Flee ALL Sexual Immorality

In contending with certain sins there remains no mode of victory but by flight. The ancient naturalists wrote much of dragons, whose eyes fascinated their victims and rendered them easy victims; so the mere gaze of wickedness puts us in solemn danger. He who would be safe from acts of evil must haste away from occasions of it. A covenant must be made with our eyes not even to look upon the cause of temptation, for such sins only need a spark to begin with and a blaze follows in an instant. 

Who would wantonly enter the leper's prison and sleep amid its horrible corruption? He only who desires to be leprous himself would thus court contagion. If the mariner knew how to avoid a storm, he would do anything rather than run the risk of weathering it. 

Cautious pilots have no desire to try how near the quicksand they can sail, or how often they may touch a rock without springing a leak; their aim is to keep as nearly as possible in the midst of a safe channel. This day I may be exposed to great peril, let me have the serpent's wisdom to keep out of it and avoid it. 

The wings of a dove may be of more use to me to-day than the jaws of a lion. It is true I may be an apparent loser by declining evil company, but I had better leave my cloak than lose my character; it is not needful that I should be rich, but it is imperative upon me to be pure. No ties of friendship, no chains of beauty, no flashings of talent, no shafts of ridicule must turn me from the wise resolve to flee from sin. 

The devil I am to resist and he will flee from me, but the lusts of the flesh, I must flee, or they will surely overcome me. O God of holiness preserve thy Josephs, that Madam Bubble bewitch them not with her vile suggestions. May the horrible trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil, never overcome us!

He left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

Genesis 39:12

Taken from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening

She NEVER Bucked His Decisions

Should we obey our husbands if they ask us to sin? This question is always asked when I teach about submission, since God tells us to submit to our husbands in everything. I have found a book I think ALL of you should read. It is fabulous. The name is Me? Obey Him? by Elizabeth Rice Handford. She is now in her 80s and is married to a pastor.

This is what her husband wrote about her in 1972 when she wrote book. With forty-six years of watching her life as a dedicated pastor's wife and successful mother of seven children, I can say Libby "practices what she preaches." She is the most unselfish person I know. She has deep, abiding, biblical convictions and never steps over the line of respect for the authority of her husband. Not always has she agreed with me in everything, but she has never "bucked" any decision I have made. She has followed me, painfully sometimes, through my changing enthusiasms ~ whether the farm, photography, flying and now computers.

She has been mentoring women for many years. Whenever she is asked questions about obeying a husband who is asking her to sin, which always comes up with this topic since women love to talk about the exceptions rather than how well they are being obedient to their husbands, she asks them several questions ~

1. Have you been living in daily obedience to your husband as part of your wholehearted, loving submission to God? {This is an essential part of the problem. If a woman has not been submissive, God has no responsibility for her situation and cannot be blamed if her husband requires something wrong.}

2. Has your husband ever actually commanded you to do something wrong? In the hundreds of time I have asked these questions, not once, if my memory is right, has a woman answered, "Yes, I am always obedient, and yet my husband has required me to break one of God's laws." Never! Why? Because, when a woman takes God at His Word, submits to her husband without reservation, fears God and loves him, then God takes upon Himself the responsibility to see that a woman does not have to sin!

When women question me about this, who have no intention of submitting to their husbands but usually just want an out, I tell them that when I mentor women, I deal with the sin in their lives.  If, per chance, one came to me and told me her husband did ask her to sin, I would want to know the exact situation and go from there. I am not going to make a blanket statement about this subject since I believe it is a red herring to get off of the topic of submission and water it down since I seriously doubt there are many husbands out there who command their wives to sin.

...so let the wives be subject to their own husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:24 

***For the record, I firmly believe a wife should NOT submit if her husband does ask her to do something that is clearly against God's commands since He is our highest authority.

John Wayne Got It

Barbara Walters did an interview with John Wayne three months before he died on February 20, 1979. "He was so masculine and straightforward...," Barbara said.

Barbara ~ "Do you feel that in a relationship the man should be 

the boss, the macho..."

John Wayne ~ "Well, if this country had stayed the way it was, if we hadn't made it so tough for a family to keep up their type of living, their wives didn't have to go to work, I think it would be more pleasant. I think it would be more pleasant for the lady as well."

Barbara ~ "For the man to go to work and the lady to stay home?"

John ~ nodding his head, "For the man to go to work 

and the lady to have her other interests, political, bridge,..."

Barbara ~ "Oh you are going to be in trouble! What if I said to you, 

'Duke, you have your little life, play bridge.."

John ~ interrupting her, "Good! I'll go play bridge and 

you go do the work. That's fine with me. I love bridge."

Although I don't teach that women should be at home so they can play bridge, he did understand the harm society faced when women left their homes and went into the workforce. He believed it to be "more pleasant for the lady" to be at home instead of away from it. Working full-time and trying to take care of a home and family has caused devastation on the institution of marriage, the family, and society as I have stated many times. It is just refreshing to hear it from a masculine man who didn't care about being politically correct and was around long enough to see the harm feminism had on women and society.

