The Lord accepts us whatever we do, whoever we are, and however we decide to behave. But, I think this passage really backs up what I’ve been feeling lately: to not be controlled by my sin. Of course I am going to sin, but that doesn’t mean I have to live by it and take my identity from it. I cannot change my ways on my own, I need the Lord for that. I think the biggest area I struggle with is thought life. Many sins are committed there, but I don’t want that to be the way I think. I want to think righteous things! I want my thought to be focused on others through encouragement, ways to love them, and what to talk to them about.

It’s something else, trusting the Lord in your life… But trusting in the Lord with your thought life, to me, is unthinkable.

See what I did there… lol.

I guess there’s a lot of stuff you can get from this passage, but that’s what I’ve been going through and what I feel like I needed to hear… It’s kind of crazy how the Word works like that. It isn’t “up for interpretation” in the modern sense, rather it’s applicable to everything… for the most part. I think.

Hope is like letting a blind man see

Hope is light when all else is dark

Hope is being wrong, but being okay.

Hope is when you realize that you are not the most important thing in the world
(What a relief)

Hope is relief

Hope is something given,  but hardly taken
because people choose to rely on themselves, which gives no hope

Hope is life worth living

Hope is loving and loving and loving

Hope is trusting and trusting and trusting

Hope is trusting and loving and trusting that someday you will be loved

Hope is knowing you are loved, so what the hell!

Hope is understanding you have hope

Hope is doing without knowing, but hoping and trusting

Hope is looking up when you feel like looking down

Hope isn’t inside YOU, it is inside HIM

Hope makes life worth living

Hope is for other people

Hope is for the ones who don’t want to hope

Hope is undeserved

Hope lets us live and love

Hope lets people go on without knowing, but with hoping.

After family prayer and getting into the word and talking with the Lord, I am always filled with such joy that it is bursting from me. Today, I realized again how great hope is for us. I have such a hard time trusting the Lord with e v e r y t h i n g. But why should I when he has given us hope? He promises everything will work out, maybe not the way you want it to, but the way it should. I used to think hope was just something to get me through life. However, the Lord is showing me it is so much more. Hope and trust, I am finding, go hand in hand. When we trust in the Lord is when we have hope for not just our future, but for others. Not just for me and my needs, but for humanity. The Lord is going to win in the end.

Psalms 71:5

O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from my childhood.

If only I have trusted the Lord from my childhood, than maybe I would understand what hope is more and understand who the Lord is more. Damn, I am blown away by this hope. Right now I feel it, but even when I don’t feel it I will have it because the Lord is in my heart. Wow… I want everyone to feel this hope, this meaning, this relationship.

Ps 118:8

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in people.

I apply this verse to myself: it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in myself.

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMN. Ok, good night!

The Lord works miracles. It is apparent all through scripture, new testament and old. His power is mighty, yet his control is fierce. These profound miracles are sometimes scary and overwhelming. However, these miracles are also a testament of his love. If he can rebuke a storm, imagine what his love is like.

This is what I have been learning lately. The Lord is great. He can handle anything I have to offer and everyone else’s problems. I guess that hit me when my sisters confronted me. That is when I realized I must change. If I don’t I would surely become useless. Uselessness is every person’s nightmare. Look at history. Humanism is so apparent because people tried so desperately to believe in themselves. (IP retreat 2012 what what.)

On top of that, learning about God’s rest in IP was very convicting. I remember struggling with the concept the first time I hear Keith teach it. This time it was refreshing, but so much more desirable. To be in a place where you can rely on the Lord so you are at rest? That sounds amazing. I can imagine a place where I go to the Lord everyday and turn it over to him. A place where all these thoughts whizzing around my head are taken captive before the Lord. And a place of celebration in everything the Lord has given us. People, circumstances, persecution, whatever. Celebrating in God’s rest.

