Mr. Prof designer home

Interesting round up of staircases, over here.

These two were the most steampunk -- quirky traditional and fantastic:

As I've read through Genesis this last month or so, I've been struck by some interesting observations about the women of Genesis. (Perhaps I owe much of that to the insights gained from my recent reading of "Her Name is Woman" , books 1 & 2, by Gien Karssen- an amazing pair of books!)

First up, we'll take a look HAGAR: a rejected heathen servant used and abused by man, but protected and guided by God.

A PAGAN SERVANT BECOMES A WIFE & MOTHER
Hagar is first introduced to us as Sarah's "female Egyptian servant" (Gen. 16:1). It soon becomes clear that she will be used for the purposes of man. God had promised a son to Abram, but he was convinced by his wife to take a servant for a wife and impregnate her, because she (Sarai) was so old. So this poor servant woman gets pulled into a sexual relationship with her master, all because of other people's lack of faith in God. WHAT A WAY to start a marriage!

We aren't told how she felt about the arrangement. We're just told that Abram "went in to Hagar, and she conceived." (16:4) She began to look contemptuously at Sarai because she conceived- and we aren't told the motivation for that either. It could be that she looked down on Sarai's barrenness, but it is just as possible that she resented having to carry a child she never asked for or had any decision about creating. (How often are we told by our society that such a situation merits abortion!) A used, penniless woman, forced to be intimate with a man, turns up with child. And yet...

GOD SEES AND SPEAKS TO THIS HEATHEN WOMAN
After Sarai deals with her harshly (which is generally interpreted as Hagar being beaten), she flees the home of Abram & Sarai and goes out into the wilderness. And YET, God meets her there, at the place of what was likely the greatest distress and need of her life. He makes a promise to this used, heathen, slave woman... that her descendants would be innumerable... and even speaks a prophecy to her about what her son will be like and what his name should be. And then, something totally new happens...

SHE IS THE FIRST HUMAN TO CALL GOD BY A NEW NAME
Genesis 16:13~

So she called the name of the LORD Who spoke to her, "YOU ARE A GOD OF SEEING" (El Roi) for she said, "Truly here I have seen Him Who looks after me."

Though she had a master (Sarai) and a husband (Abram), she recognized that it was GOD, El Roi, the God Who Sees, that looked after her. She was aware that though she had not called out to Him, He was taking care of her- that He saw her in her distress and took her under His wings.

Because of her encounter with the true and living God, she obeyed God, going back to the very situation she had fled from: an unprotective husband and an abusive master. She gave her son the name God had given to her, and we don't hear any more about her for over fourteen years of her life. Five chapters later, we find that the old tensions between Sarai and Hagar have been revived when Sarai herself has a son, so...

HAGAR GOES AWAY, AGAIN, & GOD MEETS HER THERE, AGAIN
This time, her exit was not at her own desire to flee, but because she was sent away by Abraham (who had been so led by God). Abraham sent her away with bread and one animal skin filled with water, and gave her "the child" (who at this point, must've been very nearly a man... an older teenager at least). So again, she flees to the wilderness (21:12-14).

What must have been going through her mind? Somewhere in the back of her mind must've lurked that nearly 20-year-old promise given to her in the desert... did she cling to that, trusting God to protect her? Did she run away in fear? We aren't told, but we are told this much:

When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off... [saying], "let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard... Lift up the boy, and hold him fast... I will make him into a great nation."

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness... and his mother took a wife for him from Egypt."

WHAT ABOUT HAGAR'S CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN?
This is the last substantive thing we hear about Hagar... that she chose a pagan wife for the son of Abraham. Did she truly have faith in God? And if so, did she pass her faith down to Ishmael and his family? Perhaps. He, too, had heard the voice of the Lord-- once in utero, and once as a young man. And it says that God was with him. But clearly, the living "testimony" of Abraham and Sarai was enough for her to not desire to have anything to do with their relatives or kinsman. She took a bride for Ishmael from among her own people, the Egyptians.