You {Satan} are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:44

Stop Pointing Our Fingers Elsewhere!

The mayor of Ferguson gave a news conference yesterday afternoon as he brought together various local clergy, business owners and residents to speak of unity, peace and love.  All of those who spoke after the mayor were African American and they spoke of God, His love and the need for prayer. The last person to speak was the most inspiring. Here are Helen Douglas Taylor's words, a resident and educator in Ferguson ~

  “I really want to appeal to parents that we have to understand the awesome responsibility of raising our children and consequences of actions and one small act, though it seems small, affects so many. But this isn’t the end. We can get through this but we all have to look in the mirror, each and everyone of us and take an examination of everything that we do and what we say. And it is about human life, not black, white, purple or polka dot. It is about God’s love, one to another. I felt fortunate that just going about my day, God chose me, even in my sinful nature, to stand here and have this platform to say let’s take an examination of ourselves because once we examine ourselves and stop pointing our fingers elsewhere, I believe change can happen, and can happen with the grace of God.”

Helen Taylor gets it. She understands that personal, spiritual and cultural change begins with human responsibility. Only when a person is willing to own their behavior can they progress to the next level of life, relationships and success. As Steven Covey well said,  "Responsibility is the ability to choose your response!"

Whether we are talking about solving our marriage problems, our country's racial issues, or any relationship issue whatsoever, little progress can be made until each party looks into their own soul and behavior and examines themselves as to what they can do to be a part of the solution, not the problem. You often find a hurting soul asking a question of us as to how to change their spouse, and our first and most important response is almost always to try and help the questioner look into their own life and behavior before they can move forward to try to help influence another. 

I {Ken} recall some years ago when I was consulting with a team in Grenoble, France and  met a very talented, yet angry and bitter team member. She listened intently as I spoke to the group and thanked me for my challenge to all of them to own their own stuff so that they can grow up, and rid themselves of bad thinking that leads to bad behavior. A few weeks later, she contacted me and said that she was intrigued by what I taught, but she could never be happy again. She was a survivor of some of the worst life had to offer, culminating with her  difficult marriage by coming home with her two children in tow to find her bipolar husband had blown his brains out on the couch. "You see Ken, for some of us we will never be happy again."

It would have been so easy to just agree with her and thank her for sharing. Maybe even tell her I was praying for her, but I did nothing of the sort. What I did was to challenge her just as Helen is challenging the people in her community. I spent hours over many days of exchanged emails working not on her behavior, but on her "stinking thinking." Only when we change our minds by replacing Satan's lies with the truth can we ever grow up and reap the rewards that come from walking in the light. My little disciple tried and failed many times before she finally was able to make great progress in her life. A year later, she accepted the Lord and she is now a successful consultant herself in Europe, coaching others that change is possible no matter how difficult the circumstances. All because she was willing to examine her own life, even when we all would excuse her if she had just given up. 

The Ferguson story does not have to be one of an endless, hopeless, racial divide, if we will follow Helen's call for each of us to look in the mirror and take responsibility for our own thinking and actions first, then lend a gracious hand to those who need help in progressing forward to a life of success, instead of disaster. No matter what the grace and love given, whether by society or by God, if one is unwilling to accept it and be thankful for it, we can never appropriate it into our lives. Anger, bitterness and disdain for others, or the past, or one's present circumstances only holds our bright future hostage. Whether it is your spouse you feel has failed you, or your church, or society, you will never be able to grow up and be all that you were meant to be without doing your part, even when others do not do theirs. 

It is not difficult to know if your mind is aligned with the good things in life, or the bad things; if your values are aligned with worldly things, or God's eternal values. Just look at the results.  If the results of your behavior do not match up with the fruit of the Spirit, then you cannot expect that God's goodness and blessings will be upon you. If you are waiting for one more person to be gracious towards you before you can get that frown off your face, or put a smile in your heart, then you are doomed to fail. For no one can ever achieve personal or spiritual growth or success while being tossed to and fro by the circumstances of life, or by others. It you want to change your circumstances, first change yourself and build your life on values as they are the rock solid foundation of God's Word.

Bravo Helen, and all who spoke of personal responsibility, love and unity, in a day and age when these are the things most desperately needed in our society.

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,
 and then you will see clearly to take
 the speck out of your brother's eye.
Matthew 7:5

Joyously Celebrating the Holidays

Some Christians don't celebrate the holidays and I respect their decision. However, those of us who do celebrate them should use them as a time to shine the light of Jesus. I have gone back and forth with celebrating Halloween as I have shared HERE. With my children all grown up and married and since my health has not been that good, we usually just put a sign on the front door that says we have no candy. However, this past Halloween I changed my mind.

