Women's Rights

This week, in covering my USA category for the blog, I thought I would discuss my feelings on Women's Rights. I like to listen to a lot of political radio, read articles, and research the events that are occurring in our country and the implications it has for people. I get very passionate because I really believe in America and all that it stands for. I'm very proud of my country and very patriotic.

After that introduction, I just want to discuss something that really gets under my skin. Women's rights in our current culture has become extremely distorted. Now, I am deeply pro life, however I want to point something out, when Roe vs Wade made abortion legal in our country decades ago, the law didn't say "Women can now do whatever they want and we the federal government must pay for it". So my frustration comes with lawmakers who make free birth control, free abortion, free services a women's rights issue. ITS NOT! 

Women's rights, as I have come to understand it over the years is about being able to take responsibility, to work, to vote, to go to college, or to have a family. It means we have equal opportunity in the work place, to go after our full potential. In reality the purpose of Women's Rights has missed the mark in our day and age.

Hollywood makes it all about sexual freedom, being with who ever you want, politicians make it about providing free stuff in order to get a vote. Our "rights" have become deluded and misrepresented. Lower expectations have been placed on us. Its no longer okay to be a virgin, if you are you don't have experience. All of these messed up views of women's rights have caused confusion in us. Who are we supposed to be? Will I ever be good enough? Am I really ready to have a baby right now? Should I be a mom or work? Can I have both?

Women's rights in our country started as a noble thing, it started with being able to vote. It started with opening opportunities for women to discover their full potential. How then has it become all about sex? How has it become all about being able to get abortions for free? How has it become all about birth control pills and forcing others to pay for them? It boggles my mind that our culture can take something like women's rights which originally was about empowering women and raising them up and degrade it to be all about "sexual freedom."

Proverbs 31 is the ultimate picture of the well rounded woman who has balance in all she does. Its the ultimate Biblical view of Woman's Rights. Of an entrepreneur, a mother, a wife, a talented woman, an attractive woman, a creative inventor, a caretaker, a speaker. Its all that we can be. Our country, politicians, Hollywood has reduced the value of a woman, they have created a distorted view of God's original plan. I am constantly trying to find the balance of being a wife, mom, a worker, a minister, cook, cleaner, and the list goes on. Striving to be all that I can be which is far beyond what I can even imagine. I refuse to be defined by a culture that has devalued my sex and has made it into something far below God's original plan.

I sincerely hope that if you are reading this today you will realize that you were made to be so much more then what this world tells you. Don't allow this degraded and distorted culture define who you are.
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Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

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Honor her for all that her hands have done,

    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:30,31

Discipline is all about love.

Let me start by saying that I don't really see myself as a great mom, more often then not I feel like a failure. My kids act up and I feel (emphasize the word FEEL)  like its the end of the world. The expectations I have placed on myself as a parent are extremely unforgiving, and I am often worried more about how others see me. All of these thoughts and ideas are of course wrong. . 

This week I had been praying that God would help me. I had come to Him and basically said, I can't do this without Your help. On wednesday, My son Caleb came home from school extremely busy and wound up which can make for some interest conflicts. I made dinner and everyone was doing fine. Then I called for them to come eat and the antics began. "I don't like this" and "I don't want vegetables" and "I'm not going to eat this." So I began my normal course of action, threatening to take away snacks, timeouts, etc. Needless to say nothing was working. I got to a boiling point, neither son was touching the dinner and I had had it. I got so angry that, after putting Caleb on timeout, I looked at him and said "Don't talk to me, I'm to angry."  Then the God questioning started. "Why aren't you helping me?" "I told you I can't do this and now look." I was out of patience and out of love.

By that time, I had to get everyone ready for church. I got everyone bundled and in the car and headed over. After dropping everyone off in the nursery and in classes, I went up to the youth sanctuary and was suddenly aware that it was time to put my game face on. I had to let go of what happened at home, let go of my frustration, let go of feeling like God wasn't helping me and focus on ministering to the teens. 

The service was one of the best ones we had ever had. My husband spoke on compassion. At times, as he was speaking, I wondered if this message was just for me. I realized during the worship and the message, that God was available always even if I was at the end of my rope. I felt as if, He filled my empty tank up. That all the patience and love that was gone, He restored. I asked God to forgive me for my anger and once again help me. I realized that when it comes to parenting, its not enough to just ask God for help and then leave it there, its about going to Him as the source. Asking Him to help and then doing it my own way just wasn't going to work anymore. 

 That night when I got home, I revoked all my threats and did not punish my children, instead I apologized for how angry I had been and allowed them to have the snack that I had threatened to take away. It was in that act of mercy that I felt peace. The Lord brought me back to the scripture I had read that morning.

 Proverbs 13:24 

Whoever spares the rod hates their children,

    but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. 

 He had answered my prayer. He showed me, that it is out of love that I must raise and discipline my kids not out of my own expectations or view of myself.  So my prayer changed. God I need your help to love my children enough to discipline them carefully, not just to punish them when they do wrong. It takes the anger and the frustration right out of it. God is the same with me, He disciplines me and corrects me because He loves me. That has to be my motivation with my kids. I challenge those who read this to recognize that our motivation in all we do must be love. It changed my perspective and I pray that it will also change yours.

Be blessed today!