Justice- For Aunties

I absolutely love my boys.
When you're a mom of all boys people always ask, "Don't you wish you had a girl, though?"
Well, there are times.

At the beginning of the week I went on a shopping quest.  In our family we have birthdays coming up, so I joyfully drove my dear Ravina to Boardman for some retail therapy.
First stop:  Justice.  Now when people ask if I wish I had a girl, this store is what dances through my head.  So much pink, frill, and bedazzled kitty cats, it's enough to make your head spin.  If they had this store when I was 6 I'd be dancing my little jelly shoes between absolutely every single rack.

The darling I'm shopping for will be 11.  Gift Card, you say?  Well, that takes all the fun out of it!  These moments are such a thrill for the mother of all boys- it is too tempting to just get a gift card!  Let me have my fun, it can always be exchanged if need be.


As I revel in every last neon dolphin, I can't help but overhear the other shoppers:
"...I don't know."
"She's just....so picky"
I keep on shopping, but again and again I overhear shoppers complain about girls being picky, too short, or only liking dark purple.  And THIS purple?  Well, it's light purple.  It just will not do.

Yes, I had a good time.  But after I paid there was secretly some part of me that was happy to get out of there.  Girls are fun and I get so much joy out of my nieces, but this mom still picks out what her ten year-old wears to school everyday.  Not because I want to, but because he really couldn't care less.  In fact, I can't even get him to go school shopping with me.  (Not even for the school supplies!)  And while I'm pretty much stuck with t-shirts and jeans, I gotta tell you that it isn't so bad being in a man's world.  Honestly, it is so much easier.  Just S,M, or L.  Get their fav video game character on it and good to go.  You're the mom of the year.

It got me thinking though.  I get so much joy out of buying for the girls, and I really gotta watch that I don't overspend.  Wouldn't it be a great idea for a store to sell to people like me?  To Aunties.  For those of us who don't have girls and just can't get enough bows and puppy dogs?  And there would be TONS of bright colors to catch their eye and cute little toys and fun accessories and- ...oh yea.  They already have that.  It's called Justice.

Take 5

It's been awhile since my last post, I admit.  A lot of things going on.  Chad had to change shifts.  My oldest son had to get glasses- I am so smittenly proud of how cute he is with them.  The baby's growing up.  It's getting warmer out.

I've been slowly increasing the amount of time spent with God.  Not necessarily on purpose, just kind of a gradual thing.  More and more hungry for his great guidance.  Leaning on his security and love when times get tough.

Some people believe you should do your bible reading and prayer first thing in the morning.  Not a bad philosophy really, but having been at one time a working mom I wonder if these people have ever had to hold down a job outside the home.  Not being rude, just looking at the reality of time.  It's just too tough, I thought.

BUT I've invented something that works for me.  You see, even though I'm a stay-at-home, I am still a slave to the alarm clock idol. (I "praise" that snooze every morning)  I must get my oldest ready and on the bus.  I don't think waking up and first thing studying the bible is very practical at this point because morning is so hectic, (plus my brain just isn't wired to fully understand what I'm reading at that hour!) so I continue to do my major study at night when everyone is in bed.  It is peaceful and nobody is bugging me!  But I set that good ole alarm a mere 5 minutes early in the morning.  Not very much, but in those five minutes I pray.  I won't allow myself to set my feet to the floor or even sit up until I thank God for the day ahead and what he's doing for me.  Have you ever actually timed how long you pray?  Me neither, but I'm surprised by those 5 little minutes.  I try to mostly find things to be thankful for because I've found that it sets the tone for my day- If I am feeling thankful I am more likely to not get so upset about the little surprises (aka messes).

I think if you can find some way, however minor, to fit God into your morning, you might find that it WILL make your day better.  While it is true that there is little time in the morning for in depth study or devotions, you may find that there is just enough time to get you into the right mind set. 

What type of devotion/prayer time do you have?

Is there a specific time that you set aside each day?  
                   

          

The Silence

"As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches.  They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.  If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church"
1 Corinth. 14:34


My nightly bible reading brought me across these verses the other night.  A deep hurt began to well up in me as I read them.  Strong.  Intense.  That same hurt feeling I've felt somewhere before, standing on the playground my hands in fists, after some boy knocked me down and said girls are stupid.  Argh!

It brought my thoughts back to conversations I've had with other women, stories I've read.  There are men who believe that women should not be in front of the church.  That they don't belong in leadership, other than to play the piano.  Is this verse the reason?  It just doesn't make sense, it sent me reeling!

This is coming from Paul, but how can this be?  Could he be so old-fashioned?  Could he,... could even Christ himself, have felt that women have nothing to offer?  That it was a disgrace for them to speak in the church?  Though it has yet to be revealed to me I know I have a calling on my life, and know of so many other women that have been great teachers, evangelists, ministers, etc.  What gives?

And then the holy spirit began his nudging.  There is more to this story!  So this week I've been doing some research and am very pleased with what I have found:

The Corinthian Church

First things first, we have to understand the setting to the story.  Corinthians is a letter from Paul to the church in the city of Corinth.  Corinth could easily be any modern day city in America.  Actually it would have more in common with our cities today than we realize.  And it was full of every type of pagan worship.

Her Culture:  A woman in Corinth could not openly question a man.  Depending on her previous faith she very likely was not even allowed until this time to set foot in the church.  She had very little public rights.  But Christian women were newly liberated.  The Christian faith gave women more rights than before.  They could attend church services IN THE SAME ROOM WITH the men!  Unfortunately, the Corinthian Church was often interrupted by questions from the women- they had a lot of learning to do to catch up and it was affecting services.  What Paul is saying here is basically "please hold all questions until the end", their husbands very likely were the first converts, had a little more education on the matter and could easily have answered these questions at home instead of taking time out of service.  Paul is very gently resolving a delicate situation.  Also some readings suggest these women were using this new freedom to start confrontations with men during public worship times.

Jewish Women

People like to say that Christianity and Judaism hold women down.  Actually it is the opposite.  Jewish women and Christian women had and have more freedom than any other women in history.

It is true that traditionally men and women sit in separate areas of the synagogue.  This is because you are to keep your mind on prayer and also to make a distinction from the pagans- many pagan religions involved sex in their services.

In Judaism God is not masculine or feminine- they feel it is absurd to assume he has genitalia.

As shown by our beautiful Proverbs 31 Woman, Jewish women could buy and sell (without asking a husband permission), own property, and even run their own businesses.  Many religions (ex: Islam) still to this day do not allow these or any freedoms.

Finally, women were not obligated to attend religious services as the men were.  It was their option.

Also Interesting:

HELLO! Deborah was one of the Judges of Israel in the Bible.

Seven out of the 55 prophets were female.

So women have held very prominent positions in the church and also were able to do very great things to further the cause of Christ.  And we have many modern women that are continuing to this day.  I'm not sure why the idea that a woman cannot be a great leader persists.  Clearly it is not biblical.

If this has inspired you or you have any more information on this topic, please let me know I would be interested to find out more!