Today is Day 1 of my study! Hooray! J I’m so excited to go through this.
In my study bible, it says this about Proverbs 31:10-31-
“These verses describe the ideal wife and mother. Her whole life is centered around a reverent fear of God, compassion for those in need, and faithfulness and love toward her family. All the ideals set forth here will probably not be fulfilled in any one wife and mother. But each wife can seek to serve God, her family and others in these kinds of ways with the ability and material resources that God has given her.
I think that sums it up really well!
I want to start going through this passage verse by verse. Then as something hits me, or I feel like I need to work on it for a while, I will stay there.
So, today I am going to go through verse 10. By the way, this is going to be written journal style. I am going to record my thoughts as I have them, so this won't be really pretty...probably a little messy, actually :)
Proverbs 31:10
“An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.”
Some translations say excellent, some say noble. I decided to look up both definitions just to have a broader view.
Noble- of an exalted mental or moral character or excellence; admirable in dignity and conception, manner of expression, execution, or composition.
Excellent- possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good.
Right from the get-go, this convicts me. Not that I feel like I’m an immoral person, but on a day to day basis, I don’t feel exceptionally good. Just average I guess. A few questions that come to mind are: 1) How do you be exalted and not be cocky about it, and 2) how do you go about getting to the point where you are “remarkably good”?
Looking through one of Adam’s commentaries, it says that the word for noble character is also translated as “capable”. That is really interesting. I think that the days when I don’t feel good enough, or just can’t accomplish anything I want to, I feel a sort of crippling or incapable feeling. Putting this in marriage perspective, I would feel awesome if Adam always felt like I was capable of doing the things that needed to be done. Not too emotional, tired, moody, etc.
Disclaimer: As I write all of these things, it is PURELY from MY perspective. So for example, when I say that I would feel awesome IF Adam thought that about me, I’m not saying that he doesn’t, I’m just speaking from my perspective. I’m only going to write ways that I would like to improve and I don’t want to focus on his end of it at all. Does that make sense? So I’m not “beating myself up”, I’m just trying to be as brutally honest as I can and pulling everything out from the verse that gets to me J
Okay, moving on… J
When I see “her worth is far above jewels” it makes me think of either someone famous or super wealthy . Saying that this woman is worth far above what could outwardly make a person happy is a huge thing. To me, it is saying that this woman is priceless. A man would trade in all his riches for her.
Each day, or every couple days, I am going to write out my verse on a note card and memorize it. I am going to ask God a way to make the verse come alive to me and get to my heart. On the back of the note card, I want to write how that happened. It may not be that same day, but I hope to share it on the back of that card and on here as well.
Comments are so welcomed by the way! If any of these things impact you in any way, I’d love to hear how J This blog is pretty private and close knit. So it’s not (nor will be) public for others to see so don’t be shy.
Proverbs 31:10- A excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.
-K
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
How This Blog Started
I sat down one day after not having much "me" time. I drove by myself to Starbucks, brought my computer, ordered a drink, and contemplated life. It sounds much more deep than it actually was. I felt like I was just so busy, yet nothing was actually getting done. And nothing spiritually for that matter. I felt dry. Honestly, I still do most days, but that night, I felt God was giving me a word, speaking to me so obviously. I was so thankful!
That night I started to make a list. A list of things I wish I were doing (ranging from exercising to cleaning the house to reading my bible), things I was doing, important things I SHOULD be working on, and finally, a list of how I could actually do the things I thought I ought to be doing. I was praying continually that the Lord would guide my time and really speak to me. I was only gone from my house for forty-five minutes, but my mind was so clear and focused it felt like hours! When I was done making my lists, I cracked open my bible to Proverbs 31 (totally God's prompting), and was so surprised. I felt like everything I had been writing down were things that directly related to this passage; cleaning habits, being diligent, frugal, wise, preparing, being wise, etc. I knew that God wanted to do some work in me, and I was SO HAPPY to have a guide. Reading that passage sums up how a woman and wife should live.
I was so inspired, I decided to write a blog following my journey of becoming more like the Proverbs 31 woman. Some of the character qualities in that passage will take a lifetime to master, but there's no better time to start than now! I'm hoping that God will really work on my heart and change me to be more of the woman that He created me to be. I hope you are as encouraged as I am to be going through this. Feel free to join me!
Proverbs 31:10-31
10An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
14She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
15She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
16She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
18She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
20She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
25Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
26She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29“Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.
That night I started to make a list. A list of things I wish I were doing (ranging from exercising to cleaning the house to reading my bible), things I was doing, important things I SHOULD be working on, and finally, a list of how I could actually do the things I thought I ought to be doing. I was praying continually that the Lord would guide my time and really speak to me. I was only gone from my house for forty-five minutes, but my mind was so clear and focused it felt like hours! When I was done making my lists, I cracked open my bible to Proverbs 31 (totally God's prompting), and was so surprised. I felt like everything I had been writing down were things that directly related to this passage; cleaning habits, being diligent, frugal, wise, preparing, being wise, etc. I knew that God wanted to do some work in me, and I was SO HAPPY to have a guide. Reading that passage sums up how a woman and wife should live.
I was so inspired, I decided to write a blog following my journey of becoming more like the Proverbs 31 woman. Some of the character qualities in that passage will take a lifetime to master, but there's no better time to start than now! I'm hoping that God will really work on my heart and change me to be more of the woman that He created me to be. I hope you are as encouraged as I am to be going through this. Feel free to join me!
Proverbs 31:10-31
10An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
14She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
15She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
16She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
18She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
20She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
25Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
26She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29“Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.
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