Game day turned out to be all that I had expected, plus
some. Moving my schedule around to meet
the needs of my spouse was sheer delight, especially in meeting two grand ladies
that filled my head with compliments.
Arriving on time, hubby and I took off our coats giving
valid excuses why we couldn’t stay long (Angel kitty as one of them). Pressing in the attending women asked if we
would join them in a game of Mexican Train Dominos. If you haven’t played it, you’ve got to … it’s
so much fun and we actually got hubby to join in on the action.
When I questioned why I have to beg him to play games for
years, but he joined in on this one in a heartbeat hubby said, “It wasn't that game.”
Still not sure how to take that response, but I'm almost
positive it’s not the right answer. I
was happy to be doing something different for a change and was elated with being
asked to be a part of his world.
Near the end of our activity my enthusiasm changed, which
caused me to think about our subject for this week – women.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Salé, Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer, Morocco; Ludlow,
England, United Kingdom; Fredericton & Marysville, NB, Canada; Trail, BC,
Canada; Trbovlje, Central Sava Statistical Region, Slovenia; Istanbul, Istanbul
Province, Turkey; Finland; Ireland;
Jordan; Madagascar; Malaysia; Serbia; Russia; Singapore. Namibia;
Zambia.
USA
– Kissimmee, Starke, Summerfield & Winter
Haven, FL; Job, Inez, Lovely, Warfield & Tomahawk, KY; Moore, SC; Baton
Rouge & West Monroe, LA; Reno, NV; Strasburg & Virginia Beach, VA;
Clanton, AL; Hanford & Temecula, CA; Glenolden & Linglestown, PA;
Columbia Heights, MN; Carl Junction, MO; Elmer & Minotola, NJ.
I am so thankful for your visit and hope that you come
back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Relationships.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge
(below).
It Wasn’t Luck, but Skill
As the hours passed our conversations about relationships
grew and how the favor of God had a hand in each medical situation. Prayer and literally being by the side of
their loved one during heart surgery was what got them through the whole
ordeal. Ultimately, God was the center
of it even for those who were skeptical at first.
I was intent on learning the game, but more so finding
out how others coped during the time of need while their partner was undergoing
treatment in and out of the hospital.
Our teacher of the game was excellent in her skill resulting in my
winning both games, the latter I didn’t even realize because I was talking. (No
remarks from the balcony please!)
“Your wife is lucky.” Karen said to my
husband as she collected the game pieces from the table. He didn’t agree with it being luck, but
nodded in the fact I win things at times.
Shortly after the finals my playing mates said they would
have to give me a handicap before entering into the Mexican Train ride in the
future. At least I didn’t get banned
from other events.
Simply Beautiful
Hubby was seated across the large conference table from
me, and as he was engrossed in conversation about his surgery I leaned over to
grab our coats from the chairs directly behind where I sat.
Sliding his belongings across the table the lady next to
me began saying how youthful I looked. Perking
up, now Lyn really had my attention.
When she inquired about my age my eyes flashed over to my
husband with the look, “Don’t you dare
tell her!” I wasn’t about to let him
ruin what this woman obviously felt she needed to declare … “You look about the age of my daughter; you
couldn’t be older than her.”
She went on and on about my looks. Okay I let her go on
and on … never revealing my age and why I was with that “older man.” Hubby shared how he’s been called my father
so many times while out dining, and once again I didn’t stop him from telling
that tale.
Standing to make my exit, it didn’t reveal how I truly
felt, but left blushing and making it out to be nothing significant. I have to admit I was flattered for a while,
but the feeling soon left.
Thinking about the situation later on in the week
reminded me of Sarai when Abram referred to her as a woman of beautiful
countenance, meaning her face and entirety of body was beautiful to look upon
from the viewpoint of others besides him.
Now we know that Abram was really being selfish in this particular
instance, but it didn’t change the fact that this woman was simply beautiful!
“ And it came to pass, when he was
close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that
you are a woman of beautiful
countenance.” (Genesis 12:11 NKJV)
Knowing you’re beautiful and feeling
beautiful are two separate matters in the mind of a woman; it’s not something
that I “feel” or “believe” but I’m working on it. Hearing someone talk that way
was nice, but really made me uneasy and uncomfortable.
Become What You Think
Beauty isn’t always in the eyes of the beholder,
especially when the one looking has no “eye” for what God said about the
creation. There was a time when I was once
voted cutest in my class, and could accept that perhaps there was cuteness
about me, but certainly nothing beautiful.
Thoughts were etched in my mind when someone
I deeply cared about felt the need to throw vile word darts explaining how I
wasn’t special or pretty. Nothing anyone
said after that meant anything, because I believed what this man said to me.
So when the ladies from Game Day began
discussing looks I gathered my belongings as soon as I could to escape the
situation by making light of it. This
leads me to the last (third) part of blessing #9 from Life in God’s Garden.
As
we finish studying the beginning of human relationships, I’d like to look at
the female side of things in helping us become what God says we are and not
what we think we are. Let’s get some
insight to what Jehovah says a woman really is to Him, a man and to others.
