Meditation Monday - belated. Headstrong or Headship?

Instead of creating a whole new topic I thought it would be great to carry on along the same lines of the previous two Meditation Mondays and quote another extract from our book. Just to update you, the French version is ready and is being printed while I type! As we have our own Publishing House (called OASIS) we are able to distribute our own books. Here a sneek peak of our cover of the French edition. I am very excited about it and hope it will be a tool to help many couples find harmony in their marriage.


(front and back cover spread)

As said the title of our Book is: The Mission of Submission (digging out the root of conflict and tension in marriage). The red thread that runs through all the chapters is extracted from the Biblical truths of the source of Authority and our respect for it.
Our emphasis is on how we have discovered these Biblical principles work and have given us harmony in our marriage.

The verse to underline this meditation is: 1 Cor.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 Christ is God".

Quote:

The whole teaching of male headship is one of the most attacked and controversial teachings in the Bible. But why is it so difficult for a human being, man and woman alike, to have someone placed above us? Is it so difficult for us Christians to see that attitude has probably everything to do with the seed of independence the enemy has planted in each and everyone of us, since we all descend from Adam and Eve? Everybody wants to be independent and a 'no-one-tells-me-what-to-do' attitude is something most people actually like and respect. But God knows what the origin is, and He wants us to be totally dependant upon Him!

Jacqueline and I both have come to cherish this principle. I for one know for sure I want to be dependant on my Head, Jesus-Christ: He knows best, and His intentions are always for my good! As for Jacqueline, sometimes she just comes to me, sighs a sigh of relief, and says something like: "How wonderful not having to be responsible for everything, and to take shelter under your headship!" During our seminars teaching on this subject, it is such a pain to see women burdened, carrying a grim look on their faces, bearing loads God never intended them to carry. Often the husband sits next to them appearing very laid-back, not really conscious of any real dangers.

I remember a conversation I had once with a couple. The woman was burdened and stressed, and the man was just sitting comfortably on the couch. At one point, he said to me pointing at his wife: "She is like a watchdog, when something is wrong, she'll sniff it out!" He actually thought he was giving her a compliment! I told him that he was supposed to be the guardian of his home, and that God wanted him to take up this responsibility, and to relieve her from such a heavy burden! That earned me a smile from the woman!

We have come to see that most women deep down yearn for loving, caring, protecting headship. And no wonder! God created it like that. In the end, we will all be the more happier and relaxed if we just take the position God has assigned to us. This yielding always carries the approval and blessing of God, for both men and women.

Unquote

I know there are women whose husbands don't take in their place as Head of the home as well as women who take over their husband's responsibility. I have been there! It is true that I have found more harmony in my being by heeding to this loving advice from God! It also released my husband to find his true identity as head of the home!

That was it for today, although short and incomplete I hope that you can relate to it so that it will be a blessing. Of course, this subject goes much further and is handled in a deeper way in our book.

Many blessings, Jacqueline x

Hero Arts challenge

Every day this week one of the winners of the 'Win a day on the blog' celebrates a day on the blog sharing the cards she made hosted by a particular Hero Arts artist. The challenge for us is to make a card which has been inspired from that persons gallery. I have made two so far and will share the ones I made for today.



Today's chosen designer is Kiara. I love her blog and the cards she posts. I made some scraplings - these are normal cards, cut in half.

On another subject, these are the three ATC's I received in a swap which was part of the competition launched by Crafty Individuals in Dec. 2008. It was really lovely to see somebody's elses work from close up.



I am working on a meditation monday, as I missed it this week. Sorry about that!

Stretching your stamps

I was on a website yesterday that I haven't been on for ages and ages and got instantly inspired by a lady who had 'stretched' her stamps. I so liked what she had done that I experimented too.

The two stamps I used are from a SU set (from 2006) and are used on top of each other to give the effect of a lilac blossom. Today they have been used to create a... tree.... Don't laugh, but I made the tree trunk myself and remembered how I used to draw birds at school...
I really enjoyed doing something different for a change!

First sign of Spring

SPRING has returned to my garden - we are having lovely sunny weather too!

Using up papers!

I have 6x6 papers in the drawer that I never use so I made it a challenge to use papers that don't attract me right away but are nice in themselves. For example on this card I used a paisley background, somehow I have gone off of the paisley design, but now I like it again!



I'm glad I found a home for this striped paper - I've had it for ages! I stamped the face on a poem and although the face is not smiling the words on the poem are joyful!






The colours I love on this last card. These are the papers I try to save and not use!

Medition Monday : A helper

(My valentine roses)

As said last week, I would quote another paragraph from our book, but this time a piece that my husband René has written to keep things in balance.

It is a short piece but I hope that it helps us crawl behind the eyeballs of our husbands to see things from their perspective..

We are all different and have our own temperements and characters, but some basic needs in men and women seem to be universal.


Quote:

When God began to think about the woman, His words were: "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper meet for him." These last words 'meet for him' literally mean 'as one standing in front of him, his equal'. This is another significant indication that, as far as personal value is concerned, for God men and women are 'standing in front of each other', or, are each others equals.

Here's where things can become a little tricky, and where the skilful work of the enemy comes into play. In one way or the other, the devil has managed to link the concept of helper with the concept of being inferior, and, the other way around, the fact of being served as automatically being superior. So multitudes of women have started to believe that the fact that they are a helper means they are just a little less than males. The other way around, scores of men, consciously or subconsciously, think that the fact that they are male, means they are in fact a little superior, which has never been God's thought and intention at all! Later, we'll very clearly and unambiguously prove that God, from the beginning onwards, created man and woman equal, as far as their personal value is concerned. We are dealing here with a difference in position and function, which isn’t the same as a difference in personal value.

