A Woman is: Of A Quiet Spirit

Take the test if you are of a "quiet spirit" as in 1 Peter 3:4.  This character quality is related to a husband/wife relationship.  We can also be quiet outside and angrily loud in our hearts.  Here is example of what I mean shared by generation cedar:

You are walking through your house (bedroom, living room..), and your husband’s clothes and shoes are, let's just say, "misplaced"–a usual scene. Do you:

1.  Throw them all in a corner and “show him” what happens if he doesn’t pick up after himself?

2.  Pick them up grumbling as you put them away?

3.  Dwell on all the things he does for you that he doesn’t have to, and consider it a blessing to be able to serve him in such a small way? Proceed to fold/hang his clean clothes as neatly as possible for an “extra blessing”?

I know, we’ve all reacted the wrong way. I have many times.  The grumbling begins and I confess that I dwell on number 3 and gladly pick up my husbands shoes and clothes!    The same applies to chores I detest like washing dishes.  There was a time that I liked, or didn't mind, washing dishes.  But now with no dishwasher and or regular sink.  I find it a little "challenge".  I thank God I don't have to gather water from the river, well, and that I have hot water.  I thank God that I have a family that I love and uses these dishes.  I thank God for the laundry I fold with my daughters because they are for the precious family He has given me to love.

This quiet spirit will actually make us beautiful. That's right! more than make up and a stylish up-do.  The Bible says that it is an ornament.  A beautiful wife makes a husband happy and thus a happy marriage.  I bet you haven't heard this formula in the secular advises for a happy marriage.  We can be by God's grace a beautiful ornament for our  homes.

 

 

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Guarding our Marriages

Guarding our marriages

Posted By Anna T on June 29, 2010 in LAF

If you believe in being under the leadership of your husband, in humbly honoring his requests and accepting his authority, your point of view and the way you conduct yourself in marriage will inevitably come under attack. The source of negativity might be found in unmarried friends (in particular if you are a young woman), divorced people, older people who have never been married due to character issues and refuse to acknowledge they might have made mistakes, married people who are envious of the harmony in your marriage and at the same time contemptuous of the effort you put into it. To put it simply, it’s everywhere. Marriage and family are those precious values we must be so careful to guard.

The poisonous message will imply that you ought to always have your way, and that your husband should always go out of his way to do things for you. And I don’t mean the normal, natural, kind things that husbands do for their wives. I mean all sorts of extravagant ideas. I have had people tell me that my husband must always drive me for errands and medical check-ups, even though he works 12-15 hours a day and I am perfectly capable of going by bus (even though, admittedly, it takes more time). I have heard stay-at-home moms boasting of how they “always hand the kids to the husband the moment he comes home,” because they “can’t stand being with them anymore after a whole day” – even though the husband, of course, spent the day working hard outside the home and needs to relax.

There will be people looking with disdain on small things you do for your husband, such as ironing his shirts and packing his lunch. They will try to make you feel like a drudge because you are trying to humbly serve your husband. They will try to claim he ought to step in and do an equal share of the housework, even though he hardly spends any time at home.

It particularly annoys me when young or older unmarried people try to give me (entirely unsolicited) advice about how I should treat my husband, which always consists of confronting him about every little thing, of “standing my ground,” regardless of the consequences. I do want to think that the people handing out such advice have my best interests at heart, but sometimes it’s just hard to believe.

Unfortunately, women have the tendency to talk about various situations in their marriages either with people who have difficulty evaluating the situation objectively – such as parents and friends, who, out of sympathy with you, might ignite a conflict over something that isn’t even worth speaking of – or even idle people who might try to set you against your husband just because they want to watch some action. Personally, I believe conflict should be resolved either discreetly between spouses, or with the help of a neutral counselor who won’t automatically take sides.

There are people who believe pride has higher value than the most precious human relationship you will have on this earth – your marriage. They might butt in unwanted, saying things such as, “What do you mean, you can’t go and hang out right now because you must wash the dishes? Make your husband do this, he can wash the dishes once in a while!”

Of course, it’s true that a husband can do the dishes once in a while, but that’s entirely beside the point. Family dynamics are different in each case. Perhaps we’re talking about a husband who despises doing the dishes, and the wife was OK with it until she was goaded by someone who “didn’t want to see her taken advantage of.” It’s not a question of justice, of it being “fair” that he should do the dishes sometimes. It just isn’t anybody else’s business. The wife’s job is to set out and protect the family harmony from intruders.

Before you take such advice to heart, look at the well-wishers who spread it. Are they married? Are their marriages harmonious and happy? Does the husband take a proper place of leadership and honor? Are they raising, or have they raised, good children? Do the children respect their father? In many cases, the answer to at least one of these questions will be negative.

Aside from our relationship with God, our marriage is the most important relationship we will have. It comes before our personal ambitions, our pride, our wish to look good in the eyes of other people. Before friends, siblings, parents, even before our children. Zealously guarding your marriage and the privacy of your relationship with your husband might annoy some people at first, but it will bring respect, stability and trust into your home, and, ultimately, it will be for the best of everyone involved.

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Family Devotions

Every morning our day starts with family worship, Bible and prayer.  With little ones, let me tell you, it's quite different.  We can't expect the deep worship we're used to in the House of Prayer, or exegetical Bible studies or long prayer sessions.  They are different, fun, practical and with lots of instruction.  We have dancers and singers in our home.  They can dance and sing all day.  So worship time is always a favorite time.   Honestly, our girls look forward to the "exampolitos" as they call it.  This is when Mom or Dad (usually Dad), sits with them and reads the Proverb verses that corresponds to that day of the month.  Then he takes whatever little things the girls brought and they come alive as he does examples of the verses read.  The girls love it so much that would stay sitting and attentive for an hour at times.  Usually, we have to stop to move on with our day, but they always insist, "just one more, Daddy, just one more, pleeeeeease".

One a good day Daddy would do just one more.  On other days Bible time would go something like this:

Dad: ...that means to be kind to one another and share...

Lizbeth:  No, Sarah, I need this one (and takes an example "person" from little sister)

Sarah: No, I want it, waaa, waaaa

Dad:  hey, wait a minute, what am I just teaching you girls.

Did you ever had these times?

There are endless ideas on age appropriate family devotions.  Dress up, use puppets, act them out, use props and make characters come alive...

What are some the ideas you do to instruct your little ones in God's ways?

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