the Proverbs 31 woman

i have neglected this blog please forgive me,

2007-04-21T13:27:00.000-06:00

i have not had the time to research the next verse, so instead have included my testimonym ( writen a while ago)

Beginning is always the hardest part.

I am not very good at speaking to groups of people, so I will do my best.

I was brought to a saving knowledge of Christ when I was four, every night mom read to us the story of the crucifixion, and that particular night it had brought me to tears. Mom asked me what was bothering me and I told her it wasn’t fare that Jesus had to die when he hadn’t done anything wrong, I understood that Jesus was the sinless son of God, mom explained to me that if Jesus hadn’t died we all would go to hell, I felt so indebted to Jesus that I repented of my sins and was saved.

I remember after that, every night I would ask dad “I didn’t get in trouble today, was I perfect was I like Jesus?” he explained to me that no matter how hard I tried I would never be sinless even the times I thought of doing something bad and didn’t that Jesus said it was just a s sinful. It broke my heart, but he also told me that because Jesus died for my sins that I was perfect in Gods eyes and that if I prayed the Jesus would help me to become sinless.

Over the next few years my Love for Christ did not dim often mom would catch me sitting on our front step belting at the top of my lungs “Jesus loves me” for the whole neighborhood to hear. Every one of my friends knew that I was a Christian, slowly I began to care more about what people thought of me that what God wanted me to do and God was pushed a little farther back.

When I was nine my father left my mom and my world was torn apart, daddy had been the apple of my eye, I may have loved him more that God intended me to. I don’t remember a whole lot of that time of my life, only that my goal was getting daddy back, Once aging God took second.

God is a jealous God and he has every right to be, I should have turned to God in my times of need. God teaches us lessons, we are disciplined and scolded, we are called back and we are pulled back when we ignore him, he makes himself heard. Dad had become my little “G” god , he was my hero.

When I was eleven I lost my hero, he died of a cardiac arrest, a result of his sinful lifestyle. I believe that he is with God, and that his passing was the very best thing that could of happened to him, It was a blessing a proof of Gods everlasting love, I turned to God in my grief, in a way that a child who has lost a parent should. I talked to him almost every night told him of my troubles and prayed for help. He listened, he answered and most of the time he gave me the things I prayed for, some of them took so long I had forgotten I prayed for them, like dad, Barry.

I was baptized in this church and I seem to have come full circle, because here I am giving my testimony.

I said earlier that beginnings were the hardest, well endings are next in line.

My absolute favorite verse from this chapter

2007-03-19T13:00:00.000-06:00

She openeth her mouth with wisdom(khok-maw'
From H2449; wisdom (in a good sense): - skillful, wisdom, wisely, wit.)
;and in her tongue is the law of kindness.(kheh'-sed
From H2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely reproof, or (subjectively) beauty: - favour, good deed (-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach.
)

this is one of the verses i truly can strive for before i am married, to be a woman who is kindness and wisdom of it's self is my goal. before i even started this bible study this is the verse that truly grabbed my attention.

So my challenge to us all is
use the wisdom of the WORD think you decisions through
And be kind, in your reprimanding and punishment, be kind be not rude, but loving in all you say.

something else i would like to add today.
1Peter chapter 3 v1-6
Likewise ye wives be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on apparel;
but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible , even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God a great price.
for after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands:
even as sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as longas ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

Sunny had mentioned it earlier about the modest adornment being of the heart aswell as of the outside self.

thank you all

2007-03-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

She maketh fine linen and selleth it;
and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
and she shall rejoice in time to come.

I think sunny pointed it out before, we should regard all of our labors as something to make worthy of the highest price, so in everything you do strive to do it the best.

Strength and Honor are her clothing; and she shall Rejoice in time to come.

i think that is rather straight forward, it gives me great hope, clothe yourself in strength and Honor.

next challenge

2007-03-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

sorry i missed this wednesday.

one for you married ladies, and one we unmarried ones can begin to work on.

