Future Husband Application
"The unmarried young woman centers her earthly existence around the affairs of her heavenly Prince, and her aim in life is to be completely set apart for Him, in body and in spirit."
I Corinthians 7:34, Paraphrase
This was a good one!
Something Worth Waiting For
"Feminine mystique is the steady, unyielding strength and confidence that flows from knowing our Prince intimately and protecting our relationship with Him at all costs."
A young woman with feminine mystique doesn't guard her inner sanctuary out of duty or only in hope of someday finding someone who will appreciate it. A set apart young woman does so as a natural outflow of her love for Jesus Christ, her true Prince. Many girls pose the question, "Are there really any guys out there worth waiting for?" while the true question should be "Am I willing to keep my inner sanctuary sacred and live a set-apart life out of love for my Prince, even if I never find a man who is worth waiting for?" Until you develop the attitude that everything you do is for your Prince and him alone, you cannot develop the true art of feminine mystique.
The Modern-Day Jerk Epidemic
However, going back to the question, "Are there really any guys out there worth waiting for?" the answer is YES! Just because the world says that the gentlemen are gone, doesn't mean there are none to be found. When girls flirt around with jerks, they will catch the attention of the jerks.
"But when I began to guard my femininity and live differently than the other young women of the culture, guys who were committed to living differently started to appear in my life."
The young men worth waiting for are busy falling in love with their Savior to be flirting around with you (and every other girl they come into contact with) as you should be too! A friend of my family says it like this: "When you're running after God, one day you'll look to the side and see the man of your dreams running along with you."
"Young women often ask me what they should look for in a man. I tell them to settle for nothing less than a man who reflects the very attitude and character of their Prince, Jesus Christ. Our Prince protects and honors our femininity, and so will a Christlike man. To a Christlike Warrior Poet, feminine mystique is not something to be conquered or mocked; it is a beautiful, fascinating quality to be valued and cherished forever."
Testing True Love
The best test for any relationship in our lives (friendship or otherwise) is to ask ourselves: "Does this person help me to protect my inner sanctuary? Does this relationship draw me closer to my Prince?"
"Every stage of a love story that is truly initiated by our Prince - both the friendship and the romance - only enhances our intimacy with Him."
Practical Steps for Guarding Feminine Mystique
We must be willing to do whatever it takes to protect our inner sanctuary. If your friends bring you down, maybe its time to make some new ones. If that music you listen to draws you away from your Prince, stop listening to it.
"It is not from being around un-Christlike people or influences that our sanctuary is compromised; it is from allowing those un-Christlike people or influences to affect how we act or think."
The Making of Warriors by Eric Ludy
How to win a woman's heart? You would be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't be!) to know that many men often have no idea the way to a woman's heart. In fact, they believe women are totally confused. Sounds quite a bit like what we think of them, doesn't it?
According to Eric there are two huge reasons women are so confusing:
1. Women have a desire their heart for a strong warrior-poet, while quite often the world offers them the second best jerks that we see so often. This is a confusing situation. We wonder, are our expectations to high?
2. Women assume that men should know what we want without having to tell them. (yes, I'm completely guilty of this!)
Two Missing Ingredients
"Manhood, in its most polished form, is the perfectly built advocate of blossoming and radiant womanhood. When men become true men, they set women free to be everything that God intended them to be rather than oppressing femininity through their own selfishness."
We as young women can help our brothers, fathers and friends discover two all important aspects of their masculinity:
1. How to be a warrior. "A warrior is more than just a defender of truth and justice and a champion for the weak. A warrior is also one trained to protect what is sacred and innocent in a woman."
2. How to be a poet. "A true poet is trained to understand the intimate and sacred sanctuary of a woman's heart and to cultivate the same intimacy with Christ in his own heart."
The Making of Warriors
Just as girls always dream of becoming princesses, boys dream of becoming warriors. Men have been given everything to be made warriors except for one important part: basic training.
There are four categories of basic training:
1. Standing up for the little people.
2. Befriending the outcasts. To offer love rather than disdain.
3. Protecting mothers and sisters.
4. Defending innocence. "A true warrior guards his own heart for intimacy with Christ and for the enjoyment of his future spouse. But beyond that, he also protects the purity and innocence of all young women."
Protecting Emotional Needs
Manhood is at its best when it can make a woman feel protected in her purity and innocence as well as secure in the slow warming of her heart. A woman's love isn't a five minute endearment, it takes time to warm her heart. It's all a part of becoming the warriors God calls men to be.
Putting it Into Action
We, as women, are not the only tool God uses to shape men into godly warriors, but we are certainly one of the most important. Here are four ways a young woman can be more effective as an encourager for the up-and-coming warriors in her life:
1. Be an inspiration. "When a man encounters the rare beauty of a set-apart young woman, he is inspired to defend what makes her beautiful and what is sacred at the core of her being."
2. Be a talker. Men can't read our minds, so we have to communicate with them, not play guessing games. A good time to practice this is with your brothers and father. When you want to be comforted instead of having your problem solved, let them know. When they're being insensitive, tell them how you're feeling. Then, when Prince Charming comes along, you will be practiced up.
3. Be rescuable. "Men today have lost their sense of valor mainly because they lack the opportunities to cultivate it." Let the men be your hero!
4. Be an encourager. The encouragement of a young woman has the power to raise a man from feeling like nothing to being a Warrior-Poet.
"Help shape the men in your life into true Christ-built warriors, and you will help redefine manhood as we know it."
Chapter 10 - coming soon!
