Archive for July, 2005
Spunky’s Review of CTBHHM
Check out Spunky's review of Created To Be His Help Meet. She has posted part 1 of her review series, and it is FABULOUS!!!!!!!!! I can't wait till she posts the other parts!
They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha Ha…
They're coming to take me away ho ho he he ha ha......
That is my new theme song.
Really my "day" started a week ago yesterday, when my dh left to go out of town for almost 2 weeks. I had a 102 fever at the time. I ached all day Sunday and felt better Monday. Monday night, right at bedtime, I started aching again but didn't feel like I had a fever. Why couldn't I have started hurting about 30 minutes AFTER bedtime???
I felt better Tuesday but then noticed that I had a sore spot "you know where." Evidently my fever must have been a touch of mastitis. It sure did present weird since I didn't get a sore spot until AFTER I felt better! Annoying, but I sure am thankful I'm not one of the women who is plagued by recurring mastitis. I've had it twice in my entire nursing "career": once when J (my 4th baby) was 15 months old, and now (I think?) when S is 9.5 months old.
We were supposed to go to C's occupational therapy Tuesday afternoon, but I rescheduled since I didn't know just yet what I had or if I was contagious. Also Tuesday I had some lower GI "issues," but I took some Immodium, and that was the end of that. When the "issues" presented themselves, I thought, "What in the world is this??????"
Oh, I had no idea what was yet to come. LOL!
Meanwhile we plugged away doing school, trying to keep life normal, even though without dh here it is definitely NOT. Insecurity issues abound when he is gone, and one night I was rudely awakened by C standing by my bed and announcing (loudly): MOM I HAD A BAD DREAM and then jumping into bed with me. I almost had a heart attack. Another night, I was getting ready for bed around midnight, looked up, and there was an eyeball looking at me through the cracked door. GOOD HEAVENS. But it was just G, whom I had awakened when I shut his window. J has gotten up a lot more too, but he just usually needs to go potty.
Saturday evening after supper the older 3 kids were riding their bikes, playing "bike tag." G tagged L and then fell down. C was right there and accidentally rode over G's arm with his tricycle. So in everyone comes, G is carrying on something awful. I don't see any swelling, discoloration, etc. He tends to milk things pretty badly, and since I didn't see anything indicating a need to dash to the ER, I told him we'd just see how it was in a few days. I was not about to load everyone up and take the whole crew to the ER just for the dr. to say "it's a bruise."
Sunday it wasn't any better, but we went to Sears to get L's and S's pictures taken anyway. S was NOT impressed with the whole thing LOL, but we got some good pictures. Afterward we went to Walmart to buy some Icy Hot, which I learned smells just like Wintergreen gum, which I hate becuase it smells like old people. (I love old people, just not the way they smell LOL!)
Today G's arm was no better, so I made an appointment with the dr. We got there at 11:45, and he sent us to the hospital for x-rays. He told me to tell them that he wanted the radiologist to read the films right away. If they were normal we could go on home, but if they were abnormal, he wanted me to come back to his office, bringing a copy of the films. So I told them that, and they acted all confused..."Oh, but this says we're supposed to call him." So I wasn't too terribly surprised that no one ever came out to tell us what was going on. After about 45 minutes I went and asked what the status was of G's x-rays, and the lady said, "Oh I can't believe they haven't come out to tell you." So out comes a gal, and she says that the radiologist just got off the phone with the dr., and we are supposed to go back to his office.
UGH. By this time it's 2 pm, so I drive thru Wendy's for lunch and head back to his office. Evidently, while there isn't an OBVIOUS break, it does look fishy. There is a lot of swelling, so they can't quite tell. So the dr. put G in a splint. While we were waiting for the splint to harden, C and L played with their kids' meal toys (my kids LOVE kids' meal toys!!!!!), and J drew on the chalkboard hanging in the room. I took the opportunity to lean my head back and rest my eyes.