Adding on, I want to be useful. I want to have relationships where I am contributing, not just taking. I want to share the gospel to those who have not heard. I want to take every thought captive. And I want to turn every day to the Lord for our days are numbered and to do something significant every day would be such an honor. Basically, I want to make God’s will my own. Do I? Do I really? Of course my flesh does not. My flesh would rather lie in bed all day, dreaming of my dream life in my dream chick flick with my dream romance and my dream prince charming. I’m weird like that.

So, I went to the Lord and asked him to change my heart. I am a princess who expects to get everything I want. I am immature, oversensitive, and I am rebellious at heart. This is not who I thought I was. I knew I was depraved, but I don’t think I believed it. I still fully don’t. I cry when I don’t get what I want and I can hardly deal with “suffering” when it comes my way. I don’t believe that everything good I have is from the Lord… and that deep down I am rebellious.

I need to learn how to be humble. How to love others without expecting love in return. I was so far away from this. I’d asked the Lord to change me before, but I felt this time was different. This time, I would be willing to do whatever it took even if it was hard for me because I couldn’t become complacent. Maybe I will hit a rough patch and want to turn back, but that is what my sisters in Christ are here for.

Why do I want to change? I am useless. I felt like I was not doing anything. What was the point of walking if I was not walking? If I make it through this step, I feel like I will be back on my feet with the Lord at my side. Hopefully.  I want to love others, to see people get to God, to help my sisters grow (instead of just pulling them down.) I want the Lord’s will to be my own. No matter what it takes. I do not want to do this for selfish reasons nor do I want to take this lightly.

The Lord has already started to change my heart. Which is one of those miracles. I feel like it should almost be placed next to the Lord flooding the earth. If he can do that, he can even change a stubborn heart like mine. Lol. He has given me people at Akron to love and reach out to. He has given me beautiful sisters who I am dying to help in every possible way (I owe them!!!!!!!!) He has given me opportunity to serve in Word. He has given me things to be thankful for and people to put that on. I cannot believe it. I do not deserve it. This happened in weeks. I feel my relationships are already getting better. Although I have to struggle to keep my thoughts focused, it is definitely opportunity to trust God. I don’t deserve this!

He has also given me hope. I am so sure I have put this verse on here many, many times, but it is all too aplicable: And hope does not disappoint for the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)

This is all too long for someone who is trying to get their focus off of themselves, but taking a step back and looking at what the Lord has been doing for me is simply overwhelming. I feel so loved!

Thank you, members of the BOC who spoke into my life. Thank you, Lord!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjB0B0ljJUA&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Testimony

WOW

Of course, any type of human trafficking is sickly, but to think of manual labor as an American makes me horrified in a different way.

Traffickers lure immigrants or desperate people who need money by putting out job offers through local papers or word of mouth. This is also how women get lured into the sex trafficking industry as well. They then smuggle these people into other countries (usually) and make them work long hours, in hard conditions, with little or no pay.

Out of all the stories I’ve read about victims, I am seeing just as many labor trafficking as sex trafficking. One story was a man from Bolivia, this one is from Call + Response. His name is Juan Rivera, 35 years old. He was coaxed into a job and felt he had to take it so he could support his family and his pregnant wife. He had to “pay his way over” (really give a ton of money to his traffickers so they could smuggle him into Russia.)

“But once in Russia, none of that money materialized. What awaited him instead were exploitation, overcrowded accommodation and hunger. It was then that Mr Rivera realised he had been a victim of human trafficking. “We had to work for 12 hours a day, even on Saturdays,” he remembers. “They didn’t give us a cent; only some food, which we had to share.” During more than two long months in Russia, he worked at a car factory and slept in a tiny room with several other Bolivians.”

He was unable to go out in public (outside) because his traffickers feared the police finding the smuggled workers. He finally escaped after a call to the Bolivian embassy in Moscow saying that more than 200 workers were being held with little food and poor conditions.

He was left with debt. He borrowed $9,500 and still owes his brother $7,000 which is a fortune in Bolivia (minimum living is $116 a month.)

“Many of these young people can’t see a future here,” he says. Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. “So when somebody tells them ‘If you go with us, you will work eight hours and gain $1,000 dollars a month’, this is attractive for them.

