Suck it up, and take it like a man!

How were you raised?  Who raised you?  What did they teach you?  What do you remember about your upbringing?  Amber and I were raised by 2 separate families.  My family lived in West Texas, and Amber lived in Oklahoma.  My Dad is an evangelist, he grew up in a house full of boys, was raised by a woman from a generation of hard working women that didn’t worry about breaking nails or messing up their makeup, they worried about taking care of their families.  Amber was raised in the country.  She knew what it was to get her hands dirty.  She lived next to Nana Jo, another woman from that rock hard generation.  Both us of were raised tough with no excuses for failure.  My dad, David Minson, has this phrase he told me and Amber both A LOT as he had opportunity to impart wisdom to us…”Suck it up, and take it like a man!”

Now that we are grown women, we both see the need for this phrase.  The more studying we do, the more living we do, the more we see and understand that being a woman of God is a tough job.  It’s a job for those that have courage, faith, love, and an ability to “SUCK IT UP, AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN.”

-Christian women need to be prepared to teach the word of God to those who need it.

We as Christians are commanded to study and be able to teach others the Gospel.  This calling is not for men alone but women as well. (II Tim. 2:15, I Pet. 3:15)

 Acts 18:24-26, an example of a husband AND wife correcting false teaching they heard

 II Tim. 1:5, Timothy can attribute his faith to his mother and grandmother

-Being a strong Christian woman is not for the faint of heart… :)

 II Cor. 4:6-9, Christians are not promised an easy life, rather we work through trials and tribulations for a reward far exceeding any pain we face.

 

-Strong Christian woman should be prepared to share their wisdom with younger women

Titus 2:3-5, It is the job of the older women to teach younger women their role and how to carry out their roles in a Christian way.

Ruth, Read the book of Ruth.  It’s a short book but full of excellent values for us as women to learn from.  After Ruth’s husband died, she followed her mother in law, Naomi, back to her homeland.  Naomi took Ruth under her wing, taught her their customs, and ultimately helped Ruth find Boaz, her godly husband.

-Examples of strong women that carried out tasks that sometimes even the men didn’t want to do…

Judges 4:17-21, Sisera was an evil man that God had commanded His armies to kill.  This evil man was able to escape being killed by God’s army and wanted to take rest in Jael’s tent (one of God’s strong women).  When the man was fast asleep, she killed him with all she had at her disposal, a tent stake and hammer.  She drove that tent stake through his temple, killing him.  What kind of strength does that take?

Esther 4:16, Esther put her own life in danger for the sake of her people, God’s people.  What kind of courage did she have to face the thought of death?

Exo. 4:25, Zipporah, Moses’ wife, had to circumcise their son because Moses wouldn’t.  Can you imagine having to circumcise your own son?  She did it because circumcision was part of God’s law, and she wasn’t going to let it go undone.

II Kings 4:20, This mother held her son in her lap until he died.  She sacrificed for her own comfort and gave her son comfort in his final hours.  How much pain did that cause her, yet she knew it was her job to give her son comfort.

Sometimes being the woman God wants us to be is a difficult job.  It isn’t always about rocking babies to sleep and baking cakes for your husband.  Your job as a woman is so much more than just that.  And yes, sometimes you’ll have to “Suck it up, and take it like a man.”

This study is in honor of two of the strongest, Christian women we know. Virginia Minson (Grandma) & Neva Jo Smith (Nana Jo).