^{Proverbs 31: 24-26}

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Welcome back readers, and Hello to anyone reading this blog for the first time. I pray that these scriptures will speak to you as they have spoken to me.  Being able to publish these blogs is an extrodinary blessing for me and I hope they will bless you as much in return.

Continuing on with our lessons on the Good wife, this blog will be covering Pro 31:24-26. Verse 24 says:

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

This verse is very similar to others we have gone over recently so we will be quick, the main ones I wish to write about today are v25 & 26. The Good wife in the bible doesnt just think of herself and her own family, of course after God and her relationship with him they come a close second, the Good wife also cares for her community and does what she can to help them. We need to use the skills we have to help out where we can, It doesnt mean spend loads of money on fabrics or cooking utensils and ingrediants to prepare things for others free of charge consistently, but dont 'rip them off'' either, be honest with your self and others about the cost and value of items, after all, when you have Jesus and a family that loves you, excessive money  for yourself should not be your goal.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

 

This is the Key Verse I wanted to focus on this week, mainly because it is the one that I am really trying hard to work on at the moment. You see, Just before christmas, I basically lost my job due to "reducing hours" and getting into an arguement with my boss and instead of haveing a decent amount of casual hours a week like I was getting, I am now getting approximately 5 hours a fortnight.... not very much to live on at all on the best of times, then you add Christmas, my 21st birthday and a wedding to the mix and no income on my behalf... it has been a very tough few weeks and it will be for the next few also... In the begining I had already been suffering from depression due to clashes with the aforementioned new boss and studying at uni coming up to end of year exams to come back from an amazing holiday with my fiance in Asia to this delema it has been really hard for me to be positive. So I started to think, how can I get past this? How can WE make ends meet? How are WE going to pay the bills? etc etc etc.... (has any one noticed the issue yet?) I wasn't putting my trust in God. With the new found time I unfortunately have on my hands I have been digging into the Bible more so then I ever have done before.... probably because apart from house work and Job hunting, I have nothing else to do with my time. I started praying and talking with God while cleaning the toilets, washing the dishes, doing the ironing, vacuuming the floors.... from this new depth of relationship I have been developing with Jesus I have found the strength (most days) to deal with our situation positively and to share this strength and positive aspect with my fiance.  It is still hard to laugh at the days to come but I am becoming positive about them which is a start. I encourage you all no matter your situation to look forward, things will get better. What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger.

Finally:
"She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction on her tongue"

This verse I cannot guide you in things to say how to act etc as every situation is different no person who hears you speak will hear and understand what you wish to say in exactly the same way.
The most important thing to remember when applying this scripture to your life is the simple lesson of think and pray before you speak and do.











 

The Good Wife

²¹ She does not worry about her family when it snows,
because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
²² She makes coverings for herself;
her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material.
²³ Her husband is known at the city meetings,
where he makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land.

 

 

Proverbs 31:21-23

 

The Good wife's first priority is her family.... to keep them clothed, fed, warm and happy. It is hard to keep up with the latest fad of clothing especially with teenagers. Some of the trends and fashions they want to wear are very 'daring' to say the least and as women of faith, having our own children or not, it is important to role model fine outfits and encourage age appropriate choices of their own  clothing.... there is a fine line at the moment between fashion and self respect/ dignity that is quite frequently made blury by the media and non-believing friends... This is where parenting can get difficult and each child and their relationship with their parent/s is different so prayer and open communication with your children is essential.

 

Verse 22 says she makes coverings for herself; her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material. As a mum and as a home maker its so easy to put everyone and their needs before yours. looking in the wardrobes in our house mine is the most empty with the lowest quality items inside them and i am in my 20's this is meant to be my time and I have already given it up for my families needs before my own. But God doesnt want us to put ourselves last all the time so that there is nothing left for us. He wants us to love ourselves and be comfortable in our own skin.... He does not want us to go overboard but im sure he would be glad that we are happy for treating ourselves to a new scarf or handbag every now and then to give ourselves a bit of a boost to keep doing things for others.

 

 

Her husband is known at the city meetings, where he makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land. (V23).  This verse speaks of the quality of man that God's women should have/ be working towards having/ building their husbands up to be. It is important to have a husband that supports your faith and ultimately is a believer but if anything is atleast considerate towards your beliefs. The scripture says he makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land.... this does not mean they need to be a polititian. God wants our husbands to be the second in charge (only behind God) of the family and to lead their family in the path God has planned for them.