"Her husband is known in the gates,
when he sitteth among the elders of the land."

me thinks it's rather clear, not only is he known by his own merit but by his wife's.
in Isreali tradition the men of the city would meet at the gates and have court, any problems they could not solve they brought before the king.

not much of a challenge her though tell me what you think, any challenges you see?

thea

next Challenge and an Apology

2007-02-21T23:06:00.001-07:00

"Now I must admit, i have been somewhat of a hypocrite, i have been giving out these challenges, but unless a situation presented itself i didn't remember to follow the challenge, please forgive me."

our next verse is as follows

"She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple."

the obvious is that she provides well for her family, and not just her family, but her household, servants, guests, ect.
she clothes herself beautifully, she does not ignore herself, even in all the caring she does for her household she still makes time to make herself presentable if not beautiful.

she is most likely modest ( as women would have been in those days) but her clothing is not a potatoe sack that hides her curves. it is instead the nicest that can be had. not Chanel or Gucci, necessarily but NICE if not fancy clothes.

Take time with it.

the raiment can also be taken in the spiritual form, a man dressed in purple is a Prince or in this case a princess. her soul belongs to the almighty and because of that she is a Princess of the Almighty's kingdom. take care in how you DRESS your soul.

in Christ Thea

Feeding the poor

2007-02-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

She stretcheth her hand to the poor;yea,she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

Very obvious! I think you ladies can decipher this verse on your own.

Do as it says. May the lord bless your endeavors.

in God Thea

for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?
And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

2007-02-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

I know you're all like
"okay were is thea?"

but you see i haven't been able to update because i've been so sos so busy! (notice the sos) You know how it is.

BUT... anyways here is the long awaited/belated challenge

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle and her hands hold the distaff.

so the first part of the verse, could be taken to mean, or have something to do with actual merchandise, But I can see it relating to something more precious, the woman herself.
I am sure that is not what was intended but it can be taken that way, that she herself is valuable, it says so at the very beginning "her worth is far above rubies."

second sentence
she works all night long, now i do not expect this from you. one could also say that it refers to a night light? children like to keep a night light. still i can't really make sense of this verse. Any help would be welcome.

third sentence
She spins wool, which leads to weaving/sewing i think it says later that she clothes her house in red and purple, she sews. So it's not like, not sewing makes you woth less than rubies, it just adds, and i can understand the burden of learning to sew, if your mother taught you when you were younger that it will not be as hard for you sewing clothes and such for your family. af course there's always *cough cough* SEARS(aka value village)

love you may the Lord bless you in tour endeavors to serve him better.

thea

little early this time

2007-01-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

well i think this is a little obvious, don't be a weakling! lol

so don't let yourself get fat and lazy, and if your there work on getting out of the slump. ( speaking of no one in particular, just know that it can happen before you know it)

anyway i have another bible study topic for when we finish Porverb's 31 try 1 peter 3? on being a good wife, and although most of us arn't wives yet we will be in the future.

God bless

thea

Sorry late agin please forgive

2007-01-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

CHALENGE #5 jan 17th-24th
Verse 16
"She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."

well... being wise with our money, making good investments, buying a house for example.
having a veggie garden, perhaps or an apple tree, lots of canning in the fall, but think of all that money you'll save buying veggies in the winter, and late summer.

any comments?
suggestions?
do you have more insight in this verse?
please tell.

january 2007 8th - 15

2007-01-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

thank you sunny!
It's awesome to see some real feedback I am glad that you find this so helpful!
God was really pressing it on my heart to do this.

I am a little late for the update one the next verse but I am sure you will all forgive me.

Okay this week is a big challenge, it comes from verse 15

She also arises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and a portion for her maidservants.

in these winter months (here in the north) its not so hard to rise before the sun, but as you know the sun can rise as early as four in the summer, so unless you decide it is a good plan to always rise before the sun then i suggest you set a time and do you best to always rise at this time, remember the later you stay up the harder it is to get up in the morning. most Dr.'s suggest an average of 6-8 hrs of sleep a day.

we have already worked on the food ( or at least i hope we have ;) ) so continue last week's challenge on through this one.

