You were created to be the mistress of your domain...

Lydia the Hospitable

picture in the public domain

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #2

“Jesus, my God and King, It was You who came to earth to live as a man, and it was You who brought a new dignity to the status of women. Your expressions of kindness and love toward women was, is, and always will be, unsurpassed. When I think of all my doubts, my confusion, my unwillingness to receive all that you intended for me to be from the beginning, I stand ashamed of my shortcomings. I ask that you will purify my heart, my mind, and my will through this study, that I might more lovingly reflect Your heart, Your mind, and Your will. This is only possible through your love and forgiveness, for which I now pray. Amen.”

As I began this Bible study in September of 2000, I wrote down this prayer. It is still the prayer of my heart today. We, as women, desperately need to see ourselves as unique creations of God, and understand that we were uniquely created for unique purpose. We need to support each other and build each other up as often as we possibly can. Matthew 6:22 says tells us that the eye is the light of the body. In other words, we need to be able to “see” ourselves correctly as God intended, so that we can mature to become the productive, effective, and confident rulers of the domain God has given to us. A proper view of our life provides the proper basis for living.

Just what is our domain anyway? Our domain consists of everything in our lives for which we are responsible. Our personal domain would include such things as our relationships, our bodies, our time and our talents. It would also include parts of the physical world around us...anything that would be in our charge or within our ability to control.

When mankind was created, God issued His mandate and gave us His divine authority to subdue, rule, and to be productive. This mandate might be called “The Great Commission of the Old Testament.” For we find in Genesis 1:28 these words: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

As I began to think about what kinds of things made up "my domain". I listed six categories for which I knew I will be accountable to God. Here are the areas I pin-pointed:

1) relationships

2) words

3) home management

4) talents/gifts

5) stewardship of money

6) attitudes

Next, I looked at each of these general areas, and thought about them more specifically. For example, under "relationships" I listed: husband, children, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, neighbors. Under "talents/gifts", I listed: hospitality, writing, teaching, reading, organizational skills. I did this with each of the categories. Then I chose one area that needed better stewardship, (money) and made the decision to do something about it in the coming week. In my workbook, I wrote: "This week I need to set up and organize my files and home office space. I also need to work on the family budget."

As I learned more about my call to be the mistress of my own domain, and thought more about the reality of someday meeting my King face to face and giving an account of my stewardship, my identity as His chosen viceroy began to come clearer into focus. I was asked in my workbook what was one thing I want to be able to give to Christ as a fruit of my life. I wrote this answer:

"I would like to be able to say that because I was a concientious steward of my time, money, and talents and recognized my capability, authority, and responsibility to be the mistress of my domain, that I was free to impact the lives of others for eternity's sake~~even if that impact was a cup of water. I especially want to be successful at the parenting game so that my fruit will produce seed for more good fruit."

Or to say it another way, as Erma Bombeck did, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."

What is your domain, and what are you doing with it?

Next~ what went wrong?

*All content of this series is based on what I learned from the study "Five Aspects of Woman" by Barbara Mouser, and taught by Helga Gross at the Hudson Community Chapel. While this summary is my own, the entire study was developed by Mrs. Mouser, and can be purchased through the International Council for Gender Studies website.

Five Aspects of Woman

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #1

About ten years ago, I took a life-changing ladies' Bible study at our church called "Five Aspects of Woman". It is a study of the nature of femininity from a Biblical perspective. The study was written by Barbara Mouser, who with her husband, William Mouser, founded the International Council of Gender Studies in 1991. Here is an excerpt from their website that tells what they are about:

"The International Council for Gender Studies (ICGS) is formed of evangelical Christians in America and Europe who are committed to speaking the historic Christian faith to this generation. We think that non-biblical egalitarian tenets about the nature and relationship of men and women are not only corrosive to society at large, but also pose a threat to the spiritual vitality and integrity of the Church. Persuaded that God has spoken through the Prophets and Apostles in the Bible concerning human sexuality, we have joined together to call Christians to reaffirm and to live anew the whole counsel of God as He has spoken concerning gender issues."

I say this study was "life-changing" for me not because I have ever had any doubts or conflicts with my gender or feminine attributes, but because I had never studied the Bible with an eye to view myself as a unique female creation and had never given much thought as to how God's design for woman went any further than what I had always been taught: woman was created from the side of the man to be his helpmate; women are to be in subjection to their own husbands; older women in the faith are to teach the younger women, and so forth.

Our culture today does not hold women in the high esteem that God their Creator does. Women who voluntarily and lovingly place themselves under the headship of their husbands are seen as old-fashioned. Those who cultivate a "quiet and gentle spirit" are urged to take an "assertiveness training" course. Mothers who sacrifice financially to stay home and feather a nest for their families are considered to have wasted their education. On it goes.

A little bit about me:

By the time I took this course, I had been a full time stay-at-home mom for about seven years. Before that I worked outside the home, first full-time, and then on a part-time basis. While I can never reclaim the time I missed when my sons were younger and I was working, I am so grateful that I was able to be home full-time throughout their entire teenage years and to this day. But except for my husband's constant encouragement, I never felt the permission or the empowerment to fully be comfortable in my role. I knew that my focus was right and good, and believed in my heart that it was God-pleasing. Still, there always seemed to be a nagging feeling that my love of and contentment with being wife, mom, and homemaker made me something just a little bit "less" than others who chose to continue their education or remain in the workplace while raising their families.

This study helped me realize there is so much more God wanted me to understand. The forming of the woman was the last of God's creative acts, and I like to say, His "crown jewel"! When He finished with all He had made, He pronounced them "very good". By the time I finished this study, I not only felt "permission" to be all that I was called to be, but I felt "commissioned" to teach the study myself, which I will tell about at the end of this series. It was perhaps a once-a-lifetime experience with an eternal impact.

