Pondering the Proverbs 31 Woman

I was thinking, so many women dread hearing the passage of the Proverbs 31 woman. They get convicted by it, or they feel inadequate or inferior to her. I do not think this was the purpose of this passage at all! This was a "check list" from a mom to her son. Wouldn't you want your son to marry the perfect woman? But the thing is, she isn't some wonder woman of the early civilizations, she is a picture of womanly beauty in its fullest. I believe that as women we should see this passage as an empowerment, a goal to strive for. Could you ever see a man taking all this on? (j/k) Seriously, we cannot use these verses as checklists, it just wouldn't work. We don't have the same obstacles before us in life as she did; we don't have to wait around for merchant ships, make our own clothes, or feed our handmaidens! But we do have to find the local bargains to save enough to take care of the fam; we have to make sure our kids have clothes, preferably clean; we have to cook healthy meals and aim for less than 2 times a week at McD's! Most of us are in charge of the family budget, the family schedule, the home, the errands, and even responsible for keeping the extended family checked in on from time to time. Our task, just like the 31 woman, is to give ourselves wholeheartedly to seeing our family well taken care of, to be a good steward, to bring up the children in the teachings of God, to do our husbands "good" all the days of our lives (read that as you will), and to fear the Lord. We are to be the type of woman that makes the leaders in town want our husband around, he must have good judgment since he married us! We want him to be proud of us and we want our children to "rise and call (us) blessed."
The Hebrew used in verse 10 for a virtuous woman, or woman of virtue, or woman of noble character, whichever translation you use, is literally the word used for warriors, soldiers, men of valor. It is saying, this woman is a fighter! She is out conquering the world on behalf of her loved ones. So the bottom line is, are you a fighter? Are you giving this wife/mom thing all you got?? If so, then chin up! YOU are a Proverbs 31 woman. Read that passage, covet that passage, and become that passage. Have no fear.

Such A Time As This

One of my favorite women in the Bible is Queen Esther, and her story one of the most dramatic I’ve heard. She is the portrayal of a faithful woman. Her uncle wisely tells her, “Who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NIV). And at this our leading lady steps up to the plate. She could have been terrified to the point of hiding her background and trying to escape it all. But she did not. The very first thing she did was call upon God with fasting and prayer. Then, bold Esther placed her life on the line by going in to the king. This was completely against customs and could result in her being put to death if the king did not hold out his royal cepter to her. She did not know for sure if he would do this, but she placed it in God’s hands. “And if I perish, I perish,” (Esther 4:16, NIV) were her last words. What an amazing woman! She was willing to die for her people, God’s people. I think the most amazing part of this story is how she allowed God to use her. God crowned her queen for just that purpose, and she did not back down to the task. This is a lesson for us as well. Recently a dear loved one of mine attained the position of youth sponsor. Not long after there was a tragedy that happened to this group of teens. This loved one, who could have melted under the pressure of dealing with this trauma, stepped up and ministered to these teens through this trial. I know that she had “attained (this position) for such a time as this.” And she proved capable. What position of influence have you attained? Are you now a mother? A manager? A president or committee chair? A new friend? Whatever it is, or however powerful it is, I guarantee you that you have “attained (this position) for such a time as this.” Some are very fearful with the direction our nation is going. But the question is, are you prepared for it, however it turns out? I would like to say that we all, as daughters of the King of kings, have “attained ROYALTY for such a time as this,” today, right now. This is our time. Esther did not know how her story would end, but she followed faithfully. So shall we. We must be wise, bold and committed to following the Lord. We must step up to the task before us! And the outcome of our tale will be incredible!

