i have been thinking about this for over a week.
i am not usually so wordy…
i don't want to give a sermon…just some encouragement.
the study book Women of the Bible that our group finished in may…
but i just finished now (i skipped some lessons) had an entire chapter on prov.31.
it has been helpful to my struggles.
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Proverbs 31:10-30 (New International Version)
10 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.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
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.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She 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.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
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(the words in color are directly from the book….)
how did you feel when you were first introduced to this Prov. 31 woman…
overwhelmed?
angry that God expected all of this from you?
guilty?
determined to become her?
if you are beaten down by this 'perfect' woman, take heart.
i have good news for you.
She is the IDEAL woman God wants to develop all women to be as they follow Him.
did you catch that?
GOD is the one working the transformation.
'He who began a good work in you, will be perfecting it until the day of Christ Jesus…Phil 1:6'.
Seeing what you can become(by His grace and work) should be a catalyst, not a condemnation.
if you are a perfectionist, an understanding of the truth will set you free from trying to be
or do for Him, so that you will allow Him to make you the woman He wants you to be.
the foundation of all horizontal relationships is the vertical relationship – our relationship
with God gives us the security to be real and vulnerable.
it is walking in God's grace that makes us agents of grace to others.
Even our abilities to grant forgiveness & ask forgiveness is tied to our relationship with God.
we cannot make ourselves into a virtuous woman.
but if we walk with God day after day, yielding our lives to His control,
He will keep making us more like Jesus.
The virtuous woman of proverbs 31 is not a standard or yardstick to measure up to,
but the goal toward which women should be moving.
she is the woman God is developing women to be today as they follow Him.
The first step we can change is not gritting our teeth & trying harder to be the perfect woman.
it is surrender.
the most imp
ortant word in the christian community is not commitment, but surrender.
we can be committed in the flesh, but surrender is admitting what we cannot do in our strength.
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it was just what i needed to hear.
and maybe you did too?
i highly recommend the study book Women of the bible.
it's a lot of homework but i have learned so much…i really enjoyed it and i am ready for book 2 this fall.
the wild raspberry - this is great….we have very good friends that are missionaries in africa….life is very hard there….
what a great cause.
chasity
princesslasertron - I just wanna say I love you Meg! I’m so glad I got to meet you and I had fun in the one class I took with you. 🙂 I love the bird you made.
And when I get on Martha, I know who to call for advice and her name is Penelope.
Christina - Oh! I wish I had seen this earlier…in order to blog about it. Not that I have the amount of readers that other blogs have, but…well, I’m glad to know about it, anyway.
Carol S. - follow your blog, saw this a couple days ago, thought hmmmm, I should do this. Didn’t. Went to church today and was reminded “food for the hungry and water for the thirsty” and thought, hmmm, I AM doing this today. Thanks for having this link for this worthy cause. Just did it, so again, thank you.
Jamie - Thanks for your comment on my blog. That would be soooo cool if you got to go to Africa next year! It seems like a great organization. Thanks, again, for making me aware of it!
To answer your question…yes! We are 6 sisters & 2 sis-in-laws & my mom. There are 8 kids in my family. I fall right in the middle. I love it!
No.17CherryTreeLane - this is an amazing chance to do something beyond ourselves and our families. to reach others.
thanks Meg.
Candace - Donated. Then posted to pass along. Can’t wait to put a bug in my principal’s ear on Monday for a schoolwide Christmas project.
misty - here’s an update~ my family (everyone combined: $200) my work put out a jar and employees donated also ($98 just tonight and will leave it out for the weekend) church hasn’t given me an update yet & we just made flyers to hand out at the bubble town car wash tomorrow and a local cafe is selling their water all day sat and sun instead of Free water (its the same price as tea) and donating all of it to. your blog inspired my community. thank you!
Deb - My sweet 8 year old donated her birthday party with her friends to this charity. (Of course we bought her presents) We asked each child to bring 8 dollars. She raised over 200 dollars. Then from facebook friends she make another 200. That brings the grand total to $429.00. That will assist in building a well and will supply 22 people with water for 20 years.
We can learn a lot from an 8 year old.
Nancy M - I sent $10, and posted a link on facebook. I love your blog Meg.
Southern Belle Mama - Thank you so much for posting about such a great cause! This has reminded me about the true meaning and purpose of giving…it should make a difference.
jennifer - Thanks for the reminder. I started my Christmas shopping, added the link to my blog, and now I’m off to facebook it! At least I’m accomplishing something today!
Staci - Gonna go buy some life for someone right now 🙂 Thanks Meg!