Counting Our Blessings
The
ninth blessing is constructed of three parts: the relationship with God, second
animals and finally the race of man. It
is with the last part that Adam would recognize the
creatures paraded before his eyes were not like him by any stretch of the
imagination.
Here is where I’d like add a
few words on the subject of the female part of the race of man and why woman
was intended to be a blessing. We notice that
everything God made was good, but all of a sudden something isn’t good …
something isn’t quite right.
“… and the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a
helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 2:18 NKJV)
Last
time we focused on what was floating around in Adam’s head when he first laid
eyes on the mate God chose for him. I’d like to take a
look at this through Eve’s eyes and what she thought about herself.
The
Wo in Man
Sometimes
I think it’s hard for us to wrap our thinking around what actually happened in
the garden when it comes to God creating two parts of “man”, one being the male
and the other the female in the race.
We
poke fun at how the male was made, at least I have likening him to no more than a
blob of dough being pinched, pushed and squeezed into something that resembles
the image of God. On the other hand,
when it comes to the Divine design of the female, we tend to dress it up into
being the best part of the dough becoming the “Divine sliced bread” for the
male to ingest as if it was the food of life.
Yuck…
Man
is first pictured in Genesis 1:26-27 where both male and female were created in
the image of God. It’s not until chapter 2 that we learn more about their
descriptions in the design of the human race.
For the first time in the process of creation we read that something
isn’t good.
Once
man made his debut we learn that there is a need for a mate for him so he will
not be lonely, thereby God created a suitable helper to complete the race
called man. (Genesis 2:18) In order for
the creation of man to be completely “good” there had to be a counterpart that
was equal to the first design.
By
Adam noticing the companions of each animal that was paraded before him, he saw
that none of them looked like he did.
The revelation light bulb was lit in his thinking understanding that something
was lacking in his short lived life.
It’s not until Genesis 1:27 that the terms male, female (man and
woman) are identified as separate identities yet still called man.
When
Adam sees Eve for the first time he notices that there is an inner and outer
beauty in her that he does not possess.
She is the beautiful reflection of God, the “wo” that makes him stop and
do a double take of what was given to him as a precious gift.
The
Fashioning of the Woman - Not So Romantic
“So the LORD God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and
closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the
rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. (Genesis
2:21-22).
There
have been more theories than I can count on why God fashioned the female from
the rib of a male. Why didn’t He just
form her out of dust like He did Adam?
Some
romanticize the creation saying God chose to use the ribcage because it
protects and is close to the heart.
There are some really far-fetched ideas that I wouldn’t ever care to
share (if you know what I mean).
Man
was formed (Hebrew word for yaw-tsar’) to squeeze into a shape by hand
forming a mold by a potter for his purpose.
He was predetermined (pre-ordained) formed and fashioned in the frame
that God designed for him to work, be active, become a father and fulfill his
Divine calling.
Even
more specific, the male part of man was created to be a servant to all
humanity, become great in whatever he set his mind to and be a champion for his
contrasting counterpart – the female part of man which Adam called “the woman.”
Formed
vs. Made (Genesis 2)
“… and the
rib which the LORD (Jehovah "the existing One") God had taken from
man, made an extension to the male man called baw-naw (fe-male). This “man” was
built literally and figuratively to obtain (set up, house, repair) children
for the purpose of establishing a permanent family relationship. (Genesis 2:22
NKJV emphasis mine)
God
knew from the beginning that there had to be a counterpart to the male. His timing of bringing her forth was for Adam’s
(the man’s) benefit so he would recognize that he needed her.
What
exactly was different with how the two were created anyway? Scriptures describe a method for each as the
male being “formed” compared to the female being “made”.
Adam,
the male part of man, was formed out of the ground just like
any animal (no wonder they have those tendencies to get dirty and play in the
mud.) It’s easy to see how so many puns
and “pet” names were derived from this realization.
The relationship of Father/Son was
established on Earth like it already was in Heaven with Jesus. This would take Jehovah into His next phase
of the race of man. I wonder how the
conversation went with Adam when God told him he’d have to have surgery in
order to have a wife.
"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on
Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its
place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He
brought her to the man.
And
Adam said: This is now bone of
my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
(Genesis 2:21-24 NKJV)
When God thought of what He wanted
the female to be He designed her with the male in mind. Her being formed is described as something
that took time and care as in building a magnificent temple or castle. She was skillfully crafted and designed to be
cherished and loved.
In bringing her to Adam, Eve was set
apart as a perfect work to be cherished, honored and treasured as something
special in the union ordained as marriage.
She is presented to man by the Father, the first bride,
Holy, pure and without spot or wrinkle (guess those finally came because of sin too
… thanks Mum Eve!).
One
Rib Coming Up
Adam was formed while Eve was made, fashioned, crafted. Like a block of ice that was formed, the
sculptor takes away parts and creates something beautiful out of what already
existed.
"Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And
Adam said: This is now bone of
my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2: 22b-23 NKJV)
The
term woman means the opposite of the
masculine or male species of the race of man.
She is female, a wife to the male, as in the married partner of a union
becoming one.
