"She works with her hands in delight" Proverbs 31:13

Proverbs 2

               

"...incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding,

If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you,

To deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things,

From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness;

Who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked,

Whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths;

To deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, who forgets the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of he God.

For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead; none who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life-

So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness.

For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it;

But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it."

Isn't this a great chapter? It is a wonderful reminder to me of how God promises to bless those who steadfastly fear Him and who commit their lives to revolve around His Truth and righteousness alone. It is very hard not to be sucked in to the filth and wickedness that surrounds us on a daily basis in such a world full of darkness and sin. To be pulled toward worldly ideals, immorality, carnal music, the filthiness of our society, etc. It is even harder to stand alone as a light for Christ in such a world...to have convictions and beliefs that are not necessarily "popular" in the worlds eyes. :)

I find this passage very encouraging because we are told that if we continue to seek God's wisdom...if we are faithful to wrap our lives around His Truth and look at life through His eyes instead of our own...He promises to be a "shield to those who walk uprightly". He promises to preserve our way, to guide us, to give us discretion against wickedness. He promises to keep us, to deliver us from the way of evil...from darkness...from those who are perverse and those who rejoice in doing evil. From immorality...from those who follow the crooked path of their own sin...and from our own destruction. If we seek Him, He will protect us! :)

So should we shrink away from standing against the tide of humanism, feminism, the world's ideals, satan's lies, etc just because we are afraid of what might happen to us? Should we avoid modesty because it is unpopular? Should we be boisterous, foolish, and "loose" women because that is what a majority of women are today? Should we be quiet when those around us are doing what we know is wrong? We should not be afraid to stand for godly principles. Look at our sinful world through God's eyes using Scripture and just see what a dry spiritual desert we're living in. As Christians, our world needs to revolve around Christ...we need to be as bold as lions in righteousness for His glory. We cannot be afraid to stand for Truth. Instead of fearing the world, our focus needs to be on fearing the Lord. Always do what is right...especially if it's unpopular. ;) If we seek God's wisdom and understanding, He will deliver us from the hand of evil and continue to guide us on our path of uprightness for His glory.

I just thought I'd share what was on my heart today! :)

Embracing Biblical Womanhood Week 5

This week, I am going to be focusing on Proverbs 31:10-12.

"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." Proverbs 31:10-12

"Any woman can be a virtuous woman. Any girl can be a virtuous girl. It is all a matter of fearing God and being submissive to Him. If you are doing the things in your role according to God's Word, you will be a virtuous woman.

A girl who fears the Lord will be a good daughter- obeying her parents, being kind to her brothers, sisters, and all others, doing acts of service for those who are needy, being pure in all things, being chaste and modest in appearance, and loving God with her whole heart and mind.

A wife who fears the Lord will be a good wife, obeying her own husband, being kind to others, caring for the poor and needy, being pure in all things, being chaste and modest in appearance, and loving God with her whole heart and mind.

A mother who fears the Lord will train up her children according to God's principles. She will care and provide for them, and teach them to love God and His Word.

Being a virtuous woman is a by-product of fearing the Lord and obeying His Word. One does not seek to be virtuous. One seeks to obey God and virtue follows."

~Taken from "The Joy of Womanhood"

Embracing Biblical Womanhood Week 4

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7

For this week, I have chosen the above verses to memorize and meditate on. These are actually a couple of my favorite verses in Scripture, and I wanted to take this week to focus on them. They pretty much speak for themselves. :) It's so sad to think that all of today's problems in society stem from men and women who are relying on their own ways of thinking instead of God's. If we only lean on God's Truth and direction in our lives, think of all the truly wonderful things He could carry out through us as Christians! We must trust God instead of ourselves. We can all be assured that He has a beautiful plan for each of our lives, and if we seek Him and trust Him in all things, He will direct our paths.

