"Fiery Women"

(Originally written for Facebook, and it caused quite the stir among insecure men. It even earned me an entire sermon. Posted here for my girls to read, because I am raising girls who know their worth.)

All throughout the Bible, we have stories of "fierce women."

Jael.

Hadassah.

Abigail.

Deborah.

Priscilla.

Lydia.

They were brave, they were godly, they were fierce, but, they were also feminine. They had different roles from men, but that didn't stop them from taking stands, doing the hard things, and rising to the occasion when it called for it.

I tend to be drawn to the Esthers of the Bible. The Jaels. I love their fire and their spunk and their gumption -all while fulfilling their Biblical role as wife and woman.

I tend to be drawn to them, because I also have a spicy personality.

Thankfully, I have a man who loves that about me.

A man who I respect and honor- a man who I vowed to be faithful to until death, and a man I vowed to honor and obey.

And I take those vows very seriously. I practice those vows- day in and day out, and my kids see it and can attest to it.

Because of my desire to stand for truth, justice, and that which is right, I often trigger insecure men who have a very skewed view of women.

They think all women should fit into a box, and they think women should have one personality- and that personality is never speaking, uttering an opinion, or having a voice.

Which is utterly ridiculous and not even Biblical.

There are Biblical principles for women, and one of the biggest is that a wife reverence her *own husband.

If me, or anyone else who is spicy, is reverencing her own husband, then her life is Biblical and God-honoring.

God has gifted me with the ability to word words well when I write. I also have a very tiny platform.

Because of that, I am going to use my small platform to stand for truth, love, and the Christian way of life.

I am going to promote femininity while also promoting women having grit. Women knowing their worth. Women knowing how special and loved they are by God.

I am going to teach young brides to love their husbands. To love their children. To honor their husbands. To reverence their husbands. To obey their husbands. To nurture their children. Raise their children to love God. To be good Christians. To be godly. To forsake sin.

But I am also going to tell them it's not ok to be abused. It's not ok for their kids to be abused. It's ok to get help. It's ok to get the authorities involved. It's ok to get their children somewhere safe.

Me being a Jael does not mean that my husband is weak.

It's not an either/or situation. A strong husband and a mild tempered wife, or a spicy wife and a weak husband.

No, we both know our roles and live them. He loves me and gives honor unto the weaker vessel, and I reverence and submit to his wishes in our home, his will, his opinion.

All without physical violence of any kind.

A man who leads without abuse is a true leader.

I am going to continue to use this platform to promote Biblical femininity- the kind with backbone and grit and knowing your God honoring role.

Because that's what I see the fiery women in the Bible doing.

This Jael isn't going anywhere.