This situation is not uncommon. The article goes on to talk about sweatshops (especially in South America.) Poor families send young children to find work. Out in the world, by themselves, young children take what is first offered. Can you imagine how many of those are operated by North American companies? In the Bolivian mining territories, children are being sold to traffickers for as little as $3.

But, this is not just in the poor countries.  In Georgia (October 2011) a woman was sentenced to 11+ years for enslaving 2 Nigerian women to do manual labor for her. “Prosecutors said she lured the women to Georgia on separate occasions with false promises of education and then forced them to do menial labor. They say she routinely beat them, forced them to eat spoilt food and cut her lawn by hand” (Washington Post.)

In Philadelphia, two brothers smuggled poor Ukrainian villagers for work. Workers were forced to clean for long hours in retail stores and business offices for little or no pay. “Nine workers who testified described being raped, beaten or threatened by Omelyan Botsvynyuk, 52, a compact man who glared at prosecutors after the verdict and shouted at them in his native tongue as he was led out in handcuffs. He had denied the accusations when he testified.” (Forbes.com)

I’ve been trying to think of why people would do this to other people. I mean, Americans are lazy, but are we THAT lazy to be so cruel? This really does show how depraved people are becoming.

This makes me really appreciate some things… Things I should be thankful for:

• Freedom. We live in America, which is cushy so we aren’t even close to being in terrible conditions.
• Jobs. I have a nice college job in a retail store earning enough for college expenses. We don’t have to leave our families to go to a foreign country to make money. We don’t live in any kind of place where we would be so desperate to have to do that. We even have social security… for now.
• People who look out for me. If I ever get taken, I know there will be people who will look for me & search.
• Having the Lord. Protection. In whatever situation we are in, He is there.

Please, keep praying!
Thank you!

To make things clear, here is a little over view of what human trafficking is in their terms:

“Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. Victims of human trafficking are young children, teenagers, men and women. Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims annually are trafficked across international borders world wide, and between 14,500 and 17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of State.
Victims of human trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor.”

Wow. 100s of thousands? In fact, according to A21, someone gets trafficked once every 30 SECONDS. After drug dealing, sex trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world. Victims are forced to work in either prostitution or sex entertainment. I didn’t know this next part: “Trafficking also occurs in forms of labor exploitation, such as domestic servitude, restaurant work, janitorial work, sweatshop factory work and migrant agricultural work.”

Here is an A21 quote:

Human trafficking…[def.] the movement of individuals,with the primary purpose of forced servitude or sexual slavery.
Today, an estimated 27 million people are held in slavery, with statistics estimating that 99% of these victims are never rescued. Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime, and in some cases girls are forced to service as many as 40 men a day.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the issue of human trafficking and think that we cannot make a difference. But do not forget that each one of us has at our disposal the most powerful weapon of warfare –and that is prayer.
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My father in heaven.” Matthew 18:18-19 (NKJV)

If that doesn’t tear your heart up, they even list ways traffickers get women to be slaves. Some just keep women locked up while others manipulate women to be their objects. Some ways are: threatening exposing circumstances to families of the women, threaten physical harm to the women or their families, limiting time in pubic/isolation, isolation from family members or community, holding victims money for “safe keeping” (not,) debt bondage, confiscating passports/visas/identification, or “telling victims they will be imprisoned or deported for immigration violations if they contact authorities.”

Here are some more headlines (close to home):

“At least 1,800 people at any point in time in Ohio are held in trafficking bondage. Miami Fl, Portland OR, Las Vegas NV, and Toledo OH are the top 4 US gateway cities, but the Las Vegas child sex victims come mostly from Toledo, pushing it up to third place overall. It is incredible. Also incredible is that 6-month-old infants are used sexually and that men pay $1,000 for 20 minutes to use girls ages 6 months to 12 years in sex tourism.

