I'm sorry for posting this so late. When I woke my son up this morning he had gotten sick all over the crib and wall, but not on him. Still not sure how he managed to avoid that, but thankful! I've been holding him much of the day and had to wait until his nap to write this.
This is the 4th week of our True Woman Tuesday study. We've been studying how a Proverbs 31 woman is a busy lady who takes care of her home, is thrifty with the money her husband brings home, and knows all that is going on in her home.
She's busy 24/7! I have thought there is no way that I can ever be fully like her. Here's what Nancy Leigh DeMoss says to that: "Let me say, the moment you come to realize that you cannot do what God has called you to do by yourself, that is one of the greatest discoveries you’ll ever make. That’s the starting place to victory."
We need to focus on the journey, we can do it through Jesus, but not through ourselves. I need to pray daily for the Lord to fill me with His holy spirit. One of the things I definitely have a problem with is wanting 'me time'. I want my space, my time, my this or that. I never thought I was being selfish, but it certainly sounds like it. Nancy says "If we live selfish lives now, we will reap the fruit of our own hands."
We need to accept the description of what God wants us to be. It's in the Bible in black and white. We must strive to be godly women and do it with a good heart.
The next two sections are on Timothy 2 verses 9-10 9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, 10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
These are instructions for the way women should dress for church. We are to dress modestly with clothes proper for the occasion. It says to adorn ourselves with good works. Nancy says "If you claim to worship God, if you claim to be a Christian, then your appearance, your attitudes—the way you treat other people, the way you treat your husband and your children when they are getting on your nerves, your attitudes at work and at church, your actions—they need to support your claim to be a child of God."
I know I'm not always doing my best at this, in fact sometimes I'm downright awful. I need to ask for forgiveness and try again. I've been trying to remember to ask my family for forgiveness when I lose my temper and don't treat them with enough respect. I think this is a good motivator to help me with that kind of behavior. It's certainly no fun to have to ask anyone to forgive you.
Here are some questions to ask yourself "when you go to be with the people of God, when you go to church, are you prepared? Are you appropriately attired? Have you arranged yourself in a way that reflects well on the Lord?" Women should check themselves so that they know they aren't a temptation to men.
Nancy goes on to say that she believes that we should have our inner life well ordered. Some women, me included, go from very high-highs to very low-lows just because that is how their emotions run. Nancy put this a good way: "I want to have a mind that is well-ordered, to be thinking thoughts God's way and to have all my thoughts brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." This is what I am praying for!
If you would like to read what others thought of this weeks lesson, go to Valley Girl where everyone is linking up.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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5 comments:
Well-ordered life, well-ordered heart, well-ordered emotions, well-ordered homes - overwhelming! Thankfully we know we cannot do it all, and that Christ is there to carry our burdens. Through Him only!
Amen Nancy
Now that we know what we are aiming for we know we have all the help we will ever need in Christ our Lord !
Yes, Proverbs 31 has always made me feel guilty--so I like what you said about realizing it is the Holy Spirit that helps us to do and to be.....
Hope your little one is feeling better.
The high-highs and low-lows caught my attention and I too desire to have a mind that is well ordered. Great thoughts this week!
You know, in the past I would have always agreed with you when you say "She's busy 24/7!" ~ and generally, that's the point I dismiss her and say I just can't ever be that person! This study, though, has made me realize that Proverbs 31 is not necessarily her daily "to do" list. This is rather a look at the person she became over her lifetime, not a list of specific, everyday accomplishments.
I think she sounds overwhelming because we think we have to be able to do all the things she did on any given day and I'm believing more and more that this is more a look at her "investment of a lifetime" not her daily diary. There is always room for improvement in the way we live (probably even SHE would have thought so about herself!), but we don't have to necessarily accomplish many things each day in order to become a woman like the Proverbs 31 woman. It's our hearts that matter.
Changing THOSE, of course, isn't easy either, but somehow ~ for me, anyway ~ that seems a little less overwhelming than suddenly trying to be someone who actually gets lots done each day!! ;)
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