Proverbs 31:17

"She girdeth her loins with strength, And maketh strong her arms."

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Earlier this year I went to Tanzania for the third year in a row. Every year I'm struck by how hard the women (and children as well) work. I have seen these ladies carry an eighteen month old baby on their back in a konga and hoe a field of corn at the same time. For four hours! And that's not all....they fix food from scratch, they scrub their clothes by hand, sometimes they carry every drop of water they use.

And I think of the work I do, the work we here do...and I'm inspired to work harder and strengthen myself to better serve.

We are very blessed by modern convieniences: but are we missing an important trait of hard work and building our strength? We always tease at our house that we actually have six or seven dishwashers! We don't have an automatic dishwasher but there are six or seven of us kids that are well able to wash dishes by hand! Some of my favorite memories are all of us in the kitchen working together and doing dishes. I'm thankful for washing machines, and dryers on rainy days. But there are so many ways we can choose the little bit harder option and strengthen ourselves by daily work.

"The labor of the righteous tendeth to life; The increase of the wicked, to sin." Proverbs 10:16

"In all labor there is profit; But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury." Proverbs 14:23

The virtuous woman was aware of the strength and stamina needed to properly take care of her home and family. Notice how the language means ongoing as well as a choice to improve!

Here is a paragraph from Adam Clarke's commentary that sheds some very insightful light on this verse and sums up what I'm trying to say!

"7. She takes care of her own health and strength, not only by means of useful labor, but by healthy exercise. She avoids what might enervate her body, or soften her mind - she is ever active, and girt ready for every necessary exercise. Her loins are firm, and her arms strong."

I'm humbled and encouraged to do better with every verse of this passage! It makes me want to work harder, learn more and set goals for myself! I urge us all to be encouraged, to start where we are and work forward. :)

Proverbs 31:16

"She considereth a field, and buyeth it; With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."

I'm going to refer again to the wisdom of my mother. King Lemuel's mother is giving good advice to him concerning a virtuous woman and here are some things my mother has told me...

I) This verse is talking about working within your capacity of keeper of the home. We can look around and be cognizant of opportunities to improve and help our homes, but it won't take you AWAY from your husband, children or responsibilities.

II) "She considers, and buys" Making good choices for spending money. Put in the effort to find the best economical choices for your family. Plan your menus so you can shop once a week: it saves money, prepares ahead of time and we all know how expensive those "run into the grocery store for one item" trips are!

III) God provides for His own, but He also expects us to be responsible.

IV) The last thing I want to mention is the last part of the verse- "With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard." Hard work. Working hard pays off. It's hard work, working hard, but the rewards and results are worth it. Teach yourself to work hard, teach your children to work hard and you will give them an invaluable gift they will use the rest of their life.

There's so much to learn, so much to work on, but with patience, hard work and perseverance we will reach the goal!

Please forgive any incoherency...this week has been busy but good...I just wanted to go ahead and post a few thoughts. :) Thanks!

How to have a successful shopping trip...

First: take your 12 year old brother with you. In case you don't know, this is my little brother Miles. I was 11 years old when he was born and I'm thankful every day to have him in my life! I guess I should say younger brother...cause he's definitely NOT little-er!

So he pumped my gas...(with a tiny bit of coaching)...he wasn't anxious to say it was his favorite thing to do, but I could tell he enjoyed doing a job he considers a grown up job!

Do you see that he is taller then I?! Ugh! What's with that?!

Second: pick out your vegetables and discuss Bok choy...

Miles- "Let's get Bok choy!"

Me- "Well, we don't really need it!"

Miles- "Oh."

Me- "Sorry..."

Miles- "What exactly is Bok choy?"

Me- "Chinese cabbage"

Miles- "Oh!"

He pushed my cart...you should have seen his face when I kept forgetting something on one of the aisles!

Third: He loaded the groceries up for me and laughed at me for taking another picture!!

Fourth: totally enjoy shopping for shirts and singing with the radio and just having a fun time with your brother.

Yep. I love my brother. He's a sweet guy! Everyday he blesses my life. He's funny, he's cute, he's sincere, he's thoughtful, and I've learned so much from him. :)

That's one way I have a successful shopping trip.

Proverbs 31:13-15

"She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchant-ships; she bringeth her bread from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth food to her household, and their task to her maidens."

Whenever I read this, I always get the feeling of passion and zeal that this exemplifies for a woman's family. She goes great lengths to provide for her family and does it willingly! What a lesson for us!

I realize that we don't necessarily have the same tasks, such as making our clothes from the plant and sheep up, but the principle is the same. That of working willingly, working hard and working with a specific end in mind.