Kara Tippetts is dying of cancer. She has four young children. Here is what she had to say about Halloween, "I pray tonight you have the opportunity to love and meet your neighborhood. I pray you get to smile in the young faces that come to your door and radiate the beauty you know in Jesus. I pray as you meet your neighbors and love them with your brand of beautiful Big LOVE. I hope to meet and warm a few new faces by my fire tonight. Some of you darken your doors on this day. The freedom we are given in Jesus is to do that or to open wide our doors and meet the faces that come tromping to our door. There is liberty for us all. I do not wish to start a debate on this issue. Simply tell you tonight, the fire pit is moving from the back yard to the front yard, and the Holy Spirit in my soul will be meeting the faces that enter the warmth of my fire with the known grace I enjoy today." So I ran down to Costco and handed out candy to the children who came to my door.

 Kirk Cameron is a movie star who is bold about his faith in Jesus. He wants other to know the love of Jesus. He said this recently in an interview, "Let your children, your family, see your joy in the way that you decorate your home this Christmas, in the food that you cook, the songs you sing, the stories you tell and the traditions that you keep," the 44-year-old actor/director says. "Christmas is about joy and if the joy of the Lord is your strength, remember the joy of the mom is her children's strength."

Thursday is Thanksgiving. I am sure many of you will be with family members. Some of them may be unbelievers or difficult to get along with. Love them. Remember that we are to overcome evil with good and heap burning coals {love} upon our enemies head. Think of God's grace gently and softly raining down upon you, enfolding you in its embrace with forgiveness and love. Now extend that grace to those around you; whether it be your family, neighbors, or even your enemies.

Happy Thanksgiving and may you be filled with the 

kindness and mercy of our dear Lord!

This is the day which the LORD hath made; 

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:2

Influencing Culture By Raising Young Women of Character

With a “hip” prime-time lineup that boasts TV shows like “Toddlers In Tiaras” and “16 & Pregnant,” it doesn’t take much insight to see that girls--and women-- face an enormous pressure to meet the world’s expectations of beauty and fame. In fact, you can’t even go through the checkout line of a supermarket without seeing evidence of the increasing, albeit unrealistic, “standards of excellence” that have been brought forth by our society. The message to women is loud and clear:  Beauty is everything. After all, what is there?

     When I {thejoyfilledwife} was in my 11-year-old “awkward phase,” a pretty, blue-eyed blonde came to our house one Saturday to spend the day with my older sister. She was only 13 years old, but you would have never guessed it by the way she wore the latest fashions and newest make-up. She had ambitions to be a runway model one day, and, with her tall, slim physique, she definitely looked the part.

     As I walked into the room where she and my sister were taking pictures of themselves in front of the mirror, the girl immediately stopped what she was doing, looked me up and down, and, with a disgusted look on her face, said, “Your sister’s much prettier than you are. No one could ever love someone as ugly as you.”

     My heart sank as I turned around and walked toward my bedroom, my eyes full of tears. Those hurtful words rang over and over in my head for many years to come and determined much of what I thought of myself throughout my adolescent years.

     Although the episode was devastatingly cruel, it’s not an uncommon scenario, especially today. In fact, it would be considered tame compared to the ridicule some girls face on a daily basis.  Why the unnecessary cruelty? And why the tolerance for an unbiblical description of a woman’s beauty? How have we come to a time when childhood celebrities “gone bad” are the idols our girls look up to, and true women of noble character, like Joan Of Arc or Mother Teresa, are nothing more to our youth than a boring assignment in their history textbooks? Have the once admirable traits of strength, integrity, and faith been replaced with fame, materialism and sex appeal? And all before the ripe old age of 18?

     The birth of my first daughter opened my eyes to the wonderful world of motherhood. As Christian parents, my husband and I strive to raise our daughter to be a woman of noble character, like the one described in Proverbs 31:10-31. We long for her to forsake the idols of the world and look up to the faithful women of the Bible like Ruth, Esther and Priscilla. But in a world where the lusts of the flesh are plastered on every street corner and in every facet of media, that’s much easier said than done. We have a battle for our daughters’ hearts on our hands, and we must use every resource we have to win the fight.

Protecting Their Hearts

     What will it take to win this battle? The first step can be found in Proverbs 4:23. I love the New Living Translation of this verse, which reads, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Practically speaking, we must protect our daughters’ thoughts by guarding their associations: the TV shows they watch, the music they listen to, the time they spend on the Internet, the places they go and the values we promote in the home. Each of these things has a profound influence on their thoughts and the value they put on themselves. When they spend time with worldly people, they begin to adopt their behaviors. When they watch shows that promote sin or the tolerance of sin, they gradually become more accepting of those lifestyles. When we, as parents, put more emphasis on filling our homes with material possessions than we do on reading Word and praying together, we teach our children to be a lover of the world instead of a lover of God.

Powerful Influences

     We must never underestimate how outside influences will shape our children into the people they will become. We have a duty as parents to be good stewards over the responsibility we’ve been given to shepherd our children’s hearts and raise them up in the ways of the Lord.

