Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

a proverbs 31 woman

She selects wool and flax 
and works with eager hands. 
She is like the merchant ships, 
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark; 
she provides food for her family 

and portions for her servant girls.  

Proverbs 31:13-15
this week we see a picture of a woman who is clearly not afraid to work and is certainly not lazy.  shes’ a humble woman who see’s a task that needs completed and dives in and does it. 
there may be some of you who make clothes for your family, but this chickie right here isn’t one of them.  sewing and i are not friends.  so how can i apply this verse to my life?  in our modern times, we are blessed with inexpensive clothes.  i might not be able to sew but i can shop a mean clearance rack.  even further than that, doing the laundry and ensuring our family has clean clothes to wear.  i know laundry can seem like a never-ending task…washing it, drying it, folding it and putting it away.  sometimes in my house it feels like it’s never ending.  especially with a teenage boy who changes his clothes a minimum of 3 times a day.  but laundry is a task we should not be above and a task we should approach with eager hands.  that is what is honoring to God.  God is honored when we come to it with eager hands and don’t look at it with dread.  think it’s impossible to do your laundry with joy?  nothing is impossible with God.  when you sit down to fold it, pray and ask God to help you to have joy in your heart about it.  
this woman is willing to go to great lengths to get good food for her family.  i think it’s important that as women, we learn how to cook good meals for our family.  with the access to the internet and pinterest, there really isn’t any reason we wives shouldn’t be good cooks.  we don’t just turn to easy meals every night like hamburger helper or fries and fish sticks.  but we take the time to prepare a good, healthy, home-cooked meal for them to come home to.  that is a way we can show love and care to them.  be willing to go the distance to get the meal done, cooking for a few hours if need be.  i like to cook homemade bread, rolls or cinnamon rolls once a week for my family as a treat.  yes, it takes time…but seeing how much they enjoy it makes it totally worth it.  
also, take the time to clip coupons and save your family as much money as you can.  we should also be willing to work hard in the way we grocery shop.  and approach it with the same eager heart that we do other chores.  we want to care for our family and bless them.
the Proverbs 31 woman certainly isn’t lazy.  she rises before the sun to feed her family.  she just gets right at getting things done.  her children would not have went to school hungry because their mother was lazy and didn’t feel like feeding them.  she sings praises to God and does not grumble under her breath while completing her tasks.  wow, i sure can’t say that.  she just can’t wait to work for her family each day.  she figures if she is the first up and last to sleep that it just leaves more room for laughter, delicious food, a comfortable home and nice clothes for her family.  do we do anything near that?  do we give our families the first part of us or do we only give them what is leftover?
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
Colossians 3:23
so i encourage you this week to do your laundry and you grocery shopping and cooking to the glory of God.  take care of your responsibilities and do your work eagerly without complaining.  there were times this past week where i just had to keep repeating “i will not complain, i will not complain” inside my head, rather than actually grumbling.  create a warm and loving atmosphere for your family to come home to with eager hands and a joyful heart. know that it will not only bless our husbands and our family but also know it’s in Gods word and He is honored when we do these things.
out for now
~kisses

a proverbs 31 woman

i sure hope you’re enjoying this journey through Proverbs 31 as much as i am. i’m super excited to continue this week with one of my fav topics, marriage. let’s take a look at the next two verses.

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 
Proverbs 31:11-12

so the absolute first attribute we see of this woman is that her husband has full trust in her. he can trust her with his money, his children and basically with his life. being trustworthy is such a blessing to your husband. how do we become more trustworthy? by mirroring God.

she brings him good, not harm, ALL the days of her life. 50% of all marriages end in divorce. but for the Proverbs 31 woman, she is in it for the long haul. for better, for worse…for richer, for poorer…in sickness and in health…all the days of her life. she remains faithfully at his side. and he has confidence that she will always be there.

even if we have an unsaved or difficult husband, we are still to remain faithfully by his side. if we mirror God then he will see Christ through us. all we can do is follow Gods word and let the rest up to Him.

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
1 Peter 3:1

we are to partner with our husband, be reliable, look out for him and give him security. those things will mean much more to him than money. respect him and be his helpmeet. help his heart be at rest. she selflessly gives him more than she takes.

the Proverbs 31 wife isn’t vindictive or selfish. she only wants the well-being and comfort of her husband. she strives oh-so-hard to make her home a haven of joy and happiness for her husband to return home to at the end of the day. there is a quote by martin luther that i love…let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.  that quote is a perfect example of a  Proverbs 31 wife.   
she doesn’t love her husband with conditions and she doesn’t hold grudges. God wants our love to be sweet, soft-hearted and lovely. and He wants it overflowing with forgiveness. by offering forgiveness, we are offering the grace that God has given us. the Proverbs 31 wife doesn’t cling to prior offenses, tucking them in her pocket to use later. she wipes the slate clean as soon as the offense happens. she knows that will not only set her husband free, but her as well.
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13

don’t forget to stop back next friday as we take a look at more virtues of the Proverbs 31 woman. remember, keep your eyes on Him throughout the week and love God greatly!

out for now
~kisses

15 TINY WAYS TO BLESS YOUR HUBBY

as mothers day approaches and we think of gifts being bestowed on us, let’s switch it up and use this opportunity to bless our husbands.  i mean, without them we wouldn’t be mothers.  sometimes as life gets in the way, we forget how important it is to show our love just how much they mean to us.  let’s use mothers day as a springboard to show your husband a little extra love and remind him (and maybe you) of how thankful you are for him. you can communicate your love in so many ways other than speech and i just bet he would be super excited that you did.  

* tell him the ways you can see him growing to be more like Christ

* speak kindly about him and praise him to others

* wash his truck for him.  although, if he is one of those guys that is psychotic about his vehicle, he might not so much see this as a blessing.  so maybe just buy him an air freshener or better yet, armor-all  🙂

* pray for him and maybe as a bonus, write that prayer down on a note and stick it in his lunchbox 

* meet him at the door with a kiss and a smile.  who cares if you gross your kids out, i think kids benefit from seeing their parents be affectionate with each other.
* tell him how proud you are of him, thank him for everything he does for his family, express your loyalty to him and tell him that you will always be his biggest cheerleader

* a racy text message or a little racy entry onto his list for the store. fyi…don’t do this if your husband, for some insane reason, will just hand said list to the clerk behind the counter. not only will they get a chuckle at your expense when he says “ummm, we don’t sell that here” buuuuuuuut you will never be able to enter that store again. not that i would know or anything. just sayin’.

* write an encouraging verse, sneak out and stick it on his steering wheel so it will be there for him the next morning as he leaves for work

* shave your legs, do your hair, put makeup on and put on that outfit of yours that he just loves
* give him an impromptu backrub 
* bite your lip and don’t nag or complain.  i know, this one can be a challenge.  especially for this big-mouthed girl.  but if i can do it, i’m certain anyone of ya’all can do it.
* serve him his plate first at the dinner table
* hold his hand
* initiate great sex…yep, i went there…no sense in sending a racy text or making an embarrassing list if you’re not going to follow through with it
* think about what you’ve don’t that has either hurt him or annoyed him.  ask him if you need to.  then apologize and work hard to change that, allowing him to see the change in you.
out for now
~kisses