Submission? YES!!

Good Monday Afternoon, my faithful webbies!! I am wishing you much joy and much peace this afternoon....I am in a good place. I spent a lot of time, honestly communicating with Mark yesterday and I believe we are finally on the same page!! To tell you the truth, I don't think I could get any happier....Well, maybe if I were taken up in the rapture, right now, that might make me happier.....Father deliver me from dirty dishes and having to bake bread, today!! Seriously, I have been trying to get Mark to step into the dominant husband/household leader role for three years now and at last, we have come to the conclusion that I would be a much happier and productive wife if he were more insistent and I was more submissive.....I grew up with very dominant parents. I learned to be submissive, subservient even, to my father, especially. My father was an "I say jump and you say how high" man. I learned that domination meant security,comfort and a sense of well-being. Now, as a wife, having to be "on my own" so to speak has made me feel very chaotic and ineffective. I finally realized yesterday, that the reason I feel doubtful sometimes of the sincerity and validity of my husband's profession of feeling to me has to do with the fact that he is reluctant to take hold of my submission and be insistent. He refuses, in my eyes to take authority over my actions and my habits, so he can't possibly care for me, as much as he says. I promised to obey (You bet your sweet bippy, I did!!) and yet he gives me no rules, in which to frame that obedience. My scripture for today is Ephesians 5: 21-33
²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. ³⁰ For we are members of His body,^b]">[b] of His flesh and of His bones. ³¹ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”^c]">[c] ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. ³³ Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
This is a glorious and sweet testament to how men and women should be living and loving, within the confines of their marriages. I believe that the breakdown of most of the marriages, in the US, is due to the fact that men are letting their wives run things and women have little to no respect for their husbands. Our husbands are to nourish our love and cherish our submission. Loving someone means being concerned about their well being and building them up through instruction. It also means correction and discipline when expectations are not met. I'm not talking about anything that resembles abuse or slavery! That's not love. I want Mark to understand that my submission to him, as the leader of our marriage is a huge deal!! It's a gift!! It's what I need to feel nourished and cherished. It means that he values me enough to treat me like Christ treats the church. In return, I am to submit to him in ALL things, obey and respect him. Respect means to have a positive feeling of esteem towards another person and then the carrying out of actions and conduct representative to that esteem. Believe it or not, we wives were not created as equals, to our husbands. God made Adam in His OWN IMAGE. He made Eve as a companion, to compliment Adam. I am not equal to Mark.....Physically, we are different, we think and feel differently....Why should I begin to even think that I can compete with God's original plan for a man and a woman? How is it that I can justify the subversion of God's will for (and His word regarding the dynamics of) my marriage by taking on the roll of "the boss"? On both fronts, I cannot!! So last night, I began truly submitting my will and my self, to my husband and let me tell you, the feeling of relief and blessing is amazing!! I feel the peace that passes understanding, because by submitting to Mark in all things, I am being obedient to God. I can't say that I expect everyone to understand or agree with me, people will interpret God's word individually......But this works for us!! Mark called, a few minutes ago, to check on me....to see what I was doing!! The former me would see this as being an intrusion on my day...and indication that he didn't trust me to do what needed to be done and I would have treated him brusquely, rudely even!! He sounded so happy and so proud of the fact that I was doing as he instructed and that in turn, made me proud that I was pleasing him.

Well, the afternoon is slipping away and I still have dishes to wash and bread to make, so I must be getting on, to get all that fun stuff done. I also have to get a casserole for dinner made and set the table and I still have other chores. Mariah will be with us now, in three days!! I'm excited to have her with us, this summer. I am also excited that our movie, Eclipse will be out in 28 days!!I know there are some of you that don't understand our interest in these books/movies, but we're supporting our daughter and taking an interest in what she enjoys and that's important. I love the love story and the special effects in the movies are really great!! At first, I didn't want anything to do with the series....Then my daughter cornered me and pulled the "have an open mind" card on me....That card is a sensitive issue for me, because I swore that I would always have an open mind with my children and not be so regimented and closed minded as my parents were......So here we are!! Well anyhoo, I've drawled on forever today and I have chores to finish!! I love you all and look forward to meeting up with you soon!! Love like He loves!!
In Him,
Lisa