What Will Really Matter?

Who would have thought I would have gotten a blog post from a menopause video but I did.  No, I'm not in menopause but I'm preparing for the future so I can do it in the most natural way.  I found some interesting information from history that I had no idea about it and so far, everyone I've shared it with had no idea either.  Menopause is actually a modern problem because up until the 1800's, women's life expectancy's didn't go past age 50!

In Ancient Rome, women normally only lived until age 25!  In Renaissance times, most women rarely lived past age 35!  By the Victorian era, they were living till age 45 and it wasn't until the beginning of the 1800's that they lived until 50!  Today, it is around age 80 that we can expect to live on average as women.  WOW!

Here is a chart showing average life expectancy for men and women from the 1850's to 2000 showing how much longer we live now:


Image credit: Oregon University


Think about that for a while - I probably would have been dead had I lived in Renaissance times!  Now, I probably could have a good 45 more years to go.  Amazing how time changes so many things.

This, along with a message that was preached recently, reminded me of the importance of what really matters.  Ultimately, it is God, salvation and living for Him but as women, our importance besides that comes from what?  We don't start churches.  We don't pastor or preach (generally).  So what are "we" doing for God as women?

This is something that most women forget to think about until it is too late.  Well, I decided years ago that I didn't want to be "too-late Nanci!"  I want to be right-now, no-regrets Beverly!  I still need reminders when my priorities get out of sync but I always come back to God and my family - being that wife and that mother training my children, so that they can continue on the legacy that our family is.  That which is done for Christ, the modeling of the minds of our children to know Him, is what will last.

I will leave you with this great quote from the video I watched from Dr. Low Dog that sums it all up so well:

A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of job women had, what she did, what kind of house she lived in.  The only thing that will probably really matter, is how well she taught her children, her neighbors and her grandchildren.

Preparation for the Future

If it had not been for God and the lessons we learned the hard way, I'm not so sure we would have done what it was going to take to make it through the past couple of years financially.  Most of you remember our story that I blogged about in, Our Financial Story, and how we realized that health insurance was a must.  We went on to pay off debt, insure ourselves and plan for future crisis's.  Thanks to that planning, we have spent the past few years being able to pay off all medical bills through the numerous surgeries I've had and ER visits, etc.  We don't have to be covered in piles of debt anymore!  Preparation really does spare you the extra burden on top of a health crisis!

This week, I will be paying our last medical bill for the year.  It was a rough year with 2 surgeries and a surgical procedure, many ER visits, CT scans, ultrasounds and an MRI - along with all the doctor visits and more ahead the next few months.  However, we reached our out-of-pocket maximum and will have no more bills the rest of the year and will have paid all we owed already.  What a difference planning for crisis makes!

We haven't used a credit card in 6 years and it has almost been 5 years since we became debt-free.  I'm a number-cruncher and love to do it and I love seeing how things can be removed as financial stressors, if we just plan for it.  God allowed us to go through hard things to really cement these lessons in our minds.  God knew what was ahead with my health in the coming years and thank God I listened and learned the lessons beforehand.

What are some things that could happen to any of us that we must prepare for?

  1. Health Crisis - Insure your family with medical insurance and make sure you have that year's out-of-pocket maximum in your reach with an HSA or savings.  If you can't have the full amount, at least have the deductible.
  2. Job Loss - Have an emergency fund of your expenses for 3-6 months worth in your savings in case of a job loss.  That way, you can go on living, pay your bills, ease your worries and it will give your husband time to find the right job.
  3. Disability - This could fall under health as well but make sure you prepare in the event that your husband becomes disabled and can no longer work.  Have long-term disability insurance up to at least 55-65% of income along with a good emergency fund.
  4. Death - Have life insurance on both spouses and all children in the event of death to pay funeral costs.  Insure the husband's life at a higher level to cover lost income and even possibly the wife to cover childcare in the event of your death.
  5. Auto Crisis - Auto accidents happen and autos break down - make sure you have car insurance and include rental car coverage if needed.  We had our car stolen in Alaska and thanks to our car insurance, we got money to cover the cost of the vehicle's damage (which was totaled) and put towards a new vehicle.  Also having a fund set aside towards the purchase of a vehicle once you know yours is nearing its end.
  6. Home Crisis - Insure your property and home or have renter's insurance if you rent to cover your possessions in the event of devastation.  Also having a home security system will benefit you from burglaries or even protect your family from harm as the alarm will give you time to retrieve a weapon and protect your family.

