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Monday, December 26, 2011

A Response to Russell Moore's "Women Stop Submitting to Men"

A few weeks ago, Russell Moore wrote a blog post about how women should, outside of a marriage covenant, stop submitting to men. I loved the post, outside of a few messages from my pastor, I'd never really heard such statements made. Moore (who I'm a huge fan of, by the way) says that the poor and demeaning manner in which women are often treated and value themselves is all because women too often submit to all men. He even attributes the pornography industry and restaurant chains which "enable men to pay to ogle women in tight T-shirts while they gobble down chicken wings." You go, Russell Moore. Seriously. Awesome, awesome post chocked full of truth. 

But. (You knew it was coming.)

I'm totally tracking with Russell. He talks about how all creatures are created for submission:

It just isn’t so that women are called to submit while men are not. In Scripture, every creature is called to submit, often in different ways and at different times. Children are to submit to their parents, although this is certainly a different sort of submission than that envisioned for marriage. Church members are to submit to faithful pastors (Heb. 13:17). All of us are to submit to the governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). Of course, we are all to submit, as creatures, to our God (Jas. 4:7).


Here's my beef: If men are called to submit to God first and God-sanctioned institutions second, and then be a leader of the institution of the family, how are they ever going to learn to lead? I personally think the church has to be the safest and best place for men to learn to become leaders, both as husbands and fathers, long before they earn those titles. This summer I saw firsthand men slowly and steadily learn to lead, because headstrong women (myself included) took a half step back and created a leadership vacuum. The men I was with this summer were preaching sermons by the end of our time together - something I highly doubt they would've done if they hadn't stepped up to the plate by us ladies stepping aside. Am I saying we submitted to them? Not necessarily. Am I saying we made them grow a little? Perhaps. Did it work and are those men better suited to be loving husbands and awesome fathers? Absolutely. Granted, I'm not taking all the credit here, I think being a part of a challenging church brought this on, which is the point. The church needs to be a place where men learn to lead, not a place where women defy gender roles and stick it to the guys just because they can, hogging leadership positions and coordinating every church-held event. Women, yes, by all means, please stop submitting to men, and let them become godly leaders by allowing them to step up to the plate. 

Maybe don't volunteer to pray every single time the opportunity presents itself. Try not being type A and take control every time you're in a group situation. Try letting the guys lead, when they become men, their wives will thank you for it.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Festive (& Easy) Christmas Cards

Getting presents on Christmas is awesome. It's such a sweet reminder of the greatest gift we've been given - the Gospel. But let's be real, everyone loves getting a sweet card before opening their Christmas gifts. So, since you're probably hanging out, waiting for time to pass like myself until tomorrow morning, whip up some of these cute cards to go along with your presents!

Here are a few of the ones I made:




Yes, you did just see Hello Kitty cards. Yes, I'm almost 21 years old. Don't judge. I love Hello Kitty, I hate cats. My life is a paradox. 

Here are some card-crafting tips:
Use lots of different papers - both patterned and plain, and layer them. You can add some detail by using fun scrapbook scissors as well (but don't get crazy).
Use pre-made goodies like these if you aren't looking to spend lots of time making cards. I got these super awesome HK 3-D stickers from the dollar section at Target.
Add dimension! Not only did I use layered stickers, I used these nifty pop-up adhesive dots to add interest to the cards.
Use different textures! I added rick-rack and ribbon to most of the cards. It's a super simple detail that really adds a lot. I also used foam stamps with acrylic paint to throw in another texture.

For the cards themselves I used pre-cut cardstock cards with envelopes. It saved me from cutting out cards & assembling envelopes.

Happy crafting & Merry Christmas :)

Friday, December 23, 2011

Homemade Lotion

If you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen homemade lotion from Patchwork Times. It's supposed to be pretty awesome so I decided to try it out. 

It only takes 3 ingredients:16 oz. baby lotion (I used 18 because each bottle has 9 oz.), 8 oz. vitamin E cream, 8 oz. Vaseline. Check, check, and check.
I just measured the ingredients out (remember 8 oz. in a cup!) and got to blending.
I blended the ingredients for about 4-5 minutes, long enough for it to resemble icing. Unfortunately I didn't bring my KitchenAid home so I had to use my mother's ghetto mixer :(

I used the bottles everything came in to repackage the lotion. You could totally get crafty and give this away as a gift in cute mason jars with fabric covered lids.

Overall, I liked the lotion. I was afraid it would be too thick and greasy from the Vaseline and vitamin E but it wasn't! And, it smelled like babies. Some might see this as a draw back, I saw it as a plus. If you're not into smelling like an infant, you could try out Johnson & Johnson's other baby lotions - they have vanilla and lavender varieties.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: The Old Well

In celebration of the semester coming to a close, procrastination, detailed study guides, having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. and Praise the Lord the beginning of Christmas! 

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A Day in the Life: Thrifting!

A few Saturdays ago I had my first legit thrifting adventure! I went with my sweet friend, Ellen, to the GCF in Brier Creek, NC. It was totally intimidating at first, but we found some really awesome things!
Ellen racked up with multiple cute, but classic skirts. 
I landed a navy polka-dotted shirt from Target (with the tags still on!) and a dress from H&M! I was very pleased. (Please note inflatable Santa in the corner. Thank you.)
I am a little sad I didn't walk away with this gem though... life must go on.

A few tips from my first experience:
  • Look through your closet before you go and take a mental inventory. If you have too much gray (like myself), go for other colors. The GCF in Brier Creek is organized by color which was super helpful for this!
  • Pick out a classic piece from your closet (a simple skirt or cardigan, for example) and try to find a more vibrant thrift piece to accompany it. 
  • Be patient! We were in the store for an hour or so and ran out of time! Have a good hour and a half or two hours to spend thrifting so you can really dig and find good deals.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Bible is ALL About Jesus

Check out this all-star. He puts my Bible Drill skills to shame. He goes through and shows how every book of the Bible is about Jesus. It's fantastic, especially as we look towards Christmas. Go ahead, try and not tear up.