Jennifer & I have been reading a book together.
It is written by two sisters Anna & Elizabeth Botkin, who were 17 & 15 when they started writing it.
We are only on the 4th chapter, but it has been a real challenge and a blessing. One of those books you wonder where it was when you were growing up!
Lord willing over the next little while I will highlight some of it. But I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy if you have daughters. So many things I wish I had been taught growing up, that would have made the beginning of our marriage so much more fruitful and godly. You can get it from www.amazon.ca
I believe, as the girls mention in their book, that many girls (and women for that matter) are confused about what womanhood is about, and don't know who to look to for godly, feminine role models. We have also seen how the world (and sometimes even the church) has turned into an anti-family world, where being a daughter who respects her father's wishes, or being a submissive wife and even a stay at home mom is looked down upon.
As they point out in the first chapter, many of the ideas in this book could make some uncomfortable. But many of the 'ideas' in this book used to be the norm among Americans. The role of woman in their families and in society is on an onward downslide as we see feminism on a climb. I believe we need to take a stand and re-evaluate what it is that God expects woman to be to their fathers and husbands.
Submission ( a very Biblical mandate)is seen as such a threatening, misused word, that many women threw it out of their vocabulary a long time ago. And since then, we have, I believed, strayed from God's design for woman. For me, I need to change my way of thinking and my actions. God has been dealing with me in this issue of honoring and submitting to my husband, not just in my actions but in a real heart way. It's hasn't been without many struggles and failures, but thankfully I have a forgiving God, not to mention a patient husband. Mark has been there for me on this journey, but has never demanded, or expected me to act a certain way. I praise God for him and his forgiving heart. I guess that is why I want to train our girls to honor and submit to their dad, so that if/when they get married someday, they won't have quite the struggle I have had, as many of the same issues can come up in a marriage. Not that there won't be struggles, because like with anything else, our flesh likes to rise up and try to take over. But at least if they can learn these principles and have them be part of their hearts, I know it will be very helpful for them no matter what path God has for their lives.
This road takes God's strength, a denying of our own flesh and a love and passion for God and His Word. Sometimes I feel like we are such a minority, how can we even make a difference in this fallen world. But God is faithful, and though it may be only one spark at a time, I believe we can be a light in this and the following generations until the Lord returns to take His bride.
