Proverbs 31 - Strong, Energetic, and Efficient
"She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant's ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plans the day's work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; Her lamp burns into the night....She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness." Proverbs 31:13-18&27
Working Inside and Out of the Home:
This part of the text sounds so old, foreign, and out of date for today's wife. What could all this merchant ship, servant girl, and vineyard planting possibly have to do with the wife of 2018? Even though wives of old literally did the things mentioned in this text, the same basic principles apply to us today. We are to run our homes with efficiency. She is taking the resources she finds and making herself busy with it in a profitable way. She not only goes to the store to buy food for her family, but also prepares the food for them. In all of these ways she is helping to meet their basic, but essential, needs. Notice, all the things she has done up to this point deal with happenings inside the home. Once the inside of her home is in order she ventures out to see if there are ways she can look for work to make some extra money outside the home. Please note, nowhere does it say that she is the main breadwinner of the family. Everything she does outside the home is closely examined for whether or not it is profitable and worthy of the time she is spending away from the main duties inside the home. This is a very clear message that it's okay to work outside the home as long as we don't neglect our most important duty, making sure life is in order inside the home.
The Challenge is Real:
This can be very challenging in today's society. Many of us are barely able to take a breath between running kids to and from practice, to and from school, working full-time, minimally keeping our homes from turning into absolute pig pens, not to mention trying to get everyone fed three times a day. It can be down right exhausting. So what are we to do? These verses would say to be a strong, energetic, hard worker who isn't lazy. What this text doesn't say is to burn yourself out so there's nothing left for your family, yourself, or God.
What I've Found Works for Me:
What this looks like for you might be very different for how it looks for me. I will give you a brief description of what I use in my family to accomplish this to the best of my ability (with God's undying help). I do get up before dawn, but I do not make my household breakfast. I figure I work for the food, buy the food, and put the food away; they can make whatever breakfast appeals to them when they wake up *grin* What I do, instead, is spend the first half hour I'm awake with Jesus in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads. Sometimes that means texting prayers to those in my prayer journal. Other times it means putting on worship music and focusing on God's goodness and faithfulness. I just finished reading through the Bible after 13months, but one of my favorite things to do is take notes in my journal on topics I hope to blog about. I have found this is the best way to get my day off to a good start.
Next, I workout for 30-40 minutes. I find this helps to sustain my energy throughout the day. It also gives me strength I can draw on in the months and years ahead as I continually challenge myself to be the best mother and wife I can be.
Currently, I work two jobs, four days a week. I find that packing my food for the entire week each Sunday also helps me to stay healthy and on track to feeling energetic. My motto is failing to plan is planning to fail.
At the tail end of a twelve-hour work day, I tuck the kids into their beds after what can be hit and miss devotions. Needless to say, by the time my head hits the pillow I'm exhausted. Truth be told, I don't even want to do half the things that occupy my time. In my heart of hearts I just want to stay home, take care of my household, and make extra money when I can. But that's not reality for me, and I'm sure it's not reality for most of you either. So we have to get creative in finding ways that work for us, our lives, and our families where we can function, serve the Lord, and not burn out.
The Key is Energy:
I really feel strongly that the key to making these verses a reality is that allusive word, energy. Most moms I talk to say they have none of it and don't know how to get it. Having the discipline to take care of our health is the best gift we can give ourselves and our families. Rarely do we see women who commit to making this a priority. Many say they want it and feel deeply that they do, but genuinely struggle making lifelong changes and commitments to make it happen. Soon they find themselves getting more and more sluggish as one day turns into the next week which slowly passes into the next month and year.
Taking a step toward a healthy lifestyle will yield many benefits, one being increased energy to do all life throws your way. Increased energy means we will have enough left over in the tank for those we love the most too. Don't be deceived, being disciplined in our lifestyle doesn't prolong our lives, only God can do that. It simply allows us to have the energy to accomplish the mission each day. If you're ready for a change in this area of your life, ask the Lord to help you come up with a lifelong plan that will work for you and your family, but realize that you have to consistently put in the work for the lifestyle change to yield results - anything worth having is worth working for.
Today's Prayer:
Lord - This scripture is an especially hard pill to swallow as busy wives and moms who really are trying to meet the demands of our bosses, husbands, children, extended family, and anyone else who pulls on us throughout the course of a day. You are the only place we can truly find rest. You do not put demands on us. You love us unconditionally.
We need your help! We need your insight as to how we can master our jobs with more efficiency and effectiveness while tossing laziness aside. Show us any areas of laziness that may be lurking in the corners of our lives. Sweep out the cobwebs of the excuses and lies we tell ourselves that keep us from being strong and energetic women who work hard to honor You in all we do. Give us the discipline it takes to live a lifestyle that produces energy as fruit. We cry out to You in this area because it is such a sensitive one for so many. Show us areas of demand that need to be cut out of our lives; areas that take away from time with our families inside our homes. May we look to You for all the answers we need as we grow in this area to be more like you.
