Navigating Relationships

The new age relationship can be an extremely difficult thing to navigate. Especially as a Christian. Today's relationship is centered around appearance or how someone can make you "feel" as opposed to the important characteristics of a person mattering.

I have personally struggled with relationships since I was 16 years old. I fell into the trap of the new age relationship and was always left feeling empty, unloved and unworthy. So, I recently began doing a lot of research on love and marriage to understand what I need to be looking for in a man and what I need to be as a woman for him. Thankfully a friend of mine sent me a Youtube series that changed my entire perspective on relationships. 

Pastor Voddie Baucham gives it to everyone straight and his content is so incredible I have created a list of the most important concepts from the entire four part series. (Youtube content linked HERE)

- Love is an act of will accompanied by emotion
- The purpose for marriage is to have babies and to raise them to be warriors in faith and to also be a living representation of Christ's marriage to the Church.
- Marry a believer of God.
- Babies are good!!!
- The man should lead in love.
- The man should lead in the Word.
-The man should lead in righteousness.
-The man should lead in selflessness.
- The man should lead in intimacy.
- The woman should be submissive to the Lord.
- The woman should be submissive to her father.
- The woman should be submissive to her husband.
- The woman should submit to the biblical picture of marriage.

I was in sync with Voddie up until he started discussing how a woman should be submissive. Of course it is easier to talk about all the things men do wrong but looking internally at myself I found that I am extremely unsubmissive. I like to lead, I like to control and I hate being told what to do. Now as I recognize this, I feel as if God is working on my spirit and pointing out to me what I need to change. Some scripture that explains that being submissive does not mean you need to lose your sparkle or your spunk is Proverbs 31:10-31. It just means that putting your husband above you and respecting his leadership is vital to a successful marriage. As, "anything with two heads is a monster."

I'm sure I will address this topic again and again as I grow and learn more about relationships but for now I hope you all can watch that series and have a blessed week! 

xoxo A nerd in Pearls