So...I am going to post a short series here on each of the five aspects that Barbara Mouser has identified. They are:

1) Mistress of the Domain

2) Helper-Completer

3) Life-giver

4) Lady of Wisdom

5) Glory of Man

In the course, as Mrs. Mouser states on the website, "Each aspect is studied as it was created to be, as it is marred by sin, as it is redeemed in Christ, and as it applies to life now."

I invite readers to share your stories or insights as we go along, aspect by aspect. Either post as comment, as lengthy as you like, or if you prefer to email me, I will respond as soon as possible. If only one woman out there gains a tiny affirmation of any aspect of her Biblical femininity, I will be so blessed!

trash to treasure...

Here is one of many items my dad rescued from a curb, and turned into a treasure. To see something I did recently, look here. I'd love to hear about some of the things you have turned from trash to treasure...?????

stuffed green peppers

There's nothing special about this recipe, but I have had a lot of compliments when I make it. This is one of the easy dishes I sometimes make for our meals ministry. We had it the other night with corn on the cob and a tossed salad.

I take the bell peppers and slice them in half from top to bottom, and then cut the tops off and clean out the inside. Rinse and set aside while making mixture. All you need is ground beef, a couple eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, chopped onion, and a little milk. Mix in a bowl and add salt and pepper. Stuff the half peppers generously, lay them meat side up in a baking dish, and cover with a large can of crushed tomatoes. Then sprinkle with parmesean cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. The last ten minutes of baking, take the foil off.

My mom makes her peppers totally different. She uses cooked rice, and browns her meat first. I like the rice but don't want the extra carbs. And cooking the meat first changes the texture. It's all in what you prefer. Both ways are good!

Here is a kitchen gadget that I can't do without. It came from Pampered Chef. It's a scraper that I use to clean off my countertop. It's wonderful and if you don't have one, you need to get one!

What's you favorite kitchen gadget?

My own little rebellion...hanging clothes outdoors to dry

I just could not take one more warm, sunny day without doing this. I mean, of course it is not a necessity. But one of the things I've missed since we moved into this allotment almost 15 years ago was hanging my clothes outside. I honestly don't know if we have deed restrictions here or not regarding this, (I might soon find out!) but we've had such a hot summer and I've been outdoors with the grandkids (and the neighbor kids) so much that I just wanted to have a clothesline.

First I went to one store and bought a retractable apparatus that you attach to your house and then the line gets attached to a hook which is attached to something else. Hubby and I went outside and tried to figure out what that "something else" might be, and he decided he would build something onto our deck that would make it tall enough to stretch the clothesline over to. I thought about it some more, and the next day I went and bought one of those clothesline pole kits that is a T shape, and can accomodate several clotheslines. I had to go to our town's hardware store, because the stores like Lowe's don't carry these. The box said "4 pieces" so I thought that meant it was two T shaped poles. It was about twice as expensive as the retractable apparatus, but I decided I would just take the plunge and really commit. I picked out an area behind our attached garage. So I had hubby return the retractable clothesline to Lowe's.

When hubby was all set to work on this over the weekend, we opened up the box to find it was only one, not two pole kits. He also wasn't smiling when the instructions said to dig a 12 inch deep hole and fill it with concrete. Our soil is really hard...we've installed two picket fences when we first moved in...and neither of us were eager to go through all that trouble and expense, and risk being told we wouldn't be allowed to keep it up.

So...I had hubby return the T pole set to the hardware store, and told him to go ahead and buy the retractable clothesline I had seen there. Here's what we ended up doing:

Yep, that's it! Hidden in and attached to our maple tree, which is about 25 feet behind our house.

And here is the hook that is attached to the house, cleverly placed in the seam of the siding and barely noticeable when the clothesline is not attached.

The line is just long enough for one load of clothes at a time. I've already done three loads and it was so much fun. I'm hoping to do bedsheets today. The clothes cannot be seen from the street or front of the house at all. Only one neighbor has full view of it when the clothes are on the line (from the backyard only) and the other neighbors would have to try pretty hard to see anything. So I don't think I'm really bothering anyone by hanging clothes out a couple of times a week.

This is the view my next door neighbors have when the clothes are on the line. When I take the clothes down, I simply retract the line and nothing is visible. They happen to be on vacation so when they get back they'll get to see it for the first time!

By now you might be asking, "why don't you just check the deed restrictions so you aren't worrying about this?" Well, it's been 15 years since I've looked at the paperwork, and anyway, this is just my own "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I'll let you know if anything changes!

What about you? Do you like the smell and feel of sun dried clothes in the summer as much as I do?

Chicken Marengo

We had this for supper tonight! This recipe came from my mother-in-law years ago. I make it in the pressure cooker. I suppose you could cook it slowly on the stove, or even in a crockpot, once you brown the chicken. It's real easy, and very tasty. Let me know if you try it!

Chicken Marengo

2-3 pounds boneless skiless chicken thighs

1 tsp. coarse black pepper

1 cup flour

1-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 - 1 pound sliced mushrooms

large can crushed tomatoes

1 cup dry white wine (or any cooking wine)

1-2 Tbsp. oil

Place flour and pepper in a large ziplock bag or a paper bag and shake chicken pieces in the mixture. Heat oil in bottom of pressure cooker and add garlic. Saute for about a minute. Add floured chicken pieces and brown slightly on both sides. Add mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, and the wine. Stir gently and then close pressure cooker and put steam regulator in place. Heat on medium until regulator starts to rock, then cook for 10 minutes while rocking slowly. Remove pressure cooker from heat and let pressure drop slowly. When steam valve is fully closed, carefully open the lid. Serve over boiled noodles.

Do you have any favorite pressure cooker recipes?