Saturday, January 12, 2008

Friday, January 11, 2008

The Early Bird Gets the...

Proverbs 31:15

"She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants." NKJV

"She rises while it is yet night and gets (spiritual) food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks." The Amplified Bible

"She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day." The Message

I am lazy. I enjoy sleeping in. That is why this verse strikes fear in my little ole heart. I don't want to get up in the morning. Whether it is for physical food for my family or spiritual food for me, the snooze button seems much more important in the morning. Getting up and fixing breakfast for my family is not something that I excel at. I throw pop-tarts in the kid's hands as I take them to school and my poor hubby nukes sausage biscuits. This sometimes makes me feel extremely guilty-especially when I compare myself to one of my friends, who gets up every morning before anyone else in her house, gets ready, has Bible study, and fixes breakfast (eggs, pancakes, etc.). I can see the good in doing this, however.

I can get much more done at home and with my work when I get up and get my day started. I think that is what God had in mind. He knew that women (moms and wives) were going to have a lot to do to take care of their families. That is why He suggested that we get up early, so that we can get a jump start on the work before our families arise.

The Amplified Bible suggest that we rise and get spiritual food. Doing this first thing in the morning can serve to fortify us for the day that we are facing. This could really make the difference between merely surviving your day and having a victorious day. It is much easier to be still before God when everything is still around you. That is the benefit of spending that time with Him before everyone else arises.

I am going to make a commitment that I will get up at 6AM every morning next week to fix breakfast and do Bible study. What are you going to do? Join in with me as we bless ourselves and our families by getting up earlier and spending time with God.

Be Blessed!

Lord, you want us to be still before You. In this day and age, being still is not a skill that most of us have. Please take the time that we carve out for You in the morning and consecrate it unto You. Bless us and strengthen us during this time. May we realize the power that comes from spending time with You and from taking proper care of our families. I praise You! AMEN.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

On the Hunt

Proverbs 31:14



"She is like the merchant ships,

She brings her food from afar." NKJV



"She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places

and brings back exotic surprises." The Message



"She is like the merchant ships loaded with foodstuffs;

she brings her household's food from a far (country)." The Amplified Bible


With the advent of supermarkets and superstores, we wives and mothers don't normally have to go "afar" to get physical food to feed our families. You may be thinking, "Phew! I am off the hook on that one!", but unfortunately, this one can apply to us today. Physically, it can mean cooking meals that your husband or children like that you may not really like (for me that would be kraut and weiners or sloppy joes). Spiritually, it can mean much more.

You are feeding your family with every word and action that you do. Are you feeding them positive, uplifting things or are you feeding them negativity and less than good words and actions? Sometimes, we have to go "afar" (to God) to keep a good attitude in our day to day life. This may mean that we have to take thirty minutes in the morning to spend with God, rather than sit and drink our coffee in front of the Today show. It may mean biting our tongue when our husband or child asks us the same question for the tenth time. By feeding them love, acceptance, and safety, we are giving them positive and uplifting spiritual food, in that we are showing them God's love through us. That is the best food that we can give them.

This Proverbs 31 woman had to hunt for both physical and spiritual food for her family to keep them happy and healthy. We don't have it quite that bad with the advent of stores to buy our foods and internet sites full of recipes. That gives us more time to concentrate on the spiritual food for our family and for ourselves. Without God's love, we are lost and our families are lacking. What can you do today to show God's love to your family? The solution is in your hands and mouth.

Lord, I thank you for the families that you have given us. Help us to show them Your love through our words and actions. Give us the tools that we need to be Your hands and feet on this earth to both our families and our friends. Without You, we are nothing. We praise You, dear Father. Amen.

Willing Hands

"She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands." Proverbs 31:13 NKJV

"She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing." The Message

"She seeks out wool and flax and works with willing hands (to develop it)." The Amplified Bible

I don't know about you, but this verse strikes fear in my heart upon first read. You see, I still have an unfinished skirt that I started in Home Ec class in 1989 up in my attic somewhere that taunts me every few years or so. That skirt just serves to remind me that I failed, simply because I cannot get the skirt together right. That blue piece of fabric that would probably fit around one leg now proves that I need to step away from the sewing machine. This Proverbs 31 woman has one skill that I just simply do not have. If I lived in Bible times, my kids would be running around in clothes that were ill-fitting and unhemmed. Upon reading the verse again, however, I saw something even more important - she willingly works with her hands.

