26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised".
31 "Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate".

Here is a summary of a healthily submitted woman. We know she isn't codependent because of the initiative she shows. She also has high moral character and compassion. And her reward? We see her family, including her husband, thinking very highly of her. Since her husband is on the city council (we know this since he "sits at the gate with the other elders" of the city) his estimate of her crries even more weight . And her other reward is she is spoken well of "at the city gates." In other words, the leaders of the city even remark about her in a positive way.

Proverbs 31:10-31-Part 5

24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

Let's combine these verses with some previous ones:

16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

If we put all of these 5 verses together we see a composite of a lady who doesn't just work to keep her household neat and clean and provided for, but she has little businesses and either owns land or her husband has given her part of the estate for her vineyards. This lady is definitely NOT codependent, as she uses a lot of initiative. And the amazing part of this is her intiative does NOT seem to threaten her husband. We will see in the next post, in fact, his reaction to his wife's activities.

Proverbs 31:23-Part 4

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

It's intersting that in all the years I've been a Christian I have seldom heard anything about the type of man to which the woman of God should be submitted. This verse tells us that this woman's husband sat at the city gates with other elders. In our culture this sounds as if he was unemployed or a loafer. But in Israel in those days (the days of Solomon) each city had "elders," or the wise ones, who were like a combination city council/mayoralty/judges if people had problems or disputes. They would sit at the city gates because that is where a lot of commerce took place. So, this woman married a very respected and wise man in the community. She didn't marry a loser, a druggie, a controller or other dispicable person. Many Christian women are in the "soup" because they married unwisely and so find it difficult to submit. Of course some weren't Christian before they were married. But for those who were, just marrying any old "Christian" isn't what should be done. Sadly, our churches pressure people to get married and often this pressure and loneliness can "push" people into marriages that are unhealthy. It's up to every Christian single to resist this pressure, whether it comes from their parents, friends, church, or community. The people I've seen throughout the years who married someone their friends and parents didn't feel right about mostly ended up divorced and often, the woman was physically abused(and then divorced the guy....finally). The sad thing is many of these women drageed their children into these messes from other marriages or "relationships." They excuse was, they just wanted a "father for the childrenn." Yeah, well, they got the father from hell for the children. I do encourage single women...and men too...to resist this church/societal pressure and and be mature enough to stand up to these people and tell them right in their face that you are waiting until God brings your person along, and that you are working with Him to prepare yourself for that event. And, it it takes you until 70, then so be it. By the way, 95% of the Christians I've known over the 47 years I've been a Christian, who wanted to get married, did before the age of 50. And most, to the one God had for them....a person described right here in Proverbs 31.

Proverbs 31:10-31-Part 3

20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Unlike many codependent women, this lady thinks ahead to what she needs to do and to whom she needs to do it with. She doesn't wait for her husband to "dictate" her day, rather she organizes her day herself, although I wonder if she at least goes over it with him. My parents used to do that. In the morning they would go over their day with each other. My mother didn't do that because she was supposed to "submit" to my father, but rather to inform him. And he did the same for her. There was a mutual respect between them. They encouraged one another and also offered correction where needed. I suppose if they didn't see eye to eye my mother would follow my father's lead. But the problem in my family was that my mother was always 99% right (and she was), and my father was at least 50% wrong. But my mother would still try to submit, although I hae to admit, not too graciously at times. My parents were not evangelical Christians. They were liberal Protestants and I still don't know if they were born-again. But they were good people. But them most liberal Protestants are. This brings us to another interesting point on submission that I rarely hear discussed (except in the old days of the
1970's with Bill Gothard). If the husband is wrong, then what? The Gothardized pat answer is always "The Lord will take care of it." Well, not always. Fortunately in my family's case, my mother had the sense to submit when it wasn't important, like, "Do we turn right or left?" But on financial decisions which my mother was an expert in, it could be disastrous. Fortunately my good-hearted father (and he was--he was a prince--just a wrong one at times) would defer to her because he learned from long experience to trust her judgment in fincances among other many things. And, my mother learned to trust my father in his strong points. So I guess that they were submitted to each other. This submission thing can really get consusing can't it? I think the point I am trying to make here is two-fold. First, submission cannot come from a codependent fearful woman, and second, submission relies on trust and love, not a "have-to" mentality.

