Sometimes people try to put people in boxes that the Bible does not place them inside. The Bible records that Deborah led the Israelites as a judge and prophetess, and that Sarah was a domestic engineer. God approves of women working in a variety of ways.
The universe that God made is full of variety. God likes variety, but He does not like vice. It is harmful behavior to reject the way God made us. God made us male, female, African, European, Asian, Latino and with many other qualities. Our biology is not an accident. Long before God created the earth, He planned everything about us the way He did because it pleased Him and because He loves us passionately. So when we reject our biology we hurt God; we also hurt ourselves.
The bodies God gave us are awesome and built for good treatment. Galatians 5:14 Amplified Bible says, "For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself."
A Twi African proverb says, "Love is the greatest of all virtues." Love ensures that our relationships with God, self and others work well.
God is the source of the kind of love expressed in Galatians 5:14 giving us the power to celebrate who we are and to develop in a way that is also better for people around us.
Godly enhancements don't erase our Designer's creation. When Deborah became a judge and prophetess she never stopped being a woman. Some people are not satisfied with being a male or female and want to change their gender. Some feel that being another gender will free them to live a more fulfilling life.
Every society makes rules about what people are suppose to be and do, and these rules usually place some type of bondage on people that God doesn't. A Chinese proverb says, "Pointing to a deer and calling it a horse;" it means "right and wrong are deliberately mixed up." Some are deliberately trying to mix up God and the devil by falsely portraying God as an advocate of bondage. The truth is God desires us to live in maximum freedom, so that we can be of maximum service to God and people. Galatians 5:13 Amplified Bible says, "For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another."
God called creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) to a dynamic life. Sarah left the country of her birth, traveled and ended up being the matriarch of a new nation of people. Sarah had an adventurous life. If a life of adventure does not appeal to you, then it may be that God has a different, equally valuable plan for you.
If you are uncomfortable in your gender or any other aspect of your humanity, talk to God about your discomfort. He is able to take our inner life and turn it into something good inside and outside. Today, the National Day of Prayer, is a good day to talk to God as is any day at any time. Sometimes family, friends and others are not available to talk to us, but God is. God is everywhere at all times, and He is always doing good.
While we cannot be everywhere at all times, God wants us to cooperate with Him to be doing good like He does. Imagine if most people loved God, loved themselves and loved other people and write to me about it at:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Also share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter.
Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Is She Depressed?
Why
do women often fail to see the symptoms of depression until they are
serious (persistent sad or anxious mood, loss of interest in usual
activities, feelings of worthlessness, difficulty concentrating,
forgetfulness, difficulty in making decisions, sleep/appetite changes,
decreased energy, loss of sex drive (yes, this is serious to our
marriages,) thoughts of self-injury, even suicide, or any combination of
these symptoms)? Women tend to attribute our symptoms to other things,
such as fatigue from work or family care.
Depression may be the result of the following six typical scenarios:
1) family history of depression. Some depressions may be an inherited imbalance in brain chemicals.
2) puberty, adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum, menstrual cycles and menopause. Basically female developmental and hormonal changes often accompany depression.
3) life events, such as childhood trauma, violence or abuse in current relationships, poor health, a serous personal loss or emotional wound like divorce, bankruptcy, job loss, death of a loved one, business failure, housing foreclosure or eviction, multiple negative experiences coming one after the other or some other life event.
4) on-going life stress, such as single parenting, caring for elderly or disabled family member(s), lower pay in the employment market, discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, employment culture that fails to appreciate, advocate and advance our abilities and talents, stubborn, selfish supervisor or something else.
5) ways of thinking that can enable depression, such as difficulty with assertiveness, passivity, reluctance to rock the boat in relationships or shyness in seeking our own needs in a loving way.
6) difficulty setting boundaries with others.
Women may try to cope with depression in harmful ways, such as substance abuse, overeating, excessive spending, isolation, taking on too much responsibility or conversely not taking on enough responsibility, not financially managing our lives or some other way.
While twice as many women as men have depression any one can have depression, even the strong. Israelite King and Warrior David had times of depression.
However the depression comes, seven steps are helpful to coming out of depression:
1) Receive and passionately nurture a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost.
2) Engage in on-going studying and meditating on God's Word for the remedy to correct thought patterns and actions that lead to depression and maintain depression.
3) Surround ourselves with spiritually mature Christian family and friends. Sometimes family and/or friends help us to see depression that God has been trying to reveal to us through His Word and prayer for a long time, but we didn't receive the message and need others to help us receive the message.
