Thankful Wife, Joyful Life :)

Sigh.... I am so blessed. I look up at the past near 4 months of marriage, and all I can say is "thank you, Father". Sometimes in the routine of life it is so easy to forget to be thankful, even when life is so good. I have had some wonderful time to dive into a book called "Created to be His Help Meet" by Debi Pearl within the past few days, and it is seriously blowing my mind. (If you haven't read it and you are a wife... GET IT, TODAY, SERIOUSLY!) There is no way I could put into one blog post all that I have learned just in the first have of the book, but I have chosen to share some of the things that Debi has enlightened me on in just a few short chapters.

Ultimately, as women, we were created to be a help meet to a man. I knew this before, but I was sooooooo clueless on how I was called to act in this role. I learned quickly within the first few pages of this book that I had a lot of prayer and practice to do in order to become this "help meet" the Lord created me to be. But God is faithful. (I am just grateful He has graced me to begin this journey early in our marriage.)

In my favorite chapter so far in the book, Chapter 8 "Wisdom to Understand Your Man", Debi discusses the three types of men that God created. All of which come from some part of the image of God, but each are very different. The three types are: Mr. Command, Mr. Visionary, and Mr. Steady. In reading through the descriptions of each type and how they relate to different qualities of the God-head, I pinpointed my husband's category. I have myself a Mr. Steady. "God is as steady as an eternal rock, caring, providing, and faithful, like a priest -- like Jesus Christ. He created many men in that image. We will call him Mr. Steady..." ("Created to be His Help Meet", Debi Pearl, p. 86) You can imagine the excitement when I read the similarities my husband had with Jesus. Things like his patience, consistency, and peaceful countenance  suddenly seemed 100X more attractive and almost rare when looking at my husband through the eyes of Christ.

One of the things almost overlooked about Brett is his servant's heart. In the book, Debi describes how Mr. Steady like Jesus is a "foot washer". When I read this my jaw dropped because we actually incorporated a foot washing ceremony after we exchanged vows on our wedding day. Knowing we would attempt to be like Jesus and place the other's needs before our own, I didn't even know that my husband was truly made to serve. "Many women think of their pastor as a mighty man of God, or their song leader as a spirit-filled man. Yet, I suspect it will be the quiet Mr. Steady-type men who will be call the "greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. The Mr. Steady, the quiet man, the man who does not take control, is not a man of little worth, for Jesus exalted the common chores that are so often performed by the Steady Man." (p. 88). Wow! I definitely am one lucky woman. After reading this, I really had to evaluate my appreciation and affection I give to my husband on a daily basis. Thankfully, Debi gives the wives of Mr. Steady's advice on how we can most bless them. She says as his wife I can bless my marriage by joyfully realizing the friend, lover, and companion I have been given and living that gratitude verbally and actively. I am so thankful.

I got to spend the morning serving and spending time with my husband as we prayed over every house in the city of Rowlett, TX. (The two of us didn't do this alone... haha, that would be a lot of  houses.) I love being able to be this wonderful man's helper and right-hand-wo-man :) and I couldn't be more thankful for God giving me such a "steady" husband. 

Brandi