It really stirred up something in me that has been sitting dormant. God has made it very clear what role He has set for me. How these opportunities will present themselves, I'm not entirely sure, but I do know what's coming. I don't want to be a lukewarm, "average" Christian. I want people to look at me and see God's radiance flowing out of me. I want to know that I am giving my ALL in life to spreading His word and caring for those who are in need. As I mentioned in another post, I'm a nurturer. God has brought out such a strong maternal desire in my heart (something I would have cringed at even just a year ago...). I know that I'm to raise my children to be strong warriors in Christ, and not just raise them, but expose them to the world and harbor a deep passion for giving to others in their hearts. If you had told me my role would almost solely be "mother" I would have laughed. I had never desired to be a stay at home mom at ANY point in my life. I barely wanted kids! Maybe it was because I never truly understood the importance of raising children with strong morals, maybe it was because I had drastically different plans for myself, or maybe it was because although I believed in God, I was truly following Him. Whatever the reason, I looked at stay at home moms as a lazy and almost sexist existence to be 'chained at home'. I partially blame society's new pressure on women to go against everything we've done for centuries as well as the lack of respect and appreciation for family. I am admittedly moderately anti-feminist in many ways, but that's beside the point. I now see and appreciate the importance of raising your children. However, the part that excites me is the fact that God wants me to step up and do even MORE for my children! God wants me to show them the world! How can I not be excited??? I don't even have children yet, nor am I pregnant, but I can't stop thinking about it!
Lastly, I really enjoyed what she had to say about marriage. I have to share this...
"A well-known training program for Christian college students has a special emphasis on marriage and family preparation. They focus on helping young people take 'realistic' expectations into marriage so that they don't become disillusioned when wedded bliss isn't everything they thought it would be. It's rather ironic if you think about it. Here is a group of Christian young people who have spent their entire life hearing that they should save sex until marriage. Christian leaders have always told them 'your marriage will be so much better if you wait!' And now the same people who heralded the many merits of 'waiting' are cautioning them not to get their hopes up for a 'happily ever after' love story... We see the dismal marriages so prevalent in our parents' generation, and we begin to wonder whether there really is anything worth waiting for after all... The Christian community constantly howls to the public about protecting the sanctity of marriage. Meanwhile Christian marriages are failing at the same rate as the rest of the world... Christian marriages should be the example to the rest of the world, demonstrating that following God's ways brings abundant life, joy, peace, and supernatural victory. Instead, we are training our young people to take dismal expectations into marriage and cautioning them not to get their hopes up too high." (pg 175-6)
I couldn't agree more! I think marriage, for some Christians and non-believers, has become a complete joke. Fickleness and divorce has become completely acceptable. It's almost understandable why so many young people choose multiple, meaningless sexual encounters over a committed marriage relationship when THAT is the message we're giving even to Christian young people! She goes on to discuss that the biggest problem in the majority of failing marriages is the message of selfishness we deem acceptable. She talks about the popular message of guarding ourselves from our husbands so we aren't let down. What kind of a message IS that? It absolutely feeds into our selfish nature, but it almost entirely negates the whole point of a marriage. As a wife we are asked to SERVE our husbands. I know I've talked about this before, but it's no less true now than it was then. Many modern women CRINGE at that statement. "'I don't think you need to refer to yourself as Eric's servant,' said one woman. 'It sounds so demeaning. You aren't his slave, you know. You still have your own life.' Other women agreed. 'I think you are taking it too far,' they told me. 'Of course you want to help him and honor him, but a wife doesn't need to grovel at her husband's feet'.... But, as a great Christian woman once said, 'Christ became even lower than a doormat.' Christ did not scrape and grasp for His rights, His power, His control. He willingly sacrificed them in order to meet our greatest need. There is no greater love than the One who stooped so low and sacrificed so much for the sake of His Beloved. Christ was not worried about what He would receive from us. He simply gave-- He willingly poured out His breath and blood because He loved us (Philippians 2:6). This is how we are called to love our husbands. Not holding back-- pouring ourselves out for our man with abandon. Not scraping for our own rights, not grasping for our own agenda, but humbling ourselves daily, seeking our spouse's good above our own." (pg 186-7). The fact that we no longer see giving without receiving anything in return as something worthwhile is sad. I will say this to people until I'm out of breath, but a marriage relationship is a COVENANT with God, not something that can be broken because of how WE feel. It is not always easy to give more of ourselves to even our husbands than ourself. We should not be serving our husbands with an ulterior motive in mind. We should not do something only because we're hoping for something in return (although I can tell you right now, when you go out of your way to serve your husband, he is way more inclined to do something nice for you in return than when you nag him or whine). Do I LOVE doing the dishes? Do I LOVE cleaning his dirty clothes off the floor everyday? Do I LOVE waking up on his early Army schedule to make sure he gets a complete breakfast before he starts his day? Usually not! However, the JOY that I get knowing my husband is taken care of and being allowed the opportunity to SHOW my love for him is something I honestly wouldn't give up (no matter how annoyed I get some days :P ).
There are a lot of other topics in this book, but I'm going to leave it to be read! Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy. PLEASE read it! It has made me realize that God has truly blessed us women with SO much! Over the past year I've really learned to embrace my femininity and use what God has blessed me with as a woman. There is really a lot to be said about Christian womanhood! Embrace it, love it, and use it in the name of our glorious God!
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