Living in Southern California, I am all too familiar with Santa Ana winds, 95 degree weather, zero humidity and firestorms. On Wednesday, Ken and Ryan had a golf tournament 30 minutes north of here. I was home alone working on the computer. All of a sudden, the sun disappeared...never a good sign with Santa Ana winds since there is never a cloud in the sky.
I opened my front door and a huge cloud of smoke looked to be a block away. I ran inside and called 911. It was busy. I ran across the street to my neighbors and alerted them of the fire. I found out it was about a mile east but that is nothing when the winds are wiping the fire right in line with your home. I had no idea what to do.
My son, Steven, from Texas, told me to call Jon, my son-in-law, and have him come over to be with me in case I needed to evacuate. He showed up shortly afterwards and told me to pack up right away. We needed to get out soon. {The picture above is the one he took as he was coming to get me.}
What to pack? I was paralyzed. I had no idea. Jon told me to get passports, birth certificates, etc. so I did. I went up into my room and grabbed a bit of my lotions, makeup, toothbrush, socks, and clothes. Ken wanted me to take his laptop. I-5 was closed due to fire and bad accidents so he couldn't even come home if he wanted to.
Yrena, a good neighbor friend of mine, called while I was trying to pack. She was frantic over her dog, crying and full of fear. Jon calmly said he would run down to him and get him. We would take care of him for her. Today she called and said that when she heard of the fires and she was 20 minutes from home, her son Eric called her and encouraged her to calm down and call us.
Ken and Ryan finally made it to our house. Then it took Ryan over an hour to get to his home {only fifteen minutes away} because of all the road closures. Erin was all packed up and ready to evacuate with smoke billowing in the distant. Knowing Erin, I am sure she was extremely happy and relieved when Ryan, her rock, showed up.
Yrena told me how happy she is that there are men in our lives to help us in times of emergency situations. For some reason, we both lost our ability to think clearly so our sons and my son-in-law thought for us! I am very thankful for the men in my life. Whenever I have been in an emergency situation with my health or the children or whatever, the person I want by my side is Ken because he always knows just what to do.
Men overall are more rational than women especially in emergency situations. God made them that way and I, for one, am very happy that He did. {Now if we can only stop having hot, windy, and dry days...}
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith,
act like men, be strong.
I Corinthians 16:13
Ken and Ryan finally made it to our house. Then it took Ryan over an hour to get to his home {only fifteen minutes away} because of all the road closures. Erin was all packed up and ready to evacuate with smoke billowing in the distant. Knowing Erin, I am sure she was extremely happy and relieved when Ryan, her rock, showed up.
Yrena told me how happy she is that there are men in our lives to help us in times of emergency situations. For some reason, we both lost our ability to think clearly so our sons and my son-in-law thought for us! I am very thankful for the men in my life. Whenever I have been in an emergency situation with my health or the children or whatever, the person I want by my side is Ken because he always knows just what to do.
Men overall are more rational than women especially in emergency situations. God made them that way and I, for one, am very happy that He did. {Now if we can only stop having hot, windy, and dry days...}
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith,
act like men, be strong.
I Corinthians 16:13
Logging you in...
Susan · 582 weeks ago
Loving been his wife · 582 weeks ago
Loving been his wife · 582 weeks ago
Joyce · 582 weeks ago
krista1066 6p · 582 weeks ago
Secondly, it has been my experience that there are two kinds of people in a crisis: those who can compartmentalize their fear/panic and shove it into a little mental box to process after the crisis passes, and those who have not learned or been trained to do so. Again, this doesn't depend on the genitalia a person has; it has everything to do with their life experiences and any training (official or casual) they may have received.
Rebecca · 582 weeks ago
Jillian · 582 weeks ago
I never knew just how strong I could be until 9/11, and for nearly a decade after that, when I lived in a state of constant anxiety. In the end. I consider them my finest years. My husband could focus on what he needed to, because he knew I had things under control at home. That is critical for service members, for their own and ultimately all of our security, and my huband still frequently sees something around the house or yard that I did then, and thanks me for it, often giving me credit in front of others and saying how very proud he is of me.
My husband is retired now, and around all of the time for the first time in our marriage, and I read your blog for encouragement in how to be a submissive wife. I never had to be before; in fact I had to be strong and self-reliant. So while I accept much of what you say as the standard in biblical marriage, I find this post to be out of line.
Lori Alexander 122p · 582 weeks ago
kaygarland 20p · 582 weeks ago
Buddy Federer · 582 weeks ago
RetiredNavyWife · 582 weeks ago
Nora · 582 weeks ago
Charlotte · 582 weeks ago
Cynthia Swenson · 582 weeks ago
RTD · 582 weeks ago
Ken · 582 weeks ago
Almost all behavior can be learned, so learning to cope with stress and stressful decisions can be learned by both genders. But unless one is in a stressful job that requires quick thinking and actions, the natural response will favor the male left brain and quick reactions.