     Do you want your child to become a follower of Christ? Proverbs 22:6 promises, “Direct your children onto the right path and, when they are older, they will not leave it.” What a blessing to know that, if we are faithful to guide our children according to God’s Holy Word, they will end up on the right path!

 It’s no secret that we have a tough battle ahead of us. The Enemy wants to win the hearts of our children almost as much as we want to win them for the Kingdom. But if we will choose to be a godly steward over our children and teach them to forsake the world and set their hearts on the things of God, we can find peace in knowing that the Lord will reward us for our faithfulness.  

***Written by thejoyfilledwife!

Billy Graham's Prescription for Raising Godly Children in this Wicked Society

Billy Graham's preaching is still as relevant today as it has ever been. Christian parents need to be fully armed with Truth to be able to raise godly offspring but it is possible even as the days get darker. Do not fear, parents. As long as God is on His throne and He is sovereign over all, there is hope. You must be vigilant, however, since the enemy prowls around like a lion looking whom he may devour. 

I wrote about the public school system this past week. Many people disagreed with me but I stand by my words. Billy Graham agrees with me, Rearing children in this culture is difficult because "we have taken God out of our educational systems and thought we could get away with it,” said Rev. Graham. “We have sown the wind, and we are now reaping the whirlwind. We have laughed at God, religion and the Bible.”

If we want to have godly children, we MUST be careful to protect our children from evil and the depths of depravity in our culture today. Here are some of Billy Graham's remedies ~

One of the fundamental problems, according to Rev. Graham, is the failure of parents to fight “the Devil in the home” through discipline and, as a result, “children are allowed to go wild.” I completely agree. From the time they are young, be consistent with your children and insist that they obey you in everything. Raise disciplined children. Disciplined children grow up to be disciplined adults. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. {Hebrews 12:11}

“Very seldom do parents have trouble with children when the Bible is read regularly in the home, grace is said at the table and family prayers take place daily. Most trouble with teenagers comes from children reared in homes where prayer is neglected, the Bible is never opened and church attendance is spasmodic. Christ gives the moral stability, understanding, wisdom and patience needed to rear children.” But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. {Ephesians 6:4}

There is only one solution to combating the problems afflicting young people, concluded Rev. Graham, and that answer is Christ:  “Christ in the home, in the lives of the parents, is the only permanent solution to the menacing teenage social problems in America.” You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. {Deuteronomy 11:19}

You can read the entire article HERE. Praise the Lord for godly preachers like Reverend Billy Graham who aren't afraid to speak Truth and live lives of integrity.

Raised in a Filthy Home to Becoming a Neat Freak

I {TheJoyFilledWife} am a self-professed clean freak. To say that I’m a bit obsessive compulsive and perfectionistic when it comes to the condition of my house would be an understatement and a half! Contrary to how most people are who fit into that category, I do not think that being so overly rigid about the condition of my home is a healthy way to live. I think that cleanliness and tidiness are extremely important, but, just like anything else in life, we can turn it into an idol if we are not careful to keep it in proper perspective. My husband has helped me relax a little bit and to get to a place where I can see a crumb on the counter without feeling stressed.

My “neat freak-ness” is much less about what my guests will think and much more about how my home makes my husband and me feel. My husband grew up in a very tidy household and his family had a housekeeper who cleaned weekly for almost his entire life. I, on the other hand, grew up in the opposite type of home. My mother absolutely hated just about every aspect of her domestic responsibilities, from cooking, to cleaning, to organizing, and so on. She was actually a pretty good cook, but she constantly verbalized her displeasure of cooking meals and I am 100% certain that her displeasure in cooking influenced my displeasure in cooking. When it comes to a tidy household, however, that is something I intentionally became proficient at as I grew up because of how unhealthy and chaotic the conditions I grew up in were. To give you an illustration of how bad things truly were, I will set up the scene for you ~

On any given morning, I would wake up to clothes, toys, papers, household items, food, beverages, and remnants of unidentifiable items completely covering the floor. Many nights, I would have nightmares about a killer breaking in to get my family and the floors and rooms being so covered with junk that I couldn’t reach them in time to save them. Most mornings, I would just lay in bed, completely overwhelmed and anxious at the thought of even getting up. When your entire home is filled up with junk, sometimes piled as high as mid-wall, it is very difficult to feel very motivated to do much of anything.

Three incidences come to mind when I think about how disgusting the conditions were in my home growing up. The first one was walking on top of various clothes and items on the floor to get to the other side of the living room and feeling something crunch under my feet. Horrified yet curious, I removed the items underfoot and found what I had stepped on: an extremely stale piece of dried buttered toast that had been abandoned by its owner. I shook my head in disbelief, wondering how long that piece of toast must have been sitting under those clothes and who would have left the remnants of their breakfast on the living room carpet without giving any thought to what would become of it.

