A Legacy

My grandfather, Jerry Coleman Jarriel Sr was born on December 28, 1920 to Troy and Bessie Jarriel. My grandfather was the oldest child and the only boy. He grew up on the land where he would eventually retire. My grandparents would eventually build a house down the dirt road from the house he grew up in. Growing up, I remember my grandfather telling us stories about his years growing up on the farm. It was such a unique experience because we would drive around and he would point out places and then tell us a story. One Christmas, my grandfather had my brother, my cousin Gary, and I get in the car and told us where to drive. He had us park on the edge of the road and walk through the woods a bit. We came up to this wooden building, with great excitement my grandfather said look inside. So we did and and it was an outhouse!! My grandfather went on to explain how this had been the outhouse for the one room schoolhouse up the road. This one was the girls. Just up the road was the school where my granddaddy went growing up. He drove the school bus and in return for driving he didn't have to pay to ride it. I loved getting to spend these precious moments with him and hear these stories.



When World War Two started, my grandfather joined the Navy. He would serve in a recruiting office in Charleston until late 1944, when he made his way to the Pacific to meet his ship. Part of my grandfather's job was to make travel arrangements for soldiers traveling to war. When his recruiting office was shut down he made his own travel arrangements. He arranged to spend some time in Washington DC and various other stops throughout the country. He was very proud of himself and how he managed to see the country on his way to California. He would serve in the dispatch room, abroad the USS Anthony, a destroyer. His job was to record all the major events of every battle. He had a radio that communicated directly with the command deck. One of my favorite things to do was listen to my granddaddy tell stories about his time at sea. He keep a incredible journal and we still have copies of it today. He told us stories about the sinking of the Bismark and how kamakize fighters would fly over his ship. He was able to tell about most major battles of the Pacific in 1945. He also spent time in Japan and as children, we enjoyed looking through all his memorabilia from his time there.

In 1950, my grandfather meet a beautiful young lady by the name of Mary Flake. He really liked this young woman. They were introduced by two mutual friends. These friends would accompany him to ask this Mary's dad for permission to marry her. On September 16, 1950 my grandfather married my grandmother. The two were married for 56 years. I loved spending time with them. My grandma, much like granddaddy, always loved to share stories with us. As grandchildren we loved spending time with them.

My grandparents leave behind a legacy for me. Leaving behind a legacy is probably the best gift that they could ever give me. My grandfather's legacy for me starts with his mother, Bessie. My middle name is Elizabeth, after this woman. My mom said that her faith always inspired her. During WW2, German prisoners of war were brought to my great-grandparents farm to help them. Many times my grandma Bessie would cook a big meal for them and invite them to eat at her kitchen table. The guards eventually told her that she had to stop letting them eat at her table. You see grandma Bessie was a "stout woman", a strong Christian lady and she did this out of her love for God. It was evident that she passed the values on to her son. From the time I could remember our dinner table at my grandparents was always blessed with prayer before every meal. My grandfather served as a deacon in his local church. He also married a woman much like his mother. Together my grandparents had servant hearts, much like my grandma Bessie. Together they served those around them. As the oldest male and female children in their respective families this began with their families. My memories of their service was mostly centered around the dinner table. For my grandmother there was always room at her table, much like there was always room around Grandma Bessie's table. My grandparents inspired me to live a life of love and service in the say that they modeled it to us grandchildren growing up. My grandfather's service in the Navy is partly what inspired me to join the guard and serve my country. Their willingness to open their homes to others in service has inspired me to do the same with those around me. Lastly their unwavering faith in God has shown me that God will provide. My grandfather placed God first in His life. He truly demonstrated Ephesians 5:25 by loving not only my grandmother as Christ loved us, but loving our family in much the same way. I remember when my grandmother was dying how sweetly he comforted her and let her know that we all would be okay. He is sure of his final home in heaven and ready to go when The Lord calls him home. He realizes that this world is not his home, but he is bound for Glory. He will sit at the feast of the lamb and walk on streets of Gold. In these last days his body has been riddled  with pain and he has been unable to walk.  I know from the moment he enters Heaven's gates he will no longer be in pain, he will be not only able not walk again but dance at the feet of Jesus. Lately he has struggled to breathe and I rejoice that soon he will breathe new life and sing praises to His Savior.