4) Seek professional, spiritually mature, skillful Christian counsel. Therapy and counseling are not value neutral. Our health can be compromised by someone with beliefs and behavior contrary to the Bible. Healing has its source in God. Luke 6:19 Amplified Bible says, "And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all [saving them from severe illnesses or calamities]." Contact me at my email address michelefrancesjackson@hotmail.com or ask our spiritually mature Christian family members and friends for referrals to Christian professionals.
5) Eat and exercise with proper nutrition, amount, frequency and balance. 3 John 1:2 New Living Translation Bible says, "Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit."
6) Partake in regular activities that we enjoy like dancing, foreign language classes or something else. Not only will we meet new people we will also be compelled to release and replace negative thought patterns with positive ones. We have a right to enjoy our lives. Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
7) Continuously think we are a priceless treasures. Life is full of discomfort, distress, disappointment and bad decisions, but God still values and loves us. We do not have to work to earn the love of God; He freely gives His love. Failing does not mean we are frauds. Psalm 127:2 Amplified Bible says, "It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil--for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep."
Please share stories of coming out of depression.
Depression may be the result of the following six typical scenarios:
1) family history of depression. Some depressions may be an inherited imbalance in brain chemicals.
2) puberty, adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum, menstrual cycles and menopause. Basically female developmental and hormonal changes often accompany depression.
3) life events, such as childhood trauma, violence or abuse in current relationships, poor health, a serous personal loss or emotional wound like divorce, bankruptcy, job loss, death of a loved one, business failure, housing foreclosure or eviction, multiple negative experiences coming one after the other or some other life event.
4) on-going life stress, such as single parenting, caring for elderly or disabled family member(s), lower pay in the employment market, discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, employment culture that fails to appreciate, advocate and advance our abilities and talents, stubborn, selfish supervisor or something else.
5) ways of thinking that can enable depression, such as difficulty with assertiveness, passivity, reluctance to rock the boat in relationships or shyness in seeking our own needs in a loving way.
6) difficulty setting boundaries with others.
Women may try to cope with depression in harmful ways, such as substance abuse, overeating, excessive spending, isolation, taking on too much responsibility or conversely not taking on enough responsibility, not financially managing our lives or some other way.
While twice as many women as men have depression any one can have depression, even the strong. Israelite King and Warrior David had times of depression.
However the depression comes, seven steps are helpful to coming out of depression:
1) Receive and passionately nurture a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost.
2) Engage in on-going studying and meditating on God's Word for the remedy to correct thought patterns and actions that lead to depression and maintain depression.
3) Surround ourselves with spiritually mature Christian family and friends. Sometimes family and/or friends help us to see depression that God has been trying to reveal to us through His Word and prayer for a long time, but we didn't receive the message and need others to help us receive the message.
4) Seek professional, spiritually mature, skillful Christian counsel. Therapy and counseling are not value neutral. Our health can be compromised by someone with beliefs and behavior contrary to the Bible. Healing has its source in God. Luke 6:19 Amplified Bible says, "And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all [saving them from severe illnesses or calamities]." Contact me at my email address michelefrancesjackson@hotmail.com or ask our spiritually mature Christian family members and friends for referrals to Christian professionals.
5) Eat and exercise with proper nutrition, amount, frequency and balance. 3 John 1:2 New Living Translation Bible says, "Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit."
6) Partake in regular activities that we enjoy like dancing, foreign language classes or something else. Not only will we meet new people we will also be compelled to release and replace negative thought patterns with positive ones. We have a right to enjoy our lives. Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
7) Continuously think we are a priceless treasures. Life is full of discomfort, distress, disappointment and bad decisions, but God still values and loves us. We do not have to work to earn the love of God; He freely gives His love. Failing does not mean we are frauds. Psalm 127:2 Amplified Bible says, "It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil--for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep."
Please share stories of coming out of depression.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Warrior Women
The US Defense Department is expected to announce the elimination of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule excluding women from combat, opening more than 230,000 direct-combat jobs to servicewomen, reported the American Forces Press Service, Pentagon's information wing, on January 23, 2013.
The move will expand the Pentagon's action last February to partially lift the ban, which opened up to women about 14,500 Army jobs, such as tank mechanic and field artillery radar operator.
Women comprise 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel in the United States.
A Gallup poll conducted January 24, 2013, found that 74 percent would vote in favor of a law supporting women in combat job while 20 percent said they would vote against allowing women in combat roles.
