Doin something right

Well I must be doing something right because the devil is working hard to make me feel depressed about what I've done. He strikes such doubt in me, but with God's help using guardian/guidance angels I know I can overcome these feelings. The devil reminds me of all the things ive done wrong as a parent, and he's been doing it all day it seems for the past few days. Every time I get really back into writing the study I hear "who are you to tell these women what to do?!". I am reminded of my downfalls as a mother: how I've set bad examples, let my temper get the best of me, or felt like I wasn't able to handle it. But I know I'm doing the right thing. I know I'm supposed to delve into the proverbs 31 woman and attempt to strengthen my bond with God and my family through her characteristics. I just know it. Someday someone down the line with be greatly impacted by my work. And again I hear "that's so pretentious". But I know in my gut that this is what I'm supposed to do. I may not be successful doing it but I will gain so much personally from it that it's worth it.

Meeting 3

Well, the emails are out... did I mention it's all in emails now? I'm gonna try and meet up with each woman individually if I can each week, but I know it's gonna be hard. So, I need your prayers for that strength and guidance to not get lazy about it. Anyway, I'm really excited about this weeks projects. We are doing some knot tying. It's a simple enough task with some beautiful results. I just hope that with every cross of twine or fabric, that they are reminded of the cross and that they gain confidence in being competent at something, even if it is just as simple as tying a knot. Confidence is a way we show we trust ourselves, and when we trust ourselves it is easier to trust others, including God. I know, we usually turn to God when we are our least confident, but we have to be confident in the Lord and trust that he will do what is right by His Word. The same goes with your spouse... you have to be confident in them and trust that they will do the right things.

Lazy Dayz

This week the Devil was working on me to have an easy time and do a pass on things. But my husband was right there as my guiding light, telling me just how proud he was of what I was doing in the group. He keeps saying that I'm not going to see it right away, but I'm touching people's lives. And that is very important to me. I know I look back on the past and cring a lot when I think about some of the negative impacts I've made in people's lives, and it excites me to know that I will, with God's help, be making a positive impact in the world. It might not be big, but at least it's out there. The Devil kept me from waking up early, and from falling asleep early. I think he saw my spirits get excited again after my meeting with Liz last week that he just smashed them down with doubt and laziness. I spent my nights in front of the TV rather than with my husband or God. I'm going to try and be better this week, but as my spirits are renewed I know the devil's gonna work even harder. So extra prayers out there would be nice for God to send angels to guard me against the demons the devil has sent and to give me the strength I need to do the things I should.

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.