How to Lie to Your Husband

I recently saw a video of a very short woman in great shape who jumped upon the kitchen counter from the floor in order to reach something on the top shelf. 

I thought kudos to her!

But the video immediately cut to an elderly man giving her an admonishing look and she quickly put the item back on the shelf, jumped down and proceeded to get her husband to fetch the item for her.

The action was to show him - the husband - that he was still needed.

I was disgusted. I tried to find the video and post it here but I could not find it.

This is wrong. We should not be teaching young women to be less than they are for the sake of a man's ego and to make him feel "needed."

If he is not getting his satisfaction from Jesus Christ, he is looking in the wrong place.

Any man who only feels needed in his relationship if the woman in his life is required to be less than she is, is not a real man. He is not manly. He is not a good husband. Unless he wants her to be strong, independent and reliant on Jesus, alone, he is a bad husband.

When I saw the first part of the video I was so impressed! I, personally, could not physically jump from the floor to the counter, but that's what this woman did! Imagine!

And yet, men in her life, at least in the video, want her to be less than she is to fuel the ego of the man in her life.

This is wrong. 

It is wrong to be less than you are for any other person. God has given you your strength. Do not minimize yourself for anyone,.

Instead of focusing on her relationship with Jesus, such expectations force her to focus on her husband and see to his ego. News flash: His ego is not her business or problem.

This type of thing also teaches women to lie. They are not being honest when they feign weakness. This is a way to lie to your husband, Building a marriage on a lie is wrong.

Ladies, do not be less than you are for anyone at anytime for any reason.

Are there times you'll need help? Sure! But, needing true help is not the same as feigning weakness.

Don't minimize your own strength for anyone, not even a husband, Be as strong as you are.

~Tricia

Yep They Did It Again

A few people in church recently got up to promote a ladies' conference. They were talking about the subject of the conference and I fully expected it to have a Biblical focus since a church was doing the conference.

Wrong assumption. 

While I can't recall the announcement verbatim, I will summarize.

Three women of the church got up to make the announcement and they each talked about one aspect of the conference. They talked about the schedule, the food, etc. Finally, they got to the subject of the conference, the theme. They said life can get overwhelming no matter what stage of life you're in and they hope to make these overwhelming times easier to handle.

After all, they said, we don't want our circumstances and life stages to rob us of the abundant life Jesus promised to us in John 10:10.

And there you have it. I've seen this before.(I blogged about it here.) I've seen John 10:10 taken out of context before. Jesus is not promising you an abundant life full of peace and time to reflect and tone down your schedule. He's promising eternal life - abundant life - meaning quantity of life - life that does not end no matter how busy you are - no matter how complicated your stage of life is - no matter what this world throws your way - you, in Christ, have abundant life. Nothing can rob you of that. Nothing.

You are promised eternal life, not an easy, stress-free life. Your circumstances, financial status, schedule or state of life cannot take that away from you.

In John 10, Jesus is doing most of the talking. He's talking about being the Good Shepherd and states that He is the door of the sheep (v 7) and reiterates that in v 9 where He says that anyone who enters by Him will be saved and find pasture. He tells why the thief comes and then says He has come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Life eternal.

We Americans often think the Bible speaks to the earthly abundance we enjoy as a nation. Even the poorest among us has options through the government to have needs met with food stamps, housing allowances, etc. Charitable organizations meet needs also.

Third world countries don't have this. Sometimes, there are no options. Sometimes, there is no help and people scrape by while eating things you wouldn't dream of. If John 10 is talking about earthly abundance as this conference is teaching, where is the abundance in a third world country? Doesn't the Bible apply to them?

Ah, but it does! That's the beautiful thing about our Savior, He gives abundant life to all who come to Him - meaning He gives eternal life to even those who live like paupers on the earth. The abundance of Heaven is also theirs.

Praise be!

Stop taking God's Word out of context. If what you're teaching does not apply to every nation and soul on earth, stop teaching and reassess.

I won't be going to that conference. 

I rarely go to any for this very reason, they are usually all taking God's Word out of context or speaking on someone else's book, not God's Word.  No thanks.

~Tricia

Stifle Yourself!

 I recently met Trudy*. Trudy is a brand new Christian and very passionate about her faith and her Savior.

This is a good thing.

Trudy is also a newlywed. Her husband, Greg*, has been a Christian since he was a child, having grown up in a Christian home where the gospel was taught.

Her husband is not nearly as passionate about his faith as Trudy. She wants to share her new faith with everyone, no matter where she is. 

Trudy does not feel free to share the gospel like she wants to because she's looking to her new husband for leadership and he does not want to share the gospel hardly at all.

She feels stifled, but she's been told by Christian leaders in her life that her husband is her leader. She's very frustrated that her enthusiasm has essentially been gagged because her husband's burden to share the gospel is not as great.

Trudy expressed great frustration over this to me.

My advice to Trudy? 

Leave your husband in the dust and pursue Jesus with gusto. If his enthusiasm never matches yours, it's not your problem. That is between him and Jesus. Your relationship with Jesus belongs to you, alone. Your husband has no say whatsoever on the matter. Share the gospel whenever you can, wherever you are, with whomever you please. You answer to no other person for your relationship with Jesus, not even your husband.

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men (mankind), the man Christ Jesus." 

I Timothy 2:5

Ladies, do not let anyone come between you and your Savior, not even a husband. Our churches have well assisted the devil in stifling women under the guise of "submission," which is what Trudy has been experiencing. Trudy is one of many I have met.  It's shameful. 

Utterly shameful.

*Not their real names.

~Tricia