Magchunk - I gave too! Thanks for sharing this worthy cause. Tweeting it too.
Maggie
Lisa - Awesome. I donated and changed my FB status to encourage others to do the same. Love this!
song - Count me in!
J.B. Kinrich - Thank you for posting about this. I donated. And then a moment later, I heard my dog get out of his bed and lap up water from his bowl. *Sigh.* What a strange life, where dogs get all the fresh water they want, and mothers have to watch their babies die from the lack of it.
elizabeth - Thank you for posting this, again. I actually linked it to my blog the other week and purchased the beautiful water drop ornaments.
erin - You inspired me, I am trying to raise enough money to build a well on my blog!
Thanks for the awareness.
Jamie - We can do this! Thanks for the opportunity to help!
emily - i donated . . . i posted on my blog . . . thank you for sharing!!!!!!
julie - Megan,
Thank you so very much for telling me about this simple, yet profound way that I can make a difference in someone’s life.
God is being glorified.
Lives are being saved.
Praise God!
joy - i would love to share this on my blog! my dad founded a non-profit medical organization projectconcern.org and all of my life i’ve been taught to GIVE. this is a great lesson to teach to my children too. thank you, megan, for having such a huge heart.
Alyssa - I put this on my Blog….I agree it a great cause…I have close friends who adopted their son from Africa.
Sarah @ Dream In Domestic - Thank you for sharing this. I’m going to share it on my blog as well!
Jaime - Yesterday I was sad over missing out on an offer I put on a house. Today, I’m happy, knowing not only do I have all the fresh water I want, but I am also currently blessed with a wonderful little rental that has sheltered me for 10 years, and will go on doing so. Thank you for gently pointing me in a new direction. I signed up for the one year, monthly installments. I am truly fortunate.
Kate - Thank you so much for bringing awareness about this. I will put it on my blog right away.
Blessings,
Kate
Gina - Thank you. Thank you for making me aware of this. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to give and serve.
My husband and I have three small children and from the beginning we’ve struggled with how to teach them the REAL meaning of Christmas and to not simply give them more things they don’t need. This year they’re getting a globe, shirts from Water4Christmas and glasses of dirty water so they can realize how their Christmas presents served children in another country. Thank you for giving me this chance to teach my children to have servant’s hearts.
pve - thanks for sharing this. wonderful.
Lauren - I gave! My hubby and I have been passionate about the water situation in Africa for a few years now and it feels so good to know that my little bit of money is making an everlasting impact.
jennifer - Donated. Wrote about it on facebook. Moved to tears over how much I take for granted. Water. How much I waste. How much they need. Thank you for being involved in this.
misty - my husband and I both did this & then posted links to your blog on our facebook status updates and I have passed this along to my pastor at church and our youth is working on this as well. I have told everyone I can about this over the last few weeks. I have been so inspired and so moved & feel like I am actually helping a real person. thank you for sharing this with me.
Regina (QueenBeezHive) - I gave! 🙂 I love the fact that 100% of my money “goes straight to the fields” and not to operational costs. Thanks for sharing this. Have a great time at Silver Bella! I’m so jealous, so now I shall go pray for forgiveness. 😉
Sarah M - If it wasn’t for your blog I wouldn’t have know about this. It wasn’t the first present, but it was definitely an important one.
Stephanie - Thank you for encouraging me to donate…
It will be the best Christmas present I will give this holiday season.
Maria in CT - It wasn’t my first gift, but it was the first one that I felt really, really good about. Thank you for this public service announcement…it is perfect timing before the start of the holiday season.
Jamie - It wasn’t the first gift I bought this year, but today I bought water. It is such a simple process, the site is wonderful and the outcome can be SO meaningful. Thank you for encouraging myself, and others to give!
carrie - Donated & Blogged about it. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful information and allowing us to help.
Annette - I come to your blog regularly for a bit of brightness and reality…your gift with color always adds a spark to my (ususally) early morning and you make me laugh with your perspective on your life and your family. I appreciate color and the unique “kid-ness” of my kids in different ways after looking through your “frame”.
One of my duaghters came to us through adoption…I cried as I donated this morning…so many people…so many children…thank you for giving me a way to make a difference to those who need it the most.
Don - Well done! Thanks! This is something that most take for granted, but I thank God for. Such a simple thing, and a nice way to teach our children about giving this season!
Kara Hebert - THANK YOU! for giving me the opportunity to donate. GOD is awesome and He is glorified through this.
I love your blog, Meg. I’m not blogging anymore right now (been having a really hard time with my dad’s death) but I still read yours.
Have a wonderful, blessed day.
Your friend in FL,
Kara