Confident Woman 102...:)

This is a picture of me with Julia when she was about 2 months old.

Chapter 2

Hi friends,

So excited to share what God taught me through this chapter with you. I hope you are enjoying reading the book as much as I am. Please know that my words to you are spoken with a tender heart and that I am not on a "soap box" or preaching at you in any way, shape, or form...trust me...that is not even in my nature...if anything I might be extra passionate about certain things because God is really teaching that particular topic to me right now. But for those of you who may be reading that don't know me very well, I would never speak at you. This is all a process for me too, and I am learning right along with you...None of us has arrived. We all are on our journey to grow closer to the Lord and I pray this book is helpful to you guys.

With that being said, let's get started!!! (Whatever is in bold print Joyce Meyer stated in Chapter 2)

Both genders should work together for the common good of all. I agree that men and women were created to compliment each other. In a marriage relationship I see this so much between John and I. He has so many obvious strengths that I just don't possess and I feel there are (very few trust me...he's wonderful) a few places where I am able to fill in or be what he needs. His patience and love and tenderness comes at just the right point where I am about to fall over from exhaustion. John never raises his voice or says, "Submit to me woman!" He would never treat me like that. We know that we both have strengths and weaknesses and for the most part I think we do a pretty good job of communicating with one another so that we stay working as a team. The truth is that men and women both need each other. Neither one is greater than the other. Balance is the key.


Learn to believe about yourself what God says about you, not what other people have said about you. This is such a hard one for me. I guess because I am a people pleaser. I need to be a God pleaser. So many times I care about what others will think instead of thinking first, what does God think. I learned this teaching at Timothy and that is I need to act as if I have an audience of one. God is my audience. If I can make Him happy...that's all that matters! And you know what, it takes a lot of stress off when you aren't trying to make every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally happy!!!

After all, God did create Adam first, and it was to Adam that He gave the command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil...she was not the sole cause of a great sin...it was a team effort. I always felt poor Eve got a bad rap.

Satan has hated women almost from the beginning, because it was a woman who would ultimately give birth to Jesus Christ, the defeater of Satan and all of his evil works. This explains all the oppression woman still face today in our society. It has gotten better, but Satan has always used his hatred towards women been at odds with us. And there is always a power struggle between men and women. You can feel the tension in every work place even today.

The world needs both men and women in order to run smoothly. Of course it does! That's why God created us out of the rib of a man. And when God created us He saw that we were a great match and fit!

Let God heal you rather than spend your life being bitter about the past. I believe this to be true in all cases. Whether you have been mistreated by men in the past or anyone, better to forgive and move on than stay bitter and angry and never be able to move past it. Life is so much sweeter and fuller when vengeance is the Lord's. I was hurt in the past by a male cousin when I was very young. But after talking it through with my family (just recently) and working through it I was able to forgive and totally let it go. I pray for him because he is going to be accountable to God for what he did and his actions. The degradation of women is a worldwide problem. And this problem is at its worst in parts of the world that have no Christian heritage. We are blessed to live in America where at least our country was founded on Biblical truths...although it doesn't seem like it much anymore. But God has covered us and allowed us to move much more forward than other countries who are still in darkness.

God is a god of order, and He has established lines of authority that allow an orderly, peaceful existence. He expects us to submit to and respect one another. I hear a lot of wives say, "I don't like the word submit or submissive." And I can see where it sounds negative, but really that is not how God intended it. Isn't it amazing how the secular world can twist truth and make it seem bad, when really God intended it to be such a huge blessing to us? I think it is so sad that so many women today feel they have to take the role of "husband/father" instead of being "wife/mother". God never ever meant for us to feel less than. It isn't even in God's nature to do that. He gives us so much value and so much worth.

It's clear today that a lot of people don't know how to use their authority with responsibility and love. Could this have anything to do with the lack of prayer and following of God's Word that we see in America. The farther we come away from God as a nation, the more degradation of women we are going to see and abuse of authority on both sides.

I love how Joyce ends the chapter...You are woman! God loves you, you are equal with men, and you have a destiny. It is high time someone realizes who you really are!

Friends, please post your comments below like you did last time on chapter one! Make them as long as you like, I LOVE hearing what you have to say...feel free to also visit Suzette's blog by clicking here on the highlighted words. http://godlyrose.blogspot.com

Lord, thank you for making me a woman! I know I have a great future and destiny. Help me to submit to my husband and to be a nurturing mom to Julia and Mark. Help me to be a God pleaser and not a people pleaser. Help me to care more about what you think of me than any other person. I have an audience of One. I love you!