I'm not normal.

I'm not normal.

If you're a regular reader around here you probably know that already.
"Normal" is what conforms to our culture. Our culture does not recognize Jesus as Lord; it has warped ideas of marriage, family, and sexuality; it encourages us to spend what we want when we want regardless of our income.
By that standard, I am very abnormal.

• I am a follower of Jesus in a world that hates--and sometimes, what is often worse, ignores--him.
• I am committed to honor, respect and even submit to my husband, Biblically, as the Church submits to Christ (aka, place myself under his loving care and leadership, not become a doormat).
• I am a homemaker and proud of it. I do not seek validation from a conventional career, although I do also work outside the home.
• I and my husband plan to homeschool our children as we were also educated at home, and feel that as future parents it would be best for us to be the primary influence in our future children's lives (radical, huh?).
• I and my husband gladly and frugally live within our means and don't have any credit card debt. We rent an apartment (for now), drive a used car, and don't spend more than we make.
• I believe in Biblical femininity--in embracing my God-given role as a woman.
• I believe that sex is an amazing gift of God, designed to be enjoyed within a marriage by a husband and wife (one man and one woman).
• I strive to avoid eating and cooking with processed foods, and cleaning with natural, inexpensive products.

(See all the links in the text above? Click on those to read more in-depth posts I've written on those topics.)

Paul wrote to the Romans, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2)

Jesus said to his disciples (which includes believers who follow him), "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. " (John 15:18-19)

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

Peter wrote, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:11)

Scripture itself tells me that I'm not "normal" by the world's standards. I am not to conform to the pattern of the world; I do not belong to the word; I do not fight with the weapons of the world; I am, in fact, an alien and stranger in the world.

I am a child of God: heaven is my eternal home, and therefore I live my life with an eternal perspective--this life is not all there is.

So, no, I'm not normal. And that's just how it should be.

Sexuality: What it should be {Marriage Monday}

Mondays are "Marriage Mondays" here at Living in the Light!  If you're new here (especially if you're visiting from the A to Z Challenge)--welcome!!  I'm so happy you're here.  Check out my "About Me" page HERE, some of my favorite posts on marriage HERE, and my two most popular posts HERE and HERE.

Today's letter for the A to Z Challenge is "S."  And on Mondays I write about marriage.  So what better topic for today than sex?

(By the way, no worries about graphic content here... my mother reads my blog!)

I believe that our society has a perverted view of sex.  This should be a fairly obvious fact.  Sex outside of marriage is so normal it's practically encouraged, homosexuality is legal in several states, pornography is way too easily available, and adultery within marriage is so common that it's joked about on television shows and in movies.  Half of all marriages nowadays end in divorce.

Obviously, our culture is doing something very, very wrong when it comes to sex.

For the Bible-believing Christian, the reason for this is quite obvious as well.  As a society in general, we don't do sex God's way anymore.  Celibacy outside of marriage is no longer encouraged as it used to be.  Faithfulness within marriage isn't stressed as essential.  Sexual promiscuity doesn't garner the disapproval it once did.  And as a result of Hollywood and the media as a whole, poor examples of what sex should be are displayed on our TV and computer screens every day.

I'm here to tell you that sex God's way is fantastic.  No, you don't need the details.  But sex, reserved for marriage and kept sacred within marriage, is incredibly fulfilling.  It contributes to the unity of husband and wife in a beautiful way.  It is the means by which God has provided for the procreation of children.  It is a source of great delight for husband and wife.  Sex within the bonds of marriage is a beautiful, blessed thing.

Satan does everything he can to make us forget that.  He has used the media to great effect to convey the idea that sex should be whatever we want it to be--that it's all about making ourselves feel good, so we can do whatever we want to gain our own pleasure.  He has twisted the Biblical design for sexuality to make it into something it was never intended to be.

When God created humanity, he made one man and one woman and gave them to each other with the command to "be fruitful and multiply."  Sex is reserved for marriage, and within marriage it is to be limited to the husband and the wife.

Sex is not dirty or gross.  We don't need to talk about it clandestinely.  It shouldn't be cause for blushing and giggles when it comes up in conversation.  Parents, please talk openly with your children about sex.  Don't give them details they don't need, of course, but make sure they aren't afraid to ask you about it.  Instill in them the understanding that sex, when used as God intended, is a beautiful gift to be cherished.

Also, I think that as the Church as a whole, we need to stop treating sex outside of marriage as if it's the unforgivable sin.  It's not.  It's a serious sin, to be sure, and it can come with all sorts of major consequences--sexually transmitted diseases, spiritual brokenness, damaged relationships, and disruption of lives.  But just like any other sin, where there is repentance, there is always forgiveness.  Each of us succumbs to temptation of one kind or another.  Sexual temptation is no different.  But we can't treat sexual sins as if they're "no big deal," either.  They are a big deal.  They are in direct contradiction to God's laws.  But God is always willing to forgive the repentant believer, and he is amazing at giving second (and third, and fourth...) chances.

So let's celebrate God's gift of sex!  But let's keep it within marriage.

Let's tell our children how great sex is within marriage... and let's help lead them to repentance, and then forgive them, if and when they step outside God's bounds for marriage.

Sex is a beautiful thing. And that's why I'm not afraid to write about it.


Linking with: The Alabaster Jar, What Joy is Mine, A Proverbs 31 Wife, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, Yes They're All Ours  , To Love, Honor and Vacuum, Messy Marriage