Yesterday, we received a phone call that my grandfather who had been placed in hospice was not doing well.  My mom was able to get on a flight and make it to Georgia to be with him. Tomorrow I will join my family there. I pray that I can make it time to share one last moment with him. In my sorrow I rejoice because he is going home.

Faithfully His: I fear no more

I recently finished reading the next chapter in the Resolution for Women book, by Pricilla Shirer. This resolution is about being Faithfully His. Pricilla challenges women to think about the difference between having faith and being faithful. She opened up the chapter talking about how Moses was faithful. This is detailed in Hebrews 3. It is refreshing to see that Moses is described as faithful. When we read Moses' story we see that he did not always appear faithful to God's calling in his life. Moses initially fought with God regarding his call to save the Israelites from Pharaoh's rule. Pricilla detailed how Moses had his up's and downs with following God and as an outsider looking in he does not necessarily appear as one who would be included in an example of  faithfulness. But she said that God knew his heart. Moses had set his heart on the promised land and desipite his pitfalls he remained faithful to God by leading his people until God told him to stop. Despite the fact that he was unable to enter the promised land he is honored by being recalled not only in Hebrews 3 but in Hebrew 11 for his faithfulness to God (Shirer 69-72).

As I think about what faithfulness means to me personally many things come to mind. I have always had faith, but at times have lacked faithfulness. You see there is a distinct difference between the two. In Hebrews 11:1 we read that faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". But that is where faithfulness begins. In fact it is a lot easier to have faith in something than to live a lifestyle of faithfulness. When I was in college I worried so much. I knew in my heart that God had called me to be a doctor and that He promises not to leave me or forsake me but I worried and I feared that it would not happen. I lacked confidence in Christ. My pastor in college challenged me to  Even as I graduated from college and was accepted to medical school the following year I still struggled with completely turning over things to God. I was comforted by reading Moses' story in this new perspective. I realized that I like Moses have struggled to be faithful. I have always had my mind set on becoming a doctor but I have struggled with trusting God to fulfill these promises to me. At church this past Sunday that pastor spoke about fear. I realized that I have lived a life in fear. I go between being completely faithful and relying on God to being fearful of the future. I also struggle with control. I want to be in control because it makes me less fearful. Last Sunday it finally hit home. When I am in control I am actually more fearful, but when I turn my life completely and totally over to God, I have no reason to fear. I have always admired those who say "I know God is in control I know God has my back I know that with God all things are possible". You see I have only grasped a hold of these promises at the surface level I have taken a hold of them in the fullest since that God has to offer. On Sunday I realized that my living this on and off relationship with Christ, of having faith but not being faithful, leads me to live a life of fear. I was challenged to no longer live in free but to live in faithfulness to the One who has called me, the One who has saved me, the One who loves me, and the One who stands with Me. I fully take hold of the promises offered in scripture. God goes  before us and behind us. With Him nothing can over take us or come against us. This doesn't mean that life is always easy and free from trails, in fact the bible also promises us that we will have trouble in this world, but it also says take heart because God has overcome the world. That being said as Christians we are promised that in all things we are conquers, we are overcomes, we have new life, we are new creations, and we do not have to fear.

For me to be Faithfully His, I fear to no more. I trust in the Lord's promises to me no matter what. I surrender complete control to my master. I don't take back pieces and try and figure out things on my own. I trust that the Lord knows where He intends for me to be for residency. I claim victory in Christ over graduating in May, passing boards, and getting the residency I want. I have long desired to live a life like this but always seem to fail. I know that I am human and still sinful by nature so there will still be moments where I fail in these things, but will not fear. I will discuss my anxieties with those I love and turn them over to God. I will faithfully spend time in His word. I will challenge and mentor those younger than me to become women that faithfully and fearlessly serve God. I challenge you to live a life that is faithfully His. What is keeping you from living faithfully? Are you living a life of fear? Control? Worry and Anxiety? Mistrust? or Have you never accepted Christ's love for you before and committed your life to Him? I challenge you to look at what is keeping you from living a faithful life to God and His plan for your life. If you've never accepted Christ as your savior I challenge you to do that. For more info please leave me a comment and I would be happy to share.

"I will live as a woman answerable to God and faithfully committed to His word"

"The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid, what can mortals do to me? 

Ps 118:6

 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you  never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.    What can mere mortals do to me?”

