TW101 Week 5 "Battle of the Sexes"

"It may seem like the battle of the sexes has escalated over the past few decades, but conflict between men and women goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. After completing week five in True Woman 101, watch this twenty-minute conversation between authors Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Mary Kassian, and their friends as they delve into the battle of the sexes in our homes and lives and point us to the One who can reconcile those relationships." TW101 




Key Verses: Genesis 3:11-13, Genesis 3:14-15, Psalm 130:7-8, Genesis 3:16-17, Revelation 21:4,  Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 3:10-18, Isaiah 45:10-12, Genesis 3:20-23,

A note from Jodi: "This chapter sheds so much light on why we are facing the dysfunction between men and women throughout the nations. Sure there have been healthy strides in some arenas, but we are far from what Jesus died on the cross for. He came to give us life and to the full. Unless men and women lay down their pride and come together as one with Christ and each other, we are going to continue to feel sins sting and painful aftermath of the consequences. When we looked at chapters 1-4 on the original intent of gender and why God created men MEN and why He created women WOMEN and how sin destroys our call to be "one", the battle of the sexes is inevitable. Looking at Genesis 1:27 again and knowing we were BOTH created to bear God's glory, character and image is a call worth answering. Where there was complete unity, beautiful harmony and mutuality, Adam and Eve had dominion over the earth. When sin entered the garden and into their hearts, dominion turned into domination and manipulation. Whether this concept is new to you or not, I encourage you to watch the videos, look up the key verses highlighted in this study and search out truth for yourself on this transformational teaching.  To get more out of this, we suggest going through this 8 week study by purchasing Mary Kassian and Nancy Leigh DeMoss's workbook (and discussing with a group, pastor or prayer partner) is key.  WJOF is all about "The Restoration of Women", and studies like this help us wrestle with concepts, ache for healing and pray for revival in our midst. This year at our 14th annual conference, Mary Kassian is our keynote speaker (Author of "Girls Gone Wise") will be joining us of at our Wisdom conference!  Our theme is from Ephesians 5:15 "Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise." We are on a journey towards wisdom in all areas of restoration, including our call to be the women he created us to be! Will you stand with us?"

Highlights from this week's study:

• United We Fall: The entire human race fell through Adam's sin, but in Christ, the "Last Adam," there is plentiful redemption
• Gender Bender: Sin affects us sex-specifically, It messes up manhood, womanhood, and male-female relationships.
• Right Where it Hurts: Sin causes pain. It damages woman's inherent softness and also damages man's inherent strength.
• A Tragic Her-Story: Women suffer pain at the hands of men, but men aren't the real enemy- sin is.
• Women's Lib: The women's movement fought for change, but failed to take God's design or His solution into account.

Visit the TW101 website for other resources like videos related to this week's study "Sin Causes the 

Pain", "Submission and the Gospel", and "The Culture's View on Men"

***What do you think? Love to engage with you on the discussion q's from this week's focus or hear your thoughts on this topic: "The Battle of the Sexes". Connect with us on Facebook or comment on this blog below!

TW101 Week 3 "Sugar and Spice"

 "What does it mean to be a woman? The current cultural ideal for womanhood encourages women to be strident, overly sexual, self-centred,  extremely independent (or Codependent) -- but above all -- powerful and in control. Sadly, this model of womanhood hasn't delivered the happiness and fulfillment it promised. The Bible teaches that it's not up to us to decide what womanhood is all about. God created male and female for a very specific purpose. His design isn't arbitrary or unimportant. It is very intentional and He wants women to discover, embrace, and delight in the beauty of His design." 

