As a Woman

For the longest time, I believed a lie about myself. I believed that I was some crazy, weird species of a human, and no one else thought like me. Ladies, ever been there? I then figured out that I am a woman. And then, I figured out that all those guys I was hanging out with (or dating) did not think AT ALL like me and it wasn't fair for me to expect them to. And then, I got married to have my mind blown away by how true that last statement really is. AND THEN, I realized that there are things about me that are solid, irreplaceable, and valuable. This is where it should have began a long time ago. No one is to blame, society just sucks. (Excuse my bluntness, but you know it's true.)

Now, I am on the road to redemption, still weaving through the tangled vines of truth and confusion. Because let's face it, ladies, sometimes we don't know which is which. I truly believe women have been oppressed through ALL of history. Yes, even a year ago, a month, a week ago... yesterday. It's oh so subtle these days, but it's there. However, I am not alone in my quest and neither are you.

The point of this blog is not to point out the things that oppress women. To be honest, I don't know them all (*gasp*). The point is to share with you TRUTH (yes, from the Holy Spirit) about who you are as a woman. There is nothing wrong in being confident in your gender. In fact, if you are insecure in your role as a woman (or man) how are you going to know how to be yourself... your FULL self?

And here we go:

Numero uno: Your emotions do not make you the weaker counterpart.
Do not let your husband, boyfriend, brother, father, etc. tell you this. God made man AND woman in His image; therefore, God has emotions. Like everything else, your emotions can "get the better of you". But remember the fruits of the Spirit? Self-control is one of them, not self-denial. Do not deny your emotions, just keep them in check.

#2: You should take Eve's curse personally.
I don't mean point your finger at God and blame Him. She fell, He did not. What I mean by that is, pain is always a personal thing. I don't believe God just meant for Eve (women) to feel pain during child birth. I believe that God gave something special to each gender. And when Eve fell, that special something was thwarted inside of her. The pain of child birth is not a way for God to get back at us for sinning against Him. It is a wake up call to us to find that special thing (sorry, I haven't pinpointed it yet, but it's there) because God wants to redeem His women.

#3: You need female friends.
I don't care if you're single, married, 5 years old or 55 years old. Women need women. There may be seasons in your life when you have 12 awesome girl friends and then that number dwindles down to 2. No matter, keep a woman friend close to your heart. I am saying by NO MEANS that you should tell her everything and keep some things from your husband. I am saying, for instance, you may tell your husband something that, while he sympathisizes, he just doesn't get it. But your girl friend can affirm and understand what you are saying. Women validate women. Men validate men.

#4: There are some things women can't do, for everything else, there's a man.
You are not superwoman. God made woman as a help-mate, not a man's competition. I'm not saying women shouldn't be in the workplace (I'm in the workplace for crying out loud). I'm saying let the man BE a man. Because our society sucks, we feel we have to "keep up" when all along we are meant to work alongside each other. No one is behind or ahead. This will mean different things for different women who are in different seasons. Open your heart to God and ask Him how you can be a woman so that you can let your man be a man.

#5: Your beauty is extravagant.
Physical, intellectual, spiritual, etc. God made woman to be beautiful. She is radiate, she outshines every other creation. Think of it this way: God is seeking a Bride (His church). A bride is female... you are female! God decided to make the thing He is seeking most, female. That is something to rejoice over.

Get to know yourself as a woman, don't be ashamed of what you find, and then use it to show the world a side of God it has never seen before.

Disclaimer: I am not a feminist. I just can't write a parallel post for men because, well, I'm a woman. :)

366 Days

A whole year of marriage, and luckily, we got an extra day because of the leap year. :)

Here's a recap of pictures of that wonderful day one year ago today.

Getting ready...

Seeing each other for the first time!

My bridal party (from left to right): Rachel Meeks, Lauren Nichols, Dia Duer-Maid of Honor, Alecia Ohnemus, Emily McDowell, and Lacey Tomberlin

Mitch's groomsmen (from left to right): Kevin Ohenmus, Adam Dimon, Pierce Huggins, Ross Meeks-best man, Reggie Brown, and Monte Baugh

Our adorable, precious flower girl, Adalynn Ohnemus

With Mitch's parents, Reggie and Valera Brown

With my parents, Monte and Deborah Baugh

The walk with my father that began a new life for me

I just love this picture.

We decided to do something different for the unity part of the ceremony. We poured water into a bigger pitcher that our parents had poured into their pitchers at the beginning of the ceremony. And it turned green. :)

My brother, Monte, and Sarah Missildine sang 'Tonight' by JJ Heller during the pouring of the water.

And then we sealed it.

My cake

Mitch's cake

And then we left the party...

...in Gilligan (Mitch's jeep).