But my rest was short-lived. "Mom! J is licking it!" Sure enough, J had licked all over the chalkboard and now had a royal blue tongue. Sigh. It was at that point that I started to become just GIDDY about all of this. So I got a wet paper towel and wiped his tongue off, and we went on our merry way. We go back next Thursday to possibly take new x-rays and to see if G needs a permanent cast.
This is the 2nd time he has (maybe) broken this same arm, though at least it's in a different place. Before it was at the wrist, and now it's up near/in the elbow. It is his writing arm.
Both times have been while dh was out of town.So we come home, eat supper, all is fine. I went out to check on the garden, and heard this yelping coming from under the deck. Turns out there is a cat under there either having kittens or hurt/sick/dying. (My guess is the latter.) It is WAY under there, so I can't get to it. If it dies I have no idea how I'll get it out - oh MY it will smell awful. It did move a little bit, so I'm HOPING it will move itself right on out from under there....
Then evidently I didn't word something well on a message board, feelings got hurt, people assumed I meant something that hadn't even crossed my mind...UGH!
I tell ya, if I didn't laugh I'd probably cry!!! I told dh all about it, and he knows I'm THIS CLOSE to the funny farm. FUNNY FARM, I TELL YOU!!!!!
Oh and my in-laws are coming for a visit a week from Wednesday and staying for a week. I'm excited about their visit, but all the stress is starting to get to me LOL!!!!!
So I apologize if my posts get a little zany.......
They're coming to take me away ha ha. They're coming to take me away ho ho he he ha ha..........
Awesome post from blestwithsons
Check out this post from Blest with sons. Fantastico!
(LOL I'd write more but I'm nursing.
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I’m bored. B-O-R-D bored.
(That was a quote from a Veggie Tale...I can really spell LOL!)
I'm at the halfway point (finally) of my dh's out-of-town training and I'm bored out of my mind. BUSY, but bored. It's just no fun without him here!!! He comes home Friday. He has been working SO hard these last few months, and come August, he's taking some leave. He is POOPED!!!
I've been trying to put together my order for curriculum. GOOD HEAVENS. With 3 in school next year we'll be forking out the $$$ (compared to what we have been anyway). I wish I had the time to bargain hunt like I have in the past, but I simply don't.
My in-laws are flying out here for a week a week from Wednesday. My kids are SO EXCITED. We haven't seen them since we moved over a year ago. This will be the first time anyone has come to visit us since we've lived here. We're gonna be squished, but it should be fun. 9 people and 1 shower should be interesting though LOL!!!
L made a kite with her school stuff today. She has been dying to, but I am clueless. Plus it's not like we actually get much WIND here LOL. Well lo and behold part of her school assignment was to make a kite out of a plastic grocery bag. It worked pretty well! Now we just need some wind....
I desperately need to work on our schedule. S has thrown yet another kink in the works though because she has decided that she is anti-sleeping. LOL I used to think that C was a bad sleeper. Oh to have S sleep as much as C did!!!!! She sleeps about 10 hours at night (total, and it's very broken up) and about 1-1.5 hours during the day if she does really well. She's not even 10 months old yet, so that is VERY low, but she is just as happy as a lark and wants to be around seeing everything. Supposedly gifted children sometimes are very low on sleep needs, so SHE'D BETTER BE GIFTED AFTER ALL THIS!!! LOLOLOL!!!!!!! My mom says I was the same way. I guess payback is what they say it is LOL!
Well, enough jibber jabber....see? I told ya I was bored.
Created To Be His Help Meet - Chapter 12
As with several of the other chapters, Chapter 12 contains both good and bad. The title of the chapter is "By Divine Appointment," and the subtitle reads
The only position where you will find real fulfillment as a woman is as a help meet to your husband.
As I wondered in Chapter 6, I wonder what she'd say to women who are being obedient to God and are *GASP* still single. For MARRIED women, YES, the only position in which they will find real fulfillment as a woman is as a help meet to their husbands. But there again...just what does "help meet" really mean? I have found that the Bible paints a very different picture of a help meet than Mrs. Pearl does.