 

 



Proverbs 31:19-20 (The good wife prt 4)

Proverbs 31:19-20

¹⁹ She makes thread with her hands
and weaves her own cloth.
²⁰ She welcomes the poor
and helps the needy.

Hi all,
Sorry its been a few days since I blogged, it has been a bit of a crazy week and havent had a chance to get onto the computer to do my blog but its going to be a busy few months coming up with under 100 days till my wedding so please forgive me if the blogs aren't daily like I hope to have them but I will make the effort for at least once a week.  Lets get into it!

The scriptures we will be focusing on today are Proverbs 31:19 and 20 following on from our series on the Good wife. These scriptures talk about how the good wife makes thread with her hands and weaves her own cloth. I must say that I dont think I know any wife who has time to do this in her week or where we would find the materials in this day and age to make our own cotton/ material but I believe this principle can still be applied to 21st century wives. God wants us to make the effort to do things for ourselves not just taking the short cut or paying people to do all things for us. Make a dinner completely from scratch at least once a week or even use cloth/ material from spotlight and have a go at making your own cushion/ table cloth or knee rug. Its amazing how rewarding it can be to make something completely on your own. The food tastes better (most of the time haha) the patterns in the fabric can match your decor or even make all your own decor to help the whole house feel new on a fraction of the cost of buying all the materials new  and you can also add new skills to your tool box.

The second scripture ties beutifully in with the first today (I love how God does that!!)  "she welcomes the poor and helps the needy". I think we have all been in situations at one point or another that we have been up to our neck in household bills (in our house its usually when the annual car and house insurance and registrations all come in at once as well as the regular bills of electricity gas etc) and on the Sunday morning our church does a special altercall for a mission trip or a country/ area needing aid and you just cant make ends meet to give that little bit extra. Well this is where your cooking and sewing can come in handy.... the biggest thing to remember is that money isnt everything. If there was a natural disaster or similar people might need blankets or a jumper and you made one a couple months ago when your household was sitting a bit stronger financially or even your cooking from scratch which is generally cheaper, healthier and tastier, if a mission team from your congregation is taking time off their jobs and families to help other peoples families money might be a little tight for their family or the partner who stayed at home with the children might have trouble picking up their children from different areas that the partner who is helping others usually assists with you can help out there with a car pool or sending a meal around for the family or inviting them over to yours or out to the park for a BBQ together. Ministry comes in all shapes and sizes and sometimes we get stuck thinking that I have no money I cant give, I have a family to care for I cant go on a mission trip, I have this, I have that I cant  etc etc etc God has heard it all before and sometimes there is just no possible way you can help out financially or in any way physically but there is always something that the Good wife can do, and I belive this is one of the biggest benefits of being a Christian women is that you have the oporunity to be a prayer warrior or intercessor as some congregations refer to them. Pray at all times over everyone and everything God, though is thought of as a man, loves to chat like a women and is always up for Girl talk and Kid Talk and Church Talk anything and everything praying for the poor, for the people helping them, for employers, for the government, for economics for yourself to be open to giving all that you can manage and I will be continueing to pray for you also, that you will be able to apply these lessons and all the lessons God has for you to your lives and become the good wife God wants you to be and me to be.

I want to do something a little different in todays blog I want to put a challenge out to all my readers no matter who you are or where you are who you have been and where you come from. I want you to firstly try something new from scratch this coming weeks, a new recipe for your family or a new blanket or something to donate to your local charity store/ church outreach and secondly I encourage you to dig deep into your prayer life and relationship with God and see if there is any where that God wants you to be more generous in helping those in need. Everyone at some stage in their life need something more then what they have it could be as simple as making a meal for a low income family in your congregation (great reason to practice your new recipe) or as simple as talking to someone different at your church. You may just have one word or one sentance to say that could change their day or even change their whole life for the better. step three, take note of how God uses these things to enrich your life.

Father God,
You made a talented women when you created me, thank you for giving me the skills to do things for myself, my family and for the community. I ask you to teach me what I can do to help others in little and big ways to effect my community and be the good wife and women of faith you created me to be.  I love that you made us all different with different skills and thankyou for them. I pray that I will be able to use my skills to help my community and my world and to show your love through me.
Amen