I have to admit this study has been challenging for me. The Proverbs 31 woman is a little overwhelming! Comment if you feel the same way and if you have any suggestions about how to move forward. All I can think of is prayer. There is no way I can be a Proverbs 31 woman on my own. Often times I like to coast through life trying to do things on my own strength. Prideful... I know. But then I look at the Proverbs 31 woman and I can see that God desires me to be more like her and it's very clear that I can't do that on my own strength. I've tried! Believe me! So my hope is to delve more into the practice of prayer.
Thanks to my mom I have found some fun new blogs to read about the art of housekeeping from some Christian authors - Sarah Mae and Fly Lady. Great reads! I love Sarah Mae's post for June 4th. She and I are cut from the same cloth. We both love our netflicks subscriptions and struggle with our 24 addictions. Luke and I are on Season 7 of 24. I have to admit that I cannot stop until I am done with Season 8 (the final season). Then I will try to take Sarah's lesson today to heart =-)
Now back to this blog. Here are my thoughts for week 3. It's not to late to start the study and do it on your own time. Click HERE for instructions!
Week 3
Monday’s Read: Proverbs 31:12, I Kings 11:4 S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
As
Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart
was not fully devoted to the Lord
his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.I believe Proverbs 31 woman is the type of gal that will help keep her and her husband in God’s will. This will bring them good, not harm. Women really do have the “power” to help their husbands spiritually or to pull them away from God. Goodness is also a fruit of the Spirit. I need to seek to bring my husband goodness ALL the days of my life. This means every day and not just when it’s easy but during the hard times. This is a life-long commitment.
A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.
I want to continue to seek God so that I can be the type of woman who brings my husband good and not harm. God has put me in a unique situation to be a blessing. In order to do this all the days of my life I am going to need His strength. This is not something I can do on my own power.
P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.
Lord - Thank you that you have given me an opportunity to bring good and blessing to my family. Help me to bring goodness even when it’s hard and I don’t feel like it! Help me to take that responsibility seriously and to know that this is my number one priority. I must do this in my home before I do it at work and in ministry.
Tuesday’s Read: Proverbs 31:13, I Kings 11:4
S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human
masters
O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.Thankfully I am not responsible for making my own clothes anymore!!!! What a blessing that is. But we can see that this woman takes the responsibility of providing her family with clothes seriously. She works with eager hands. No matter what we work at it in our lives we should work at it in a way that would make God proud!
A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.
I can grumble a little bit with my work. I am a busy mother,wife, employee, and I volunteer my time for ministry. So sometimes my husband will hear me grumble about cooking, the housework, managing money, etc… I find that it’s a challenge to navigate through “gender roles.” Even 50 years ago it was the tradition to see women stay at home full time and manage the house and kids. Now more and more women are in the work force and it’s not always realistic to expect us to work, take care of the kids and manage a household. So how does it all get done? How do you work together with your husband to balance time between all these areas. I’m still working on that. I have to say that I think single moms rock! They truly do it all! But one thing I know is that I need to have a better attitude about my contributions to our family. I think back to Biblical time when women had to “select wool and flax” and make their own cloths. They didn’t have washing machines and ovens. They had to do everything by hand. They didn’t have grocery stores. Modern technology is a blessing and a curse. We are able to do things much easier but we also have more things that compete for our time.
P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.
Lord – It’s hard to balance all the challenges in our lives these days. Help me to honor you with the work I do for my family. Please help me to be mindful about my attitude and remember that you are honored when I work at it with all my heart.
Wednesday’s Read: Proverbs 31:14, Proverbs 9:1-2
S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
Wisdom
has built her house;
she has set up its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.she has set up its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
This women goes to great lengths to get her shopping done! She is an incredible cook and hostess and goes to great lengths to get her shopping and meal prep done!
A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.
This women loves to shop and I can picture her search for a good deal. I love this. Shopping and finding the best deal is exciting for me. I know I could do a better job with finding deals with groceries but it’s hard to make the time to go to several places with a child! But I would like to do my best to find good deals and provide the best food and clothes for my family on a reasonable budget! I struggle to find new ideas for meals. I also struggle to buy the right proportions and sometimes end up throwing food away. I want to be better about not being wasteful.
P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.
Lord – Thank you that I don’t have to prepare my own meat and wine from scratch! But I pray that I would be conscious of the money I use to provide cloths, food, and necessities for my family. Help me to make wise decisions and not to be wasteful of what you have give us!!
Thursday’s Read: Proverbs 31:14, Proverbs 9:1-2
S--‐ Write out the scripture passage for the day.
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
“Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
O--‐Write down 1 or 2 observations from the passage.
This woman
had a servant’s heart. She was quick to
assess the needs of this man and meet them as quickly as possible. A--‐ Write down 1--‐2 applications from the passage.
How quickly do I assess needs and take care of them? I do a great job sometimes and other times it can be an inconvenience and I ignore them. Rachel meets the needs of a complete stranger. How much more should that make me want to meet the needs of those I love!
P--‐ Pray over what you learned from today’s passage.
Lord – Help me to be quick to meet the needs of those around me, especially my family. It’s easy to keep score and think about the times where my needs were not met. Help me to remember that I am in charge of my own actions and reactions. I have to answer for those regardless of what others say and do!
Reflection:
I have to be
honest and say that reading this “instruction” manual is overwhelming at
times. I’ve been thinking that the
writer really should have included a Proverbs 32 with instructions for the
men! My human nature just thinks - What about the men? What are they doing while this woman
seemingly does it all? It’s a challenge
for me not to want to see how we can all work together and make things “even
Steven”. I think part of my challenge
comes from my circumstances. I work outside the home about 30 hours a
week. I am happy that I can provide for
my family in that way. I also love my
job. I also love my Monday and Tuesday
where I can stay home with my daughter.
So I can get a little overwhelmed when I think about the Proverbs 31
women. I am guessing that some of you
may feel the same way.
Maybe what
God is trying to teach me is that I rarely rely on Him. In order to be a Proverbs 31 woman there is
no way I can skate by on my own strength!
I need to start praying for His strength and relying on Him more
everyday.
This is overwhelming to me, as well. I hear God saying to us that we need to be busy, be hard at work - not women of leisure. We also need to know that God notices what we do and He values our work! Ever since the fall, men and women are faced with work that seems never ending. It is true that a "woman's work is never done.". Yet, the Lord sees and knows that our shopping, cleaning, cooking and child rearing are important. They count! We are blessing our families just by doing those things. I see these verses as validating our work as women, wives and mothers. And I know we are appreciated by our families. Times are vastly different since I was born and that requires much compromise between couples. However it works out between us we need to know that it pleases God to see us blessing our families!
ReplyDeleteYou're right... We are affirmed that the work we do for our families is important work in God's eyes!!!
ReplyDelete