Submission

Sumbission is the one word that women do not always wish to hear or be reminded of.
Women have fought hard for independence, for the right to their own opinions, to have freedom to work and not depend on men solely for support and for provision . Women are strong-willed, they have been given a spirit of determination and unimaginable strength. They are given skills that compensate for the skills that men lack. Women are multi-taskers, intelligent for the most part, passionate, and they enjoy having the freedom to succeed and make a change. Nowadays, women do not enjoy being submissive.

Submission defined by yourdictionary.com has a definition that I believes sums up submission it its entirety. It is defined:
"the act of submitting,  yielding, or surrendering. It is also defined as " the quality of condition of being submissive; obedience,  meekness and resignation.  It is the act of submitting to another for decision, consideration etc. "
I have always wondered what it truly meant to submit. Would I lose myself if I sumbitted to another? What would freedom would I have if I submit?  These questions have been running through my head over and over. At the same time, I kept saying I am not sure if I am able to submit anyways....

An important revelation I had this morning though was that women do not just need to submit and trust their partners/husbands, but they also need to submit to God. I could feel the Lord tugging on my heart strings showing me that I submitted when I allowed the Lord to live in my heart and direct my steps. 
That was the first step so I am able to submit. The question for all us women is will we submit and give control to the men that God has put in our life? Will we submit to our heavenly father foremost giving over our fears and our need to control and laying it at his feet? That is what he wills for us to do. To give our fears and the weight of trying to be strong all the time and just surrender it to him.
How can we begin to experience and live in freedom and understand beauty if we are not at rest?

Submission is an ongoing process, it a process that the Lord wants all of us to take so he can reveal to us what he has for us. By submitting to him, we say that he has control and that we fully trust in the
map for our lives and we are commited to being faithful to him. Faithfulness and submission go hand in hand. As we continue to submit to him we see all that he has for us not only in our relationships but in every aspect of our lives. How amazing is that. :)

Isaiah 41:10

" Fear not for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes I will help you yes I will hold you up and retain you with my right hand of righteousness and justice." Isaiah 41:10

Have you ever felt so conflicted that even the right answer didn't seem like it was going to bring a resolve to the conflict without hurting someone or yourself? Have you ever felt like no matter what you chose it wouldn't make everyone happy? Have you ever felt like you just needed to be held and just let the tears fall?

The truth is it hard to attempt to please everyone else and yourself at the same time. In fact, I am beginning to realize that it is almost impossible and very exhausting to put everyone else and their opinions/desires above your own desires and thoughts. Not to say that loving others before oneself is wrong in fact the bible says in Phillipians 2:4 " Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not (merely) his own interest but also for each for the interests of others. I was looking at this passage this morning and the keyword merely stuck out to me. It says it is important to look after oneself but it important to love others and not be selfish. Question: How do we love ourselves while maintaining a balanced love relationship with others? I think that sometimes other people's desires conflict with our own. What this creates is an impass. The feeling that no matter what we want it is not going to please everyone and then we must choose whether or not we are willing to sacrifice to satisfy the other.

 I believe everyone at one point must decide whether or not they will be radical and live their life according to what God wants. The line is drawn in the sand. Will you choose to follow the father's call, trust a father's heart and be willing to say no to other people in order to follow God's will for you own life? Are you willing to be reassured only by the Heavenly Father and not by others? Are you willing to love others while consistently trusting God and following his direction?

These are questions that I am asking myself consistently. Through this confliction that I am enduring I rest assured that my heavenly father gives me rest but he will also lead me out of the shadows and bring me clarity. He will reveal to me the answer. So all I can do is just wait upon him. To sit on his lap and let the heavenly father love me and whisper over me.

Peace by Jason Upton

This is beautiful and I have replayed it over and over. Our heavenly father speaks. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9ZaZE0B8MY

Conscious Thought

This week I pondered the importance of renewing the mind. Renewal of the mind is vital in order for the thoughts of our heart (the ones deep within us) to be of God and of life and other good things. Our thoughts can be filtered, but I won't kid myself I am not the best at filtering the negative ones out myself.
It is like a pipeline that is filled with guck ( no better word for it), but the water still manages to flow. The water may still flow but the efficiency and the purity of the flow can be in question. Or better yet its like a recylcing plant filtering the waste (due to people's laziness most likely), from the recyclable materials and sorting them all out. Our thoughts should follow the same process and renewing our minds allows that process to take effect. Thoughts can remain deep within the layers of our heart. They can plant themselves so far within that it will produce either positive or negative responses in our behaviour. Unfortunately, what can stem from that is self-pity, fear, denial, and lust.

This week I was challenged not to let my thoughts be spoken out of an emotional response. Emotions tend to make our thoughts go on a rampage, contradicting each other creating confusion and fear. Living by emotions is dangerous itself for it is easy to be led astray and choose the wrong path/choice. But what about our thoughts how do they play a role in our emotional health?

Our thoughts are the precursors to our mood. If attention is being payed to the negative thoughts then a negative mood will obviously be a result. Our thoughts, even before they leave our mouth, can pierce a heart just like a double edged sword. We tend to damage our own or another person's heart by allowing the negative thoughts to influence our emotions. Proverbs 29:11 says " A [self-confident] fool utters all his anger, but a wise man holds it back and stills it." -Amplified

Another translation is "a fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." - KJV



It is outright exhausting to try to still anger ourselves. It seems futile and we usually end up releasing the anger out of frustration of trying to keep it in. Anger is stilled sucessfully with the help of God. Our emotions and our thoughts can be as well. We just have to choose to let the thoughts we ponder and the ones we let out be of life bringing hope, love, and joy. Sometimes things are better left unsaid. Ever hear that before? I am realizing that thoughts that will only bring destruction, should be dealt with internally by God. Thoughts that will influence change or bring understanding should be said in increments not all at once and should be thoughtfully pondered and brought before the Lord first. It is a long process and it is a conscious one but it is one that many people fail to do.