Why is Toledo such a major gateway into this human rights violation industry? Many of the youngsters – not all girls, but some boys as well – are being groomed and offered to the sellers and pimps by grandmothers that had been prostitutes first, had guided or allowed their own children into the industry, and then began groom the grandchildren. This is third-generation human trafficking that is trapping grandmothers, daughters, and granddaughters as well as some men and boys.”

I guess one would expect this to happen in some random Eastern European countries, farther away from home, but the fact is it is right on our doorstep. I cannot emphasize that enough. I simply cannot imagine it growing, nor do I want to.

Also, here are some cool ways to help donate and support rescued victims:

• The A21 store
  http://www.thea21campaign.org/zen/
  Buy merchandise, it goes to helping shelters and women who have been freed. (I got a key necklace for Christmas. $25 dollars, you wear it and help spread the word!)
  
• Fairtrade
  http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
  A21 suggested this on their site. I guess women make products, we buy them, and they get money to live off of to start their life again.
  
• Nightlight
  www.nightlightinternational.com
  “NightLight is an international organization committed to addressing the complex issues surrounding trafficking and prostitution by catalyzing individual and community transformation. NightLight’s vision is to offer intervention to sexually exploited women and children, to enable them to discover their dignity, and to provide a program of holistic transformation, empowering them to live and work in their community.” (From their website.) Buy handmade jewelry from victims around the world. As far as I know you would be giving victims employment to try and get their life back on track, coming from around the world. (Cute stuff, too!!)
  

Okay, that’s post #2. It is easy to get depressed by this, also overwhelmed. It is important to remember God works miracles.  These article anger me, but it is also important to be praying for the traffickers, the people trafficking these women. That the Lord softens their hearts and urges them to repentance. I think the Lord can do a lot of good here.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

Thank you, again!

P.S. If you have the stomach for it, here is one story of a girl who was sold into the industry at age 6. Some of the gory details are her being raped 20 times a night… This will bring you to tears. http://www.callandresponse.com/blog/?p=2872

Also, here’s an American testimony… Very creepy.

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/10/17/cfp-not-my-life.cnn

I’m sure a lot of you have seen the movie “Taken.” It was a good movie. I would call it a horror movie because who could ever imagine being taken and sold into slavery on a trip to France? Well, that happens daily in Europe and it even happens in Ohio. Yes, the place where nothing happens, Ohio. Toledo is the third largest city for child sex trafficking. CHILD sex trafficking. Toledo is approximately 2 hours away from us. Is this getting real yet?

See…

I’ve known about sex trafficking since seeing Taken, but I haven’t given it much thought. I mean who wants to think about it? Girls from toddler ages to teenagers getting raped close to home isn’t exactly proper dinner conversation. It first hit home for me when I heard about the A21 campaign. And then I saw a video they posted called “In her shoes.” It shows a girl (high school age) getting ready for a formal while paralleling another girl, same age, getting thrown about, forced into cars, into rooms with men, sobbing over a sink and, at the end of the night, passing the high school girl (they are the same person.) When I saw this, my reaction was that this could have been me. I would have never thought this could happen to me, I mean I live in America. But I’ve even been to janky places like India and I wondered around Germany alone… I was never taken. Yet girls my age are taken. Every day.

We could sit back and shut our ears to the harsh truth surrounding this industry, or we could do something about it. I believe Xenos could do something about it. Donations, promotions, prayer… We have power here with the Lord & we could really be helpful and maybe even spread his word to these victims if we have the chance.

Now this is me on fire. I am currently doing more research & I will report back so that you can learn while I learn. In the meantime, check out A21 and PRAY! Here is a prayer guide: http://www.thea21campaign.org/downloads/a21prayerguide2010.pdf

(Courtesy of the A21 website. Link above if you cannot read the picture.)

Also, I have been in contact with some local Cleveland organizations and will be looking for opportunities to serve to help this cause while furthering research. (I’ve also asked my high school newspaper to do an article about it, but we’ll see where that goes. lol)

If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering/donating/information, my e-mail is ellmo2011@sbcglobal.net. I can hook you up with some contacts. I will be back soon with more information, statistics, and ways we can help!