Rebekah - A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong

So, I borrowed this book from a lady at our church entitled All of the Women of the Bible, by Edith Deen and it is so good I had to order it off the internet. This week I have been reading and thinking a lot on the story of Rebekah, Isaac's wife. Most often when we read this story we focus on Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. However, I think that Rebekah paints the perfect picture of a typical woman of God, with all the mess-ups we can produce.
We first meet Rebekah by the well. Isaac's servant, sent to find him a wife, has prayed that God would give him the sign of a woman offering water to his camels as well as himself to show this is the woman for Isaac. Then, along comes Rebekah. Isaac's servant relays this story to her and her family, and Rebekah, trusting that the Lord is in this agrees to go with him to marry a man she has never met. What faith! She doesn't have children until she is old, and then she has twins! God tells her that the older will serve the younger. As her two boys, Jacob and Esau, grow into young men, she is naturally drawn to the younger. He is not the rough and tough man that his brother is, but possibly the more spiritual minded. She may have also seen that her husband, Isaac, gave more attention to Esau because of his love for hunting and cooking, etc. Maybe it was because Esau had married women who did not share in their faith or because he cared so little about his birthrights to begin with. At that point Rebekah decides to take God's word to her about her sons into her own hands. She plots and plans and devises a scheme to get Isaac to give Jacob Esau's blessing, buy disguising him as his brother. It works, but causes so much family strife that she must send Jacob away for good in order to save his life from Esau. Talk about family drama! Instead of letting God unfold his plan before her, she took matters into her own hands, something we all do at times. But because of this Rebekah did not get her happily ever after. Instead she lived the rest of her life with a husband who no longer trusted her, a son who resented her, and another she could never see again.
One thing that I see that we can learn from Rebekah is that no matter what we do, God's Will will prevail. Jacob was meant to have the birthright, and went on to become Israel, the father of the nations. He had 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel, and through him the story continues. We often mess up this way. But, sister, no matter what you have done, be confident in knowing that God will work it out in spite of you!!! Let it also be an encouragement to trust Him, so that you can gain blessings from outcomes instead of sorrow.
But what do you think about Rebekah? I believe she was a mother that was seeking to do the best she could for her children and a child of God who wanted badly to have the Lord's will done in her family. But I believe she was way off base on what God had planned for her and she hurt a lot of people with her failure to trust and let go. Maybe you see it differently? It is difficult to imagine a mother choosing one son over the other in this way. Why did she not have Esau's well-being in mind also? Or why did she not talk to Isaac about the whole thing instead of using his weakness (blindness) against her own husband? What was she thinking? I would love to know what your thoughts are about this key woman of the Bible.

A Song that Touches my Heart

I wanted to share the lyrics of a new song with you, because I think it is really good, esp for you mommies!
In My Arms by PLUMB

Your baby blues
So full of wonder
Your curlicues
Your contagious smile
And as I watch
You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight
Knowing
Clouds will rage and
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Story books
Are full of fairy-tales
Of kings and queens
And the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see
The truth for lies
When theClouds will rage and
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone
Cause I will always
Always love you
Clouds will rage and
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
In my arms

Holiday Togetherness

I remember holiday traditional activities being one of the biggest, excitingest (is that a word?) things as a kid. Every year the anticipation of those things was great! And looking back, the memories it created and the family bonds that were formed during those times were irreplaceable. Now that I have my own family, I have tried to come up with family traditions for us as well. Each family has its own personality, so they won't always be the same as you did as a kid, but it is so important to try to do these things! Here are a few that we do:
Bake holiday cookies or brownies with decos related to that holiday.
Carve a pumpkin and take pics with it.
Go to Harvest Fest (or other).
Cook and Eat together on Thanksgiving (using special china!)
Bake holiday pies.
Do stockings (at a different time than presents).
Do the Christmas tree together.
Have Christmas coffee with special creamers with candy and cookies!
Have a "Christmas Surprise" waiting under the tree on Christmas morning (unwrapped) or a gift from Santa if that is what you do (I am a selfish mom and want my kids to know who really bought it!)
Christmas Bible readings.
Make a Card or Cake or Cookies to celebrate Jesus' Birthday (find SOME way to keep the focus where it should be)

I am so excited that the holiday season is here! I just hope I can do a good job conducting here in the new place! Something we are going to try to do also is find some outreach that we can do together as a family every couple of months to teach the kids about giving and reaching out. Right now we have just begun a Shoebox (most of you know what that is). I encourage you to find things like this that you can include your kids in.

What are your traditions?

The Poison Apple

Do you remember that intense moment in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves when Snow White is about to be tricked by the Evil Queen (in disguise as an old woman) into eating that poisonous apple? You just wanted to scream at her, "Don't do it! It is a trick!" But alas, our beauty takes one bite and falls to her death (or a deep slumber).

This part of the story echoes an all too familiar story of another deception and another piece of fruit. Let's go back to the Beginning, to the garden of Eden. Our beauty in this story is named Eve. As we read the first few chapters of Genesis we come to this same intense moment. Eve is about to be tricked by the Evil Prince of Darkness (in disguise as a serpent) into eating that forbidden fruit (could have been an apple, probably not). Again, we just want to scream at her, "Don't do it! It is a trick!" But alas, our beauty takes one bite and falls to her death, taking the rest of the human race along with her.