Hebrews 13:5-6

"no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord"

Isaiah 54:17

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

    He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

 

    he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

    for his name’s sake.

 

Even though I walk

    through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

    for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

  in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

'

Psalms 23

"Being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"

Philippians 1:6

Check out this New video From Chris Tomlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzSYOoPkeFg

Recipes

Hello Everyone

I thought I would add a new section to my blog. A recipe section. I absolutely love cooking. My grandmother loved to cook and passed on this passion to her "girls" as she called us sometimes. My grandmother was a hostess. She loved to cook for others and wanted to be in the kitchen. In many ways this was her form of ministry. In my grandmother's last days she wanted to be in the kitchen. I remember my mom would have her come in and do basic things to make her happy. For probably for at least 65 years of her life my grandmother would serve family and friends around her kitchen table. I would like to believe that when my grandmother died she stepped through heaven's doorstep and into glory. The Father greeted her and said "well done my good and faithful servant". Family and friends that had gone before welcomed her home and at last she was seated at the feast of the King.

I would like to create a place to share recipes. I will share some of my own and some of my grandmothers. Please feel free to post yours as well. Please feel free to also share your cooking stories.

Sarah

Garlic Glazed Chicken

2 Cloves of garlic minced
1/8 of onion chopped
4 tbsp of brown sugar
1 stick of butter
2-3 Chicken Breast sliced into strips. Or 7-8 chicken strips

Place 1/2 stick of butter in pan, saute' garlic and onion. Then add brown sugar and let it melt. Then add the other 1/2 of butter if desired for more sauce. Then add chicken strips and cook until done.

Book Review: Tears to Joy by Natalie Flake

Good Morning

I wanted to write a quick post and recommend a book that I recently read. Tears to Joy: Finding Hope in the Presence of Bipolar Disorder and Suicide by Natalie Flake. This book details Natalie and her husband's struggle through bipolar disorder and how Natalie was able to discover new joy and hope through Michael's death. Natalie also encourages Christian's to gain a new understanding of mental illness. Since I am planning on beginning a psychiatry residency soon I find it a very valuable resource and encourage all of you to read it. 

This book is also special to me because Michael was my cousin. His death shocked all of us but over the years we have healed and this book brought even more healing into my life. I pray that you will pick up a copy of this book and be blessed by what Natalie has to share. 

Sarah

http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-62147-389-3

http://www.natalieflake.com

Authentically Made; Authentically Me

When I was a little girl, I had all these dreams of what my life would be like when I grew up. At the time I wanted to be a Meteorologist, despite my fear of thunderstorms. I would go to the University of Oklahoma where I would meet the man of my dreams and we would live happily ever after. Like many young girls and women I enjoyed watching "chick flicks". I thought that this is how life would be for everyone. As a teenager and even at times into to college I pictured this fairly tale lifestyle often depicted in movies. Well I ended up falling in love with medicine during high school and attending Oklahoma Baptist University and graduating with a degree in Biochemistry. Now I'm in my final year of medical school, dating an incredible man of God, and closer to my family than I have ever been. I can honestly say I would have it no other way. I am blessed beyond measure and I realize that God's plan and who he has made me is more important than what my plans for my life were. 

You see we all have had these visions and dreams of what our lives will be like when we "grow up." I recently finished reading the next section in the Resolution book. It is called Authentically Me: A resolution to value myself and celebrate others. In the first chapter of this section she described re-decorating a room. She said that her decorator brought in this one little item as inspiration to the room. She was afraid to choose it because she didn't want to base her entire room design on such a tiny item. You know many times we do the same thing in our lives. We base who were are on tiny things that may not have significance. Or as I described above we strive to be something we are not based on a movie or a book or some fairy tale we read as a child. I discovered that in addition to what I described in the beginning I choose to base who I am off of minor details of my life. For instance, I struggle with self confidence. I tend to be rather difficult on myself. If I get a bad grade or don't do as well as I would like or better than my fellow classmates I tend to think of the worst possible situation. Through these situations I find my self deciding that I must be a failure. This has lead me to be in relationships where I allow others to continue these feelings of being a failure. At times this has lead me to be a less confident individual who allows others to take advantage of her. But in over the last two years I have realized that God has created me. He is working on making me into a masterpiece. I am reminded by friends and family that  I am in fact a hard worker, that I am not a failure. I have learned to be confident in myself and present myself confidently to those I come in contact with. I realize that although there are several things that I struggle with, these things don't define me but make me who I am. By embracing my weakness I am able to recognize my strengths and use them to succeed in life. 1 Peter 2:9-10, reminds us of how God sees us. 