The example of wool is rather close to home for me. We used to have wool sheep and my Mom loved the whole sock making process! We have a whole bin full of the beautiful work she's made. Dad would shear the sheep, then Mom would take the wool, wash it, spin it on her spinning wheel and then dye sometimes. She took that woolen yarn and knitted it into socks and mittens. It takes a lot of work to do all that, and the end result is amazing! I love Mom's hand knitted wool socks! They kept us warm and dry in the winter....and they were beautiful too. She taught us the value of hard work and to realize what it really takes to do a good job. (I knitted a pair of socks too...from wool I spun and let me tell you, they needed some help! I'm still trying to figure out how they ended up twisted!!....Maybe I need to work on that!)

It's so easy, (and I know my last post was about attitude, but it still applies!) to fall into the trap of a bad attitude. While there may be certain tasks that are distasteful, or boring to us, that doesn't mean our attitudes should change. God has given us the beautiful opportunity to bless our families (and as we'll see in later verses, we will be blessed by so doing) and care for them.

Let's take these words and not feel daunted by tasks, but encouraged to love and serve our families even more! We don't work to keep the laundry clean, and the beds made, we work because we love our families and care for their well-being.

Proverbs 31:12

I feel like the worker who hired on at the last hour!! I know this is very late but I still wanted to post a few thoughts I've been mulling over this whole week!

(Just for the record, I've been helping Mom and my sisters prepare for a HUGE garage sale- huge as in going through every room in the house and going through closets, drawers and shelves....We've been singing and smiling because that's way better then frowning and complaining about all the JUNK we've been going through!! So it's been a busy week!)

This study has been so encouraging and thought provoking to me! All this week I've enjoyed reading the different blogs and comments...there is much wisdom to be gained from the different ladies I've been reading. The perspectives have been very insightful. Mrs. Joy, with her 25 years of marriage, Kristen, with her 1,000 (and a couple by now!) days, and Julia, who will be married in 75 days! As well as the ladies who've linked their blog on Kristen's.

"She doeth him good and not evil all the days of her life."

Doing good. I know I said this last time, but there is SO much packed into this little verse! But I've been thinking about our hearts as we do good. I'm a list person. I like to make lists and check them off! So I could make a list of good goals to have, good things to do for my husband and dutifully follow it- have a clean house. *check* Make sure his clothes are clean. *check* Have a full cupboard. *check* Etc. But is it really "doing good" if my mindset and heart isn't right?

In the book and movie, Anne of Green Gables, there is a scene where Anne has insulted Marilla's good friend and neighbor Mrs. Lynde. Marilla insists that Anne apologizes but Anne refuses. So Matthew (he's probably my favorite!) creeps up to Anne's room to talk to her and says (roughly) "Can't you just smooth it over, Anne? You don't have to really mean that your sorry, but just kind smooth it over so to speak"

In I Corinthians 13 it talks about love, and what love is. At the beginning of the chapter it talks about having good attributes and standards, but if those are not followed with love, they are nothing. Isaiah 29:13 says "And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me.."

Both of these scriptures are talking about having the right attitude; having the right heart-set and mindset.

It's really easy to start checking off lists and "doing good" things for our husband and families, but are we "smoothing things over" and not having the right attitude? Are we just doing to survive? Or are we providing with graciousness for our families? Are we doing laundry and cooking meals so the family doesn't smell bad and doesn't grouch because they're hungry? Or are we providing comfort and sustenance? Do we view our lives as housekeepers or homemakers?

Our families and husbands are such a joy to our lives! (My family is to me!) This is a challenge to me to truly have the right heart. And not just do. Doing good on the outside and doing good on the inside too.

Deuteronomy 10:12 "And now, Israel, what doth Jehovah thy God require of thee, but to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all they soul."

A walk, a camera and some words of wisdom

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Be not therefore anxious, saying What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

"Either make the tree good, and it's fruit good; or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corupt: for the tree is known by its fruit."

Proverbs 31:11

"The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no lack of gain."

In one little verse there is a goldmine of instruction!

"The heart of her husband" Isn't that what we're all working toward? To me, this phrase means the most important part of our husband. His heart: not just his affections but also the true heart, where faith, honor and character stem.

What a beautiful thing, to be wholly trusted!

What is trust?

The Webster definition of trust is "assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something"

But what does it mean to be trustworthy? Dependable, honest, open, hardworking, resourceful, insightful...the list could go on. It provides such peace of mind and harmony for the husband and family too!

"And he shall have no lack of gain"

No lack of gain in face as well as household management. It's not enough to just run your husband's house well. It's also the tender and trustworthy care of his whole being.

To me, this is such an important part of our role as women. There are so many directions the world wants to push us. But when we are grounded in faith and trust we will be able to stand by our husbands and be a better help-meet.