Do Not Give Way to Fear

1 Peter 3:1-6. I have never liked this bible passage. The NIV puts it this way: " 1Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."
The Message Bible puts it like this: " 1-4The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.
4-6Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated."
I did not like this passage of scripture because it intimidated me. I read it to say that a non-believing husband could become a believer if he had a pure and holy wife because he would see her purity. So to the man that knows you better than anyone but the Lord you are suddenly supposed to appear pure? Does anyone else see how terribly convicted I felt everytime I got upset or ill in the presence of (not even necessarily upset or ill with) my husband? Surely, God knows that I am not pure and holy?!!? How on earth could I live up to this standard? Then I saw it. There it was at the end of verse 6. "do not give way to fear" Hmmmm.....number 1 reason that I find it hard to be submissive? BINGO! It's fear. Fear that my sweetie really has not thought through everything...Fear that my sweetie is just being selfish...Fear that my sweetie does not truly love me....Fear that my sweetie just isn't very bright.....Fear, fear, fear....God is telling me not to fear. So it's a choice. I can trust in God and submit to his plan for marriage or I can continue on my stubborn path of trying to figure it all out myself...
Lord, forgive me for my fear. It is often difficult for me to understand your ways especially when you use us flawed human beings to orchestrate your divine plan. I want to take each step in faith but I fall again and again as I take my eyes off you and peer into the dark, murky waters beneath my feet. Help my unbelief, Lord. I thank you for your tender mercies as you remember me on a daily even second by second basis. Thank you for being there for me even as I turn my back from you and say that I am too busy, too tired, too frazzled, too something/anything for the one that loves me best. Amen

Taking Care

Question for the day:
Do men want to feel taken care of?

My husband and I are both independent people who have difficulty working together as partners. We each have our own way of doing things and, frankly, having to check in with someone else sometimes just flat out bugs me. It's the truth.
Anyway, I'v recently been feeling overwhelmed by responsibilty and feeling decidedly un-"taken care of". I work. I plan. I think think think I'm always thinking about how I can do more more more. There's so much to be done and only so much time to do it all. When I get overwhelmed (and I do often), all this thinking denigrates to if only I could count on my husband.....you get the picture and it ain't a pretty one. So this morning I was whining to a friend.....
After we got off the phone, I got to thinking about something....my friend is VERY busy too and she makes her husband breakfast every morning--sometimes she just toasts and butters a bagel but still, she also buys his clothes....I don't do these things .....

Sent from my Palm Treo

Customer Service?

This is a term foreign to the McDonald's on Governor's Drive in Huntsville. At 1023, I placed my order for two hashbrowns-$1.08 came back the voice on the speaker. I pulled up to the first window where my order was confirmed and the cashier sneered slightly as she handed me two pennies and said, "2 cents is your change." [It's only 2 cents but it's my 2 cents!] I pulled up to the second window and by this time it's 1026. I was greeted by a fairly pleasant young woman who said, "Ma'am, we only have 1 hash brown. Would you like to get fries instead or wait while we cook more hash browns?" I explained that I could not eat their fries because of my dairy allergy and asked how long it would take to cook the hash browns. "3 minutes." "I don't mind waiting." I expect her to ask me to pull up but instead she walks off. I sit there for about 1 minute and another staff member hangs herself out the window and says, "Ma'am, we are serving lunch" as if she is irritated at me. I noticed t!
he time-1
028. "You should have told me that when I ordered and certainly before I paid. The other lady told me that you could make another hash brown and I don't mind waiting." Then, she says as if she just truly can't believe my gall,"There are other people behind you." I'd had enough. "Are you the manager?" "Why, you want your money back? Pull up." "I will not. Go get the manager." The manager came and apologized and said she would speak to her staff. She refunded my money but I was not to be consoled so easily. I demanded the corporate office number and left a message asking someone to call me.
And now as I blog, I think, yeah that was annoying but really, why on earth did I let it get me so riled up? The one staff member was especially rude and the lady who took my money was not especially nice but really it was not that big deal in the scope of my life and this world in its entirety. I'm not responsible for judging these people and even if I were, just how great was the offense?

Sent from my Palm Treo

Where ya' been?

So today I went to a meeting for a professional organization that I belong to. Each month, we have these educational offerings but I have been busy either at patient appointments or tending to Jack. I last attended one of the meetings about a year ago. I used to make room on my calendar to attend these meetings at least every 2 or 3 months but for the last 3 years it's been a bit harder to get there. So today, I went and saw a few people that I have not seen in a while. It's surprising how many people think that I have either changed jobs or am no longer working since Jack's birth. I don't know. It's just weird to me that people would assume that I stopped working. I bust my butt so that I can work a full-time job and do my job well AND be an active Mom but people I meet and know tend to label me either a stay-at-home Mom who has time on my hands now that Jack is in preschool OR a working Mom who never saw Jack anyway. What gives?

Sent from my Palm Treo

Submission

My heart rejoices this morning. Last night, God opened my eyes as I was reading and seeking to learn how to submit to a very human husband. I realized that I have taught myself that he cannot be trusted. In truth, my insecurtiy has deep, deep roots in my past which is littered with memories of those who should have been looking out for the welfare of a child but instead acted like children themselves and put their desires first. But, I digress. My wonderful, loving but very human husband has failed me, at times. It's because he's a man and is not perfect. The problem is that with each hurt and each failing, I used it to reinforce the idea that he could not be trusted. AND with each time that I let him know that he has failed me and with each time I reminded him of his failures I have made it harder for him and I have weakened him. BUT most of all, I have completely disregarded the FACT that GOD is at work in my husband. When I fail to trust my husband and fail to submit to him in God's design for marriage, I also fail to trust God. I am saying that God is not in control and God cannot work out his good plan through my husband. WHAT?!!? I willingly acknowledge that God uses all circumstances for my good. How can I believe that God uses bad things done by bad people for my good and why not believe that God uses my husband who loves me? I have a whole new view of this submisssion thing. I am ultimately submitting not to my husband but to God who knows the whole plan and every step along the way. AND the greatest part of all, with each time that I trust him, I am building him up, I am solidifying our relationship. WOWWEEEE!