Proverbs 31:10-31-Part 2

Continuing our study of this passage and what it tells us about true submission.

13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.


This is really an extraordinary passage as it shows a woman in ancient Israel who is very different than many in other societies at that time. First, we see that she does quite a lot under her own iniative. Her husband doesn't seem to be hovering over her, making every little decision for her. But is she submitted then? Or is she just doing her own thing" without considering her husband's input? We shall consider those two questions in a later study.

Read the above Bible passage again and think about everything this woman is doing plus.....HOW she's doing it. It seems as if she's obviously not a codependent.

Proverbs 31:10-31-Part 1

To start our study of what submission really is, let's take verses 10-12 today.

10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

The woman in Proverbs 31 is obviously a very mature woman. She isn't an airhead; she isn't a whiney codependent. Sadly, over the centuries, and probably in many, if not most churches today, submission is equated with codependency and godly authority is equated with control and/or abuse. I wonder if this husband in Proverbs 31 is controlling. I rather doubt it. Know why? Because if he was, his wife wouldn't be described like she is in verses 10-12. You can tell a lot about the husband from the description of the wife. That is also true today.

The True Woman Manifesto....Hmmmmm

The True Woman organization has put out something called The True Woman Manifesto. Signers of this document include Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Joni Eareckson Tada, Kay Arthur and Mary Kassian. While I certainly agree with the doctrinal foundation of this document, it's the same old, same old for Christian woman. For example, submission for husbands, in what I consider could be interpreted as an unhealthy way, isn't specific in it's description. I think these women need to read Proverbs 31 more carefully. This has motivated me to do a study over the next few days here of that chapter, from verse 10 to the end of the chapter. While I agree in principal with what they are saying, there must be much more specifics of definitions of the word submission. I must be fair though, and say that word is not only used for husbands and wives in the Manifesto, but also from other portions of the New Testament where people as a whole are asked to submit. I also notice, again, as usual in Christian women's writings, that everyone is assumed to be married nor may some ever be.

So, beginning with my next post, I will tackle Proverbs 31:10-31.

It's Going to be a Movie? Really?

I just read today that Blue Like Jazz might be turned into a movie. So let me get this straight.....they are going to portray the center of the story (who happens to also be the author) as really thinking the drug-using, doing-sex-anytime- with-anyone hippies is a positive thing to be shown? I wonder how they will film the scene where he watches the drugged-out naked hippies have sex in the woods. Interesting.

I keep reading that this is a "Christian" book. But wasn't the book about rebellion? Maybe I missed something.

Scared......

There is a very interesting, short video found here from WorldView Weekend. Americans, and even American Christians do not "get" what the muslim "agenda" is for us here. In the first half of the video the guest talks about how scared Christian leaders are of speaking out about Islam. That is why they are so quiet. In the second half, the guest goes into the
husband-wife relationship according to the Koran. Here is a sample of what he says.....a wife can never refuse her husband sex, anytime, anywhere or by any method he wants to do it. And it goes downhill from there. Sharia law is much more serious than many people here realize. Sadly, we are doing exactly what the Germans did before WWII--"oh, it (dictatorship, persecution) can't happen here. We are a 'Christian' nation." Well, it did happen there and it can happen here too. It's interesting that hundreds of thousands of Germans had even read Hitler's autobiographical book, Mein Kampf in which he outlines exactly what he wants to do. And he followed that outline almost to the letter. We have tonds of writings from fundamentalist muslims cocnerning their plans for the west. But, like the Germans, we jsut chuckle while our CHristian leaders (except for Franklin Graham and a few--very few-others) cringe and hide. And the Americans snicker. Perhaps we should take these things mroe seriously.