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy"

We are royalty in God's eyes. If God sees us this way then why do we allow our little imperfections to define us? 

We are not only seen as royalty to God but He knows everything about us. And He desires for us to see ourselves as the beautiful creation He has created us to be. We are daughter's of the King of Kings. God desires for us to embrace all the uniqueness that He has given us. He wants us to not base our lives on the little things, but on the big thing that He has adopted us as his daughter and with that comes all the rights and responsibilities of being His Child.

In addition to embracing who we are, we must also encourage and affirm the unique qualities of our sisters in Christ. I recently listened to a sermon online by Joe McGee. He was speaking on family. He spoke on how God has created men and women differently. He said that he created them each to serve different roles, so in a marriage the man and the woman compliment each other. The same is true with the body of Christ but on a much larger role. God has created us to be unique. Each of us have different qualities to bring to the body of Christ. We are all needed to minister to others and fulfill the mission of the Church. Women tend to pick on each other. We tend to point out those little details in our fellow sisters, you know those little blemishes. And as women when people do that we tend to make those blemishes into who we are. At the end of the section she challenged women to take the time to encourage their friends by telling them the qualities you admire. So I challenge you. Think of those women in your life who mean the most to you and give a call or a text to tell them what it is you admire in them. Can you imagine the difference that would be made? How would our relationships with other women in our churches and circles grow? How many could we bring to Christ if we were united in our uniqueness 

Resolution: 

"I will accept and celebrate my uniqueness and will esteem and encourage the distinctions I admire in others"

In closing I would like to end with Psalm 139 from the Message

 God, investigate my life;

    get all the facts firsthand.

I’m an open book to you;

    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.

You know when I leave and when I get back;

    I’m never out of your sight.

You know everything I’m going to say

    before I start the first sentence.

I look behind me and you’re there,

    then up ahead and you’re there, too—

    your reassuring presence, coming and going.

This is too much, too wonderful—

    I can’t take it all in!

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit

    to be out of your sight?

If I climb to the sky, you’re there!

    If I go underground, you’re there!

If I flew on morning’s wings

    to the far western horizon,

You’d find me in a minute—

    you’re already there waiting!

Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!

    At night I’m immersed in the light!”

It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;

    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

    you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

    I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

    you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

    before I’d even lived one day.

Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!

    God, I’ll never comprehend them!

I couldn’t even begin to count them—

    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.

Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!

And you murderers—out of here!—

    all the men and women who belittle you, God,

    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.

See how I hate those who hate you, God,

    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;

I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.

    Your enemies are my enemies!

Investigate my life, O God,

    find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

    get a clear picture of what I’m about;

See for yourself whether I’ve done anything 

Refining Fire

When I was in middle school, I did a science fair project on forrest fires. I became interested in forrest fires when my family and I went on vacation to Yellowstone National Park. While there we could see damage from a recent forrest fires. At first we were sadden by the destruction of the fires, but then a forrest ranger educated us about the need for forrest fires. The ranger told us how the fires were needed for the regeneration of the forrest. When there is a fire nutrients from the wood and grass of the forrest that burns is allowed to reenter the soil and provide a rich fertilizer. Fires also get rid of brush that has accumulated in the forrest and serves as a natural forrest clearer. If you have been anywhere near Oklahoma recently you know that we are in a severe drought. At the beginning of August several wild fires broke out across the state. These fires caused destruction of not only the land but, properties as well. Some of these areas are along I-44 which I have traveled frequently recently while going back and forth between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. About 4 weeks ago, the first weekend after the fires, I drove home. I saw several patches of black, grey, and ashy pieces of land. Trees trunks were brunt and their leaves had turn brown as if it was fall. Then next weekend as I drove home, I saw tiny little pieces of green coming up through the blackened earth. The following weekend I saw more green coming up through the blackened earth. This weekend as I drove home through more areas that had been burned I saw the same thing happening in stages as some areas had burned more recently. There were areas that had this lush green grass that was beautiful. It was bright green and looked like the beginning of spring. The tree trunks were still burned and the leaves were brown, but there were leaves that were starting to turn green again. These brown leaves had fallen off as in the fall, but new leaves were budding out. It was beautiful.