But don't worry, happy ending lover, it isn't over. As Snow White lies there, cold and lifeless, along comes a prince on a white stallion. The Prince sees Snow White as beautiful, falls in love with her, and kisses her lifeless body (ok, so it is kinda morbid, but I think it is supposed to be romantic). By the power of that love, the spell is broken; Snow White awakes and the Prince carries her away with him to his castle in the clouds. IN THE SAME WAY (ironic the parallels here), as Eve, and the human race, were experiencing the death of their souls, the separation from God the Almighty, and living through the ever-increasing consequences of this sin, along came THE PRINCE, Jesus Christ. He saw his bride, felt compassion and love, and gave his life for her (a bit harder than a kiss, wouldn't you say?). And once again, by the Power of that great Love, the bonds of sin were broken; Eve, and her children, awake to new and everlasting life, and THE PRINCE will come soon to carry us away to His mansion "in the clouds." Wow.

So what can we take from this and apply to our life today? I mean, as Christian women who have already accepted THE PRINCE and await His return. I believe the key here is the temptation. We may have been rescued from the result of our sinful nature, but we are not finished here. The tempter is still hot on our trail. So we need to be wise to him, not allowing him to deceive us as he did our mother Eve. "(Our) enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. Here are some things we learn about the schemes of the Devil:

One: He jumbles up your mind and twists God's Word. (Gen 3:1-3)

Two: He contradicts God, placing His motives under false light, and causes Eve to doubt her faith in Him (Gen 3:4-5).

Three: He leaves it all up to the senses, which for us women is a dangerous thing. (Gen 3:6)

So what can we do when Satan attacks, placing that oh so desirable thing before us? Well, if possible: RUN!!!! But here are some other things:

One: Know the Word of God. "Do not let the book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Josh 1:8 Don't allow Satan to jumble you up when it comes to what is in the Bible. If you get confused, there is only one thing to do-open up that Bible and find the truth.

Two: Know your God. If you spend time with God daily, in prayer and in His Word, you will know the character of your God. Satan can not cause you to doubt someone you so intimately know.

Three: Know yourself. Realistically. You don't have the power to overcome when you allow something to sit there and stare at you, calling you, looking so desirable. You'll break. We all will. Think about a little child wanting to touch that pretty ornament. You said no, but it is still there, staring at them, tempting them. And what do they eventually do? Touch it. So as parents, or caretakers, what do we generally do? Say no, and then remove the temptation. It is the same for us. All I can say is remove that temptation somehow. Back to my original advice - run!

Well, you didn't know Snow White had so much to tell us, did you? Think of this next time you enjoy that G night with your kids!

A Real Life Fairy Tale (moved)

What girl doesn’t love a good romance or fairy tale? What girl hasn’t waited in anticipation for “Prince Charming” to come along? And what girl hasn’t ended up a grown woman, believing all of her fantasies were just that and that she indeed would never hear those words, “As you wish!” (Princess Bride) But Praise the Lord! the story is not over. God has given us those longings and desires for us to experience that magical life we dreamed of. We may not live in that castle in the clouds, but there is something out there just for us! As John Eldredge writes in his book Wild at Heart:
“There are also three desires I find essential to the woman’s heart, which are not entirely different from a man’s and yet they remain distinctly feminine…every woman longs to be fought for…And her childhood dreams of a knight in shining armor coming to rescue her are not girlish fantasies; they are the core of the feminine heart and the life she knows she was made for…Every woman also wants an adventure to share…caught up into something greater than herself…And finally, every woman wants to have a beauty to unveil.” (19-20)
We are worth fighting for, we have our very own adventure lined out before us, and we ARE BEAUTIFUL!! We are daughters of the King of kings. If that does not make us princesses, then I don’t know what would! We are princesses of the most High God, the Almighty! We need to wake up and start living that role! And just as our bedtime stories were flooded with many different princesses, each with her own personality, circumstance, kingdom and villain, we too have all been created individually, different, with different circumstances, “kingdoms” or homes to manage, and villains to go against. Isn't it nice to know that we can still dream of adventure, and that God may just have it in store for you?
I have started a whole new chapter in my adventure...it is taking some getting used to, but it is so exciting at the same time. It is probably the riskiest one yet, seeing as how I had to take the kids along! The good thing is we are not in a novel that has been already set out for us that we have to just ride along and see the conclusion. WE are in charge! The outcome of our adventure depends on us and God. Are you depending on God today and letting Him whisk you away? Tell me your story, Princess!