Well Behaved Women

On Saturday afternoon I was alone in the car with my honey for the first time in a week. We had just left the church where our oldest daughter had just married and we were on our way to the reception. (I will post about the ceremony later.) We were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. I was glowing as I laid my head back to rest as Don had asked me to. I had a hard time closing my eyes because I couldn't stop looking at him. I so admired the man sitting behind the steering wheel and just wanted to continue gazing at him as he drove. Being tired, it didn't take long before I drifted off to sleep. As brief as it was, it was refreshing.

We came to a quick halt and I opened my eyes. Don gently put his hand on me to apologize because a car had cut in on us and he had to hit the brakes. I looked at the car in front of us and saw a bumper sticker on it. It said, "Well behaved women rarely make history."

I couldn't stop staring at it because I wondered how many women believe that. I, for one, could not and would not receive that. According to the standards of society, I'm consider a well behaved woman. True as that may be, what's not true is that there's a chance I may not make history.

What does it take to make history?

I have several answers to that questions. When I woke up this morning and ministered to my family by taking care of my home, I was making history. Even as I sit here right now writing this blog, I'm making history. I started on my history making journey when I decided to do things contrary to what was popular. I looked back in history trying to figure out where our society went wrong. In the late 60's - early 70's, there was a shift in our land. Women were told by other women they didn't have to behave anymore. Thus began the feminist movement that was suppose to bring freedom to women. As a child I remember looking around and wondering what happened. Some things in history don't need to be repeated.

In my quest, I found this~
Thus says the Lord: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls..." Jeremiah 6:16

I've decided that I'm going to continue to behave while making history. Who knows, maybe I'll be in the history books one day and you may not realize it. I'll be the mother of the worldchangers that you're reading about.

I Can't Find It Anywhere! But I Found.....

As the sweat beads form on my forehead and my freshly washed blow dried hair looks a lot like my sister's senior picture from the 70's, I'm tired from searching for the manual on parenting young adult children. You know that manual that has a step by step guide to parenting young adults and helping them transition into adulthood. Did you see it here at my house on your last visit? Did I loan it to you? Not quite sure now?!

I looked through my list of books on the bookshelf. Searching each spine of the books hoping for something.....anything that has "young adults" written on it. It's got to be here. We have all kinds of books in our library. Books on marriage, raising children, Godly finances, you name it we got it. In my quest to find such a book only produced the one book I always come back to. The Bible.

I want to start off by saying I have great young adult children. I'm so happy that God chose me to be their momma. The problem is really not my young adult children. The problem is with me. I have to rely on God's Word and trust that He is in control. I had to pray for fear of failure as a mother to leave because it started to consume me. It's a trick that the adversary uses against so many Godly mothers. Sometimes when I operate in fear, my mind runs away with "what ifs." My prayer today is that I fully lean on God during this season of my life. I tell women often, "Embrace the season you're in." I need to apply these words to my life.

After reading Deuteronomy 6:1-9, I was encouraged because verse 7 is something that I've applied to my life since becoming a mother. As a mother, God commanded me to teach these commandments to my children. Yes I did, but in order to do it, I had to be there. I did during those long hours of nursing them as infants. Those longs days of walking around with a sore foot from stepping on Legos. Those longs night of being up with sick children hacking in my face and trying to catch the snot on the upper lip of my child before it makes it's way into his or her mouth.

It's a sacrifice that's been well worth it. Now that I have some children in that young adult age, I'm happy I made the choices I did when they were younger. The only thing I regret is spending so much time fearing failure. Thank God for His grace.

I'm not perfect. I'm a parent. So that alone cancels out being perfect. I am confident in His Word and not the word society has placed on me.

I'm confident that my world changers will do just that....Change the world!


¹ “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess,
² that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.
³ Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ ⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.