Another MUST SEE-MUST HEAR video along with the one I told you about in a previous post--the ABC town hall meeting with Christianne Amanpour. One of the guests was Franklin Graham. Just watching that one to hear what the imam from England said, concerning sharia law coming here with the muslim flag flying over the White House, is worth your time. That one is found here. Of course, I imagine most Americans, incluidng CGHristians and our leaders, sat snickering after he said that. I am wondering who will have the last laugh.

What Christians are Believing Today

Look at this list:

Hinduism/Buddhism - yoga, meditation, fasting
Catholicism - sacraments, baptism, good works
Islam - mecca, prayers, Jihad
Wicca - meditation, energy work, spells
Native American Indians - drumming, peyote, rains dances
Militant Environmentalism - sustainable living, vegetarianism, wearing hemp clothes

Heads up to the Sola Sisters blog for the above list.

Twenty years ago, if you looked at that list, you would think of non-Christians. But today, many, many Christians are dabbling in every item on that list. There is little discernment in the American church because there's little discernment among our evangelical leaders. Al Mohler came against so-called "Christian Yoga" recently and he's being laughed at and scorned by....get this....Christians! And.......by Christian leaders too. And we wonder why our country is in trouble. But of course it has nothing to do with what Christians believe or do.

The Homosexual Brougha-ha....Again

Well, here we go again. It's homosexual vs. Christian bashing time again. Here are some of my thoughts on the current debate which began because of the Westboro Baptist Church case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

*Satan is very clever....again. First, he influences a gay guy at Purdue to commit suicide. Then he gets some "stars" to speak out about it. One "star" said that it's Christians to blame for this. Pretty clever of satan huh.

*Maybe if Christian leaders would lead us as a group into denouncing Phelps and his very, very small cult-church, Westboro Baptist, in what they do, people wouldn't think Westboro represents most of us. At least hopefully they don't. And if they do, then our leaders need to get busy to help us find more appropriate ways to voice our views.

*If we would tell some of our "Christian" leaders to stop the hate, and we would stop supporting them financially and attending their churches/conferences, they would go away. However, we DO need leaders that will explain WHY homosexuality is a problem to us Christians, and especially pro-homosexual legislation in a cogent and more loving way.

Meanwhile, satan marches on with his plans, which are very effective to get beyond the non-discerning Christians and our leaders.

A Must See TV Program

This morning (Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010) This Week, the ABC Sunday news program, held a town hall meeting on the topic, "Should We Fear Islam?" Franklin Graham (son of Billy) was one of the participants and I think he did very well. Sadly, I'm also sure that many people watching thinks he's bigoted. He isn't and I thought that was clear on the program. Sadly, Gary Bauer was also included and he did sound bigoted, especially when he got red in the face and his neck veins looked like they were going to pop out of his neck. Christiane Amanpour was the moderator as she has now taken over as anchor on the ABC Sunday program. On Amanpour's left were moderate muslims and non-muslim liberal-types. Also on video was Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the lady from the Netherlands (originally from Africa) who has a death warrant on her from many muslim groupsfor speaking out about her experience with Islam. Sadly, I didn't feel the program participants on the moderate muslim-liberal side gave her much credence. I certainly would after reading about what she went through. By the way, she is a former member of the Dutch Parliament so she has creedence.

But the highlight of the program was an Islamic cleric who said, and I am not misquoting him and I am not kidding either, he said that eventually east will meet west and all will be under Islam and there will be a muslim flag flying over the White House. I think the sad thing is that so many people thought he was a joke. But many of us don't think it might be such a joke. Please do watch this if you have Broadband for the video. The link is below. On the right side of the large video at the top of the page are three smaller ones. Click on the middle one--the one that is entitled, "Town Hall Debate: Should Americans Fear Islam?"

Link to the program is here.