My second memory was of a time when my mother had asked me to move a lamp from one of the bedrooms to another. As I opened the door to my sibling’s room, I smelled a horrible sour odor wafting through the air. With junk covering every inch of the floor, beds, dressers, and so on, I didn’t bother trying to figure out where it was coming from. As I reached toward the outlet to unplug the lamp, however, I noticed the smell getting stronger and more putrid. I looked around the surrounding area and gasped in disgust as I located the source of the stench. It was a half-consumed glass of moldy orange juice. The mold had been growing for so long that it looked like an island floating in the middle of the ocean with fuzzy green and gray mountain ranges. All I can remember wanting to do was to get as far away from it as possible and pretend it never happened.

My third memory -- one that I want to apologize in advance for grossing anyone out about -- is, by far, one of the discoveries that created the biggest desire in me to change. It was the time of year around our house where siblings were switching bedrooms to give a new set of siblings the chance to rotate sleeping in the most desirable bedroom. We were moving around beds, junk, dressers, lamps, bookshelves, and everything that had accumulated in each bedroom. As you can imagine, with as much junk as was stored in each room, this was sometimes a week-long process. Well, one day, as I was moving one of my sibling’s bookshelves over to make room for mine, I stopped dead in my tracks. Piled up on the side of the bookshelf {where I had just placed my hands} and smeared all over the surrounding wall, was piles and piles of dried mucus that my sibling had wiped on those surfaces instead of using a tissue. I was so horrified, I ran to my mom, at a loss of what to do. She shook her head and laughed, then went back to what she was doing. I asked her how I was supposed to move into a room with something so disgusting smeared all over the wall. She told me just to ignore it.

I realize that, at this point, you’re probably wishing you hadn’t read this post. I feel your pain, trust me. But what I hope to help you see is that, even though I was not a naturally clean or tidy child growing up, my circumstances motivated me to change in a big way as I got older and realized that I didn’t want my future children to grow up in the type of oppressive living conditions that I did. There was no appreciation shown, care given, or thought put into the atmosphere of the household. Our family was constantly late because it would take us hours to find what we were looking for, we wore stinky clothes over and over because all of the clean clothes were mixed in with the dirty ones, and we all lived in a state of mental anxiety and panic because the world we lived in was disorganized, lazy, and chaotic. God is the God of order. He does not desire that we run our households carelessly or lazily. 

I heard my father communicate his displeasure to my mom several times over the years regarding the condition of the home when he came home from work, but nothing ever changed. One day, when I was about 13, I overheard my dad talking to my mom privately about the issue one last time and something inside of me snapped. Disappointed that my mother never cared enough to submit to my father on this issue, and upset at the way none of my siblings were required to follow-through with assigned chores, I vowed in my heart to show honor to my father by granting his wishes for a clean and tidy home, even if I had to give up all of my activities, events, and free time to do it.

From the time I was 13 until the time I moved out as an adult, I single-handedly cleaned and maintained our home each and every day. My siblings were not required to follow-through on any of their assigned chores, so I did every household chore myself so that my father would have a smile on his face and feel relaxed when he came home from working his 6am-7pm job, 7 days a week, so my mom could stay home with us. My siblings and friends often referred to me as “Cinderella” because I would refuse to leave the house and do anything fun until it was was in the condition I wanted my father to come home to. I skipped many events over the years, including birthday parties and my prom, because my siblings had left the home a complete disaster before they left the house. If I let the house remain as-is and went off to the event with them, my father would come home to a house in complete disarray and felt disrespected and unappreciated. I couldn’t bear the thought of that, so I did what I believed was the right thing to do. From the day my father found out that all the hard work around the house was done by me alone, I don’t think a single day went by without my father thanking me, telling me what a blessing I was, how proud I made him, and what a good wife he thought I would make one day. I thrived on seeing the smile on my father’s face each day, knowing that he could see that at least one person recognized all of his hard work and sacrifice and wanted to show appreciation to him for it.

To wrap up this post, I want to say that I don’t think I am better than everyone else because of how I maintain my home. I don’t think that the cleanliness, organization, or condition of our home determines our value in God’s eyes. I merely believe that, as wives, we have been entrusted with maintaining the affairs of our household and how we respond to that responsibility speaks loud and clear to our children, our husband, and others who may be looking up to us as Christian wives. During my teenage years when I missed so many things in my own life to bless my father, there were a handful of times when I felt frustrated and resentful toward my mother and siblings for their utter disrespect for my father. Although many people pointed out that the arrangement didn’t seem fair to me {and at times I agreed}, I look back on those years with gratefulness. Although the situation wasn’t ideal, it taught me how to sacrifice my own desires in order to bless others. The Lord used that situation to teach me how to work really hard and to pay attention to the tiny details that make a big difference over time. Most of all, though, it taught me how important it is for my children to see me serving my husband and blessing him each day, even if it means that I have to give up some of my own pleasures in the process. When we choose to lay our lives at the feet of the cross and exchange it for God’s perfect plan for us -- sacrifices and all --  we will impact the lives of those around us in a bigger way than we could ever have imagined.