I suppose the preparing a portion for you handmaids, would mean taking care of your servants, so unless you have servants I don't know what to say of this part.

any suggestions, insights and corrections would be most welcome

thea

2007-01-06T02:15:00.000-07:00

This Prov. 31 challenge Thea put out to us girls really hit home for me, as a "young bride" adjusting to a totally new life of location, people, church, organizing, work, cooking, scheduling, entertaining, shopping.... life at large! When I think about it too much, it tends to has an overwhelming effect. Taking this passage of Scripture and applying it bit by bit to my daily life is a fabulous idea to help me focus on certain areas instead of shooting myself down for little things I feel I could be better at.
Steve and I had Christmas here in GP, just the two of us. (we resolved that for at least our first year as a married couple we would keep our holidays for us, and not go "home" to either his parents' nor mine...) It was really good to plan and oganize our special day. Steve says I did a good job, so that makes me feel satisfied, too. I think keeping this passage in mind helped me to remember a lot of the little things are not a big deal, and I found many ways of saving money while still preparing a delicious menu. Sometimes traditions can be broken to start something new and wonderful.
Thanks to 'Thea for the reminders to strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman; she is a lovely young woman and a true inspiration to me in many respects. God bless!
:-)
PS: Happy New Year!

2006-12-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

she is like the merchant ships
she bringeth food from afar

Preparation of meals
planning ahead
grocery shopping try spending wisely too don't just decide what you are going to get, figure out
what the best deal is.

this challenge is from dec 28th- jan 4th

Challenge #2

2006-12-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Okay ladies,
how did you do?
post comments on how you think you did, were you a trustworthy wife/friend?

Time for challenge #2

She seeketh wool, and flax,and worketh willingly with her hands.

this verse i think is very obvious do you work willingly? you have to be able to seek wool and flax, but practice on working Willingly. I know that will be a hard one for me.

so comment or post (contact me i will give you the information necessary to post.)

thea

Chalenge # 1 December 14-21

2006-12-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Be someone others can trust, if you have a husband give him reason to trust you, if you don't give others reasons to trust you.
do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

post on your accomplishments and failings.
( if you don't know how to post contact me paarthea@gmail.com i will make you a member and all you have to do is log on and click post.)

Hello all

2006-12-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

My name is Thea, I have for a very long time wanted to challenge myself to be the proverbs thirty-one woman. will you do it with me?
if you choose to, send an email to me
paarthea@gmail.com

i will make you an author on this blog so you may post your proverbs thirty-one challenge reports.

Every week we will give a new challenge. Our challenges are based on proverbs thirty-one verses 10-31.
we will strive to complete these challenges with the strength of God as our rock and guide!

when i have received some positive feed back on this blog i will post the first challenge...
until then God bless thee.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom;and in her tongue is the law of kindness. aka thea

thank you God

2006-02-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

This Sunday the pastor of our little church preached a sermon on God’s adoption of us. I realized I had a poem that went along with his sermon, his four sermon points were; 1 God has pity on us, 2 God protects us, 3 God Chastises us, 4 God will never cast us out.

Please forward this poem to as many people as you can. I pray it will spread hope among you.

THANK YOU GOD, FOR LOVING ME, AND FORGIVING ME.

~ A letter to GOD our Father in heaven Who, I thank for His never-ending love and forgiveness. ~

Father,

I run from you all the time,

Will I ever run so far?

That I will not be welcomed

Back into your arms?

No!

Even unto the end of my life

You will always love me,

No matter what I do.

I keep thinking,

“This is it, I’ve gone too far.”

I sit and cry.

You bring me back

Even though I don’t know it.

You hold me, and comfort me,

You tell me your will for me,

And,

You love me.

You tell me you love me,

I am thankful.

When something happens,

I blame you for it,

When really I should thank you for

You promise that it will work out for good

In the end.

I run, oh, ever so far and long.

Then seeing and knowing what I do is wrong,

I run farther trying to escape you.

I’m angry with you.

I rebel and run farther.

You leave for a while,

All those who follow You unquestioningly,

And chase after me with loving,

Loving, loving mercy,

Mercy that never goes dry,

Mercy that is always waiting for me,

Mercy that is ever existent, and loving.

Your love reaches beyond the extent of the universe!

You listen to my prayers.

When I ask forgiveness,

You are waiting for me,

Right behind me carrying me,

Even though I don’t know it.

You love me and will never leave me.

Though I may run from east to west,

You will follow me.

Though I run from west to east,

You still follow me

With your ever-standing love,

Love that never dies,

Love that never turns to hate.

The only true and pure love,

Your love,

You are God and your love is eternal.

You love me,

And I

Love you.

~ To: God our loving Father, who never gives up on us. ~

~ From: the running sinner, who has been forgiven, and will ever be forgiven. ~