Walk with the King!
I LOVE hearing from my readers and I pray for you all regularly. I try to respond to questions in the comment section as quickly as I can - within 1-3 days.
Due to an overflowing email inbox and the desire to keep my husband, children and home first priority in my life, I am no longer able to answer personal emails at this time. I apologize.
Walk with the King!
Courtney
I was reading a comment left last week by a person and they said that your body being a temple is about sexual morality and not about weight or appearance. I don't completely agree. I believe it has to do with the complete package. If you would think about a literal temple of the Lord, what would you think of? I think of a place of beauty and calm. I think of a place clean and smelling lovely and maintained the best that it could be! Not a place that is unkempt and neglected. Our bodies can only perform their best when they are kept in the best shape possible! We will be better mothers, wives and servants of our Lord. My husband ever so kindly asked me to lose some weight and I did NOT become offended because I DO need to lose weight. I want to be a good wife, mother and servant of the Lord. Not maintaining our health and weight will put a damper on our progress. I know! I'm there! Also, my husband asks me my opinion about his appearance too and I appreciate his efforts to keep himself so handsome for me!Be kind ladies! We are all here to encourage and help each other!
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ReplyDeleteCourtney (Women Living Well) said...
ReplyDeleteNJohnson - thank you so much for opening up and sharing your heart. Your hubby is one lucky man - I love your desire to honor him!!!
The previous commentor referred to the context that Paul was dealing with in Corinth - sexual sin. But in principle we see that our bodies do matter to God. I Cor. 6:20 says "You were bought at a price therefore honor God with your body." We learn many principles through the way Paul dealt with different Corinthian issues.
You keep on striving to honor God in your marriage!! Your spirit is beautiful!!!
Walk with the King!
Courtney
I completely agree with NJohnson. Our bodies are a temple. We have been bought with a price and do not have the "right"- if we are claiming to submit to Christ- to just put whatever we want into our mouths and bodies. People perish for lack of knowledge. I grieve when I see first hand people bound down with extra weight, depression, feeling sick and sluggish all the time with health problems because they have not submitted the area of eating properly and taking care of their bodies to the Lord. I used to be one of them! It is a bondage just like any other and it hinders.
ReplyDeleteSubmitting to our husbands does go against what the world teaches. As a young wife myself I find it hard sometimes to submit (without complaining or with a bad attitude but joyfully). However I desire to be a godly wife and God is slowly molding me into a better wife. Thank you for sharing such information. With the lack of great marriage examples we young wives need to see that godly marriages do exist and are thriving! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAs a naturally independent, strong-willed woman, it can be a struggle to be submissive to my husband. We have gone through good and bad cycles of this through the 6 years of our marriage. However, I've come to realize that it truly is the only way for a marriage succeed. If I want our marriage to last--to be one that does not fail--I have no choice but to follow biblical standards. But let me say this...I am finding that this no longer comes begrudgingly. I have found that God has blessed my heart by being obedient to Him via submitting to my husband!! My husband loves me whole-heartedly and is more than willing to meet my needs when we are in a cycle where we are submitting/respecting/loving each other.
ReplyDeleteI think the important thing here is to re-iterate that God has given our husbands a responsibility to our households and that is a very important responsibility. We need to help them out in anyway possible and part of that is being submissive/respectful. I don't want to be in the way of God working through my man!!
Finally, I think this will look different for each marriage. I'm sure some of you look at Courtney and are put off by some of the requests of her husband. Don't worry--I'm sure you'd look at my marriage and feel the same way! The important thing is that we are being open and communicative with our spouses to THEIR needs. They are all bent a little differently so how "submission" plays out in each household will vary!!
Thank you Courtney for being willing to stand on such an important, hard principal!!
Great video. God has given us the plans and guidelines for a happy, healthy marriage - who are we to say we know better than him?
ReplyDeleteThe day before I got married the pastor joked "Let's take that word out" meaning 'obey'. I said "That needs to stay in and possibly repeated" to which everyone got a good laugh. But you could have blown the pastor over with a feather! But my husband knew the gem he was getting and has never misused it! We have honest discussions about everything including our weights and why I seem to not be able to drive without cussings. We are both humans and under God's grace. We rarely fight, are very peaceful with one another and laugh our patootie's off every chance we get! It's not that we are perfect but we know we are loved: by God and each other.
ReplyDeleteThank you for presenting God's Word. I agree that if anyone has a problem with it they really are having a problem with God's Word. So often today we try to make God's word fit into our lives rather than work to transform our lives to fit God's word. Thanks for the ministry you have here, it is such a blessing.
ReplyDeleteYou keep up the good, biblical blog posts, Courtney! You're doing great. You're absolutely right, these people have a problem with following God's Word, not with you.
