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Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

October 19, 2014

A Proverbs 31 Woman {Week 4}

She considers a field and buys it; 
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 
She sets about her work vigorously; 
her arms are strong for her tasks. 
She sees that her trading is profitable, 
and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 
Proverbs 31:16-19

This week we see a wife who is a capable, intelligent woman. She has a good savvy business mind; which is very needed when raising a family, especially on one income in these economic times.


The first thing we see is the Proverbs 31 woman considers a field, she doesn’t just rashly buy it.  Every woman doesn’t have to go into real estate and horticulture — the principle here is that this woman uses her mind.  She is smart, patient and wise with her finances and doesn’t just purchase things on a whim. She considers it, prays about it and talks to her husband about it. She seeks her husband’s approval before making any purchases. She would never make a purchase without consulting her husband first. She spends her money wisely and unselfishly. And I would say she’s a saver, since she obviously had the money saved up to purchase the field. 
She doesn’t just buy the field, she plants a vineyard in it. She is obviously a hard worker. When she has a special project like this, she gets at it and get it done. She doesn’t get to the middle of the project and decide it was too hard and give up. She works hard, eagerly and vigorously.

The Proverbs 31 Woman was a BEAST y’all! She took pride not only in her spirit and mind but also her body. She treated her body as if it were a temple. WHY? Not to be beautiful in the worlds eyes, but to be fit and ready for anything GOD called her to do!

We need to have diligence and a heart that’s willing to work. Our home is the place where our children’s hearts are molded and where they grow spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. Our home is where our husbands come after a hard day of work to find comfort and to relax. A home with a hardworking woman is a complete blessing to her family. 

Remember last week we studied a bit on Verse 15 {She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants} and how it ties to Verse 18. A lamp is always kept burning at night in Eastern houses. Since the houses are very small, the careful housewife has to rise at midnight to replenish the oil. While she is up, she often then begins her household work by grinding the corn or preparing something for next day’s meals.

I was curious about Verse 19, so I really studied it and researched the meaning.  This verse tells us that she performed the work of spinning her flax into thread.  The distaff definition is a staff for holding the flax or wool in spinning. The spindle definition is a slender round rod or stick with tapered ends by which thread or yarn is twisted in spinning by hand and on which it is wound.
We also see a reference to spinning in Exodus 35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

She was such an industrious lady! My goodness, even spinning her own thread to make her own fabric to make her family clothes. Wow! As I’ve said before, I’m not friends with sewing at all. But there are lots of other ways we can apply this to our own lives and do with eager hands to provide for my family. I enjoy loom knitting and can whip up a mean scarf in a few days. There are so many different things we can do with our hands…sewing, knitting or crocheting to name a few.

These verses show a woman who endures, who keeps going, who is strong for all that she must do and be.  This week, be willing to get your hands dirty, work hard and show an amazing work ethic. And as we discussed last week, do it without complaining. Remember, your most important work will be done inside the walls of your home.

Filed in: bible study, proverbs 31, Uncategorized • by Amy • Leave a Comment

October 12, 2014

A Proverbs 31 Woman {Week 3}

Welcome back to week 3 of our Proverbs 31 study. I hope y’all are enjoying it as much as I am! This week we’re going to look at Proverbs 31: 13-15.

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. Lets dive in a little deeper and see how we can relate these

Wool has been used for clothing since early times. I was thrown off by the mention of flax, I automatically thought of flax seed. But I’ve learned that flax was largely cultivated for the manufacture of linen. It would be dried, peeled, hackled and spun first and then would be ready to be made into linen. So, not only does she make their clothes, she actually makes the material as well.

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.  But there are lots of other things I can do with eager hands to provide for my family.  I enjoy loom knitting and can whip up a mean scarf in a few days.  There are so many different things we can do with our hands…sewing, knitting or crocheting to name a few.

Also, 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, normally with coupons in tow.  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.  Believe me, do I ever know that.  I have a teenage boy who changes his clothes a minimum of 3 times a day.  Yeah, unreal.  Laundry is a task we should approach with eager hands as well.  Y’all know whats written in the Bible there isn’t any arguing with, right?  So when God says to do our work joyfully and eagerly, and we actually do it without grumbling, that is what is honoring to God. 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 even read y’all that she might have had to travel the whole way to Egypt just to get corn for her family.  Thank goodness for grocery stores, can I get an Amen?  But she was willing to go as far as she needed to go to get 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.  Casseroles are so easy and yummy.  We really shouldn’t be turning to easy meals every night like hamburger helper or fries and fish sticks. But actually 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.  There are so so so many coupon websites out there that you just print the coupons right off of {HERE, HERE and HERE}.  Another way we need to be willing to work hard without grumbling…our grocery shopping.  We need to approach it with the same eager heart that we do other chores.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
Colossians 3:23

Verse 15 really caught my eye. I found some really interesting info about it. A lamp is always kept burning at night in Eastern houses. Since the houses are very small, the careful housewife has to rise at midnight to replenish the oil. While she is up, she often then begins her household work by grinding the corn or preparing something for next day’s meals. So this also directly ties to verse 18, She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

So it’s the middle of the night, the house is quiet, what would this be a perfect opportunity for her to do?  What did Christ do early in the morning {Mark 1:35}?  Pray!  What a great lesson for us as well.  You know how much easier it is to concentrate in a quiet household.  That would be the perfect time to spend time with Him through prayer, being in His Word, giving thanks and praise.  I actually write 90% of my blog posts early in the morning while everyone is still in bed.

So I encourage you this week to do your laundry, grocery shopping and cooking to the glory of God.  Maybe try getting up a little early one day to spend some time in prayer.  Aahhh, maybe go for a walk and pray at the same time.  I call those “walk and talks”.  What better place to talk to God than in the beauty He created!!  Create a warm and loving atmosphere for your family to come home to with eager hands and a joyful heart.

Filed in: bible study, proverbs 31, Uncategorized • by Amy • Leave a Comment

October 5, 2014

A Proverbs 31 Woman {Week 2}

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.  I think the King James Version is beautiful, it says The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  So not only does he trust her with his money, his children and basically his life…he also trusts her with his heart.  Oh trust, can’t we all agree that is such a crucial part of marriage!  Being trustworthy is such a blessing to your husband. How do we become more trustworthy? By mirroring God.

I was intrigued by the KJV version and what no need of spoil meant, so I dug a little deeper.  Basically, he knows that his trust is not misplaced.  He knows his wife would not do him wrong, ever.  Which ties directly into the next verse.

She brings him good, not harm, ALL the days of her life.  It doesn’t say she only is good to him when she feels he deserves it.  All the days of her life y’all.  Every single one!  In our world, 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.  

This beautiful lady 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.  How many of us can say that? Surely not this strong-headed girl. Forgiving love is a love that is securely rooted in God’s love for us. God wants our love to be sweet, soft-hearted and lovely. 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 Sunday as we take a look at more virtues of the Proverbs 31 woman.

Filed in: bible study, proverbs 31, Uncategorized • by Amy • Leave a Comment

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Wife & Mama • Iced coffee seeker & curator of chaos • Collector of words & magic • Obsessed with laughter & bright lipstick • Dreaming & homesteading in the hills of PA

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