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living thing that moves on the earth.’” In this mythic verse God set forth two of His three core callings for you as a woman.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
    This core calling refers to reproduction, and though there are cases (some very painful) in which women cannot or will not bear children, most will become mothers. And here God is saying more than “Make babies.” Rather, as with the animals, He intended for Adam and Eve to replicate “their kind” (Gen. 1:24–25), which means humans who are in harmony with Him, as Adam and Eve were in their original state, and who extend His righteousness throughout the earth. God in effect is saying, “Produce God-glorifiers.” He charges the first couple (and us) to expand the power and beauty of His image by multiplying it in others throughout the earth. That this is a part of what it means to “be fruitful” is seen when the rest of Genesis and all of Scripture are taken into account ( for example, Deut. 6:7; Ps. 78:5–7; Eph. 6:4). God wants men and women to become moms and dads (barren couples can accomplish this through adoption) who rear and nurture healthy, well-adjusted, life-giving image bearers as the next generation. That's a breathtaking core assignment for you as a woman, and it will demand nothing less than your spiritual authenticity plus well-honed parenting skills and a selfless attitude.
Subdue and Rule
    God is also a concerned environmentalist. He wants all aspects of life on this planet—social, spiritual, and physical—to be improved by the hands of His people. Theologian John Stott said it this way: “God makes us, in the most literal sense, ‘caretakers’ of His property.” 1 By using the word subdue , Genesis says the earth actually needs the rule of godly women and men if it is to be set right and made healthy, balanced, and orderly.
    This truth of Genesis was illustrated to my wife and me a few years ago when we bought a home whose landscaping had beensadly neglected. The front and back yards were literal jungles. The earth had been left to its own devices. What it produced was overgrown, unkempt, and unattractive. After my wife and I set our hands to it for several hard months, a transformation occurred. Flowers grew in place of weeds. Order transplanted chaos. We had subdued our small part of the earth, and the earth was better for it.
    I believe our concern for order and beauty is God-given, rooted in the original call to subdue and rule. We have all been entrusted by our Creator to be difference makers on this planet (Ps. 115:16). And that difference making extends far beyond a well-kept lawn and garden. At a much higher level we are also called according to our gifts and talents to the more challenging tasks of helping people, improving society, enacting justice, sharing the gospel, and advancing God's kingdom in our communities. Jesus even taught us to pray this way: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth” (Matt. 6:10, emphasis added). As a woman, you have the primary core calling to allow your femininity to grace the world with these things. God has designed you for specific good works (Eph. 2:10). Just as the earth needs the cultivating hand of humanity to draw out its greater beauty, so too society needs the gifts of the feminine heart—your heart—to make it better in a myriad of ways.
    Rita O'Kelly has discovered one of those ways. Rita is not only an executive with a major investment company but also a Kingdom builder. Despite a demanding schedule, she makes time to mentor a number of younger women in her firm before work and during the noon hour with her wisdom and godliness. She has helped a number of these women achieve more than bigger paychecks; she has helped them make wise decisions for their careers and families, overcome personal roadblocks, and find better balance and direction for their lives.
    Connie Phillips, a homemaker, became involved in a local public school several years ago. Seeing needs beyond those