In Jesus's name - Amen
Working Inside and Out of the Home:
This part of the text sounds so old, foreign, and out of date for today's wife. What could all this merchant ship, servant girl, and vineyard planting possibly have to do with the wife of 2018? Even though wives of old literally did the things mentioned in this text, the same basic principles apply to us today. We are to run our homes with efficiency. She is taking the resources she finds and making herself busy with it in a profitable way. She not only goes to the store to buy food for her family, but also prepares the food for them. In all of these ways she is helping to meet their basic, but essential, needs. Notice, all the things she has done up to this point deal with happenings inside the home. Once the inside of her home is in order she ventures out to see if there are ways she can look for work to make some extra money outside the home. Please note, nowhere does it say that she is the main breadwinner of the family. Everything she does outside the home is closely examined for whether or not it is profitable and worthy of the time she is spending away from the main duties inside the home. This is a very clear message that it's okay to work outside the home as long as we don't neglect our most important duty, making sure life is in order inside the home.
The Challenge is Real:
This can be very challenging in today's society. Many of us are barely able to take a breath between running kids to and from practice, to and from school, working full-time, minimally keeping our homes from turning into absolute pig pens, not to mention trying to get everyone fed three times a day. It can be down right exhausting. So what are we to do? These verses would say to be a strong, energetic, hard worker who isn't lazy. What this text doesn't say is to burn yourself out so there's nothing left for your family, yourself, or God.
What I've Found Works for Me:
What this looks like for you might be very different for how it looks for me. I will give you a brief description of what I use in my family to accomplish this to the best of my ability (with God's undying help). I do get up before dawn, but I do not make my household breakfast. I figure I work for the food, buy the food, and put the food away; they can make whatever breakfast appeals to them when they wake up *grin* What I do, instead, is spend the first half hour I'm awake with Jesus in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads. Sometimes that means texting prayers to those in my prayer journal. Other times it means putting on worship music and focusing on God's goodness and faithfulness. I just finished reading through the Bible after 13months, but one of my favorite things to do is take notes in my journal on topics I hope to blog about. I have found this is the best way to get my day off to a good start.
Next, I workout for 30-40 minutes. I find this helps to sustain my energy throughout the day. It also gives me strength I can draw on in the months and years ahead as I continually challenge myself to be the best mother and wife I can be.
Currently, I work two jobs, four days a week. I find that packing my food for the entire week each Sunday also helps me to stay healthy and on track to feeling energetic. My motto is failing to plan is planning to fail.
At the tail end of a twelve-hour work day, I tuck the kids into their beds after what can be hit and miss devotions. Needless to say, by the time my head hits the pillow I'm exhausted. Truth be told, I don't even want to do half the things that occupy my time. In my heart of hearts I just want to stay home, take care of my household, and make extra money when I can. But that's not reality for me, and I'm sure it's not reality for most of you either. So we have to get creative in finding ways that work for us, our lives, and our families where we can function, serve the Lord, and not burn out.
The Key is Energy:
I really feel strongly that the key to making these verses a reality is that allusive word, energy. Most moms I talk to say they have none of it and don't know how to get it. Having the discipline to take care of our health is the best gift we can give ourselves and our families. Rarely do we see women who commit to making this a priority. Many say they want it and feel deeply that they do, but genuinely struggle making lifelong changes and commitments to make it happen. Soon they find themselves getting more and more sluggish as one day turns into the next week which slowly passes into the next month and year.
Taking a step toward a healthy lifestyle will yield many benefits, one being increased energy to do all life throws your way. Increased energy means we will have enough left over in the tank for those we love the most too. Don't be deceived, being disciplined in our lifestyle doesn't prolong our lives, only God can do that. It simply allows us to have the energy to accomplish the mission each day. If you're ready for a change in this area of your life, ask the Lord to help you come up with a lifelong plan that will work for you and your family, but realize that you have to consistently put in the work for the lifestyle change to yield results - anything worth having is worth working for.
Today's Prayer:
Lord - This scripture is an especially hard pill to swallow as busy wives and moms who really are trying to meet the demands of our bosses, husbands, children, extended family, and anyone else who pulls on us throughout the course of a day. You are the only place we can truly find rest. You do not put demands on us. You love us unconditionally.
We need your help! We need your insight as to how we can master our jobs with more efficiency and effectiveness while tossing laziness aside. Show us any areas of laziness that may be lurking in the corners of our lives. Sweep out the cobwebs of the excuses and lies we tell ourselves that keep us from being strong and energetic women who work hard to honor You in all we do. Give us the discipline it takes to live a lifestyle that produces energy as fruit. We cry out to You in this area because it is such a sensitive one for so many. Show us areas of demand that need to be cut out of our lives; areas that take away from time with our families inside our homes. May we look to You for all the answers we need as we grow in this area to be more like you.
In Jesus's name - Amen
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