Thank you!

I read the blog which is about God’s love and I was like… I wrote that? I’ve changed so much, but lately I’ve been so selfish! And I didn’t realize this until now? Have I been blind? Honestly, my first thought was how could God let me get to this point? But I think I know the answer to that question…

How could I let me get to this point? God only changes you if you want to be changed and I wasn’t letting him touch me. Man, I just feel really humbled right now. It must be a pride thing… I thought I was doing fairly descent with Him, but I’ve been focusing on all the wrong things.

Anyway, I write these blogs to express my feelings, but also so that whoever reads this can learn from my mistakes. I’ve been sinking in my spiritual walk with the Lord and it is not pleasant. So I decided to ask myself if this is something I really wanted… My first answer was: I don’t want to do anything (which scared me because that shows how far I’ve fallen.) But I look at who I am and how I am affecting other people today compared to how the Lord has used me before & I have realized, I want to be useful. I’m called to be useful. What is the point of my being if not to do the Lord’s work? And why wouldn’t we want to do that? What else is more fulfilling? Maybe the reason I’ve been so into myself is because I haven’t been into the Lord… Sorry, this is like what went through my head (all about me, I know it’s pathetic.)

I really encourage anyone out there who is struggling with being complacent in their walk to go to God and look at what he has given you compared to what you have given you… And if you decide it is something you want to do (do work for God,) then to work on making His will your will.. That is not going to come naturally…. Trust me. It requires discipline and depending on the Lord which are 2 things easier said than done.

I will report back & let you know how this goes for me… I will be with my sisters in Christ about this too. They’ve been so encouraging thus far so I really think that it’s time for me to stop focusing on myself and start loving others.

So now I blogged it, now the world knows, now I have a little something extra to hold me accountable… HAHA. Thank you everyone for putting up with super selfish me these past few months. I will always be selfish, but you are more important to me than anything & have been for awhile. Thanks to the Lord.

Anyway, since I have been free of classes or responsibility of any kind, I have been totally slacking off. Is that possible when you don’t have anything else to do? Well, it is. I’ve just been laying in bed all day thinking “I should read my Bible,” but too lazy to move or “I should see how my friend is doing,” but my phone is so far away. Yeah, it is bad.

However, I decided to get my shit together and start caring about people… in little steps. So part of that was reading my Bible. Sometimes I read it just to say I read it. Maybe some people can relate to that, I know it is a stupid this to do, but what can I say so am I. Today, I actually opened my Bible and asked God to show me something.

I was supposed to be reading 2 Corinthians all week and tell my accountabilibuddy what I got out of it, but of course, I started it today. As I was reading, I realized this is my kind of book! For some reason I had this idea in my head Paul was more of a determined guy than an emotional softy. From this book, I’m sure it is in many other books he has written, it hit me that he DOES have emotions! Why had I not seen it before? For those of you who do not know me, I love emotions… Actually if you ask me in a couple hours from now I may say I hate them, but I guess that just kind of proves my point: I am very feelings based.

SO when I read chapter 2 vs. 4:

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

I was like: “AWE! Paul loves!” Literally, that’s what is written in my notebook. So that is what really peeked my interest to actually be interested in this book (which for however many years I have been a christian, I have never read. Hm.)

What really hit me was chapter 2 verses 14-17:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. ¹⁵ For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ¹⁶ to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not like many, ^[a]peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

This is interesting because, exactly one week ago at the Stripe home church’s prayer meeting (or whatever we are called) Tom talked to us about being more energetic in our home church. He has a very valid point. Our home church tends to be quiet during the teaching. Not just quiet, it is dead silence (shout out to Carrie Hemphill here who introduced me to a movie that will forever ruin that phrase for me.) So Tom was all, why aren’t we happy and interactive? What does this say to non believers? Do we have any reason not to be excited about the Lord?

After that little chat we had home church the following Tuesday and, I think, we were a bit better! However, this passage just hit the point Tom was making home for me personally.