As moms and wives, our hands are very important. How we use our hands is even more important. Using them to soothe a fevered brow, pat a back, or give a hug is an expression of God's love to our children and husband. Just as important, however, is our hands in folding clothes, washing dishes, and cleaning the house. Although these are not jobs that I enjoy, I can show God's love through doing them with the proper attitude. Grumbling about the laundry and the never-ending chores is not what God had in mind. Willingly working with my hands with the right attitude can make a big difference in my testimony to my family and in my own attitude about life in general. Cheerfully doing my housework as a ministry to my family is the best way to show them God's love. God's work is never easy, and this is especially true when you are a mom and wife. Choose to willingly work with your hands. God will bless you for it.

Lord, help me remember when the laundry is piling up and the dishes are stacked up to the ceiling, that my attitude in doing my work is just as important as doing the work itself. Give me a cheerful heart in all things today, Lord. Help me to minister to my family as I work in our home. I praise You, my Lord. Amen."

Friday, January 4, 2008

Do Him Good All the Days of Your Life

"She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her." The Amplified Bible

"Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long." The Message

"She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life." NKJV

Proverbs 31:12 is one of those verses that we feel that we have control over and do pretty well, right? We don't beat our husbands, we don't go on strike, we don't lock him out of the house at night, do we? That is not all that this verse is concerning. Yes, you may be a pretty nice person most of the time, but what kind of attitude do you do it in? Are you generous with your time, consideration, and love with your husband? If you have kids, this may feel like just one more thing to add to your list, but it is essential to keeping your relationship with your husband alive and flourishing.

Doing good doesn't mean that you show up at the door in your heels and little else, holding his slippers and newspaper. It means that you allow God's love to flow through you to your husband. This may be picking up those socks for the one-thousandth time without commenting or fixing him his favorite meal, even though you don't like it (kraut and wieners in my case). You want him to feel loved, cherished, and encouraged by your actions. There are some things that we women do, sometimes, that can breed bitterness in us that will translate to our actions toward our husband. These need to be discussed as well.

How many times have you been with your friends and "man-bashed" with them? Even though your husband is not there, that does not mean that it does not have an effect upon your relationship with him and his relationship with others. This is one thing that I try very hard to refrain from - simply because I feel it hurts my relationship with God and what He would have me to do and it can breed discontent and bitterness in my heart. That doesn't mean that things don't "pop out" every once in a while, but I really try to keep from joining in on the man-bashing.

When is the last time you spent time alone with your husband? Yes, you may have been in bed with him last night alone, but when was the last time you were away from the kids for a few hours or even a few days together? If you are like most women, the answer may be last year, two years ago, or even longer. Your children are important, but even more important is your husband. He was the first part of your relationship and will be the last part, so why would you not want to nurture your relationship with him? You don't want to have all of the children grow up and leave and find that you have nothing to talk about with your husband. By nourishing your relationship now, you can keep it growing and alive, so that you will have marriage that will stand the test of time. Plan a night our or a weekend away, so that you can reconnect with your husband.

Find ways to encourage and do good for your husband this weekend. Leave me a comment with some of the ways that you came up with to encourage and cherish your husband!

Lord, I ask that you give us a love for our husbands that only comes from You. You are love and without You, we cannot love. Help us to do good to our husbands all the days of our lives. Put opportunities in our path to show our husbands our love and encouragement. Thank you for loving us, so that we can show love to others. I praise You, Lord. Amen.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

A Trustworthy Woman

Have you ever played that game where you fall back into the arms of someone to see how much you trust them? It is normally used in a team building exercise to allow the participants to see what their level of trust is in each other. This game is much like marriage. Your husband should be able to trust that you will be there to catch him, no matter if he is wrong or right. We should be the safe haven that our husbands can depend on and trust in no matter what is going on around him.

That said, I am guilty of not being that safe haven. I am one of those people who likes to discuss every angle of the issue, which makes my husband feel that I am taking someone else's side over him. That is not my intent, but it erodes the trust that he has in me to always be on his side. By listening to him without trying to figure out everyone else's reasoning behind their decision, I am showing him that he is important and increasing his feeling of safety in our home. This helps to build his self-confidence and his confidence in me.