Okay sorry for the description about wild fires, but it does have a point. As I was driving home this Friday I realized that our lives are much like this. You see we all have the wild fires of our own lives. I believe that God uses these fires to bring about change and growth in our lives. The wild fires of our lives are not pleasant and they hurt. They may cause pain and sadness as they do in those that lose property during fires. But the fires in our lives are necessary just as they are in nature. God uses these trials to  allow us to grow. He uses these trials to get rid of the "junk" that has accumulated in our lives and taken our focus off Him. When we first accept Christ we are a new creation in God, but because we are still human we continue to need times of refining. As Christians our lives should be focused on growing closer to God, to perfecting our relationship with Him, and seeking His will for our lives. Isaiah 48:10 says that  we are refined "not as silver, but in the furnace of affliction". You see the fire is necessary to bring about the perfection and beauty of what God wants to create in you and me. After the refining process in our lives we begin to have regeneration of life just as in the forrest fire. We become a more beautiful creation in Christ, with beautiful new grass just like after a forrest fire. We are better able to focus the plan that God has prepared for us because the rubbish and distractions have been cleared. 

We must remember that while necessary the fires of our lives can be painful. Times of refining are not pleasant but the result is worthwhile. Recently a friend of mine lost a baby in a miscarriage. She has encouraged me as she has shared with me what she has learned through this experience. So in closing two final words from this dear friend to remember during the fires of your life. 

"God keeps His promises and He never wastes a Hurt"

Purposefully Feminine

So it has been way to long since I last posted. And today's blog post will be somewhat random but here we go. Let me give you a brief update on my life and get on with the blog post for today, another chapter for The Resolution for Women. And I apologize this could be a longer post but bear with me.  Over the past three months I have continued to study frantically for my step 2 boards which were Monday. Thank you to all those that prayed and encouraged me and mostly to the Lord who has gotten me this far. On Sunday at church we had an amazing message from Kriss Haymes that reminded us to live our lives for Christ and not forget that moment of salvation. During his message I realized through all this board studying I had not been giving Christ my all with my relationship with Him and I rededicated my life to Christ. I want Christ to be on the throne the first and most important thing in my life. It is very difficult with studying to not put Him there but I want to continue to make the Jesus the Lord of my life and honor Him. It is truly through Him that I have gotten this far and He has blessed every step.

This month I am working in Norman, Oklahoma at the Children's Recovery Center. I have had the privilege of working with teenage girls that struggle with mental health issues and addiction. This has truly been an eye opening experience. The Lord has really worked on my heart over the past several weeks. First of all I didn't like being away from my family. I also was told when I got here that I would be doing more shadowing because I was a student. I was expecting to have more one on one interaction with the girls and this was disappointing. I felt that as  fourth year medical student I should do more. But the Lord quickly humbled me and showed me that I can impact these girls lives in other ways. Over the past couple of weeks I have had some great interactions with these girls and my heart is burdened for them. Many of them come from broken homes where their parents are also addicts so they struggle to overcome their addiction. I have long had a passion to work with girls like this to show them that they are special and they can do anything they put their mind to it. I have never thought of working in this capacity and I am still trying to be mindful of what the Lord wants me do when I finish residency. Its hard in a state facility like this to share your faith because of the rules.   Many of these girls struggle with self-esteem and I've always desired to share with girls that God has created them as a masterpiece and has something very special planned for them. Many of these girls just need a positive role model and slowly the Lord is showing me this month that I have been that. What started out as a not so good month and turned into a blessing in surprise that the Lord has used to teach me a lot about myself and His plan for my life. This rotation turned out to be just what I needed in terms of a learning experience. I learned many things about substance abuse. I was moved today as the girls told me they were sad to see me go. I realize that someone like me is just what the need. They need a positive female role model in their life. Well I guess this leads me to the Resolution for Women part of my blog.

To re-cap the last chapter dealt with being Surprisingly Satisfied. A chapter I probably should have re-read at the start of this month.  Looking back on it I was not living this first resolution out very well at the beginning of this four weeks. Then I remembered that I need to have a positive attitude that I need to be content in my season of life. So many times it is hard for us to put into practice being content. As a read the second section I realized that these resolutions are put together in a particular order for a reason. This next session entitled "Purposely Feminine". I realized that in order to embrace this concept I have to be content with the role of a woman that God has given me.