When God took a rib from Adam He removed
something that was initially in man. Through
research we learn that the term rib actually is “curve” or part of his
DNA. Man and woman have an X chromosome,
but the male alone has the Y chromosome.
The female part of man is different
because she carries two XX chromosomes making each part of the union uniquely
beautiful by Divine design. Only when
placed together do they become whole again and one complete man (atom).
There is a logical and orderly reason why God
removed a “rib” from Adam instead of taking another part of his body. Bone contains the DNA from the membrane that
covers them which is needed for reproduction, but the rib periosteum (membrane)
regrows or regenerates when damaged.
Selecting the rib was the perfect choice
because it provides a good supply of blood through the intercostal muscles
allowing healing to take place rather quickly.
The miracle for healing was already set in the design of man from the
very beginning.
“Formed
or Made”, fashioning of man and woman terminology is distinct in what the
Master had in mind, A pot as in forming (yatser) of man by the potter in Hebrew,
has a specific purpose and can only be used for one thing at a time. This makes it so much easier to grasp why a
man has difficulty in multi-tasking – he wasn’t designed to do it.
However,
fashioning (the making) of the woman is banah,
which is an artful skill referring to the making of beautiful palaces and
temples. God wanted woman to be more
than a companion and helper. He designed
her to be an aesthetic work, something to look upon and behold as beautiful in
the eyes of her beloved. Built in
abilities including wisdom and knowledge would help sustain her own beauty in
attracting the male counterpart.
Wonder
Woman
Man
and woman were created as a governing team to be interdependent of one another
to accomplish the Will of God. While the
male race was designed to focus on servanthood and purpose oriented, the female
part in service included cultivating relationships.
Eve would bring to Adam what was removed from him
restoring “completeness” to man. As a
part of him, Eve understands Adam’s nature and has a desire to build him up
encouraging him to complete his mission for God and the family. She fills the void that was missing. In other words, in God’s eyes together their
DNA makes ONE person.
The wonderment of a woman is beyond description and is not to be undermined by any means nor taken lightly. The beauty of being female takes on several roles in multi-tasking with ease.
Speaking words of confidence into her husband’s life and giving him her thumbs up approval are key tools to success in the relationship. God embedded this skill in “woman” from the moment of creation as a help to her in building up the marriage carefully just as He did in designing her very being.
She
is his perfect helping match created for the Lord’s purpose not mans. God created the race of man the female and
male counterpart to work together as a team each handing different
responsibilities.
God
created Eve because Adam would be incomplete without her and the purpose of man
(to multiply the family through relationship) could not be established.
The rib from the side shows that God’s
intention was for the couple to work side-by-side in unity with one another
serving their Creator. They are
different but equal as “man” in the creation design.
They complement and don’t take away from the
other. He carefully fashioned molded and
took His time, to make her something beautiful for the male to behold.
When God gave Adam a wife in His Garden, it
was a blessing and favor from the Lord that continues and is available only
through the relationship of marriage.
“He who finds
a wife finds a good thing,
and obtains favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22 NKJV)
Think on This Challenge:
Marvelous
in Whose Eyes?
It’s
not too difficult for a woman to believe that she has an inner beauty of sorts,
but when it comes to outer beauty, well that’s a different story. The framework of a woman is marvelous,
valuable and beautiful as sparkling diamonds.
The "woman"
side of the race of man is different and cannot be compared to anything else ever created; Adam as much as
said that when looking for his equal and couldn’t wait to have her in his life.
A
few days after Game Day my husband cracked a joke saying, “You must still be
riding high on those compliments.” Do
you know what I said?
“I would be if I
believed it!” That is what brought on this week’s think
challenge.
It’s
mainly for women, but in a sense is for the race of man. When you look into a
mirror do you see marvelous, mediocre or a mess?
How
did Eve feel about herself when she saw her reflection in the rivers? Did she see what God and Adam saw in her
beyond appearance?
A gentle word to the males … No matter how many times you
tell your woman that she truly is beautiful, she won’t believe you until she
knows it in her heart. She needs to
understand that her beauty is from God, no matter what it looks like to her.
There’s
nobody like you on purpose … you were who God wanted just the way you are. He
loves and adores that beautiful face, body, wacky personality, awkwardness and
all.
Believe that God built a masterpiece, and it’s YOU! Believe that you are fearfully (beautifully)
and wonderfully made (crafted to perfection) just the way you are! (Psalm 139:14)
Hey Girl (Simply Beautiful) by Nicole C. Mullen
If this article has encouraged or helped you, please
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post.
Until next time, wives bring beautiful favor
to marriage!
“Your beauty is favorable to behold.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
What’s New This Week: Click
on the photo or link.
by Jane G. Meyer
Declare that you are fearfully, wonderfully ...
BEAUTIFULLY made by God!
Fashion Scarf reads:
Psalm 139:14 on each end of the scarf: I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
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Life in Gods Garden, Adam and Eve, Creation, Daily Favor Blog, Daily Favor Relationships, Marriage, Garden of Eden, Jane Meyer, Nicole Mullen, Weekly Challenge, Teaching Series, Christian Living.