Doing these things is not only wise, it will spare you a lot of extra heartache and burdens!

God Created Family

A lot of people forget just who created family.  Who came up with the idea to make a man and a woman produce offspring?  Whose plan was it for us to have children?  Whose plan was it for there to be future generations?  Who would have wanted such a thing - oh wait, that would be our Creator; God!

If everyone took on the mentality of some family-opposers, we wouldn't even be here.  Some Christians say we shouldn't have children during these evil days but they forget that when Christians stop bearing offspring, there is less a chance that there will be those that will bring others to Christ.  If anything, we should be having more.  The Muslims get this and they are more eager to promote their religion and they know the key is to produce children and in the future, they will most likely be the majority.  Of course God is more powerful than numbers but even God Himself, wanted Israel to increase in number by bearing offspring.

Did Christians fail in the spreading of the gospel because they limited their children?  You could make this argument because there are less hands, less feet and less mouths to share the gospel but all that is considering that your children actually become Christians.  What we can't forget is that the ultimate design that God set forth was for male and female and that of creating families.

What if Adam and Eve had said they would rather do more for God in the garden and decided to prevent children?  Could they really have done MORE for God just themselves?  Was it Satan's sick idea for them to have children so it would hinder their work for God?  Oh wait, it was GOD who commanded them to be fruitful and multiply!  I still can't find that verse of scripture we reached "enough" and God said STOP being fruitful and STOP multiplying - it has got to be in there somewhere right!?  Or was it just supposed to expire at 100 people, or was it a 1,000... a million... hmm.  I guess I will have to ask Dr. Prevention to find out when we were supposed to quit.  The commandment to stop must have been after Paul because he actually told Christian women to marry and bear children.  It must have been so recent that it didn't make it into God's Word, that along with the new definition of marriage....

God created families, he doesn't try to prevent them!

What we must do as Christians is examine everything that brings itself against the design of God and His Word.  Just because one man says that anyone can marry, no matter their gender - doesn't mean we just accept it because it seems "loving."  What does God say?  What is God's design?  THAT is who we must consult.  We either follow God or we follow man's perverted views.

Thank God for family!  Though my days of bearing children in my flesh are over, if God wants to send some my way to raise, I will have open arms and be willing to raise those that others did not want!

Who's At Fault for Gender Confusion?

You can sit back and scoff at gender confusion and even go so far to say it is demonic but what most people miss is that being confused about your gender is exactly what comes from past generations' lack of gender distinction.  Masculinity and femininity used to be clearly defined.  It wasn't just dress, though this plays a big part, but rather the manner of each gender that was carried out in everything they did and didn't do.

Men throughout time took care of their wives - you know when marriage was between a man and a woman?  Then, women decided they wanted to be equal with men and so began the "equality" or what was really the mimicking of being a man.  Then we had women leaving the home, leaving the raising of the children, leaving the wearing of feminine dress and ultimately leaving the delicacy of the female.  Here she was - acting like a man, dressing like a man, working like a man and even carrying herself like a man.  The children were raised by whoever and the feminity was not being displayed.

It wasn't just the women.  The men sat by and let all this happen (as usual).  They slithered down into a submissive, spineless, effeminate "man."  Instead of letting their sense of manhood be about providing for their families, being that masculine figure of the home - they became lazy and didn't even try anymore.  The children were raised by whoever and the masculinity was not displayed.

So... with mom wearing the pants and bringing home the bacon and dad sitting around playing video games and caring less about his family - you want to blame WHO for gender confusion?  I think for some, it may take just looking in their mirror or their family photo album.  The examples of male and female for the majority, died out a long time ago.  We are just living in the age of the result of the lack of proper distinction of the sexes.

I know it is easy to judge and speak evil against children who are confused of their gender - but they are the result of a society that has left God and left His Word that has ALWAYS called for gender distinction and given us the roles of men and women.  Then we have "Christians" that want to say that those who actually look like a woman or a man and do women or man things are LEGALISTIC.  Way to go Satan - you really got them working on your side.

So who really brought the CONFUSION?  If I can't tell you are a woman standing behind you in line with your man haircut and clothes, then what do you think that has done to others?  Why would gender confusion matter to women (or men) who are cross-dressing already?  You are promoting it!

Try putting on a dress and acting like your gender ladies.  Men, try wearing the pants and providing for your family like a real man does.  Then maybe, your children can pass down to future generations what male and female really is all about because they might need a reminder 40 years from now because body parts evidently don't make a difference these days!!