But I think I'm getting off track here, so let's begin.
She begins the chapter by quoting 1 Corinthians 11:3:
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of the Christ is God (her emphasis)
and Ephesians 5:23:
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body
and then basically says that the husband is in charge, even if he's a dud, and this is how God set it up for our protection. Which to some extent is true, since that is what the Bible says. I just disagree with what Mrs. Pearl says that LOOKS LIKE.
She emphasizes that it doesn't matter if our husband is saved, not saved, etc., when we submit to them, we are modeling the same "heavenly pattern" that Christ did when he submitted to God the Father. Which again, is true, to a point.
God tell us that we are to be help meets: We are to submit, obey, and even reverence our husbands.
So that is her "definition" of help meet. We do need to serve, honor, submit, reverence, etc., but at times being a true help meet means NOT "submitting" (note the quotes). Sometimes going along with a husband's whims would NOT actually help him.
Now, at the same time, we cannot get on our spiritual high horse and be expressing our righteous indignation or whatever. As with EVERY situation, we must take everything before the Father, weigh it against the whole of Scripture, etc. Sometimes He just might have you go along with something stupid your husband wants to do, so that ***HE*** can bonk your husband up side the head about something. Or sometimes it's not even about what your husband wants to do as much as it is about the relationship between you and him. It just depends on the situation, where God is leading, what the Word says on the matter, what has happened in the past, etc. There is no way that any author can say definitively, "This is what you need to do when your husband wants to xyz."
As Christian women our ways should be gentle, generous, humble, cheerful, loving, etc.....ANYWAY!!!!! And of COURSE that should extend to our husbands. We DO need to serve our husbands. And our children. And our neighbors. So I guess that's where I disagree with Mrs. Pearl - I don't think that the world should revolve around my husband, his desires, his demands, etc., and I have yet to see anything in the Bible saying so.
On page 118 Mrs. Pearl explains that
[God] also tells us WHY we are assigned the role of helper.
1. We came forth from man's ribs and were created for him. We are a part of him. "For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image a glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man" (I Cor. 11:7-9).
2. Our position in relation to our husband is a picture of the Great Mystery, which is Christ and the Church. We, as the body of Christ, are for Him, our living Head. It can be no other way! [She quotes 1 Cor. 11:3 again] "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church...and the wife see that she reverence her husband" (Eph. 5:32-33).She's right about point number 1 - woman was taken from man. We are to be their helpers. Period. However, in her explanation of the 1 Corinthians 11 passage, she leaves out verse 11:
Nevertheless, in [the plan of] the Lord and from His point of view woman is not apart from and independednt of man, nor is man aloof from and independent of woman;
So while a woman isn't free to "do her own thing," neither is man. They need to answer to one another.
Her 2nd point is true as well, but not in the way that she means. I find it interesting (yet not surprising) that she skipped the first part of verse 33 in her last quote. The entire verse says
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Some would argue that it doesn't matter since this book is written to wives, not to husbands. While I agree that a woman's reverence shouldn't depend on how her husband treats her and that her submission shouldn't depend on what he does, in the BIBLE these two things go hand in hand. The husband's role and the wife's role are interwoven, and the assumption is there that both are saved and doing right. We can't just isolate one spouse's role and chunk the rest of the verse as irrelevant.
Now I hear some saying, "But Mrs. Pearl isn't throwing out verses calling them irrelevant." Her next sentence indicates that she does:
God tells us WHY our husband is to be the one who rules the home.
Nowhere in this passage in Ephesians that Mrs. Pearl is quoting from will you find anything even remotely resembling permission for the husband to RULE the home. While YES, he does have a position of authority, He is also instructed to lay his life down for her as Christ loved the Church.
And on the flip side, we can't just take the husband's role out of these passages and ignore the wife's - otherwise we'd have the husband doing everything he could to please his wife and the wife doing whatever she wanted.
IT'S A BALANCE. It is designed to be such. BIBLICALLY marriage is both people serving each other, giving to each other, laying down their wants for one another. It is NOT about which one "rules" and which one "obeys."