In Proverbs 31:11, one of the qualities of that elusive Proverbs 31:11 woman is that her husband trusts in her.

"The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain." NKJV

"The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of (honest) gain or need of (dishonest) spoil." The Amplified Bible

Do you do what you say you will do? Are you flaky and disorganized? I am holding up my hand here. With three kids, life just seems to get in the way sometimes of doing what I said that I will do. In the case of my husband, it could be forgetting to go to the bank, to wash his favorite jeans, or to pick up dry cleaning. Although these all seem like minor infractions, they do not help to build his confidence in me. Eroding the confidence with these little things could mean that he does not trust me with the big things, either.

Being trustworthy and faithful to our husbands is more than just keeping ourselves for only him sexually. It means doing what we say we will do when we say we will do it and being that place of safety for him. This is not an overnight magical thing that will happen, but by making small changes in you - biting your tongue, becoming more organized by writing down tasks, and being there for him - you will find that the rewards are too numerous to count.

How can we become that trustworthy wife? By trusting that God is there for us to catch us. God will equip us to be the woman that He wants us to be if we only trust Him. When we put our trust in Him that He will take our lives and work them to His will, then He helps us to do every task that we put our mind to and that includes being the wife and mother that He would have us to be. What could be better than that?

Lord, help me to be that soft place of security of my husband. Let him to trust in me and have confidence in me that I will do him good and not harm. I cannot do this in my own power, Lord. I must have You beside me every single day, guiding me, to be the woman that You would have me to be. Thank You for every single moment that I have with my husband. Give me a greater love for him every single day. I thank You for this man that You have given me. I praise You, Lord. Amen.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The Worth of You

What do you think you are worth as a wife and mother? If you are like most women, you have days of feeling like you are unworthy and not doing a good job, followed by days where you feel that you are doing pretty well. God sees great value in us as wives and mothers and has even cared about us and our jobs so much that He has given us a sort of guidebook for living and doing the best that we can for our families. Proverbs 31 is the first guidebook that we will be studying.

Many women look at Proverbs 31 and feel that they cannot possibly measure up, but I don’t think that God put it in the Bible to discourage us or make us feel unworthy. Rather, I believe that it is in there to give us a guide for living and for the things that we should work on as wives and mothers. Today, we will look at the first verse that God uses to speak to wives and mothers, Proverbs 31:10. It helps to show us the value that God places on our jobs as wives and mothers.

“Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.”
NKJV

“A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.” The Message

“A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman-who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.” The Amplified Bible

Do you feel capable, intelligent, good, and virtuous all of the time? I know I don’t, but I am trying to be more forgiving of my faults and just learn to “fall forward.” Yes, I will fail and fall in my journey to be the wife and mother than God would have me to be, but instead of letting my failure stop me in my tracks, I am instead endeavoring to use it as a learning experience and thus “fall forward.” No, it is not something that I have perfected, but it is a skill that I am working on every single day.

Why is this something that I should be concerned about? The most important reason is that it is important to God that we be the best that we can be at whatever He has set us to. The second reason is for my husband. God expresses how important we are in our husband’s ministries in Proverbs 12:4.

“An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.”
NKJV

I want to be a crown to my husband, don’t you? I want to enhance him and enhance what he is doing for the Lord, so that the Lord can use us both in ministry, whether it is together or separately. By being the best wife and mother than I can be to the husband and children that God has given to me, I am fulfilling my purpose. That is not to say that my children and husband are my only purposes, but they are a major part of my ministry and mission field at this point of my life. If your husband is not a believer, then being a crown to him and being the woman that God would have you to be could be a way that God is using you to minister and witness to him through your words and actions. Whether your husband is a believer, not a believer, or whether you are a single mom, we as Christian women, have a responsibility to be what God wants us to be every single day.

What kind of wife are you? What kind of mother are you? You may not feel like you are doing a very good job today, but as we learned yesterday, we are given a new opportunity to begin every single day. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and resolve to do better. Fall forward!

Lord I come to you right now and ask that you touch each woman that is reading these words today. I ask that you place in their hearts a desire to be the best that they can be – whether it is as a wife, mother, grandmother, or woman. Give them the strength and knowledge to learn how to “fall forward”, so that messing up doesn’t mean failure, it means learning how to be the woman that You would have them to be. Give them the desires of their heart in You. Thank You, Lord. Amen.