Stronger even: the word for 'helper' is 'Ezer' which also can mean 'to save'. In the same way that God was a Helper and Salvation for Israel, the woman 'saves' the man from his loneliness.

And how true this is! Before Jacqueline received her revelation about how God wanted her to be my helper, showing her this goes beyond being on the Advisory Committee only, I sometimes felt so very lonely! Yes, I knew she was with me, loved me, and was loyal to me, but I just couldn't get away from the overwhelming feeling of inner loneliness I often had. Every time I was in some sort of problem, struggling not to drown, Jacqueline would take her place on the sideline, throwing counsel at me about how to get out of the water, hoping I would grab the lifeline she suggested and pull myself out. What I really needed was her being right next to me to face the battle together! Now, it isn't the same anymore, thank God! Yes, she does give me advice from time to time, but only when I feel her arms around me! Loneliness, be gone! Intimacy, come in!

Unquote

I so hope these words speak for themselves! I know my husband is not waiting for my advice, he probably knows the solution better than me - he is looking for intimacy!

Another fav stamp card

This butterfly stamp is so decorative and I have the feeling that I can cheer any scene up with her!



I hadn't used my alcohol inks for a long time so I needed to experiment again! I stamped the dandelion stamp (Hero arts) twice onto the background and white embossed. The butterfly is cut out from patterned paper and I used buttons to accentuate the flowers and a vintage button for the butterfly.

ATC Competition by Crafty Individuals

Around Christmas time there was an ATC competition hosted by Crafty Individuals which I took part in. Apparently there were aloads of entries. I didn't get anywhere but had fun making these. They were made from their line of paper, stamps and images.



Talking about Christmas, I wanted to put this grid on my blog which reminds me of that time. Our son Joël was at home with one of the other students from his Bible school. We had one day of snow which I captured here.

Several things

A couple of tags I made recently. The wings of the little girl on the first tag were made by stamping the latest butterfly stamp that Hero Arts brought out.



I made a grid of the photos taken this and last year of the area in which I live. These are mostly just outside my front door - such a breathtaking view of the mountains!


(Please click on the photo for a closer look)


I posted this card last week on my blog - I am wondering whether anybody other than Suzanne got the clue?? I stamped the image of the face on an image of a ballerina...

Favorite stamp - Hero Arts challenge

The challenge on the Hero Arts website this week was to make a card with your favorite HA stamps.



Mine are still the droopy flower and the definition stamps. They are so versatile and can be used with any style of card. I love the new stamps but for me nothing can really replace these real-flower stamps they brought out.

Meditation Monday - Respect

As I have mentioned on my blog before, René my husband, and I have written a book about our marriage and how God has formed us to understand what a Marriage Covenant is through His Word and our experiences over the last twenty years.

For me, it is a little over two years now that I received a life-changing revelation from the Holy Spirit through which I actually saw the state of my own heart and did something about it!
The result was that it changed my husband too... for the better. Since then we have discovered how the blessing of God has somehow taken over our lifes as each of us take in our place and fulfill our God-given roles, as God created them!

René has done intense study on this subject in the Bible, Old and New testament for many years now - his discoveries have been amazing, deep and liberating!!

I thought I would share an extract of our book! It is part of my section about the woman's role. My next share on this subject will be an extract from René's side - to keep it in balance.....

Quote:

A book I received as a wedding present called 'The Total Woman' by Marabel Morgan helped me further in my search for intimacy in my marriage. It gave me several keys to a better understanding and adaptation to my husband. One of them was 'respect', and I realized I had never made this an issue. It is something to be worked on daily! The Bible says in Eph. 5:33 (Amplified version): ''and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband (that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him and loves and admires him exceedingly)." I had never taken that seriously or meditated over it! I often had the attitude 'he needs to deserve it first'! I also heard a lot of people say, "respect has to be earned" which I just swallowed without thinking what God thought about it! Actually I believe the Holy Spirit showed me that the Bible asks me to give it to my husband by faith, opening the door for him to act upon it. If I do not give, he cannot receive. But what is respect? Well, to give an example, how would you act if the president of the United States came to visit you? Think about how you would behave. Wouldn’t you show respect and do your best to say the right words and to pay attention to your manners? I believe God asks us to have this kind of respect towards our husbands, just as we should have this kind of respect towards Him! I practice these things now and I have to say that the Lord then deliberately chooses to bless me, and a lot of times through my husband. Because I give these things attention I have seen that René has a sparkle in his eye and a sense of well-being! Because his needs are met he can meet God's needs for the Kingdom, and he is open to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit and hear God's voice.

Unquote

Something to meditate on??

Jacqueline

Vintage

I love this stamp and do not use it enough. I think the face is lovely with it's expression.



This just fell together in a natural way, that's how I love crafting!

Hero Arts weekly challenge - Birthday card

I wanted to try the Art creations friday challenge but just couldn't get anywhere with the image...just no inspiration.



Then I saw an e-mail I hadn't opened yet from Basic Grey showing off their new line of papers and that's when the inspiration struck! So I thought - go with the flow, use the inspiration you receive and change the plan. So I stamped my own background paper. It is inspired by Basic grey who have brought out a PP with birdcages on it.

Vintage green

This card was born from a scrap I had stamped after I had stamped my original image, with the left-over ink - which was enough to give me a second background panel.



The lady is from a tuscan rose CD of vintage images.

Tags from the scrapbasket

Once again it was time to have a little tidy up to find a home for all the projects gone wrong, backgrounds made but not used, stamped images for projects that didn't work out, etc. etc. all brought together in a couple of tags, which I just love making in the grid fashion.



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I would like to thank Stacey and Lyn for the awards which I have placed in the side bar so that I can enjoy them for a little while.