Proverbs 31: 15-18

Proverbs 31:15-18New International Version (NIV)

15 

She gets up while it is still night;

    she provides food for her family

    and portions for her female servants.

16 

She considers a field and buys it;

    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 

She sets about her work vigorously;

    her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 

She sees that her trading is profitable,

    and her lamp does not go out at night.

Today is day 2 of studying Proverbs 31 now verses 15-18. If you haven't checked out the site I'm following along with it is HERE. What I got from this passage is that this woman is an extremely hard worker. She works hard for her family and for her home. Not only is she always making sure that the chores are done, food is made, cleaning is done but she is also looking for ways to improve and profit for her family! She is a very smart woman! She is smart in her investments and manages her money well. Not only that but she is patient with the process of it as well. Something that Courtney from women living well mentions in her post is to NOT be discouraged. This was not an overnight event but rather a lifetime of doing, a lifestyle. So when we feel like breaking down because we've been up all night tending to a sweet baby and than your toddler decides to wake up way too early, don't feel discouraged. Ask God for grace and for strength. ;) He will guide us. 

Courtney reminds us in her post that seasons of life change, so whatever you are going through, is just a season. What seems like "forever" will pass .So I'll be honest that right now, it's difficult for me to juggle my time with a two month old and a two year old and cooking, cleaning and wanting to get a breath of fresh air with daily activities. She mentions that it is important to be home and do what we have to do to maintain our home. I constantly try and do too much in one day with being out and about, and when I finally make it back home and nothing is done, I get even more frustrated. So I know I need to embrace being home more often and doing my work for not only my family but for God as well.

I'm not going to lie, when on Women Living Well, they mentioned the word Diligence a couple times, I had to look it up. I know what it means to be a hard worker but a woman of diligence is not only hard working but also consistent with her hard work, and that is something to strive for. I want my lamp to never go out, and always be thinking of ways I can better the home and our situation for our family. 

So my prayer for this night is for God to please give me the strength and patience I need for everyday. I want to be this virtuous and diligent woman He intends for me to be . I pray that I am given the wisdom to manage our finances well and be able to invest and profit in a way that is his will for me and my family. 

Proverbs 31 Woman

So this week I am following the Womenlivingwell.org on their devotional on being a Proverbs 31 woman. I've read this many times already but have yet to actually follow along with a group and really study what it means to be this Godly driven wife that God intended for me to be. I follow women living well on instagram and that is how I saw that this week they would be focusing on Proverbs 31, so let's begin!

Here She blogs about our findings in the reading of Proverbs 31: 1-14.

It begins with King Lemuel's mother instructing him on what he should find in a wife. Think of this as a mother just like you or me, talking to her son and saying these are the characteristics you should look for in a Godly wife.

I like that Courtney of Women Living Well mentioned Hebrews 12: 2-3.
In order to achieve being the Proverbs 31 woman we want to be we need to FIRST fix our eyes on Jesus and not worry or stress about the women next to us or any other distractions or comparisons. We must fear the Lord, he will give us strength.

And than the characteristics begin :

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.

So after reading this and watching the videos Courtney posted, this is what I got out of it. 

Basically, we , as a Daughter of God, as a desirable Godly wife, need to work our booty off. Literally! The verses I highlighted I got this: Her husband is able to have confidence in her - trust her with the finances, spending, trust her with the relationship, trust that she will basically hold down the fort. Who wouldn't want that?! Now a' days its so easy to get caught up on material things and getting in debt, and TV shows show lust and cheating and divorce... we need to stray away and remember what God is asking of us. He wants for our husbands to completely trust in us that we will stand by their side and that we mean what we said the day we married. 

-She brings good not harm- Courtney wrote -She does not talk about doing good to her husband – she DOES it!

I am definitely guilty of having done this. We all want to mention to our girlfriends some of the things we want to do for our husbands on special occasions or any time and than it doesn't happen. I want to become more of that woman that praises her husband, to him and to others. My grandmother once told me that a good wife does not talk about her marriage issues or talk negatively of her husband to others. Those are things you discuss and resolve with your spouse.

-She works eager with her hands- This can include plenty of things. Anything you do for your family, such as cleaning, doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking, crafting for the kids, etc. I love this verse because I fully intend on being this person. I want my hands and feet to hurt at the end of the day knowing that I worked so hard for my family and home. I, myself, feel like I do work eager with my hands BUT, I need to work on the "Don't look at it with Dread" that Courtney mentions. I do complain from time to time, I do say I'm tired, and I definitely do roll my eyes when I see this:

Or roll my eyes when I'm struggling to get one screaming child into a Walmart shopping cart while the lifting the carseat with an infant in it and than attempt grocery shopping while both are fussy and have had it. Instead of losing my cool (which believe me, it does happen) I need to be more patient and do My Job like my heavenly Father intended for me to do.

All of this, I want to write and share on here because I want for others to know that No One is perfect. There is no such thing as a "Super Mom". But there is such a thing as being a Godly wife and mother to the best of our ability. I want to share what I am learning and discovering as well. So follow along on here, or on Womenlivingwell.org and we can learn together. ;)