by tascha
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:14
As a straightforward interpretation, this verse means exactly what it sounds like. This woman will find her food any place she needs to go to find it. She travels around, trades and seeks foods for her family.
The best modern resource that I can equate this with [personally. –I would love to hear more/other opinions from you!] for a ‘modern woman’ is couponing and/or shopping sales for as much of your food as possible.
{I am not saying that you HAVE to use a coupon or sale for all your shopping, BUT I do believe that planning meals around foods that can be gotten on sale that week is prudent.}
And if you have the time to get/cut coupons and match them to sales, YEAH! for you. I have some friends who do this very well. Sadly, I am not one of them.
It may seem contradictory to say this, but if your husband tells you that he does not want you taking your time to devote to coupons and sales adds, then don’t.
To bare my soul, couponing is frustrating for me {[I know, really?]} so, I do not use coupons often. I do not acquire or study sales adds. But I also do not buy many ready-made items for my family to consume.
I make things. I use the time I would be frustrating over coupons to make the foods from scratch that I would maybe, possibly, use a coupon for.
I also try to buy extra things when they ARE on sale, provided we have the space to store them properly until we need them. I buy dried beans, instead of canned. I cook and then freeze sale meats for future use. I cut and freeze certain produce, when I know it’s going to be used in soup instead of used fresh. I make spaghetti sauce, etc.
So. for you, for me: remember this is a heart issue:
Am I using my time and our money wisely when acquiring food for my family?
And do my pursuits in this continue to do my husband good?
by tascha
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
Proverbs 31:13
The main emphasis of this verse is the this lady works WILLINGLY with her hands.
This thought encompasses many of the following verses and is the heart issue of them.
Though we will look at her specific tasks, the BIG issue is that she is willing to do what needs to be done during the different seasons of her family’s life.
Seeking wool and flax implies that she either gathers the raw materials to create fabric, or she acquired the fabrics needed to make clothing for her household. Linen comes from flax and was used for various undergarments, inner tunics, and lamp wicks. Flax seeds can also be ground and used in breads or can be eaten whole and are very nutritional [another topic]. Wool was used more for outer tunics which could also be used as a blanket on a cool night.
In thinking of these uses of flax and wool {and there are more!} we can see different responsibilities that this implies.
As a wife and mother it is my responsibility to
…clothe my family.
Whether I buy fabric and sew or purchase ready-made items, finding durable, modest, attractive clothing for my husband, myself, and our children is within my realm of duty. [This is not to say that my husband and said children have no say in their clothing!] Being frugal and finding deals, thrift shopping, and handing clothing down [or accepting second-hand clothing] all fit into this category.
…feed my family healthy foods.
[I am not legally qualified to speak of nutrition or recommend certain foods over others, but there are many resources online for studying it, and I have friends whose study I trust when they recommend certain plants for consumption.] You must rely on your own research for this.
Personally, I do try to have fresh fruits and veggies available for snacks, but more often find that frozen or canned are more in my price range, and simple cooking methods can elevate even canned peaches to a scrumptious dessert [with no added sugar!].
I use flax seed in my bread, and there are many other grains/seeds that can be added to flour to make bread more wholesome. Again, your own study must guide you in that.
…cover my family when it is cold and provide a light source when necessary.
Do we have enough blankets for the colder days? Is there an adequate light source to finish tasks or read a good book when the sun has gone to bed early?
[There are many other areas that could be discussed, but many of those are brought out in the next few verses and will be left to their own post.]
While it is truly {thankfully} not necessary that I herd sheep and grow/harvest flax to accomplish these tasks, it IS necessary that my heart is right in order that these tasks bring glory to God and cause my husband’s heart to safely trust in me.
Seeking his counsel and knowing his preference in any of these areas {I like his input on my own clothing as well as my children’s. To know what he likes and to try to accomplish that is doing GOOD to him.} is just another way of loving him.
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Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!
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I’m also on Instagram!
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by tpiatt
When I was was young there were a few circumstances that occurred that turned my world on its head.
Now that yet another situation has turned my world upside down and been the cause of confusion, I realize that:
even as a child I was learning some lessons about God,
about life, about human nature… and myself.
I may speak about the other types of lessons sometime, but for today I want to share a few lessons I have learned about God… when my world seems turned completely bottom-side-up.
**The verses often quoted from Romans 8 are not idle platitudes:
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered…. These past few weeks I have been so grateful to have this comfort. When my heart is overwhelmed, The Spirit of God intercedes FOR ME at the Throne of Grace!
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.…And God listens.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.… I have seen it before, and I know I will see it again: Even when it seems that God could not work a situation out, I turn around and His name is being glorified and the darkest hour IS “just before the dawn.” While I do not yet see the rays of a new day pouring over the horizon of my heart, I am just as confident in them as I am of my salvation!
