God’s beauty!

I was out at the store with my family tonight and a big storm hit!  I could hear the rain pouring down the whole time we were in there.  We thought that surely we are going to be drenched just getting to the car, but after we checked out, the calm of the storm came.  I love the saying the calm after a storm!   So much can go into that one short sentence.  There were tornado warnings while we were in there, but we made it out safe and sound.   

 The drive home was absolutely beautiful and refreshing!  I couldn’t help but pull out my camera and snap a million pictures!  Okay maybe not that many, but it felt like it.  It started off as a splash of color in the sky with the clouds riding low.  From there God kept on amazing me and sent not one rainbow, but a double rainbow!  Even our two young boys sat quiet in the back seat staring out the window.  My husband was very sweet and drove all around so that more pictures could be snapped.  I really enjoyed that ride home with the family!  The best people to share those incredible moments with! 

God truely is awesome!  Even though there may be that storm in your life or those dark clouds that hang overhead, the storm will come to pass and that peace will come to your situation if God is in control!  I have to remind myself sometimes to praise God through those rough times.  To thank Him for all that I have and more importantly all that He is!  God brings that peace that passes all understanding.  That comfort in the storm!  He is our shelter and our Rock!  He is that firm foundation when all else seems to crumble away!  He remains and stays the same yesterday, today and forever!

Thank you God for a wonderful night filled with your beauty spread across the sky! 

http://homelivingwithheart.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/gods-beauty/

Have we ‘danced’ too?

One advantage of a recent controversial new book on marriage by a high profile anti-egalitarian pastor is the wisdom in some of the responses.

Rachel Held Evans has collected some great links here: Some great posts about gender, hierarchy, equality, and marriage.

My personal favorites which also appear on Rachel’s list are Methodist Pastor Morgan Guyton sharing his perspective on Ephesians 5 Why gender hierarchy makes no Biblical sense to me and Sarah Bessey’s “In Which Love Looks Like Real Marriage” , a link which had the very unusual honor of being sent (by me ) to my husband for his reading pleasure.  He asked me, “Have we ‘danced’ too?”.  We have, only our dance was not so balanced and egalitarian as the dance of which Sarah writes.

Not on Rachel’s list, but on mine: Prof Peter J. Leithart shares on Song of Solomon here: The Poetry of Sex

http://2hold.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/have-we-danced-too/

The Egalitarian Marriage of a True Patriarch

This article was downloaded by permission of the author from www.RethinkingFaith.com, where other free articles are available on similar subjects.

The Egalitarian Marriage of a True Patriarch

by Dave Leigh

“For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands;  just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.” (1 Peter 3:5-6, NASV-95)

It is clear that Peter holds Sarah up as an example for Christian wives to imitate.  If we look at her example, then, what do we find?

Sarai agreed to lie to Pharaoh, not because Abram was her boss, but to guard his life, even if it cost her something of her own.  This is how desperate they were upon entering Egypt (Ge 12:11-13).  Once in Egypt, “the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai” — not because of Abram! (Gen 12:17, NRSV).

It was Sarai’s idea to bear children through her maid.  Abram submitted to her wishes (Gen 16:2).  “Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife” (Gen 16:3).  The slave girl was not Abram’s just because she was his wife’s.  Hagar was Sarai’s to give.  Even after Sarai regretted her decision and argued with Abram and blamed him for what resulted from it, and even after Hagar had become Abram’s wife, “Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please” (Gen 16:6).  In other words, Abram recognized Sarai’s authority and submitted to it.

Since Genesis makes clear by repetition that it is the Lord who opens wombs, it is significant that Hagar gave birth to a son.  God also honored Hagar with an angelic visit that included divine promises to her and her offspring (Gen 16:7ff).  These promises are repeated only later to Abraham (Gen 17:20).

In Gerar, Abraham and Sarah use the same trick on Abimelech as they did on Pharaoh.  Again, God intercedes for Sarah’s sake (not Abraham’s):  “God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman”” (Gen 20:3).  He did not say, “… because of her husband, for she is a married woman.”  Moses also says “the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife” (Gen 20:18) — again, not “because of Abraham,” but “because of Sarah”!

When Sarah finally bore Isaac, the birth was as much a fulfillment of promise to Sarah as to Abraham:  “The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had promised” (Gen 21:1).