Embracing Biblical Womanhood Week 3

Are you following false ways in your everyday life, or do you plan to in the future? What would be considered a "false" way? This morning, I picked Psalm 119:128 as my verse to meditate on for this week, and in it, David gives a very precise answer to my last question:

"Therefore, I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way." Psalm 119:128

To me every idea, philosophy, practice, "ism" (humanism, feminism, atheism, etc.), way of living, and way of thinking that is not from the Word of God and in line with His principles is a false way. Think of all of the ways that society and feminism today promotes as right for us as women. "In order to be successful, you must be a 'working woman'." "Don't submit to your husband...women are equal to men!" "Children are not a blessing. They are a hindrance and too expensive to raise!" "I wear the pants in the family!" I could keep going. Those are only a few false ways found in feminist thinking. Society says, "We don't need God...we are God...God can be anything or anyone that we want Him to be!" This verse is a great reminder to us of how much we really need to watch for these false ways and to avoid them. Any way that is not of God is of man and is false. God's precepts alone are right.

Please don't get me wrong...I do not see myself as having a "perfect" lifestyle or way of thinking! God has changed my heart drastically over the course of my lifetime, and for that I am very grateful. When I was in public school, my peers were a large negative influence in my life. In my early teenage years, I was addicted to Christian rock music which led me to crave the heavy beat of secular rock. I still look at my graduation photos today and shake my head...wondering what possessed me to pick out such a low-cut dress to wear for my pictures. After graduation, I thought that the next step for me to take in order to be successful in the eyes of others was to get a great job outside of the home. The Lord is constantly working on me, as He is in all of us. I would encourage each of you, especially as women, to look toward God's ways and not to the false ways that we are led to believe in the world today. It is my prayer that God would continue to give each of us a discerning spirit to help keep these many false ways of thinking our of our lives.

Embracing Biblical Womanhood

      

Today was a beautiful day! It was a little colder than what I would've expected for a spring day, but at least the sun was shining brightly. :) I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! I had a great weekend spending time outdoors, working in the garden, helping watching Dad plant potatoes and onions, and just being with the family!

I wanted to start this week off a little differently...I think it is really important for a Christian to be in God's Word daily, to meditate on Scripture, and to walk in His Truth in our everyday lives in order for us to be able to grow spiritually and be encouraged and strengthened in our lives. I hate to admit this, but although I love spending time in Scripture, I have not been very consistent when it comes to memorizing and meditating daily on God's Word. About a year ago, I made a vow with the Lord to spend time in His Word every day, no matter what. I have made sure to keep this vow, and although I do read the Scriptures daily, I do not meditate on them as often as I should. So for the next couple of months, I am going to be posting a different verse each week pertaining to Biblical womanhood that I am going to be memorizing and meditating for that time. I'm hoping that I will be consistent with this and that posting my verses on here will help me stay accountable. :) I really delight and find great encouragement in the Word, but I want to better myself at engrafting God's Truth in my heart! Please feel free to join me in memorizing and meditating on these verses! It is encouraging to have the Scriptures with you always especially when they give you insights and encouragement to uplift you in the important role He has blessed us with as women! Here's this week's verse:

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him; male and female He created Him." Genesis 1:27

Okay, you may be thinking "What is so encouraging about this verse? God created man and woman...that's it!" Well, there is something else! Have you ever wondered why God chose to make you the gender that you are? It is so encouraging to know that the God who perfectly created the universe, who divided the seas from the land, fashioned the stars in the sky, the animals in the air, land, and sea, and made the seasons that we enjoy also perfectly created each and every one of us the gender that He wants us to be. We were made in His image. Perfectly. We were created to be women in order to fulfill the special plan and purpose He has designated for our lives. It makes me feel special to know that He made no mistakes when He made me a female instead of a male. Let us embrace the ever so important roles that our Creator has called us to as daughters, wives and helpmeets, and mothers because we were designed perfectly to fit His perfect plan!

Please join me in meditating on this verse this week! I will be posting it on my sidebar for reference if you'd like to. :)

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:1-3