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Gender and Jesus: Scripture over Stereotype
When I enrolled in a master’s degree program back in the 1990s, I took a required standardized psych test for entry. And soon after that, I received a call from one of the school’s counselors. He told me he needed to set up an appointment because I had scored “overly masculine” on that test. And of course that result raised a red flag. Fortunately for me, this counselor had once been my supervisor in a church staff job, so he knew me well enough to laugh at such a silly test result. But still, he was required to call me in for a chat. After I settled in on his…
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The Time I Served My Husband and Actually Liked It
I did the impossible and actually cooked a meal I had pinned on Pinterest- Carne Guisado (Tejano stewed beef). Cooking is not an out of ordinary task for me in the House of Jacobs; its a regular part of how I contribute to my family. So when dinner time comes around my husband (Matt) and I fall into our respective roles almost without thinking. While he gets the kids in their chairs and washes their hands, I portion out their food and let it cool. Often, I prepare my husband's plate and bring it to him. This particular dinner though, I was nervous to present him with the meal as…
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Biblical Womanhood, Part 2
Several weeks ago, I wrote about biblical womanhood. Afterward a theologian posed some good questions for clarification. So I’m using that conversation as a Q/A here to help further explain what it means to be a woman as God designed her. His statements are bold; my explanations follow: You say of woman that, “She is an image-bearer,” but then argue that because “she” is an image-bearer the female bears that image completely in and of herself. The underlying assumption is that an individual human being, whether male or female, carries the whole divine image. Woman is indeed an image bearer, completely in and of herself. But that does not mean…
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9 Steps to Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
More than 35 years ago when I started dating a guy named Gary Glahn, he liked to grow bonsai trees and cacti. For my high school graduation, he sewed us matching down vests—that we still wear—from a kit. During my freshman year of college, he drew me a rose and shaded it perfectly with colored pencils. I hung it on the wall in my dorm. His plant growing, his sewing skills, and his drawing all got him labeled as a sissy. One of my introverted male students told of a time when he visited a church for the first time. He wanted to sit back, observe, and get a feel…
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The Legacy of a Godly Mom
Anne Darnall passed from earth to heaven two weeks ago today. She is my mom. My heart hurts. I missed her the moment I walked into her empty house the night she died. I missed her when I left that same house 10 days later after sorting through and cleaning out her earthly stuff. I missed her yesterday because it was my daughter’s birthday, and there was no grandmother to call her or send a specially-chosen card. Yes, I miss my mom, but I haven’t missed the fact that she left an incredible legacy for me, my three brothers and all of our family members. A legacy of how to…
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Wives Are Parents, Husbands Are Babysitters?
Years ago, an author of a book on men and women in ministry with a PhD from a evangelical seminary spoke at a bring-your-own lunch workshop at another such school. Her opinions included the option that a woman might have biblical grounds for contributing economically to the household—a concept she pulled right out of Proverbs 31. Finally, one of the people in attendance raised a hand and asked, “But wouldn’t you concede that the ideal is for the woman to be home full-time raising the kids while the man is out working?" She seemed ashamed. "Yes. That is the ideal." At that time, my brother-in-law, Mark, and my sister,…