"The unmarried young woman centers her earthly existence around the affairs of her heavenly Prince, and her aim in life is to be completely set apart for Him, in body and in spirit."
I Corinthians 7:34, Paraphrase
This was a good one!
Something Worth Waiting For
"Feminine mystique is the steady, unyielding strength and confidence that flows from knowing our Prince intimately and protecting our relationship with Him at all costs."
A young woman with feminine mystique doesn't guard her inner sanctuary out of duty or only in hope of someday finding someone who will appreciate it. A set apart young woman does so as a natural outflow of her love for Jesus Christ, her true Prince. Many girls pose the question, "Are there really any guys out there worth waiting for?" while the true question should be "Am I willing to keep my inner sanctuary sacred and live a set-apart life out of love for my Prince, even if I never find a man who is worth waiting for?" Until you develop the attitude that everything you do is for your Prince and him alone, you cannot develop the true art of feminine mystique.
The Modern-Day Jerk Epidemic
However, going back to the question, "Are there really any guys out there worth waiting for?" the answer is YES! Just because the world says that the gentlemen are gone, doesn't mean there are none to be found. When girls flirt around with jerks, they will catch the attention of the jerks.
"But when I began to guard my femininity and live differently than the other young women of the culture, guys who were committed to living differently started to appear in my life."
The young men worth waiting for are busy falling in love with their Savior to be flirting around with you (and every other girl they come into contact with) as you should be too! A friend of my family says it like this: "When you're running after God, one day you'll look to the side and see the man of your dreams running along with you."
"Young women often ask me what they should look for in a man. I tell them to settle for nothing less than a man who reflects the very attitude and character of their Prince, Jesus Christ. Our Prince protects and honors our femininity, and so will a Christlike man. To a Christlike Warrior Poet, feminine mystique is not something to be conquered or mocked; it is a beautiful, fascinating quality to be valued and cherished forever."
Testing True Love
The best test for any relationship in our lives (friendship or otherwise) is to ask ourselves: "Does this person help me to protect my inner sanctuary? Does this relationship draw me closer to my Prince?"
"Every stage of a love story that is truly initiated by our Prince - both the friendship and the romance - only enhances our intimacy with Him."
Practical Steps for Guarding Feminine Mystique
We must be willing to do whatever it takes to protect our inner sanctuary. If your friends bring you down, maybe its time to make some new ones. If that music you listen to draws you away from your Prince, stop listening to it.
"It is not from being around un-Christlike people or influences that our sanctuary is compromised; it is from allowing those un-Christlike people or influences to affect how we act or think."
The Making of Warriors by Eric Ludy
How to win a woman's heart? You would be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't be!) to know that many men often have no idea the way to a woman's heart. In fact, they believe women are totally confused. Sounds quite a bit like what we think of them, doesn't it?
According to Eric there are two huge reasons women are so confusing:
1. Women have a desire their heart for a strong warrior-poet, while quite often the world offers them the second best jerks that we see so often. This is a confusing situation. We wonder, are our expectations to high?
2. Women assume that men should know what we want without having to tell them. (yes, I'm completely guilty of this!)
Two Missing Ingredients
"Manhood, in its most polished form, is the perfectly built advocate of blossoming and radiant womanhood. When men become true men, they set women free to be everything that God intended them to be rather than oppressing femininity through their own selfishness."
We as young women can help our brothers, fathers and friends discover two all important aspects of their masculinity:
1. How to be a warrior. "A warrior is more than just a defender of truth and justice and a champion for the weak. A warrior is also one trained to protect what is sacred and innocent in a woman."
2. How to be a poet. "A true poet is trained to understand the intimate and sacred sanctuary of a woman's heart and to cultivate the same intimacy with Christ in his own heart."
The Making of Warriors
Just as girls always dream of becoming princesses, boys dream of becoming warriors. Men have been given everything to be made warriors except for one important part: basic training.
There are four categories of basic training:
1. Standing up for the little people.
2. Befriending the outcasts. To offer love rather than disdain.
3. Protecting mothers and sisters.
4. Defending innocence. "A true warrior guards his own heart for intimacy with Christ and for the enjoyment of his future spouse. But beyond that, he also protects the purity and innocence of all young women."
Protecting Emotional Needs
Manhood is at its best when it can make a woman feel protected in her purity and innocence as well as secure in the slow warming of her heart. A woman's love isn't a five minute endearment, it takes time to warm her heart. It's all a part of becoming the warriors God calls men to be.
Putting it Into Action
We, as women, are not the only tool God uses to shape men into godly warriors, but we are certainly one of the most important. Here are four ways a young woman can be more effective as an encourager for the up-and-coming warriors in her life:
1. Be an inspiration. "When a man encounters the rare beauty of a set-apart young woman, he is inspired to defend what makes her beautiful and what is sacred at the core of her being."
2. Be a talker. Men can't read our minds, so we have to communicate with them, not play guessing games. A good time to practice this is with your brothers and father. When you want to be comforted instead of having your problem solved, let them know. When they're being insensitive, tell them how you're feeling. Then, when Prince Charming comes along, you will be practiced up.
3. Be rescuable. "Men today have lost their sense of valor mainly because they lack the opportunities to cultivate it." Let the men be your hero!
4. Be an encourager. The encouragement of a young woman has the power to raise a man from feeling like nothing to being a Warrior-Poet.
"Help shape the men in your life into true Christ-built warriors, and you will help redefine manhood as we know it."
Chapter 10 - coming soon!
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1 comment:
The wisdom is wonderful. I'm very glad to see more of your interpretation coming out more and more.
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