For though I am free from all, 

I have made myself a servant to all, 

that I might win more of them.

I Corinthians 9:19

Huge Firestorm Over Barbie's New Book

A mother bought her two small daughters a book called Barbie: A Computer Engineer. Barbie begins having trouble with her laptop because a virus collapsed it. Two of her male friends come over. "It will go faster if Brian and I help," offers Steven. "Great!" says Barbie. The boys fix the computer for her. Nice story, right? Wrong!

A woman wrote a blog in response to the book and it that went viral. {I won't link to it since it uses foul language.} This blog called this book "insulting" and "dangerous for young minds." Online people completely agreed and one woman wrote, "Thank you, Barbie...for showing me that it's A-OK for women to sit back and let men take care of everything." Another editor of something replied, "We want our young girls to feel they're capable for anything and everything without question."

The Barbie book's author was shocked at the reaction. She made Barbie's friends males "since computer technology is a male dominated field...in no way trying to degrade women by doing that." Mattel, the publishers responded, "The book was published in 2010. Since that time we have reworked our Barbie books. The portrayal of Barbie in this specific story doesn't reflect what Barbie stands for..." Mattel has said that the book has been discontinued. {source}

Therefore, a blog post went viral because it portrayed Barbie as the helpless victim who needed boys "gasp" to come to her rescue. THIS used to be the story line for many romantic books and movies in the past. Men would ride in on their horses and rescue damsels in distress. Oh no! Not for today's liberated women. We need to be able to fix everything and do everything by ourselves because, "We are women. Hear us roar!"

You can't even find this book on Amazon anymore last I looked because this will just destroy young girls and cause them to think that men can help them or maybe even rescue them. We have SO emasculated men and their roles as protectors and providers that it is downright UGLY and we wonder why men no longer want to open doors or treat us with respect!

I LOVE that Ken can fix the computer when it breaks. He fixes many things for me and I appreciate it so much. I like having a man around to help in time of need. I can't lift heavy things so I ask the men in my life to help. They'll put up my Christmas tree for me next week. They change my heavy water filters for me when they need changing. My boys use to change the oil in our cars. They even open jars for me! Men are the ones who build homes, buildings, jets, highways, etc. They are the mechanics, electricians, and plumbers. I have NEVER minded calling a man to fix any of these things. Have you?

I'm sorry but this has gone too far. Everyone gets offended over anything and everything. Gays want the Duggars off of television because they believe in traditional marriage the way God intended it to be. Little girl books get pulled off of shelves because boys come and help Barbie. Am I going crazy or is this sheer stupidity???

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; 

that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

 that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

Does Having Too Many Children Steal Your Life?

For some reason, today's "enlightened" woman feels like she can only handle a few children. They are expensive, time consuming, and exhausting. She desperately "wants" a life and too many children would steal that life she craves.

I have watched the Duggars with 19 children, the Bates with 19 children, and another family in Colorado with many children who live in a large trailer type home. I have read about the journals of a mother in Illinois who lives in a trailer on a homestead with an amazing marriage and all nine of her children are growing up walking with Jesus. When Alyssa was with Ballet Magnificat in Mississippi, she would bump into many homeschooling families with many children and tell me they were the most well-behaved children. One of her ballet friends who came from a very large family was the most generous, kind person she had ever met.

Erin from Keeper Of The Homestead has five children, keeps a very clean home, home schools her children, runs a homestead and a successful blog, and helps others in need yet lives in daily physical pain. Also, at the young age of 32, she found out she could no longer have any more children and she grieved. She knew it was a privilege to have children and raise them for the Lord.

The majority of these families do not have a lot of family around to support them. What I have noticed about them, however, is that the Lord always provides for them. They are well-nourished, body and soul. The husbands and wives work hard and raise children that are not afraid to work.

We think that if we don't do it our way {have only a few children in our timing}, we won't be happy {have lots of free time to do as we please}. We forget our purpose in life is to be living sacrifices and live lives that bring glory to the Lord. Having children and raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is glorifying to Him.

Kelly Crawford is a mother of ten children. She has a blog which is one of my very favorite blogs. She doesn't write often but when she does, they are very good. She recently wrote about the misconceptions that other people have about mothers who have many children. One of the main misconceptions I hear is that they must be "superwoman" and have an abundance of energy. Her answer ~

Not at all. None of those things. From my vantage point, I’d say one reason the Lord has given me 10 children is because I need such a constant lesson in patience. We haven’t been given anything extraordinary that helps us cope with a passel of children. We just rely on fall desperately upon God’s grace and take one day at a time. And like any other circumstance, we do the next thing, figuring out what works as we go.

God speaks about a man that has many children this way ~

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
 Psalm 127:5

God thinks having many children is a good thing, a very good thing. If He views this as something good, we should also and depend upon His strength and His provision to be able to love and care for these little eternal beings that He blesses us with.

***This article states that there are groups that want to get rid of the Duggar's show on television because they stand up for Truth. Please sign this petition to keep them on television and their right to stand for traditional marriage. 

