theLittlethingsinLife

It seems like the perfect day to be doing something other than sitting at my desk. Right now it is 86 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze, I really don’t think the weather could get any better. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could take a hammock down to the yellow breaches and lay in the shade with a book. Or I could even take a nap in the sun, getting the tan I wish I had. An office job and summer course just doesn’t allow for time to soak up any rays, I really am a ghost. I could even tell you the book I would be reading, Fame, it is the first book in the Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury. My goal for the summer was to finish this series, but I haven’t even started

What else could I do on this beautiful day…
…spending time with family and friends
…yard work
…go to the pool
…clean/organize my room
…finish my homework, although I would not enjoy this, it just needs to be done
…shopping
…painting (anything…walls, paper, canvas)
…coming up with ideas for the apartment this fall
…plan for my trip to Europe
…catch up on my missed episodes of the Bachelor
…taking a long bath
…relaxing
…and much more

I feel like as soon as life begins to slow down you still find plenty of things to do, staying just as busy. I am sure when my summer class ends, I will be even busier trying to catch up on everything I have missed. Oh well…I don’t mind. The busier the better, right? It is always fun to dream!

My pastor gave a sermon a few weeks ago on staying in love and I would like to share it with you. I have been thinking about it a bit because if falls into a category we have been discussing in my summer Theology class. We had a lesson on, interpreting the Bible with integrity, and in the sermon we looked at the Bible verse of Ephesians 5:21-26.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives submit to your husband as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is head of the church, his body, of which he is Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” — NIV

Listen with new ears and new understandings. Submit is a biblical principle that we need to get our hands around. Think about it, Paul is saying that wives are to put oneself under their husbands, willingly and gladly. Now stay calm, I know this is a big issue and most people do not like this verse, but I found a very different perspective.

The Bible then says, “Husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church. But do you realize what this means? Jesus died for the church. So God is saying that husbands are to die for their wives like Christ died for the church. So before you get all bent out of shape from one verse, read further and make sure you have the full perspective. Wives should submit to their husbands, but husbands have an even greater task, putting their lives down for their wives (but I do not mean literally kill yourself).

I learned a lot from this sermon, but I found it even more interesting as I compared it to the things we have been discussing in my Theology class. We have been talking about putting things in perspective and comparing them to the whole. I think this situation is a good example of how we can blow things out of proportion and jump to conclusions.

Here is my opinion…my pastor got it right. I think that the husband should be the head of the household. Of course, wives should have responsibility, but the husband should take leadership in the household. Although, there is a point of working together and keeping each other on the right track. I expect my husband to then respect me as I respect him and treat me as equal. Therefore I do not have a problem “submitting” to my husband as long as he loves and has me in his best interest.

Credit: Pastor Shertzer of Slate Hill Mennonite Chruch

One of my favorite things to do is check the weather. My mom would say that I get this special trait from my dad. If we had the weather channel, I believe my mom and my brothers would go crazy. Now I do not believe that I am as bad as my dad, but I do check the weather quite often.

This summer has been decent so far, concerning the weather in Grantham Pennsylvania. Some of my Messiah friends like to call Grantham the rainy town. It seems like it is always raining at school. But I believe that we just forget about all of the sunny days. For most college students, the weather is not of concern, so when they walk out of class without an umbrella and are completely drenched by the time they get to their dorm; it is a day to remember. Ask any college student if they have a story to tell about the rain and I am sure they will. So my advice for any incoming college student is…invest in a good umbrella, not just a cheap thing, but something that will last (I have seen many inside-out or droopy umbrellas walking around campus).

You may be wondering why I am writing about the weather. Well, the problem is I have nothing better to say. So far this summer of firsts, is not that interesting! Between, work, family/friend time, and theology class, I haven’t done very many interesting activities. But I will be sure to let you know when something interesting comes along!