ReplyDeleteSeveral times lately I've been frustrated with negativity that I've heard about a few situations. I asked my husband in exasperation "WHY can't people see...?" and he answered simply "Darkness cannot abide the Light(Christ)" He blew me away with the simplicity of his explanation. He was totally right.
This is why people are so defensive and upset when we do not allow certain things for our children, when we stand up for God's Word, when we wives say we 'obey' our husbands, when we accept children for the blessings that they are, etc.
Darkness(sin-satan) cannot abide the Light(Christ--living in us)
It's not us they don't like-it's Christ in us- and it's not even THEM, it's satan. The Word says our enemy is not flesh and blood, it's satan.
Love Samantha
Great video.If only more people followed God's word.Divorce wouldnt keep rising.This is an issue all women struggle with but the main thing is to have a desire to honor God's word and to want to do it.Like in video when Courtnbey said we have to "learn and that it doesn't come naturally"!
ReplyDeleteSubmitting will always be a struggle women face because of what happened in the garden of eden so when women understand that submission IS the only way and that God designed it as such then it will be much easier. The fact so much negativity surronds this means it is touching nerves which means it's true! Keep it up Courtney i love your blogs and once again it inspires and encourages me daily to want to be a better wife!
I'm so proud of you! I saw your comment over at Sarah Mae's blog and this is something I needed to hear today. I am a CHristian wife & mom and I do want to do God's will, but sometimes it annoys me that my husband says, "I'm the boss." Just being honest here, but I did need to hear this and I do know you're right and in line w/ God's word. I'm subscribing to your blog so I can hear more! AMen GIRL!
ReplyDeleteCourtney,
ReplyDeleteWell, how sweet are you! My daughters and I just watched your Rachel Ray clip and the one on Titus 2 with just had the biggest smiles on our faces and were so encouraged and excited to hear your message.
My youngest daughter commented and said everything she said was solid! So thank you for putting yourself out there to encourage and be a light. Keep up the good work and may the Lord continue to bless and keep you!
Love,
Robin
Alyssa and Robin! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteKeep walking with the King!
Courtney
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteThis is very good. Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
Submission is a word that has unfortunately been made out to be a degrading word in today's society. But it's not degrading at all. I wrote a poem a couple of years ago, and one of the lines is about submission. It reads, "Blessed is she who understands it is not demeaning to respect her husband, but rather a reflection of her own self-worth." Submission is respecting authority, and it is a reflection of our own self worth.
ReplyDeleteCourtney,
ReplyDeleteI saw this video and wondered if you could explain something.
At the beginning of the video, you pointed out that your position/lifestyle of submission was causing people to criticize the Word of God. But later, you read that Godly submission of a wife in marriage is so that people may not "malign" the Word of God.
That sounds contradictory to me. Could you reconcile those? Also, a follow up question might be, Do you feel like your expression of marriage is the only biblical expression of submission? Why yes or why no?
And then, unrelated, why on earth are you using Blogger. Ugh. I bet you get more kick-back from that than you do from your ideas on godly submission.
Grace to you.
Bret
Jb - great point! I was referring to a previous video where I had been heavily criticized...I have since deleted it. When some of my words are taken out of context - they sound pretty bad...so it was better to take the video down - as I seemed to be misunderstood and also getting requoted incorrectly...
ReplyDeleteFor example, currently there is a writer of a very large blog who has written in a blog post about me, that I tell women to worship their husbands - gag. I would never suggest such a thing as it goes against the Bible! But people assume some pretty wild things about me!
So yes, people criticize but often it's because they read into my 3 minute videos or 3 minute blog post their world view and experience and twist what I am saying.
I have NEVER in my real life had one person concerned with the way I submit to my husband. All of my unbelieving friends recognize it as different - but most of the guys think my husband is a lucky man to have a wife who adores him and respects him so highly. And my girlfriends can't deny I'm a happy wife :-)! So in real life - there's NO maligning EVER. I think that is what the verse means - when people see a marriage working Biblically (you'd have to know/see my loving hubby right?) it's beautiful!
I'm not sure what you are assuming my definition/expression is of submission. Maybe you should clarify??
Ephesians 5:22 says "Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord." So first, I need to be submitting to the Lord. Then I need to submit to my husband like I submit to the Lord...unless...he asks me to do something that goes again the Lord, is abusing me (seek safety and legal justice), or cheating on me. (Matt. 19:9).
Is that what you are asking? What do you see my "expression" as?
And you'll be happy to hear :-) I'm moving to WordPress in the new year lol!!! I never imagined my blog would get more than 20 readers!!! So that's why I'm in blogger!
Courtney
Hey! Thanks for the prompt response. I emailed you about potentially interviewing you (emailed from my bret@forerunnerjustice.com account). I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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