Women have waged war for centuries. The Jewish prophet and judge Deborah along with Barak led her people to expel Canaanite invaders. Kentake Shanakdakheto, a black African queen of Kush, dressed in armor and wielding a spear in battle. She did not rule as queen regent or queen mother but as a fully independent ruler. Her husband was her consort. In Celtic culture women were warriors. Boudicca was the queen of the Iceni of the East of England. She headed a rebellion against the occupying Romans in Britain in A.D. 60 that was eventually crushed. Mongolian Queen Manduhai the Wise of the 1400s united the Mongols. Manduhai was pregnant and delivered twin boys while engaged in war against the Oirats who were eventually defeated. Queen Elizabeth I of England changed the course of history defeating the Spanish and establishing her nation as a leading world power. Queen Isabella I co-ruled Spain with her husband, Ferdinand II. Some of the highlights of their rule were that they united Spain and financed Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage to the New World extending Spanish rule to the New World. This list of warrior women is not exhaustive. However, it points to the truth that woman may succeed today in multiple missions within the military and all other areas of life.
Warrior women have some practices that are useful for all of us to cultivate in order to succeed in multiple areas of life:
* They focus on solutions, not problems. Philippians 2:13-14 New Living Translation Bible says, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing."
* They choose courage over fear. God said to Joshua words that apply to all of us in the book of Joshua 1:6-9 Amplified Bible saying, "Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
* They choose relationships wisely. Proverbs 22:24-25 New Living Translation Bible says about those who continuously refuse godly change, "Don't befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul."
* They nurture these carefully-selected relationships. Forgiveness is fundamental to friendship. Proverbs 17:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends."
* They actively seek feedback, and use it to grow. Proverbs 20:18 the Message Bible says, "Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get."
God is for us. He wants us to habitually win against the kingdom of darkness and our human nature that rebels against His goodness. Romans 8:31-32 English Standard Version says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
God gives us multiple principles to help us live well. Tenaciously pursuing God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost and His ways is a tactic that will translate into winning whatever war we are battling.
The move will expand the Pentagon's action last February to partially lift the ban, which opened up to women about 14,500 Army jobs, such as tank mechanic and field artillery radar operator.
Women comprise 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel in the United States.
A Gallup poll conducted January 24, 2013, found that 74 percent would vote in favor of a law supporting women in combat job while 20 percent said they would vote against allowing women in combat roles.
Women have waged war for centuries. The Jewish prophet and judge Deborah along with Barak led her people to expel Canaanite invaders. Kentake Shanakdakheto, a black African queen of Kush, dressed in armor and wielding a spear in battle. She did not rule as queen regent or queen mother but as a fully independent ruler. Her husband was her consort. In Celtic culture women were warriors. Boudicca was the queen of the Iceni of the East of England. She headed a rebellion against the occupying Romans in Britain in A.D. 60 that was eventually crushed. Mongolian Queen Manduhai the Wise of the 1400s united the Mongols. Manduhai was pregnant and delivered twin boys while engaged in war against the Oirats who were eventually defeated. Queen Elizabeth I of England changed the course of history defeating the Spanish and establishing her nation as a leading world power. Queen Isabella I co-ruled Spain with her husband, Ferdinand II. Some of the highlights of their rule were that they united Spain and financed Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage to the New World extending Spanish rule to the New World. This list of warrior women is not exhaustive. However, it points to the truth that woman may succeed today in multiple missions within the military and all other areas of life.
Warrior women have some practices that are useful for all of us to cultivate in order to succeed in multiple areas of life:
* They focus on solutions, not problems. Philippians 2:13-14 New Living Translation Bible says, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing."
* They choose courage over fear. God said to Joshua words that apply to all of us in the book of Joshua 1:6-9 Amplified Bible saying, "Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
* They choose relationships wisely. Proverbs 22:24-25 New Living Translation Bible says about those who continuously refuse godly change, "Don't befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul."
* They nurture these carefully-selected relationships. Forgiveness is fundamental to friendship. Proverbs 17:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends."
* They actively seek feedback, and use it to grow. Proverbs 20:18 the Message Bible says, "Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get."
God is for us. He wants us to habitually win against the kingdom of darkness and our human nature that rebels against His goodness. Romans 8:31-32 English Standard Version says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
God gives us multiple principles to help us live well. Tenaciously pursuing God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost and His ways is a tactic that will translate into winning whatever war we are battling.
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