BUT, for the sake of argument, let's assume that the Bible does talk about the man "ruling." What kind of ruler does the Bible teach is a good one? How did Christ lead and rule? He washed His disciples' feet. He told them that if they wanted to be first, they must be last. He served others. What about other rulers? Over and over we see that wise and good rulers are ones that are humble, giving, gentle, generous, willing to serve, etc. Quite a different picture than the type of "ruler" that Mrs. Pearl writes about when she speaks of a husband ruling his home.
"But Keer, this book isn't about what the husbands are supposed to do." I know that. But this book is based upon the faulty assumption that it's OK for a husband to boss his family around, even if he does so in a polite manner. It's based on an unbiblical portrait of what a husband should be like. So since the underlying assumption is wrong, that does affect the advice to the wives as well.
OK so then she switches gears and discusses "Limitations God Put Into Place," beginning on page 119.
God expresses a clear and sure mandate when he tells us:"But I suffer not [do not allow] a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, [that includes your pastor] but to be in silence" (I Timothy 2:12).
She points out that just because a woman may be QUALIFIED to be an effective minister doesn't mean that she is AUTHORIZED to be one. I actually have to agree with her here, based on what I've read in Scripture - women are not to be in spiritual authority over men. I'm fine with women teaching other women or children. I'm not fine with women teaching men, and DEFINITELY not with women pastoring churches. Scripture makes it clear that women are more easily deceived than men when it comes to spiritual things.
But what about Deborah?
If you actually read the story, you would know that the text makes much of the fact that the men were shamed by allowing a woman to take the place of prominence. There is no question that Deborah performed the job well, that she saved Israel, that God used her; that is just the point. When the men allowed a woman to take their role and perform the job successfully, it resulted in shame to the nation of Israel. Deborah knew this to be the case and warned the men as such. To build a doctrine on this story, while ignoring the majority of the doctrinal passages on the leadership of women, is as foolish as Deborah leading the armies of Israel instead of a man.
I'm sorry, I just have to chuckle at several of her comments there. First, "if you actually read the story" - she assumes we haven't and therefore have no idea what it really says.
And second, building a doctrine on one story while ignoring other passages....ROFLOL!!!!!!!!! Hello!!! Pot calling the kettle black!!!
Anyway....
So I did go back and actually read the story, which is found in Judges 4. What is it that brought "shame" upon Israel - Deborah judging? No. The men being wimps is what brought shame upon Israel. It had nothing to do with her sitting under her palm and judging disputes between people - it had everything to do with Barak saying he wouldn't do what God had told him to do unless Deborah came with him. And according to the text, Deborah didn't "lead the armies of Israel." Barak did, but Deborah went with him at his request.
So while I do agree that we can't use Deborah as "proof" that it's OK for women to lead men, Mrs. Pearl pretty much twisted this story to prove what she was saying: that since Deborah led Israel, it brought shame to the nation.
She also wonders, "What about Priscilla and Aquila?" I personally have never heard anyone use Priscilla as "proof" that it's OK for women to lead men spiritually, but I just may not have been exposed to it - I find that I learn something new everyday.
So I'll believe that people do use that argument. I agree fully with what Mrs. Pearl says:...as if the inclusion of the woman with her husband somehow negates the hundred or so doctrinal verses that teach about a woman's role as a helper to her husband. On the contrary, although they are mentioned five times in the Bible, Priscilla is never mentioned alone. She is always with her husband
Mrs. Pearl goes on to emphasize that a woman is not a second-class citizen of the kingdom.
I know that for you to be happy - really happy - as I have been happy, you must follow and abide in God's role for women.God has spoken frankly as to why he made us as he did and what our role is to be.
I agree 100%. EXCEPT that I believe what the BIBLE says about women and their role. NOT what this book says the Bible says about women and their role.
Yet so-called Bible teachers today tear apart what God has said and make the average young wife reading these Scriptures feel as though what God has said to her is an insult.