Throughout the ages a woman's role has been much of a discussion. It seems that there is always some sort of a debate about the role that women are to play. For most of history women have played an inferior role they have been viewed as the lesser sex. But I think we should start looking at a woman's role from the beginning as Priscilaa Shirer does in the second chapter of this section. In Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female." She reminds us here that from the beginning God created not just men, but yes women in His image. So in God's view of men and women we have equal worth. God's plan for mankind is that men and women have equal worth but different responsibilities. You see in God's plan which is perfect, He designed men and women to work together to achieve his purposes. He has blessed each of us with different tasks to achieve that purpose. Both men and women are equally needed to achieve His purpose. But we all know from reading a bit further in Genesis that sin entered the world. We know that through sin God's idea and plan get's twisted because man tries to put his/her own spin on things. Throughout the centuries God's plan for women has gotten twisted. We see in bible times and for centuries after that women being treated less equally than me as if they were some lesser part of God's creation. But it is very clear from Genesis 1:27 that this is not how God intended His creation. Mankind was the hallmark the crowning point of His creation and He created men and women equally. In the Gospels we see Jesus trying to re-define this role. We know that Jesus had many women that were friends. Pricilla discusses one of my favorite stories and brings to light something that I had never thought of. She talks about the woman at the well. You know the Samaritan woman who had several husband's and the man she was living with wasn't her husband. Imagine being this woman having a man, not just any man but a Jew come up to you at the well. You see in Jesus time. Jews and Samaritans didn't talk and men and women didn't talk in public. So what we have here is this woman who is probably shunned in her town for her life style. More than likely she's at the well by herself because the other women in the town didn't want to associate with her. I'm sure we all know someone...you know "that woman". So she's at this well and all of a sudden a man comes to to talk to her. Jesus basically revealed himself to her as the Messiah and she got it.  Some many of the Jews just didn't get it. So for a Samaritan woman to understand the deep message that Jesus said to her that day was just not normal. But God choose to use this unlikely woman in her village to fulfill His purpose and plan and draw people from her town to Himself. Jesus choose to redefine a woman's role that day. He showed that they are not a lesser human being but that she was in equal and just as important in His eyes.

From this initial perverting of God's view of women we entered into a new perversion of God's view of women. In the late nineteen century and early twentieth century there were many feminist movements that began. While some of these movements brought about much needed change such as giving women the right to vote and more equal responsibility in the work force then pendulum once again to far in the other direction. We now live in a post-feministic society where there is a distortion of the role we are to play as women. The view of who a woman should be is different for my generation that it was for my mother's generation. The post-feminisitic movement at times leads women to believe that our role is just the same as men, that we don't need men and we can do their job better than them. Not let me make something clear here before I go on. When I am speaking of "job"I'm not speaking of occupation, I am speaking of fulfilling the role that the Lord has set for men and women. So on to the subject that makes society cringe...Submission. In Ephesians 5 we read that Women are submit to their husbands. There has been much debate about what exactly this means and what it looks like. Priscilla discussed how everyone men included have authority that they are suppose to submit to. We are to submit to our employers, our government leaders, and our spiritual leaders. As women we are suppose to submit to our husbands. Some believe that this makes you less of a woman. I don't have the knowledge to speak on the matter because I'm not married but this is how I see it. When we look at God's plan for man and woman. We first realize that we are both created equally in the image of God. We each have our own unique roles. Women we are to submit to our husbands and men are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. So as God designed its a team that works together. Women seek the men in lives, their father before they are married and the husband after they are married to be the leader in their life. As single Christian women this is why its important that week seek strong Christian men to be in relationship with. This plan only works in the bounds of a Christian relationship. Priscilla went on to encourage women who are in abusive and life threatening situations to seek help to get out this situation and I echo her encouragement.

When we embrace God's plan for our role as a woman we yield ourselves to Him and His plan and protection. We must first learn to practice submission with the Lord. Being "Purposefully Feminine" means that we fully accept that God has created us equally but uniquely from man. We recognize that he has a plan and purpose for our life that is distinct from our male counterparts. Utilimately we come to the realization that it is through this perfect design of the Master that his plan and purposes are fulfilled and we truly are "stout women".

"I will champion God's model for Womanhood in the face of a postfeminist culture. I will teach it to my daughters and encourage its support by my sons"