Superwoman Gives Way to Tiredness

One of the founders of the modern day Feminist Movement and I have found some common ground. Betty Friedan wrote in her last book, The Second Stage, “I sense the exhilaration of 'superwomen' giving way to a tiredness, a certain brittle disappointment, a disillusionment with 'assertiveness training' and the rewards of power. The equality we fought for isn't livable, isn't workable, isn't comfortable, in terms that structured our battle.”

No, Betty Friedan did not convert to Christianity or have an “ah ha” moment walking away from feminism. Instead, she saw a feminist movement that had gone too far in not simply trying to seek equality for women, but in trying to make women like men: "What price women's equality, its beneficiaries, are trying to beat men at their own old power games, and taking their strenuous climb onto and up the corporate ladder, falling into the traps men are beginning to escape, forgoing life's satisfactions basic for men and women, and shortening their own lives.”

To Friedan, the first stage of feminism had won. Great strides were made in women’s equality both socially and in the workplace. But now her call was to stem the excesses of the movement, based in large part from the many disillusioned women she was hearing from regularly. “I hear such sullenness from some younger women who are now living their person hood as women as if this somehow excludes all those emotions, capacities, needs that have to do with having babies, mothering children, making a home, loving and being loved, dependence and independence, softness and hardness, strength and weakness, in the family.”

 Friedan is making my case for a full and free choice for women to stay at home and enjoy the fruit of motherhood, without feeling like somehow they are missing out. When in reality all of the qualities of truly being feminine are found in those who accept as their primary role that of being wives and mothers to their family. For Friedan, “the movement to equality and the person of women isn’t finished until motherhood is a fully free choice.”  

Although Betty Friedan and I are not close to being on the same page, we can both agree that an equal respect for all persons is an appropriate ideal. Jesus and Paul were the original pioneers of giving dignity to women and the apostle Paul makes it  clear that, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" {Galatians 3:27-28}. There should be equality of person hood for all people. But women are not men, and we carry about in our body and mind a structure that makes us ideal for nurturing a family, not putting in hours at work trying to climb the corporate ladder. Both nature and the Bible argue for having Christian women stay at home and raise the next generation of godly offspring.

What is really sad is the fact that most of today's Christian women haven't even opened their eyes to the destruction women leaving their homes has had on society. They are doing everything they can to get on the treadmill of a full-time career without taking into consideration becoming a wife and mother. Ask a little girl what she wants to do when she grows up and she will rarely say a wife and mother. When asking a homemaker what they do, they answer, "Oh, I am JUST a housewife" as if this job has no value compared to jobs in the workforce.

Okay, feminists and Christians, Friedan has proclaimed the first stage of the movement over, and now is the time to get back into balance. We must once again value what is of most eternal value which is family. Why are we, as believers, training up our daughter to have an education and career, but watering down the value in preparing to become a godly, submissive homemaker? We must think long and hard about this issue. How many people have you won to the Lord in the past ten years? Yet, God said the purpose of marriage is to produce godly offspring. Those children under your roof, they can be used mightily by the Lord. You have more power to affect this society and the Kingdom with those little people under your roof than you do any other way.

If a founder of the feminist movement can see the harm that has been wrought on women by the feminist movement, shouldn't we? Let’s acknowledge, like Friedan, that the first stage is over and the second stage needs thoughtful reflection so as not to end up once again disillusioned and thinking that “the grass is greener on the other side.”

Unfortunately, Betty Friedan’s voice of caution, concern and reason has all but been tossed aside with many preferring to only see her hardened battle words of The Feminine Mystique in her first book. Some in the movement echo her cries, but look for yourself and you will find her more experienced and enlightened words from her second book are almost hidden, or embarrassingly set aside by the movement she helped to found. Try to find one quote from The Second Stage on the Internet. They are few and far between. {It was difficult for us to even find a copy of the original book!} It is time for many to read the book and learn from the many personal stories she gives of those who could not find fulfillment just because they chased a very bad dream.   

Be not deceived; God is not mocked:

 for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

photo source

Pondering Public Schooling?

If you are pondering public schooling for your children, I encourage you to seek the Lord and His wisdom in this crucial decision. Read 2 Timothy 2 for insight. Here, let me help you. Verses 16 commands this: "But shun profane and vain babblings; for they will increase unto more ungodliness."  Verse 22 tells us to "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Verse 23 reiterates verse 16, "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes." Then how about this verse from Romans 12:9, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." Finally, Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals" from I Corinthians 15:33.

Many Christian parents are wondering what went wrong with their children. They raised them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord when they were growing up. However, around the age from 18 to 22, they have completely walked away from the Lord and they have no clue why.