The amazing thing, to me, is this: though she had an encounter with the true and living God, the unkindness of God's people was enough to drive her and her children possibly away from God forever. Nevertheless, Hagar is a remarkable woman, in that she has direct encounters with God... she recognizes God as an all-seeing God... and she names Him "El Roi".


SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EACH OF US?
Just as Hagar was seen by God, He SEES each of us. He sees you as a woman with the needs that you have. He sees your marriage, and all of its defects. He sees your mistreatment by others. He sees the needs of your children. He sees that you haven't been given enough to live on. He sees you in the wilderness, disheartened, frightened, alone, rejected, beaten, and in despair.

HE SEES.

And just as He ACTED to meet Hagar's needs and care for her, He will meet your needs and care for you if you will look to Him and listen to His counsel in your life. I am so encouraged by the story of a woman who was used, abused, and rejected by men... but who God saw and reached out to, with love, with provision, and with grace. He offers the same to each of us today!

So just out of curiosity, which version of the English Bible do you primarily read/prefer? (There's a corresponding poll in the sidebar to your right, if you're reading this on or before 11/11/07.... Please vote as well as leaving a comment!)

You may be like me, and have several different versions in your home for a variety of purposes... but which version is it that you prefer above all others? Which is it that you would choose to take with you if you only had room in your suitcase for one Bible?

The options:

• King James Version (KJV)
  
• New International Version (NIV)
• New American Standard (NASB)
• The Living Bible (TLB)
• New Living Translation (NLT)
• English Standard Version (ESV)
• Amplified Bible (AB)
• Other (TNIV, NKJV, Holman, Dolby, or some other version)

I'd love to hear from you about why you love the version you use. PLEASE, though, no bashing of other versions... but PLEASE DO comment and share why you like the one you read and what is meaningful and important to you about that particular version.

Well, MinTheGap tagged me (over at Weekend Kindness) to do the 10-20-30 meme, where I tell what I was doing ten, twenty, and thirty years ago. So here goes... I'll start with the oldest and work my way forward in time.

30 YEARS AGO...
...I wasn't even a twinkle in my parents eyes.

Having repeatedly watched In The Womb (a current oft-requested favorite around here, seeing as how I'm pregnant and the kids love to watch what's happening "in the womb"), I can tell you that thirty years ago, I was a miniscule little egg that had been sitting in my mother's ovary for over 23 years. Isn't it amazing??! ...The eggs that a woman carries all her life (and from which will come any biological children) were formed when SHE was in HER mother's womb, around 19 weeks gestation.

SO, 30 years ago, I was but a 21-year-old unfertilized egg, waiting to be released about 2 years later. (I just turned 28 a few weeks ago.)

20 YEARS AGO...
...I was eight years old.

Let's see... I was in third grade, learning phonics and probably multiplication and division (does that seem about right?!). My FAVORITE part was that they had a pilot program they were launching in our school district for gifted and talented students, and I got to be a part of it. Mrs. Hammer was my teacher, and we had a blast... for one "six weeks" portion of the class, we participated in a long-term learning game called "Homesteaders". (I tried to look it up, but can't seem to find it online.)

Each student was a pioneer settler in the old West and had certain skills (carpentry, knitting, millwork, cooking, etc.), social restraints (like married/not, multiple children/not, elderly parents, etc.), and was given a certain amount of money, resources, and supplies to start out the journey. There was a land office, where you could look over a land graph of what various parts of the land might look like (rivers, trees, orchards, hills, etc.), and purchase land for your homestead. Then, we each had to make a go of it.

My name was Mrs. Marsh, if I recall correctly. And I was the mercantile operator for our humble town.... we wheeled and dealed (dealt, but it didn't rhyme), bartered and begged for all that we needed to survive in the Old West. We all loved it. Seriously, that was the most fun thing I did probably in the whole of my elementary years.

10 YEARS AGO...
...I was 18 years old and preparing for my first time away from home.

I had finally left behind the ultra-rebellion of my youth and was totally wrapped up in my preparations to ship off to the small, private university four hours away... as a vocal performance major! :) (I switched majors two times, settling on Political Science with a minor in English/Writing, having racked up a good number of A's in music theory and such!)

