"RFW: Pretty in Print?" And, I saw God last night!

Double post coming up folks! I’m a blogging machine these days! And as anyone who knows me already is aware, I *heart* blogging! Literally, it makes me happy!

Resolution for Women: Pretty in Print

(What it means to have biblically based femininity in a post feminist culture)

The answer at the heart of the next resolution is found by answering, “What kind of woman are you going to be?” (page 35)

How have you seen feminist ideals affect women in the way they dress? Act? Make Decisions?

Women’s attire, or lack there of, has certainly been on the forefront of many feministic ideals. For some reason unbeknownst to us, we seem to think “less” is better. I realize I am generalizing here by saying “we,” because contrary to what seems to be the trend, I’ve seen women personally take a stand against dressing provocatively—so much so that they refuse to buy their own daughters toys who are dressed inappropriately. To those women, I say “Good for you!” Sometime ago, I joined the ranks of your thinking by cleaning out my closet and disposing of everything that was less than modest. Its hard to find clothes which aren’t so skimpy, but it is possible.

I do agree in women rights, and I feel as if some of the wrong has been corrected in history. I am so grateful that I have the right to vote and can expect equal rights in some retrospect’s of life. However, women sometimes overstep their need to be equal by trying to be something that God hasn’t ordained. I’ll save some of my opinions to myself, but if we are truly trying to be as God created us to be, then we can’t neglect our own God given roles—which I think we can lose sight of by our own obsession to be equal. In my opinion, it is this same obsession which affects our decision making skills when we lose sight of our unique, wonderful, secure purpose which God created us to fulfill.

What are some of the most noticeable ways you see young women turning away from biblical womanhood?

Most obvious to me would be women taking on the role of spiritual leader in the home because the man in her life won’t. I have mixed emotions about this because I do feel it is better to have a leader, woman or not, than not to have any leader. I’m honestly not sure what would be the right solution to this dilemma we see too often in our society. I also feel as if women are neglecting their “helper” role to their spouse by being preoccupied by other obligations or responsibilities, myself included.

What biblical principles of womanhood strike you as stifling or repressive? Why do you think you feel that way?

The need to be submissive (and you all know what I’m talking about!). I struggle most in being able to meet the needs of my husband and often challenge his biblical authority over me as his wife. Read the fine print here: Being submissive doesn’t always mean I allow Kyle to control me. I am learning more and more everyday to trust his judgment and give him the opportunity to be who God has biblical called him to be. I also am becoming more conscience over the fact that I am his helper, and I am to be submissive to him in the ways he needs me to be. I don’t think that by being submissive that I am allowing him to belittle me.

As you read offer your concerns about this issue to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to use this time to answer your concerns and reaffirm His priorities for you in this area.

Lord, I can tell this is going to be a challenging area for me—perhaps the most challenging. Yes, you created me with a unique purpose, so you already know you created me a stubborn (okay, very stubborn) control freak! Lord help me to understand that my role as a woman is very specific. While I am so worried about being who I think I should be, I neglect my God given role. Help me be mindful of my biblical role in my family and society. Amen.

I saw God last nigh! He was in my bed, right smack-dab between Kyle and I as I worked on my bible study. For the first time in our entire marriage, we sat in bed and discussed what God was doing in our lives and the things He was showing us. The entire dynamic of our marriage has changed as we have embraced our biblical God-given roles in our family. God was right there, in the very center of our discussion as we discussed what we were learning, and we both surmised this: The more we learn, the more we want to know. The more we want to know, the more we find that we don’t know.

We’ve both decided to adopt a new motto in our household. We’ve done many things which have made God unhappy with us, but we have asked forgiveness and we know that God and his abundant grace has forgiven us. Like the movie Courageous, we may not have started out well. We know we didn’t. But, it’s not how you start that matters. It’s how you finish!

Have a blessed day!