Paul basically lays it out for us right here. We have no reason not to be enthusiastic about the Lord because God always leads us to triumph! Through us, he manifests the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. When I think of aroma I think of intoxicating. Like smelling something delicious  and being drawn to it.

He writes that we are a fragrance among those who are being saved (those who accept God’s grace) and to those who are perishing (those who reject it.) People are drawn to us because of God’s grace and his knowledge (I’d like to add to the list truth and security because that is what people want in my experience,) but also because we share God’s word with passion.

He continues by asking: And who is adequate of these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God (I am guessing Fundi’s and those churches who have church just to go to church and feel good about themselves,) but as from sincerity! He says “we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”

It is like we are born for this. Starting your new life when you accept Jesus Christ is like you have been washed with the most amazing perfume that no one has ever sensed before. People smell it and are drawn. So what are we going to do with out new scent? Sure, people come, but if we are not sincere and excited about the truth we have been given who will stick around? There will always be that scent, but if is not welcoming and rejoicing, then why stay.

I guess this is what I get for reading the Bible: awesomeness. I am really excited and cannot wait to talk to someone who is drawn by what the Lord has given us to confirm that it is the greatest thing humans can have!

So, here it is, the rough draft. I fixed it up and I don’t remember where i put the final… And I have yet to receive a grade… Lol yeah, here it is if you are at all interested.

(p.s. Most of my references are from A Woman’s Worth by Elaine Stedman.)

The treatment of women in different cultures varies. In America, time has changed the view of women from being a possession to men with no say in the judicial system, to beings held at a level of respect. Somewhere along the way some women wanted more than that, they wanted a skewed definition of “equality” with men. While feminists pursued this goal, they took it to a level higher than their original goal, setting themselves higher than men and trying to take over roles men naturally posses. Now, even current culture paints the woman strong and beautiful. The image of a supporting wife and loving mother, dedicated to her family has been forgotten. This persona has been taken over by a self-focused, career centered, powerful woman in an individualistic culture. Women are no longer the caregivers they should be, but feminist workaholics leaving the children of America with unstable ideas of what a working home looks like and the definition of love.

The inferiority of women has unfortunately been in existence and in practice for ages. In Plato’s age, 427 BC, the women’s social status “was very low. A woman’s main function was the reproduction of children, especially of sons,” according to Women Can be Priests. Even in more educated times, women were seen as possessions, property, or sex objects. This theory in Plato’s time was not very much changed through the generations of men. For most of this time, women lived this life: never a person, but a thing. This was not the right treatment for a part of man. A person is a person and women were taken away their rights to life. The exact opposite of this treatment happened when women started to live life for themselves. Feminism was the result of being hushed for most of their existence. Women stepped up and wanted to be treated like a person. After years of pulling for women’s suffrage in America, in 1920, it was finally granted. This was one step towards recognition for all women. For some time in the 1900’s, to most, women were thought of as innocent, kind, respectful nurturers. Man wanted to love a woman, one woman, his whole life. Women gained the respect they were searching for. However, since then, feminism has grown to another level. Women are naturally loving, caring, nurturing, compassionate, submissive, peaceful, wise, and respectful. When one hears the adjective womanly, one thinks of these traits. Even Merriam-Webster defines womanly as, “having or showing qualities (such as beauty or gentleness) that are expected in a woman.” The elegance and grace that comes with being a woman has been lost in today’s culture.

Some women have found the need to be equal to men. Looking at the natural tendencies of women and men, women have always been equal, but not the same. Men have their traits of being leaders, strong, willful, aggressive and so on, while women have theirs. The fact is, if women took on the roles of men, the world would be a very skewed towards a harsh, overtaking system. Without womanly traits, the world would not be as forgiving and without manly traits, the world would be too soft. Elaine Stedman, wife of famous theologian and researcher Ray Stedman wrote a book titled A Woman’s Worth about the role of a woman. She states, “The Christian view of equality is not a political issue, nor the battle between the sexes… Competition and comparisons cannot co-exist with the spiritual principle of equality!” Women and men are equally important, just in different ways so to demand more of that, would be overstepping the natural tendency of the world and throwing society into a shallow, competitive, much more aggressive way of life. Stedman further writes, “Each individual is individual. Equality in value does not imply sameness. Each of us has the privilege and responsibility of our own personhood. We must allow others that prerogative even when it differs from ours! We are equal in value, but different in expression sexually, culturally, racially, in the exercise of spiritual gifts and in personality variations.”

