Of Mice and Men

Of Mice:

After continually putting out snap traps and finding our enticer (peanut butter) licked clean every morning, I took our fight to the internet. I ran across a natural solution to put a few drops of 100% Peppermint Oil on some cotton balls and place them where the mice frequent. It’s supposed to work as a deterrent. We hadn't seen anything for a few days, but Emma still rigged a snap trap last night. When I checked this morning, the peanut butter was still in tact! It seems to be working. Our landlord is also joining the fight and has laid some traps in the basement. More updates as they come.

Of Men:
From the song Shout to the North:
Men of faith rise up and sing

Of the great and glorious King

You are strong when you feel weak

In your brokeness complete

I've recently been thinking about the topic of masculinity as it applies to Christianity. In school, my friend Tiffani wrote a paper on the role of the man in the church as feminized Christianity rises. That is to say, how does the influence of more women in leadership, at a church, effect the identities and traditional gender roles of the man? She argued that as more and more women transition into a place of higher authority, men often lose a sense of their masculinity and in effect gender roles are reversed. Now, I should state, I'm not against women in leadership. I believe God has gifted some women in teaching, preaching, and leading, however there is still a tension, I feel, between what is written in the Bible as being cultural (only applied to that time period) or universal (applies for all time). So like many other issues, I don't feel I can make a generalized overview for everyone, such as "I don't think women should ever lead men," or "Women should have the ability to exercise these gifts, even over men." It's more a case by case basis. Anyway back on track. Do women take something inerrant away from men as they gain more authority? What is the role of women in the church toward men? If any? What is the role of men in the church toward women?

Growing up in a small church, I always seemed to be between groups. This seemed especially true during jr. high. Too young for the Sr. High youth group and too old for the jr. high youth group. Being the only one my age, left me feeling like I had no place to belong. I longed to be a part of the older group, as my sister was. By the time I made it, a split had occurred in the church and the youth group had been reduced to only a few families. Besides the shrinking size, the youth group seemed to always be between adults willing to lead. There was no consistency. I think it was the lack of strong male spiritual influences in my life, especially during these formative years, that has left me searching for something, even to this day. What does a Godly man look like? Even at my Christian college, examples seemed to be far and few between. I long for examples.

Sometimes I have caught glimpses. The way a friend treats his wife. The way a leader submits to those he is leading. The way a man show respect to women. These men are inspirations and set the bar high (Side note: a car dealer once asked me why I didn't have a boyfriend. I told him, "I have pretty high standards." These are them). When I was younger I always wondered how one could submit? It seemed submitting, for a woman, meant taking a backseat to male leadership. It seemed that your voice and ideas were silenced. Recently though, I realized that submitting to a Godly man does not mean you lose yourself. It's more like you find yourself. To submit to a Godly man, means he recognizes who you are and what you offer and you are able to trust and respect how he leads. It's a relationship of compliments; balance. It's a beautiful image of Christ and the body.

So I wonder if men are lacking the examples they need or if in some way women are degrading men as they struggle for authority. What do you think?

Men of faith, rise up and sing

Of the great and glorious King

You are strong when you feel weak

In your brokenness complete

Rise up, women of the truth

Stand and sing to broken hearts

Who can know the healing pow'r

Or our awesome King of love