It's amazing how fast this year has gone by. We've been through some hard stuff, but shouldn't it be like that? Marriage isn't like winning the lottery. It's like climbing a mountain. We're learning to be more than just good roommates. We're learning to be one, just like God intended for us to be. What a beautiful example marriage is of the unity that God wants to have with His bride, His church. I'm so blessed to share in that gift with my steadfast, strong, courageous, gentle, amazing husband, Mitch.

Stirring the pot

My heart is pounding a little as I begin to think this through. I have something that I believe to be truth, but it has some controversial aspects to it (hence the heart palpitations). Despite some offenses that this may cause, I want you to have it... or at least think about it.

I grew up hearing my dad say and love the phrase (I believe it is a song too), "I'm just a sinner saved by grace". Obviously, not a bad thing to hear your father say. That saying, on the surface, gives the notion that you are humbled by and undeserving of the love of God. Fair enough.

Then one day, as I was growing into my own faith, I heard someone say, "God dislikes the phrase 'sinner saved by grace'." ... hmm. I needed to think on that because it clearly contradicted what I grew up hearing.

I have now rephrased this: I was once a sinner, but now I am saint saved by grace.

No matter what spin you put on this, I believe it all boils down to identity.... and more than that, how you view yourself as a child of the REAL God. And when your identity is messed up, nothing falls into place correctly. I'm picturing the 'round hole, square peg' situation.

Contemplate this: Would you agree that what Jesus accomplished on the cross, AND in the tomb more importantly, is enough to change your identity?

But don't just take my word for it:

'As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'
Ephesians 2:1-10

I'm not questioning the 'saved by grace' part. I am wondering, where is the sinner if you have been saved? Didn't I just read that I WAS dead, and I USED to live that way? And that God raised me up with Christ and seated me with him in the heavenly realms? If I continue to view myself as I once was, a sinner, what changes?

'Love your neighbor as yourself.' I ask this: How can you love yourself if you hold onto a sinner's identity? If you cannot love yourself, how can you love your neighbor?

I leave no room for arrogance when I say that I am not a sinner and that I have been created to be a saint and take ownership in that. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. I am merely confident in the God I serve who loves me enough to create me in His own image. How are we to take hold of the power that raised Christ from the dead if we are holding on to this "just a sinner" identity? We cannot come before our righteous Father if we are still proclaiming to be sinners. Jesus has already paid that debt. Our flesh is dead. There is no need to hang around the grave. We serve a risen Savior who wants us to be risen as well.

Out of everything that God created on this Earth, He chose to love something more than anything else and make it in His image. Holding on to an identity that God fought to abolish (and achieved victoriously) reflects upon Him.

Here's an analogy borrowed from a man named Kris Vallaton:
Say you are the painter of a painting. How would you feel if I looked at your painting and said, “That painting is worthless! It is hideous! The worst I’ve ever seen!” ? Do those statements reflect on you as the artist, the one who created the masterpiece?

When we take on Christ, He no longer sees a filthy, worthless, rejected man. He sees what his son looks like. Jesus died so that we could have a relationship with Him as a freed people, not a people in bondage to a sinner's identity. What would happen if we chose to see ourselves as God sees us?

Praise be to God that He gives us this opportunity. You are awesome! You are made to be a saint! God's kingdom can happen right now and in His kingdom there are no sinners!

Painting in my pajamas, #10

Sunday afternoon is best celebrated in pajamas. It's a great way to set yourself up for a nap. And after your mid-day slumber, you wake up and want to paint. Thus you keep your pjs on because who cares if you get them messy... they're pjs.

So, I finally finished my wood pallet project, #10. Total cost (I already had most of the supplies): about $8. My supplies: a wooden pallet FO FREE!, wood stain, scrapbook paper (in my case, I found some awesome sheet music paper at Hobby Lobby), Cricut machine, mod podge, stencil, paint, and sponge brush.

Here's how it went down:

I found this great wooden pallet by a dumpster and got the hubs to cut it in half because it was HUGE. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of this stage of the project. I then sanded it down and stained it with some stain that I bought years ago for another project.

I then had to pick out a phrase (or verse) to put on this newly stained hunk of wood. My favorite hymn is "It Is Well" so I chose my favorite line. My amazingly crafty mother has a Cricut machine. She came to visit one weekend and we went to town on that thing. After hours of working through my picky-ness, we decided on a font and cut it all out. I then mod-podged the letters on the pallet.

I decided to use a stencil for the next step. I don't feel very confident painting free hand especially on a project like this (I want this to be a focal point in our house one day).

And I had a little helper. :)

The hard part was figuring out how I wanted the stencil layed out on the pallet. After about 45 minutes of these decisions, I finished it. And I'm content.

A special thanks to my mom and Lydia Cash for their artistic eyes!