Wednesday Womanhood: The Blessings of Loving My Children

This is the third post on the book Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney. It is one of those books I recommended HERE. The first post in this series is called Getting back to God's Plan and Purpose. The second is called "The Delight of Loving My Husband" which is one of the seven virtues in the book.

Another virtue is "The Blessings of Loving My Children." Mrs. Mahaney begins this chapter with her observations of how families are getting along in public at an amusement park on a hot, sticky day. C.J. and Carloyn Mahaney marveled at the mass crankiness as C.J. asked, "Where are all the families we saw on the cover of the brochure?"

She then points to the fact that we don't have to go to an amusement park to run across crabby people. You can find families like these anywhere. She also points out that we all have days where we can be both exhilarated and exasperated.

However, she writes, our perspective of motherhood should not be defined by our diverse experiences and fluctuating emotions... Our Titus 2 passage exhorts us to love our children... even if you don't have children... the Biblical principles in this chapter will serve you in any relationships you have with children...

I love this chapter. It is funny, encouraging and convicting.

When you are handed your first baby you may have heard a nurse say, "Congratulations... your sleeping days are over." Mrs. Mahaney (and I) are convinced that no profession requires harder work or greater sacrifice than motherhood.

As usual, I am tempted to type out this entire chapter... actually the entire book. BUT, I want you to buy it. Mrs. Mahaney asks and answers some very important questions like, "...But what if you have lost your smile? How do you find renewed joy to sacrificially serve and tenderly love your children?

She reminds us that, Not one of us is equal to the task of mothering, but He will help us in our weakness. (That's all you get... GO BUY IT)

Wednesday Womanhood: The Delight of Loving My Husband

This is the second post on the book Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney. It is one of those books I recommended HERE. THe first post in this series is called Getting back to God's Plan and Purpose.

The first of the seven virtues in this book is the title of this post, "The Delight of Loving My Husband." Remember, I only write about these books to whet your appetite so that you will go out and buy the book!!!

Mrs. Mahaney begins this chapter with her courtship adventure with Mr. Mahaney and the "knowing laughter" of the coworkers in her office about the reality of their future. "Just wait," they would tell [her]. "He's 'Mr. Wonderful' now, but that will all change when you get married."

These women were apparently relentless in their cynicism and unanimously agreed that the fairy tale would end shortly after [their] honeymoon.

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Wednesday Womanhood: Getting back to God's Plan and Purpose

I would like to spend the next few Biblical Womanhood posts introducing Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney. It is one of those books I recommended HERE.

I was originally informed that this was a book written by Carolyn McCulley who is a single woman that is reputed as a God-honoring and encouraging example of what singles should strive to be when seeking to serve the Lord in their singleness. Upon checking this out, I found that it wasn't Carolyn McCulley but Carolyn Mahaney, wife of CJ Mahaney, that wrote this book... but having come to know Ms. McCulley through her encouraging writing, I would not have been surprised if she had written this book from a singles perspective, even though this book includes chapter titles like "The Delight of Loving My Husband" and "The Blessing of Loving My Children," which are 2 of the 7 virtues. Why? Because though I believe God's truths are experientially important, they are certainly knowable and experiential from a differet angle; such as a single being called to write Biblically on being a wife and mother. (essentially Biblical submission and servanthood topics that are expressed with delight in serving the Lord in His will according to His precious standard.)

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Wednesday Womanhood: Women's Ministry Pt. 3

The past 2 Wednesdays I have posted on the book Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt. This will be my last post on this book. If you have not purchased it yet, I highly recommend that you do. It is EXCELLENT. I will end this series with this quote on complementarianism and why this position is essential to a God-honoring women's ministry within the local church and in marriage. Next week I will post a series of introductions on another book that I recommended in THIS POST.

The complementarian position acknowledges that God created men and women equal in being but assigned different ---but equally valuable--- functions in His kingdom and that this gender distinctiveness complements, or harmonizes, to fulfill His purpose.
Complementarians believe that the Bible teaches that God has created men and women equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in their function ---with male spiritual leadership in the home and believing community, the Church being understood as a part of God's design. That means that both men and women are image-bearers of the living God... We are equals before the cross, brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. But God has made us different. He has given certain functions and roles to men, and certain functions and roles to women, that are distinct.
By contrast, egalitarianism cannot come to grips with the uniquenesses of man created as male and female and asserts that there is no legitimate difference of role function between men and women in the home and church, at least not that allows for male spiritual leadership. Our conviction is that egalitarianism devalues God's creation design and redemptive calling of women. It wrongly equates any acknowledgment of role distinctions with inequality and discrimination.
...There is nothing more beautiful, satisfying, delightful, and God-glorifying than when men and women live and work together in complementarity.

Wednesday Womanhood: Women's Ministry Pt. 2

Here is Part 1.

The book, Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt begins with:

The Subject of this book is not women; it is the Church of the Lord Jesus. Though the focus of this book is one specific area of the church's ministry, a Biblical understanding of the church acknowledges that no part stands alone. A women's ministry is one component of the total life and work of a local church. The authors of this book have had seperate journeys to a shared commitment to women's ministry in the local church, but for both of us this commitment is one part of a larger commitment to and love for the household of God. As Dr. Edmund Clowney wrote, "If we lack interest in the church we lack what for Jesus was a consuming passion. Jesus loved the church and gave Himself up for it (Eph. 5:25)."