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.… and “bad things happen” because this world is a sinful place, but God uses circumstances to mold my life to be more like Christ.
**It is not about my supposed position of service or paid ministry that makes me useful to God. It is my heart being conformed to the image of His Son, so that I may be counted among the “firstborn” of God.
**It amazes me to watch how God uses us, sinful creatures, to accomplish His will, giving Himself supernatural Glory and causing His Name to be praised!
Verse 35 asks who could separate us, His own, from the love of Christ... and the answer in all of us should be the same as the apostle’s:
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There are others hurting and questioning over some current situations in the life of my family. I give them these verses from II Thessalonians 1:
11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.…
**Remember that God has called each of His children to proclaim His Gospel to the lost. That is our highest calling!
And I pray that those hurting and confused over issues would ask for Lord to **remove all secondary causes** -meaning the human instruments-
and believe that God IS in control.
He wants us each to learn something,
**and the ultimate Glory is for God’s name to be praised in your own heart and life, even through this.
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One of the hardest and yet most rewarding things we can learn in the Christian life is it TRUST GOD…
…we are not commanded to trust any man or the wisdom of men.
Only trust God.
He is the only one that loved us enough to take the punishment of our sin upon His own body to pay for it.
In Proverbs 3 we are told:
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: …bind mercy AND truth about they neck. Often truth seems to call for judgment,
**but God asks us to COMBINE truth WITH mercy.
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man… and this combining truth with mercy {goodness, faithfulness, kindness} will bring us favor with man-this is a good thing.
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding…
**our own understanding will fail us.
Our own heart is full of wickedness. ALL men’s hearts are full of wickedness.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths… But God can and will direct the path our lives take when we acknowledge Him.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil…
We must not seek a wisdom from our own experiences
…or from a man.
This wisdom is faulty and flawed by sin.
Only fear the Lord. Only live your life as far from evil as you can…
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones….
and your soul will be healthy and ready to stand before Him…
…even if your heart is breaking.
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Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!
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I’m also on Instagram!
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and I’m on Twitter!
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by tascha
When we take a time out and teach our children about something specific that is wrong, do we give them the whole picture?
I do not necessarily mean when they are very small, and we are simply training obedience; but when they are taller, older, more able to reason out a situation. Say, maybe when they are 4 or 5 years old {some may be younger, others older… just a general age here}.
I know that my 8 year old is able to rationalize things she wants to have or do. She understands consequences, even if she does not always think them through: It might be fun to run across the parking lot, but if you are not looking for cars… they might not be looking for you either.
My 5 year old understands actions and consequences fairly well: I should not wave that stick around in the house because I might hit someone or break something…
My 4 year old is learning. And if you can keep her from melting down too quickly {working on that, too!}, she can be reasoned with. She understands when it is explained: No, you cannot sit on your baby brother even if all you want to to is hug him because he will then scream at you and pull your hair, and you do not like that. {seriously, that is how she “loves” on him.}
I cannot tell my girls that doing those things are not fun to make them not do them.
Because they ARE fun.
Some things are not necessarily wrong. But when the are done in a wrong way or time or place, they become sin.
And sin is often “fun.”
Racing a friend to your class across the parking lot IS fun. And running is not bad. Twirling around the house with your princess wand… that’s FUN. Trying to love your baby brother, that is so sweet! It’s a good thing, right?
But I am failing them if I do not teach them to reason out and think through the whole situation.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12
Now, I am not saying that each of these specific scenarios will result in death if my child chooses to do it; but they each CAN result in hurt.
And it is part of my responsibility as Momma to teach them that while sin, even thoughtless behavior, can be fun, we must consider any possible consequences before choosing to partake.
And which consequence is worse: having fun while racing in a parking lot and risking being hit by a car [which is WHY Mommy asks you not to do so] OR possibly being called a name for choosing to walk calmly and with a bit of decorum.
Choosing rather to suffer affliction [being called names or mocked? that is painful for any person] with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season [that exhilaration of racing… it’s fun!]; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt [God will reward your doing right]: for he had respect unto the recompence [looked at the possible consequences and chose the eternal reward of doing right over the singular pleasure of doing wrong] of the reward. Hebrews11:25, 26
While I expect unquestioning obedience [though I have not always taught it consistently], after they have obeyed I sometimes talk to them about possible consequences if they had chosen to disobey.
And on the flip-side, when they choose to disobey and are facing those consequences, I speak to them about the reward they forfeited to have that little pleasure.
…Each child is different.
There is not formula or cut & dry system to this.They understand different illustrations and often require different amounts and types of correction.
But every child must be taught how to reason, how to determine if a seemingly inconsequential action or activity does, indeed, have consequences, what those might be, and understand the personal responsibility of deciding if the momentary “pleasures” are worth it.