Lucia McMahon wrote an article on women being great educators of our society. McMahon wrote, “Of the utmost importance are women, education, and society.”  There is no denying one sex is greater than the other, they are uniquely equal.

The effect of the successful businesswoman on the culture has been overpowering. Feminism may have triggered it with the want for women to live as a strong, independent woman, without fears or restraints. However, because women have stepped up in their strength, their families, husbands, and men in general have been pushed aside. “New conceptions about women as strong and independent forced men to renegotiate own their own identities,” author Peter Tragos states in the article Monster Masculinity: Honey, I’ll be in the garage reasserting my manhood. In this very interesting article, Tragos states how women are being pushed by cultural standards to hold up the household and work in this sad economy, but also to have more children and be a mother. Tragos reiterates the obvious: how this is just impossible. For a woman to hold any kind of job would mean she must be away from her family. Being away from a family unit daily, or even part time, leaves children and husbands with no one to take care of them. It is often said that being a mother is a full time job. Imagine women stepping up to make money for a family or even decide to start their own career, the family would be left in the midst, without a proper structure resulting in children unfamiliar with parents and disconnected relationships in the home and life. If one cannot love family, they will have trouble through the rest of their lives.

Tragos also points out that as women become stronger, men become weaker. He said, “but the trend toward more androgynous gender expectations in the postfeminist era is the likely beginning. As traditional notions of femininity were redefined over the last few decades, traditional notions of masculinity were naturally called into question.” The result of this can be observed anywhere in the United States. In Buffalo, New York, organizer of the Buffalo Christian Center, Jim Swearengin, sees men growing weaker as time goes on. What is starting to happen in inner city areas is that men go from woman to woman seeking shelter and money because the women are the ones who have to take care of their children single handedly since the men who parented them have fled. The results may not be this drastic, but in how many homes do you see mothers working and leaving children in day care. This does not mean that women cannot be their own person, but once they have a family to look after, they have to think of some people other than themselves which can be very hard in this individualistic culture, but necessary.

The stay at home mom is rarely seen today, but greatly awed over. Some hardly know how it is possible anymore. Stedman, after years of being married, knows the hardship and also know how to accomplish it. She describes a rare find of a woman who, “will not need to use you or anyone else to sustain her identity. She is free to be honest, loving, enjoying all of life to its fullest, and freeing you and all who meet her to enjoy life with her (or without her)! She is a woman of integrity, who will not compromise her spiritual wholeness by flaunting her sexuality or playing fraudulent games with anyone. She will not try to play God, nor will she expect you to play God with her.” These women are rare because it is hard to find a girl confident in herself, most cases because her faith lets her, but also humble enough to be submissive. Culture has turned the word humble into weak, a negative connotation, but humility is needed in any home, relationship, and woman. For a household to be healthy, a woman or mother needs to learn to be submissive. Although feminists would find this an outrage, submission is nothing to be ashamed of. It is the humble that are rewarded. “Submission is a subtle and sensitive role in human relationships. Apart from a secure spiritual identity, it will be seen as a threat to personal autonomy. With her God-given sensitivity and a will subject to his loving wisdom, a woman can, by her example, teach this healing, cohesive principle to husband, family, church, and society. Will we relinquish this privilege and responsibility to a self-centered insistence on our rights?” Stedman concludes summarizing what a woman’s role should be.

Women are neither inferior nor should they be seen as lowly. Women have always been vital and will always be, and for reasons more than reproduction. It is a hard task to be what a woman is naturally with all the pressure from culture, individualism and temptation. However, without the compassion and patience children and men receive from women, people would find the world a colder place.