Role Reversal

I've been doing this Bible study with my daughter, Grace.  The was part of our reading tonight.  It was so good I just wanted to share.

"You see, when God created male and female, He provided an object lesson-a visible testimony-to His entire plan of redemption (Ephesians 5).

History started with God creating a man and a woman and uniting them as husband and wife because it will end with the marriage and spiritual union of Christ the bridegroom and His Bride, the Church.

God had the end in mind before the beginning.  He had the marriage and union of Christ and the Church in mind when He created gender.

Manhood, womanhood, marriage, and sex are images that exist for the express purpose of pointing us to something else.  They are mini lessons that tell the amazing story of the gospel!

The cosmic love story is so magnificent that God chose to put it on display permanently.  Everywhere.  Men were created to reflect the strength, love, and initiatory self-sacrifice of Christ.  Women were created to reflect the character, grace, beauty, and responsiveness of the Bride He redeemed.

Imagine that!  YOUR womanhood was created to tell the spectacular story of what a love relationship with Jesus is all about!"

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.  "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."  This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.  However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.  

Eph 5:22-33, ESV

Becoming God's True Woman...While I Still Have a  Curfew
page 121

The Other Side of Modesty

Here is a great article addressing modesty in men.  Remember, modesty is a heart issue so it relates to both men and women.   Enjoy!

http://therebelution.com/blog/2013/06/the-other-side-of-modesty/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rebelution+%28The+Rebelution%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#.UccKCPm1HVs

Merry Christmas

"Star of Wonder,

Star of Night,

Star with Royal Beauty Bright"...

It's Christmas Eve;

Delight in the Joy to come.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

Preparing For Marriage

Free Ebook offer from Desiring God.

Preparing well for marriage means asking hard questions.

Getting to know that special someone includes learning about family and friends and schooling and athletics, favorite pastimes, books, movies, life's best moments and worst, the brightest places in our background and the darkest.

But what about theology?  Ever think to ask about that?

Our (Desiring God) hope is that a few couples, whether dating and considering marriage, or engaged and preparing for marriage, would find some benefit here, get to know each other better in some of life's most significant matters, and be more fit to discern God's leading for their lives.

Click here for free ebook.

Blessings,
MissyLou

A Modern Day Hannah

I had the privilege of meeting a modern day Hannah.  Actually, I already knew this precious lady.  She is our family physician.  She and her husband have been blessed with a baby girl after 10 years of prayers!!!  Ten years!!!  That must have seemed like a lifetime during the midst of it all, but now it must seem to have been  worth the prayers, tears, struggles, etc.  When I heard the news, I rejoiced through tears with her, praised God with her and immediately thought of Hannah and how faithful our God is.

She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.  And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."  1 Samuel 1:10-11

And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, "I have asked for him from the LORD."   1 Samuel 1:20

These Inward Trials

I asked the Lord, that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request,
and by His love’s constraining power
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
the hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry powers of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

‘Lord, why is this?’ I trembling cried,
`Wilt thou pursue Thy worm to death?’
`This in this way,’ the Lord replied,
`I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou mayst seek thy all in Me.’

John Newton

Boys, Math & Video Games

"In 1992 we began to see a very significant academic decline in boys.  You might remember that before that boys were king of the math world. Girls ruled in the English department, but boys were king of the math world. And they had a rather strong work ethic in their academics. But we saw a significant decline in that beginning in 1992.

Well, you have to ask yourself what transpired right prior to that to make that happen. In the 1970s, in 1971 exactly, the very first computer game came out, but it took a warehouse to store it. When they finally got it down small enough, the only thing they could do was to put it in a public place. So some of you may remember visiting something called an arcade? It took them a few years after that and they came out with a pretty archaic system. Some of you might remember playing asteroids or pong. Blip! Blip! Blip, blip! That was a fast one.

It wasn’t until the early 1980s that we had a viable home system called Nintendo. And computers began to be created specifically for game use including the Commodore 54, Macintosh, and PC Compatibles. By the early 90s, we saw that significant decline. We saw boys who became so concerned about fighting epic battles that were virtual, that they no longer cared about the real world around them.

Today the average boy will spend thirty-five hours in front of his PlayStation or X-box console or in front of the computer playing games. Most of them by the eleventh year of their life will have been introduced to pornography."

Dannah Gresh