I guess you could say that I'm an "average young wife reading these Scriptures." I find the SCRIPTURES empowering, enlightening, and life-giving. I find Debi Pearl's interpretation of the Scriptures to be insulting.
After almost 35 years as a wife, counseling ladies, reading thousands upon thousands of letters, and chalking up my own life experiences, I have concluded that what the Bible says on this subject is rock-solid truth, and it works! I have also seen the sad results of the teachings that reject the plain sense of Scripture.
I have to chuckle that she had that second sentence following the first.
She is right on that what the Bible says on this subject works. The only problem is that what she is teaching isn't what the Bible teaches. And so yes, I agree with her second sentence as well. If you want what I and thousands of women have, then you must follow the plan the way God wrote it in the Bible.
There you have it, straight from Debi Pearl herself. Throw this book in the trash (if you have it), and just read the Bible yourself.
Feast Fifty-Five
From Friday's Feast: A Buffet for Your Brain:
Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
My middle name is Elizabeth. I think I'd probably change my first name. Not sure what I'd want to change it TO, but something easy to spell and pronounce for sure! Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
Something easily washable and non-wrinkleable. My "style" is apparently out of style currently LOL - go figure. My favorite color is purple, so I'd probably use lots of that. LOL I don't know!!! I am so NOT into clothes and all that that I can't even imagine being a fashion designer! (I do good to BUY clothes for myself LOL!)Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Washing dishes by hand because there are always old, wet, nasty food particles floating around in the bottom. *shudder*Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
When people vomit around me, especially someone I have to care for. NO I cannot trace it back to an event, and I WISH I COULD.Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
Since "at the computer desk" would be cheating LOL...
I'm sitting in my living room, behind the couch, facing the wall opposite the TV. Without turning around to look all around the room (so I'm just going to be facing this little rathole corner of mine LOL), I can see:
Prescription for Nutrional Healing
my old printer that I have sitting on a table, ready to sell or something (not sure what)
a 3-ring binder containing my K4 - 1st Grade Mom's Minutes for BJU HomeSat
Protecting my kids
I came across this thought-provoking article tonight, and so I have gone through and deleted all the pictures of my kids and have removed their names.
It's easy to forget that sick people are out there and are actively SEEKING out children. The Shasta Groene case (which is ALL OVER the news here since it was local to our TV station) was eye-opening to me. Joseph Duncan had been driving around, looking for kids, and happened to see her playing in her yard in her swimsuit. After that he would go at night and spy in their windows to find out the lay-out of their home so he could plan his attack to kidnap her.
So while I know that I can't protect them 100%, I can try to do what I can.
‘Screw Abstinence Party’
Brit Hume shares this little tidbit today.
Why am I not surprised that it's being held in Seattle???
Michelle Malkin: SHUT UP AND TEACH
Michelle Malkin: SHUT UP AND TEACH
Can't say it any better myself except to say:
Reason #384,198 that we homeschool.
Congrats to Anne!!!
Anne at Anne's Cafe had a baby boy Friday! Congrats Anne and enjoy your new blessing!!!
What Type of Homeschooler Am I?
Mr. Potato Head You have your ideal of how things
should look, but you're flexible enough to allow
for change. You are not bothered by changing
methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an
eclectic combination of curriculum sources.
Visit my blog:
http://www.GuiltFreeHomeschooling.blogspot.comWhat Type of Homeschooler Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
What is My Ideal Career?
Of course they don't have my current career duties listed *g*, but they did get my "dream jobs" right:
Your Career Type: Conventional 
You are orderly and good at following a set plan.
Your talents lie in working with written records and numbers in a systematic, orderly way.You would make an excellent:Bank Teller - Bookkeeper - Court Clerk
Mail Carrier - Post Office Clerk - Secretary
Timekeeper - Title Examiner - TypistThe worst career options for your are artistic careers, like comedian or dancer.
ROFLOL - A DANCER????? (Oh yeah, I was on the drill team, wasn't I?
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