Can a women learn to be a fighter pilot? I am sure a few can. but the military is not rushing out to put women in fighter jets for a reason. If they thought women were as naturally gifted for the job they would so.
Jo · 582 weeks ago
Tiffany · 582 weeks ago
Jamie · 582 weeks ago
Happy Wife · 582 weeks ago
I really hope you don't take this badly. I dont' mean it in any mean way, I'm just concerned for you. I know from having friends and family with anxiety disorders that it can cause a person's brain to just shut down and tey can't cope, and reading this it sounded just like what happened to the people I knew, both men and women, who had anxiety problems. When faced with a stressful situation they couldn't make the decisions on what to do and other people had to tell them to do even the most basic things, like what to pack.
I have a different interpretation of the weaker vessel verses. In biblical times anyone could make a large, clunky piece of pottery, but it took a great deal of skill to make a delicate vessel and if one had such a piece of pottery they would cherish and honor it. The verse does not say that women ARE a weaker vessel, they say that they should be treated with honor AS IF(the Bible also says we are to be shrewd AS seprents and innocent AS doves, but that doesn't mean that we are actually a serpent or a dove. :) they were a weaker vessel, or to make it easier to understand a valuable piece of fine china. So something to be cherished. And why should a husband treat his wife with honor as if she was a fine piece of china, not because she actually is a find piece of china that is breakable, but because they are heirs together in God's grace and so that the husband prayers would not be hindered. If he wasn't treating his wife with respect and honor his prayers would be hindered. But the essential part of that verse is the 'AS'. It very clearly doesn't way women ARE weaker vessles just that the husbands sould honor them AS IF they were a valuable piece of breakable china. Wives should be held in high respect and not treated as if they are rubbish is what the verses are saying.
Hopefully you have enjoyed getting to see a different view point on these verses ~smiles~
Blessing and Peace
Danielle · 582 weeks ago
Guest · 582 weeks ago
Robin J Cox · 582 weeks ago
I don't think single women were ever meant to live alone, either, but rather with their father until such time as they marry (even if they are living in their own little cottage on Father's property.) Widows certainly weren't intended to be left to their own devices, according to God's Word.
Can women adapt and live independently, handling ourselves in crises well? Sure. Many women have done so, but that doesn't seem to be the preferred state for a woman.
Why can't we just agree that men and women ARE created differently, not just in God's economy, but with actual biological and physiological differences? Is this so insulting to us as women? We are different! Why can't we embrace the differences?
Ken · 582 weeks ago
No, what some of you want to do is to try and parse away gender differences. The fact is that women are generally weaker than men in some ways. Husbands need to recognize that their wives may not have the stamina, determination and drive that they may have. Again, the 80-20% rule applies, but to deny the strength difference between men and women and differences in emotional make up is to view gender differences through rose colored glasses.
The apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit certainly understood the differences in the genders as he writes to husbands to treat their wives with honor and respect, "like or as" the weaker vessel. It is a great view to imagine Paul referring to a wife as a fine piece of china, but one cannot parse away the fact that he clearly intends husband's to view their wives as more fragile and not as strong as a man might be. You cannot parse away the word "weaker," nor can you ignore that biologically he is correct.
Paul, and God, clearly see gender differences, and all this post was doing was to extol the strength of men, not put down women. Lori was quite strong through this whole process as she calmly called me on the phone and asked what I needed taken from the house. The full story is that my main office is in our home, so there are many things that my wife would not know to take. She could not at first get a hold of me and that would be paralyzing. Trying to quickly think of what to grab, not knowing how long you have to pack up and leave, with a 300 foot wall of smoke bearing down on you.
My wife did a great job, as would many of you, and most women, but the biological differences between men and women make men more apt to be better leaders in emergency situations. Yes, women can be trained or train themselves to not panic or even lead during emergencies, but this does not come as naturally as it does most males. If you disagree you must not have raised two boys and two girls, or had brothers and sisters. The boys would definitely have been the more calm, rational and take charge in this situation. Much of it inborn.
Let's allow the celebration of male strengths without thinking that this somehow puts women down, or that women have to keep up with testosterone of a male. Women have many strengths that a man cannot match. We are different, and both necessary to achieve the oneness God desires of us in a marriage. Paul's point to husband's is not to put women down, but to tell men to honor the differences between the genders. He might have said: "Don't expect your wife to be like you, but instead honor and respect her for who she is and how God made her. Her physical make-up and abilities are different than yours (husbands), but worthy of your respect and honor."
Vive la différence! And let's honor all people without expecting them to have our own individual strengths and talents. Differences are a good thing.
Lady Virtue · 582 weeks ago