-Moody Publishers

     Being the mom of four daughters has heightened my awareness of the upside and downside of female thinking and behaviour. Yes, there is a lot of estrogen in the Kozan home, but my husband has learned to navigate and lead well amidst it all. Not without our share of trials and drama, but does anything eternally worthwhile ever come without challenges? :)

     Celebrating my daughter's High School graduation recently brings this mother to another level of reflection on my faith journey. Have I taught her to seek out and follow truth? Do I model biblical womanhood to Jess and her sisters on a consistent basis? Going through this study, the Spirit of the living God reminds me of times where I did impart God's Word through mentoring, mothering and modelling the principles. At the same time, I am gently reminded of those times where I didn't and my heart breaks for the lies I bought into of a counterfeit restoration!  Some of which were lies I inadvertently bought into through media and cultural influences where I aligned and defined myself throughout my formative years. Ideologies rooted in the "Wonder Woman" mindset of the 70's-80's, I was swept up into a whirlind of deception which carried over into my marriage, parenting and identity without realizing it at the time.  (We will look at that later on in week 6 "Hear me Roar") I cannot erase time or mistakes I've made as a wife, a mother, a woman... but I can receive God's restoring grace to redeem those times of waywardness.  Although I had a radical transformation with giving my life fully to Christ in 1996 receiving such grace, I have been unfolding His truth and life each passing day since.

             Restoration begins in the heart, extends to the family and seeks to infiltrate the world! 

     I believe Tim and I have been given the gift of raising confident daughters, yet God asks us to parent them to be soft in their strength.  We pray that they know their true strength lies with their identity in Christ and God's plan for them  rather than the worlds view on their identity.  Deep down inside, we ache to be loved, accepted, secure and significant and ultimately to make a difference. My girls are no exception as they too want to be world changers!  I remind them often- it is not through "Girl Power", but through the power of God at work within:

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:19

   How about you? Do you ache to see God's Kingdom come and His will be done?  As the Founder of Women's Journey of Faith and in leadership since 1999, my involvement has catapulted my interest in learning more about why God created us as women over the years.  This study has grabbed my heart like no other because of it's foundational teaching, hence calling it "True Woman 101"... Brilliant Mary and Nancy! (Co-authors of this study) Hats off to them and Moody Publishers for putting together a fantastic study that is so needed in our ever changing, fast paced, love starved, media frenzied, celebrity chasing world. One that more often than not seeks to confuse, distract and lure us all to distort gender and God's "divine Design" through oppression, neutralization or seeking an extremist feminist agenda like no other time in history.

“Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of.” The message of this nursery rhyme is one that many women today would rather not embrace. After completing week three in your True Woman 101 book, watch this twenty-minute conversation between authors Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Mary Kassian, and their friends as they discuss how our culture has changed the idea of womanhood and then point us to core qualities of a true woman of God."- TW101  
TrueWoman 101 - Week 3 Table Talk from TrueWoman 101 on Vimeo.
Chapter 3 Focus verses: 1 Peter 4:7, Genesis 2:18-20, 1 Corinthians 11:8-9, Psalm 42:1-2, Genesis 2:22-23, Genesis 3:20, 1 Peter 3-4, 2 Timothy 3:6-7, Titus 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 5:14, Proverbs 31:27, Genesis 2:18, 

On page 84 of the TW101 workbook, Mary and Nancy confirm four core strengths and attributes of women as a whole: 

• Softness
• Having a welcoming responsive spirit
• Forming deep relational bonds
• Creating a place to beget and nurture life.

Gender Matters. True we are imperfect creatures living in a fallen world, but Jesus came to restore all that was lost in the fall of mankind! This includes restoring women to our original intent and empowering us with the Spirit of God to make it possible to live out those strengths and influence rightly in a world aching for answers.

Do you agree? Check out the discussion guide below and visit TW101 website for other helpful videos on this topic including "Softness and Strength",  "Bent Towards Relationships", and the "Challenges of Womanhood"  We'd love to hear from you on any of the points in this study. What does it mean to be a woman? As we open God's word together, we will all be blown away by His divine design:)

TW101 Week 2 "Snips and Snails"

     Week 1 proved to set the tone for this WJOF Summer Study adventure through God's word, and we pray you are all excited to venture with us in reviewing "Divine Design, an 8 week study on Biblical Womanhood!" Simple, yet profound foundational truths we are diving into this year as we gear up for the "Wisdom" conference November 1-2 at TCU Place Saskatoon, SK with keynote speaker Mary Kassian (one of the co-authors of this study)...
   