Scripture is VERY clear about where Christians should hang out and who they should avoid. Our best friends should be believers who lift us up spiritually. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed {Proverbs 13:20}. What we listen to and watch should mostly be holy and pure {Philippians 4:8}. Who we learn from should be steeped in biblical wisdom. Children are sponges. They believe easily and trust completely. We are repeatedly warned to avoid false teachers. False teachers are teachers who teach false things. The public school is full of these types of teachers. {False things meaning they are completely opposed to things of the Lord and His ways.} 

Giving your children from ages five to 21 to strangers who have no love for the Lord, teach many things contrary to God's Word and are being influenced by friends who engage in worldly entertainments is extremely risky at best and warned about in Scripture.

Yes, I know it is easier to send your children to "free" schooling all day long but you MUST count the cost of this free schooling. They have taken God completely out, rewritten history and teach that we came from monkeys, profane and vain babblings, just what the Word warns us against.

God clearly states that one of the prime purposes of marriage is to produce godly offspring. We are to be the ones teaching and training them or, at least, other believers who love God and desire to live holy, separate lives from the world's ways. My admonition to you is to think and pray carefully about who you give your precious children to all day. Who is teaching them, what is being taught, and what is your long term hope and prayer for your children? This is a high and holy calling and should not be taken lightly.

Do you now know that being the world's 
friend is being God's enemy?
James 4:4

Rules That Guys Wish Girls Knew

This list was on Stumble Upon. I have no idea who wrote it. There was nothing to click on to find out. It was definitely written by a man, probably not married. I don't think he is a Christian so take that into account when reading. I did delete some of them that I thought were inappropriate. This list is VERY informative and telling how most men think. I think you will enjoy it. Your husband will REALLY enjoy it!

1. Sometimes we just don't want to talk. Don't take it personally.

2. We notice other women because we are men and we are alive. 

This does not mean we're planning to dump you and jump them.

3. Our favorite T-shirts are not "disgraceful." They show our loyalty to 
our college, our favorite sports team, our favorite beer, 
our favorite vacation or number 23.

4. Helpless is not cute.

5. Get to the point.

6. Understand that men are single-minded and can only do one thing at a time. So don't talk to us while we're doing something. We will either ignore you, because we don't hear you "honestly", or we'll screw up what we're doing because you've distracted us.

Exception to Rule 6. Interrupt us if something is on fire, if someone needs immediate medical attention or if there is an emergency that needs a hero.

7. You can't complain that there are no good guys around while some of us are still single.

8. If you ask us, "Do you think she's prettier than me?" we just might say, "Yes." 

Then what are you going to do?

9. Don't expect even a great relationship with us to solve all your problems. Just because we love you, doesn't mean your cellulite, your credit card debt or your bad mood will disappear.

10. We would not wear high heels to impress you.

11. Breathe occasionally so we can get a word in.

12. For us, driving is not just a means of going from point A to point B. It's an opportunity to control a couple of tons of steel. We drive, therefore, we are.

13. If you want us to notice something, help us out by saying something like, 

"I went to the beauty shop today."

14. If you have to have a cat, at least don't call him "Mister" anything.

15. Hide the self-help books when we come over. They make us nervous.

16. We need to vegetate.

17. We don't go shopping. When we need something, we buy it.

18. We believe our bodily functions are perfectly normal and, at times, 
quite amusing.

19. We don't believe you when you say money isn't important to you.

20. It's not that we don't want to make you happy, it's just that sometimes, 

we don't know how.

21. Learn to work the toilet seat. If it's up, put it down.

22. If it itches, it will be scratched.

23. If you ask a question you don't really want an answer to, 

expect an answer you didn't want to hear.

24. Sometimes, we're not thinking about you. Live with it.

25. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to 

discuss topics such as navel lint, the shotgun formation and monster trucks.

26. Sundays equals sports. Period.

27. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really.

28. You have enough clothes.

29. You have too many shoes.

30. Crying is blackmail.

31. Ask for what you want. Let's be clear on this one: Subtle hints don't work. 

Strong hints don't work. Really obvious hints don't work. Just say it!

32. No, we don't know what day it is. We never will. Mark anniversaries on a 

calendar you know we check.

33. We're not mind readers and we never will be. Our lack of mind-reading ability is not proof of how little we care about you.

34. Most guys own three pairs of shoes. What makes you think we'd be any 
good at choosing which pair - out of 30 - would look good with your dress?

35. Yes and no are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

36. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we 
do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

37. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

38. Check your oil.

39. It is neither in your best interest or ours to take any quiz together.

40. It doesn't matter which quiz.

41. Anything we said six months ago is inadmissible in an argument.

 All comments become null and void after seven days.

42. If something we said could be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways
 makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

43. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. 
Not both.

44. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

45. Christopher Columbus didn't need directions, and neither do we.

46. If you wear a Wonderbra and a low-cut blouse, you lose the right to 

complain about having your boobs stared at.

47. Our relationship is never going to be like it was the first 

two months we were going out.

48. Men see a limited number of colors, like Windows default settings. 

Peach is a fruit, not a color.

49. Ditto melon.

50. If we ask what's wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like 
nothing is wrong.

 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Ephesians 5:33