Who is teaching the women of your church about the principles of womanhood? Your church or the world? Ligon Duncan calls the gender issues a wedge of a worldview megashift. His hardworking and very capable grandmother ably served the Lord and his people. He wrote about her, she had not the slightest desire to preach or hold the office of pastor and would have told any woman who did she was "plumb crazy." In regards to his mother who thinks theologically and deeply, writes beautifully, is a gifted public speaker, works harder than anyone [he] knows, and has poured her whole life into the service of Christ and His people, he writes that she never aspired to the eldership, nor resented male leadership... she gloried in it... delighted to support them... all the while embracing the Biblical teaching male-female role relationships.

The more we understand God's sovereign love, the more we gratefully submit to HIS authority. It is sovereign grace that empowers and compels us to be women who live under the authority of God's Word.

***Now consider reading ...recovering the sufficiency and authority of Sola Scriptura by Campi. He writes, We need to get back to doing ministry His way, according to His Word, empowered by His Spirit, and doing all things for His glory alone.

Wednesday Womanhood: Women's Ministry

I had posted HERE books I recommend for Women's Ministry. I'd like to go through and introduce some of those books starting with Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt's book, "Women's Ministry in the Local Church."

I wanted to start with this book because they "walk through the Scriptures to help readers better understand what it means to have an effective, biblical women’s ministry in the church." It is a very well-written, much-needed, ESSENTIAL book that is a Biblically rich reference and practical guide for women's ministry. This is not just a book for women, but for the pastor, Elders and Deacons that desire their church to have a theological framework from which to build an effective, God-honoring, church edifying, complementary women's ministry.

I will begin with a few of my favorite quotes from this book and in the coming weeks elaborate on some of the content. This is definitely a book that you MUST have in your library.

If we're NOT captivated by the significance and beauty of the church, we will lack the motive-force to serve her because when we begin to serve God's people we quickly discover that they hurt and disappoint us. A biblical esslesiology reminds us that we have the privilege of following in our Saviour's footsteps and loving those who are not in and of themselves lovely.

As Christian's we are bearers of the image of God... Mankind, without living out the God-given distinction of male and female, relating to one another as God intended them to relate, CANNOT give adequate expression to this aspect of what it means to be created in the image of God. We must Biblically recognize and live-out the God-designed differences in our home and church for HIS glory. This is not something to apologize for, nor something to be ashamed of... but rather this is the way God made us to be and live, and it's better than any other way.

...when ordinary men, women, and children serve and are transformed by the extraordinary God of Scripture.

Wednesday Womanhood: Mind Games Women Play

Dan Phillips wrote a post called Games Women Play over a month ago that I just found. He linked to a Christianity Today article called Playing for Keeps that I have given my opinion on below. (All text from the original article will be italicized and grey)

Shannon Ethridge began the article with, ...it's no laughing matter that many adult women still play games, insisting on winning at all costs. I'm not talking about board games; I'm referring to the mind games women play in marriage...

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Wednesday Womanhood: Divinely Ordained Pursuit

...the goal of becoming a godly mother is the highest and most noble pursuit of womanhood. God has specially equipped women for that very purpose, and in Christ, women can experience profound satisfaction in that divinely ordained pursuit. They can be who God created them to be.---John MacArthur

It is one of my children's birthdays today. There are 8 people in our family... and 6 of the 8 people have birthdays between October and December. (3 of which are in October) So I am going to spend the day enjoying even more what God has created me to be by celebrating the day that the Lord brought this precious gift into my life.

However, I have to add to the quote above (because this was a sermon that John MacArthur spoke on Mother's Day awhile back) that sometimes God creates some women to be single for His glory and they find profound satsifaction in serving the Lord as a single. God creates some women to adopt children instead of give birth to them for His glory. I could go on. But I know that God is good and will not hold back anything good from His children... but sometimes what is good is a painful trial or a different path than what we imagined.

By the way, one of the best blogs out there written by a single Christian woman is Solo Femininity. Go check it out.

Also, a friend of mine is at a NANC (Nouthetic or Biblical Couseling) conference. We use to go to church together in Tulsa where Dennis Gundersen of Grace and Truth Books is the pastor. She wishes she had the skill to live blog like Challies but is going to be writing about the highlights. She writes, "I wish I could blog this conference for those who can't be here, but where do I begin, and where would I end?" Check her site out too. It is called Practicing Theology.

Wednesday Womanhood: A Divine Assignment

To the following I say "AMEN." Read on:

"...Homemaking is a career. The dictionary defines the homemaker as "one who manages a household, especially a wife and mother." There are reasons why I believe this career is important enough to demand a woman's diligent preparation, foremost commitment, full energies, and greatest creativity. A homemaker does her job without the enticement of a paycheck, but she cannot be duplicated for any amount of money, for "She is worth far more than rubies" (Proverbs 31:10). Dorothy Morrison wrote, "Homemaking is not employment for slothful, unimaginative, incapable women. It has as much challenge and opportunity, success and failure, growth and expansion, perks and incentives, as any corporate career." ... The best way to make homemaking a joyous task is to offer it as unto the Lord; the only way to avoid the drudgery in such mundane tasks is to bathe the tasks with prayer and catch a vision of the divine challenge in making and nurturing a home. ...Despite the clear positive principles and the precise warnings of consequences for those who ignore or distort God's plan for the home and family, we find ourselves living in the very "upside-down" world the prophet Isaiah described:

You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"? (Isaiah 29:16).

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Wednesday Womanhood: What's the big deal?

Wednesday is when I attract the most blogging trolls because I write about Biblical Womanhood.Why am I on the chopping block for Biblical Womanhood? Because I love the Lord and His Word of Truth... and I am thankful to be a part of a church that does, too. I don't look forward to the trolls, but I do love to write about Biblical womanhood... and I love being a woman.

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