When Sarah had finally had enough conflict with Hagar, she makes a unilateral decision about the slave.  And the slave’s emancipation “was very distressing to Abraham” (Gen 21:11).  This distress is a very curious thing if in fact Patriarchs are authoritative heads who rule their wives by divine decree. Why be distressed?  Why not just override her decision?  But not only did Abraham comply with Sarah’s wishes, so did God!  God commands Abraham to submit to Sarah, saying “Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you” (Gen 21:12).  What’s more, Sarah commanded, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac” (Gen 21:10).  Not only was this authoritative for Abraham, but Paul takes her words as a scripturally authoritative command to the church in Galatians 4:30!  Therefore, we are all required to submit to Sarah’s command.

In the end, Sarah’s grave became the first actual piece of Canaan (the promised land) that Abraham bought and possessed (Gen 23).  How significant!  Again we find a woman got it first!

What a remarkable woman this Sarah was!  And what a remarkably egalitarian marriage this “Patriarch” had!

Yes, she obeyed and complied with her husband when he asked difficult things of her — matters of survival for them both.  But she also received the respect of Abraham and of God, who honored her decisions — even when the decisions were somewhat amiss — and who treated her wishes as commands that had lasting authority for the elect.

And so the apostle Peter holds up Sarah and the other holy women of old as examples for women today, not because she was a doormat but because she was a model of a worthy partner.  This is why in 1 Peter 3:6 he says, “You have become her daughters as long as you do what is good and never let fears alarm you”?  Sarah even serves as a reminder to husbands today that they are to “pay honor” to their wives (even if their wives seem fragile or weak to them), and that they are to treat their wives as equal partners (“co-heirs”) in life, or else have their prayers hindered (1Pe 3:7).

(c) Copyright 1999 Dave Leigh.  All rights reserved.  Used by permission.

http://2hold.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/the-egalitarian-marriage-of-a-true-patriarch/

Boo! Girl Asked To Leave School After Coming Out!

This is NOT cool.

A girl who was brave enough to come out as gay was asked to leave her school (The Master’s School, a Christian school outside Hartford, CT), DESPITE being a model student. We’re talking sports, extracurriculars, good grades, and on the right track.

Then she told teachers and administrators she was gay and she was promptly “encouraged to withdraw” from school, according to news reports. She isn’t out to bash the school. But what kind of message does it send when a school that promotes honesty tells one of its own to leave for being open about who she is?

We are so tired of things like this happening! She sounds like a wonderful person and student. We can’t understand why people wouldn’t want her to be a part of their institution. Especially because NOTHING changed from who she was before she came out and after. Not one thing. She would still be that same student.

You can help out here, and see if we can’t get some things changed!

http://lukewilliamss.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/boo-girl-asked-to-leave-school-after-coming-out/

Grocery Shopping - What’s All the Fuss?

Since us moms are usually the ones who do all the shopping, it’s easy to think of it as someth

http://wordsofhisheart.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/grocery-shopping-whats-all-the-fuss/

Going a Little Loopy - ASL Flash Cards and PECs for Fruit

I’ve been hard at work finding all the American Sign Language to go with our free Grocery Stor

http://wordsofhisheart.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/going-a-little-loopy-asl-flash-cards-and-pecs-for-fruit/

Heirs Together

Heirs Togther: Applying the Biblical Principle of Mutual Submission in Your Marriage

by Patricia Gundry

The complete text of Heirs Together is available here.

http://2hold.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/heirs-together/

love your man? READ THIS

I love my man! I love my man! I love my man! Is our “couple” always perfect? Hardly. I am finally getting, I do not have all the answers and that there will always be something new to learn. I love to read anything I can that offers insight on marriage. I love my man, but we can always do better.  I want to share a good read with you. Love and War by John and Stasi Eldredge. Took this along on a romantic get-away without the kids. I cannot begin to describe how much the wisdom from this book enhanced our weekend. It’s like we were the only two alive on the planet. What an AMAZING weekend that was. I would  recommend this book to anyone interested in growing their marriage. Whether you’re a newlywed, on the brink of divorce, or happily celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary, there is something to gain from this book. I’ve included an excerpt below.

Love and War by John and Stasi Eldredge – Excerpt

http://thislittlelightofmineshines.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/focus-on-the-family-marriage/

Thoughts about An Angry Husband (and an Angry Wife)

I’ve been at this “respect” and “relationship architect” and “go

http://ninaroesner.com/2012/01/19/thoughts-about-an-angry-husband-and-an-angry-wife/

Today’s Chapel Message: Ruth’s Devotion

Ruth’s Devotion 

Last week, we found out that Ruth had a strong sense of family and truth.  This formed the backbone of her character.  As we continue to consider her life, we note how it contrasts with the lives of Orpah and Naomi.  This sermon challenges our young people to separate from the passing pleasures of sin for a season in order to cling to the eternal riches of Christ …even in affliction.

http://heritageantioch.com/2011/09/19/todays-chapel-message-ruths-devotion/

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