     This week's focus is on men.  Depending on the woman, you may be saying... "ahhh... what does a chapter on MEN have to do with ME?" or some may be curious, excited to study further... Wherever you are at, I pray you are open to God speaking to you through this focus before we journey further into other chapters.

     Pastor John Piper is quoted as saying: "The depreciation of male and female personhood is a great loss. It is taking a tremendous toll on generations of young men and women who do not know what it means to be a man or a woman." Our vision is the Restoration of Women here at WJOF and we know that the restoration of both genders go hand in hand and it is crucial we know what Jesus came to restore men to...

   One of my favourite photos and summertime memories is when my husband Tim and I went ziptrecking in the mountains of Whistler B.C.  He always encourages me to go out of my comfort zone when on holidays or at conferences and I am so glad he does!  I am a "strong woman", yet he cares for my safety and protection and I like having him take the lead in many instances (including going first down the zip line!) With our helmets in place and our gear all strapped on, I felt safe and secure as we rode the lines together with our crew. Reminds me of the security we have in Christ when we follow His design for protection and provision. Tim and I are both created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we both have unique gifts as husband and wife, man and woman- and yet there are distinct differences and strengths/ weaknesses we "bring to the table." I know deeply that women and men are pretty confused with their roles and relationships, churches and marriages are suffering as a result across the nations. Jesus came to restore us all spiritually, emotionally, relationally and physically...  As I journey along in my imperfections yet seeking to live by faith, I see God restoring me and my husband as we seek His will for our relationship and not our own selfish independent ways...

"But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

      Not only is this week's lesson helpful for marriage relationships, but also for the way we engage in other relationships as father/daughter, sister/brother, pastors/friends/coworkers...  Why all the pain in the world? Men (or women) are NOT our enemy... Satan is our enemy and he wants to destroy God's plans for restoration and is working overtime doing just that in our world. The more we realize that ALL have sinned and that we've ALL fall short of the glory of God the better. Sadly, there is so much discord in male/ female relationships, we tend to play the blame game. We blame God, we blame each other and then the true enemy of our souls has us just where he wants us... (more on that in upcoming lessons "Snake in my Garden and Battle of the Sexes",... I appreciate this week's teaching- I pray you do to! It's balanced and filled with God's transformational truth to help us understand more fully why God made men- Men! That way, we can pray, encourage, (have boundaries when needed) and trust Christ to do the restoration work in their lives as we too find grace for the journey!

"We know little boys aren’t really made of “snips and snails and puppy dog tails,” but what are guys really made of? After completing week two in your True Woman 101 book, watch this twenty-minute conversation between authors Nancy Leigh De Moss, Mary Kassian, and their friends as they discuss that if we want to understand what God has in mind for us as women, we need to first take a look at what He has in mind for men." -True Woman 101 

Here is Mary and Nancy on their "Table Talk" with their crew as they discuss this lesson: "Snips and Snails"- Enjoy:)

Key verses in this week's study: Genesis 2:7-8, Isaiah 64:8, Psalm 139:14-16, Genesis 2:15, Ephesians 5:28-29, Genesis 2:16-17, Genesis 2:20-22, 1 Corinthians 11:8-10,  Ephesians 5:23-25, Mark 10:42-45,

Here's a link to the Discussion questions from Week 2 on Snips and Snails! You can use this as a place to ponder the concepts in the study if you are simply watching the video solo this summer or going deeper in this study with the workbook! 

Here is yet another fabulous teaching from Mary Kassian, our keynote speaker for Wisdom who talks about the "Genesis of Gender" from a previous conference:


*What do you think? Do you think God's design for men benefits or harms women? Where are you seeing the dire need for men to "man up" in your world? As we know we can't change people, only God can! But what then is our role as we seek God's heart for restoring men? We'd love to hear from you!

"God created men to image the relationship of Christ to the church and this has significant implications for male-female relationships." -TW101