on or off?

since it's summer and because we live in the desert, we need to turn on the air conditioners often. we live in incredibly dry heat, so many people have swamp coolers, but due to my mold allergy, we turned it off and bought two window units. one unit is downstairs and can cool the entire 1st floor, the second unit we put in our bedroom and the air cools the 2nd floor. refrigerated air is just not in the budget this year.

my sweet husband gets hot easily and will remain hot, and make a point of letting me know that it's hot and are you hot?, wow, it's really hot. i can hear it until something changes.

as for me, i grew up back east and dealt with summers of humidity. yes, it's hot here, but not uncomfortable. i usually can get through it without any complaint.

so, here's where the battle begins.......

the battle of whether to keep the air on all day or just when it gets warm. i prefer to open the windows in the morning and let the breeze in and maybe turn the air on late in afternoon. justin prefers the air on ALL day. even when he's not here, he has said on many occasion, "it's so nice to come in to a cool house." ok- i'll give him that. but the battle rages at night as we sleep, when we wake up, when we leave the house. it can go on for the full summer.

now, this is the point of my story..... submit kari, submit...... i know that sometimes this is a hard word for many to hear. but, for me lately it's been a word that brings freedom. i think the world has bought into the lie that this is a word that shows weakness. let me tell you, that's far from the truth.

in bible study last night, we were going through God's social order (the truth project). boy, was it powerful and convicting. i know in my life that when i fall in line and obey what God has asked of me, He is blessed and I AM blessed. He's given us such an incredible gift in His word and it's so simple. not easy, but simple..... God is a god of order- not disorder, so it should not be a surprise to us that He ordained things just so. if we believe that what God has said is truth, then why do believe the lie the world is telling us.

the lie here is that i don't have to listen to my husband, that i can do what i want and that i can change him. when i think about the wasted years of believing this, it makes me sick. as i've taken time to seek God in this area of my life, He has revealed many things to me. i believe His word and it says, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to Lord." (Eph 5:22)- do you see that as to the Lord, not unto Justin, but as to the Lord. i'm submitting because i love God and that He asked me to. simple. not always easy, especially when i think i'm right. but, i have found that when i do, our lives go much smoother. justin is ultimately responsible for the decisions in our home and i know that through much prayer he is seeking God's wisdom and direction. why do i want to get in the way of what God is doing? plus, when i question him, it shows him that i don't trust his decision making and leads to a disagreement. we all know where that can take us....

just as the Son submits to the Father, i am to submit to my husband in such a way that brings God glory. this was HIS design, HE created the family, HE created order in the home. Dr. Del Tackett states "social order is based on His nature, it's a divine imprint of who HE is." i want to remember this when the world tells me that i don't have to be accountable to my husband. that would be going against the very nature of God.

although, there are times that i want to turn the air off right after justin has turned it on. i will submit to my husband, because i'm doing it until the Lord, my desire is to please Him. when i do, i show justin that i love him and respect him. i do this in the little details to the big decisions we make. an added bonus to this is when justin comes to me and asks me what i think, or let's pray together about this, or when he quietly turns the air off because he know that it's bothering me. that's his way of showing love to me. it's a beautiful design when we obey what God has placed before us.

thank you Lord, that nothing is by chance, that you designed the family structure to work perfectly when done according to your will. i pray Lord that i seek you daily in this area and that you continue to show me areas that i will submit to you and to justin. i thank you that you're refining me into the woman you want me to be.