I was still walking a line, though, between the spirit and the flesh... partly due to my own sin nature, and partly because I was believing lies from the enemy; I believed that the sins that I previously committed still defined who I was as a person, even after God's forgiveness had been given for the actual sin itself.

I used to describe it as a "black cloud" of shame that followed me around. I couldn't wait to get away from the small town where I'd made all my mistakes, and then, lo and behold, my foolish decisions and shameful past still loomed over me, even four hours away.

The problem was that I didn't understand God's great forgiveness. It IS a hard thing to grasp-- that He removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. But it is true! I spent years forcing myself to "do penance" and live life under this self-imposed dark cloud of guilt over past sin (which simply lured me into MORE sin, because I saw myself as such a scoundrel).

It wasn't until a few years later that I would really begin to grasp a fuller meaning of God's complete forgiveness and be able to walk in that FREEDOM in my life. Thankfully, these last 8-9 years of my life have been spent walking in that freedom... but still, the enemy tries to trap me into thinking of myself as that "old" girl.

The Bible has something to say about that:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come."

I am so thankful to be out from under that cloud, striving to walk each day in the glorious light of forgiveness and freedom from shame!


Thanks, MinTheGap, for giving me this chance to share a little bit about my life-- and if any Making Home readers want to do this 10-20-30 meme, well, then, have at it! (I never tag people-- I'm like the weak link in a chain letter.) But if you want to do this fun little meme, do it and leave a comment so I know where to find you!

Surely I'm not the only one who has experienced something like this:

You started the morning at a deficit on the "spic and span" scale. Some of the groceries from two nights ago still remain in bags on the kitchen counter. Couch cushions are askew, and it looks like your child's room exploded in the living room. You still haven't gotten a shower. You hope to get one when the kids go down for a nap at 2. Then, there's an unexpected knock at the door. You want to run for cover and dive out of sight, but you know that THEY know you're home. Reluctantly, you open the door and the apologies begin.

"The house is just a mess... I'm so sorry..."

"We've had a rough morning... please excuse the mess..."

In the last post on hospitality, some of the comments got into the expectations that arise from the "Martha Stewart" mentality. I'll never be one to criticize Martha's taste, recipes, decorating tips, or style... she's got an eye for all of those things, and we all could stand to learn things from people who have a natural gifting like that, about how to decorate our homes and cook tasty & nutritious meals, etc.

But there IS something more. Something BEYOND the perfection and presentation that's expected in that kind of "Entertaining" model.

As Karen Mains writes in Open Heart, Open Home,

"Entertaining has little to do with real hospitality. Secular entertaining is a terrible bondage. Its source is human pride. Demanding perfecting, fostering the urge to impress, it is a rigorous taskmaster that enslaves. In contrast, scriptural hospitality is a freedom that liberates.

Entertaining says, 'I want to impress you with my beautiful home, my clever decorating, my gourmet cooking.' Hospitality, however, seeks to minister. It says, 'This home is not mine. It is truly a gift from my Master. I am His servant, and I use it as He desires. Hospitality does not try to impress but to serve."

I have begun to realize that I have bought into the lie that hospitality and entertaining are the same. I have been held back by the paralyzing fear that says, "if I let her see how I really live, I won't be seen as a real woman."

And isn't that the complete OPPOSITE of the truth? Isn't it liberating to walk into a respected woman's home and see that she, too, has a stack of books that she never has managed to put away? Isn't it freeing to see that other young moms have Hot Wheels and blocks all over their floor on the average weekday too? It is for me! The truth is, that if we let each other see how we really live, we will suddenly BE a real woman to our friends. Suddenly, we will no longer appear or have the need to appear perfect. Mains writes, "I had to learn to put away my pride when I open the front door and accept those standing there as they are. Consequently, I expect them to accept me as they find me." FREEDOM!

