. Now that doesn't mean don't punish them. There are consequences for every action, both negative and positive. People forget that there can be positive consequences. The word has gotten such a negative undertone to it, we must remember that much like "fear", consequences has good in it as well.

Girl Talk

You know how you always want your husband to help out and do some of the chores around the house but he never does? Have you asked him? I mean really asked him? Have you said "honey, I need you to help me and take out the trash?" Not in so many words, huh? That's probably why it's not getting done (and so you feel like a slave to him because you are doing all the work and he gets to be king of the castle). You have to say things in their language... and they speak plain ol' English (or whatever language this has been translated to for you to read). I didn't understand it. How could my two year old girl understand perfectly what I was saying when I said "Uh, oh. What's that doing on the floor" made perfect sense to my little girl. She would proceed to go and pick up the item on the floor and put it in it's spot. Easy enough, right? I mean, she's two and she totally understood me. But when I said the same thing to Chris, he didn't bat an eyelash. What was wrong?! I would get so angry at my husband for not reading my mind. I'd go around huffing every time I passed the garbage, thinking he'd pick up on that. To my defense, I had spoken to him about it. I believe my exact words were "looks like the trash needs to be taken out." To which he replied "oh, yeah." Which translates to "Yes, don't worry, dear. I'll get right on that," right? In my feminine mind makes perfect sense and we had all but signed a contract stating he'd take it out. But he didn't... For weeks. It'd get so bad, I'd lug out the whole kitchen trash can to throw it away. But every time he'd pile something on top of the full garbage I'd scoff (that's like huffing, but you open your mouth), thinking he should get the hint. Well, he never did. You see, Chris has learned a number of languages in his life: Italian, Spanish, German, and even a bit of Arabic and Mandarin. But he never learned to speak "girl." I, at one point, thought to take it upon myself to teach him, but we all see how well that went for me. I didn't get it, he understood when his mother told him to do something. She often had to repeat things to him after I had attempted with much better success. Then I started listening to her instead of smirking. She was actually acting as a translator between us! A-ha! She spoke male! I quickly decided to try and learn. Maybe it was all in the inflection, but that just made him mad. He said I always sounded like I was pissed when I talked to him. So that wasn't working. I was at a loss on what to do. Then I remembered: You can't change other people, only yourself, so leave the rest to God. Ugh, really? I can't change him? Fine. So, because I wanted to keep my relationship with my husband at least civil, I learned to speak his language. It was a lot simpler than I thought. I just had to speak my mind, rather than expecting him to read it. And I didn't just have to speak it, I had to explain it. Be simple with the instructions, don't try and give them more than one or two steps at a time. And try and be courtious, say "please" and "thank you." Remember, that sugar goes a long way. "Please, take out the trash. Thank you." Don't ask him "could you?" because that opens it up to options. Don't ask, but don't demand. Make sure your tone is still friendly, but firm. Just remember to not try and change him. If you want things better, work to better yourself and ask God to give you strength and understanding.