That kind of attitude and approach to hospitality speaks complete FREEDOM to me. And I hope it does to you too. No longer do I HAVE to have things "together" when someone comes over. No longer do I have to apologize for living real life in our home. No longer do I have to put together a flawless meal, served with special little individual touches for each guest.

I can just be me. If I have the time and ability to prepare an amazing meal, great. But if not, people are welcome just the same. If I have the time to pick up, sweep, mop, and carefully arrange each couch cushion, great. If not, I can still enjoy time with friends without apologies or shame. I can't speak for you, but I'll choose the freedom of hospitality over the bondage of entertaining ANY day of the week!

We've all seen it: arguments that break out over differences in opinion about truth and different convictions in people's lives. To spank or not to spank? Biblically, can a divorced person remarry? Should a woman cut her hair? Should men be the sole providers in a household? Is it OK to use birth control, and if so, which kinds?

Sometimes the arguments blow over, and sometimes they divide friendships, divide families, or divide the church. There are two pitfalls that we can all fall into when dealing with truth & convictions:

(1) The first pitfall is to say "all truth is relative"... "what's true for you may not be true for me", etc. "There is no way we can KNOW anything, but we all believe what we believe, and I can't speak into anyone else's life."

- Of course, the downfalls with this are many: why believe anything if you don't believe that WHAT you believe is true? Wouldn't it be easier to just live "free" from constraint, rather than to have the requirements of a particular faith, if you really don't believe it's 100% true anyhow? There are absolutes in Scripture, and we need to be absolutely convicted about those. And we can carefully and lovingly encourage and exhort others to follow the Word of God in those areas that are explicitly clear.

"Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me. "- Jim Elliot

(2) The second pitfall is to say "everything I believe, no matter how fundamental, and no matter how trivial is critically important." Using this line of reasoning, everything from the length of skirts I choose to the version of the Bible I believe is best, from the way to raise children to which companies to support or which holidays to celebrate and how becomes essential. Someone who espouses this kind of legalism soon finds themselves with less and less options for people to be friends with, because they have this mindset: "In order for me to have fellowship with someone, we must see eye to eye on everything."

- The downfall with this one is obvious: in truth, you probably don't see 100% eye-to-eye on every subject or issue with anyone on earth. And in truth, each of our lives is a process... you were not born with the convictions you now hold. Neither were you born feeling the freedom that Christ has given you. Each of us goes through a process to come to the personal beliefs and convictions that guide our lives. [I am not talking about clear biblical commands... I am speaking of personal, specific convictions... i.e., movies, hair length, what constitutes modesty, etc.] Consider this:

"According to Romans 14, people on both sides [of any matter of conviction] are neither to judge nor disparage one another. The free person is not to flaunt his or her freedom; the person for whom such matters are a deep personal conviction is not to condemn someone else." -Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart

As I've mentioned before, the key is staying on the road. We have to avoid the ditches on either side of the road and try to keep a balanced perspective.

I don't want to be like the Pharisees and create extrabiblical, man-made burdens and rules that no one can live up to. Neither do I want to be an apathetic Christian, who lives without conviction and biblical standards built into my life. We need to be striving for balance, even though none of us may carry it out perfectly.

Let's prayerfully and lovingly give each other truth AND grace.

Last week, an anonymous reader wrote in with this question for our consideration:

My body is not what it was before I had kids, obviously, as most other women. I have struggled with getting plastic surgery. Just a little something to lift here and tuck there. It sounds so petty but in the reality of life, it really gets me down. I feel like I cannot please my husband any more because my stomach looks so disgusting, my breasts are so small, and my cellulite, well, let's just not go there. I also have thought about getting something done to fix my acne scars. So do you think this is wrong for a Christian? I would love your readers' opinion and yours also.

So what would you say to this woman? How would you address this issue? Is it clearly right or wrong to have plastic surgery as an elective procedure? What would you say if she was your friend, and could you back up your advice with the Word of God?

Leave your thoughts, comments, and advice, and I'll share my thoughts towards the end of the week (since they were requested). I look forward to hearing your thoughts!