I am a plan-it junkie and I love this freebie from the tip junkie. Download it and use it to keep you sane as you plan for Christmas this year. With the new baby, I desperately need all the help I can get keeping our Christmas organized and on (or under) budget!
Check it out HERE!
Welcome back to my series all about the amazing things we learn from Proverbs 31! If you missed the introduction to this new series, click HERE.
“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.”
First of all, I just want to reiterate from the introduction last week that although this is stating “wife” this scripture pertains to all of us. We are all the Bride of Christ and are all learning how to represent Him to the world, our communities, and our families. I know its easy to write this scripture off if you are single, but keep in mind your important role as the Bride of Christ eternally and also the possibility of someday having the role of a wife if God wills that for you. I’m not here to say that God wills marriage for all His daughters, but if that is a desire of your heart, remember to trust that desire to Christ. Psalm 37:4 tells us “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
One of the things I truly love about Prov. 31 is the fact that I can receive wisdom from this passage in two forms. As a practical person, I tend to find a lot of joy in just the day to day wisdom and guidance Proverbs 31 provides. As a follower of Jesus, I find immense delight and satisfaction in the fact that this scripture is chipping away at me and making me more like Him.
With that, lets dive in! I will be looking at what I call the eternal aspects of this scripture, and the practical aspects of this scripture.
“An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.”
Eternal: Your value in Christ Jesus
We all know how beautiful, desirable, costly, and rare jewels are. I love this word picture of jewels. You can’t just pick one up a ruby or diamond anywhere! Have you ever seen the process of mining for jewels? To find a jewel stone, you have to dig through a lot of muck and dirt and stuff that really isn’t valuable to find that jewel. After that there is a tedious refining process that involves cleaning, cutting, and polishing.
You are that precious and valuable– and even more– to Jesus as His Bride. You are worth all that work and sacrifice to find and prepare. You are so much more than what we on earth consider to be so valuable, precious, and rare.
Do you see yourself as valuable in the eyes of your savior? What do you place your worth in? Your kids? Your home? Your job? Your appearance? Your put-togetherness? Your husband?
I think there is a significant reason to this verse on value coming first before all other verses on this passage all about women. I feel that this verse is here to show us that if we do not place our value where it needs to be– in Jesus, nothing else can fall into place.
Women today are swarmed with media telling them they are objects. That its not okay to be live a simple life. That you are less of a woman if you choose to stay home. That you are less of a woman if you are not dominating the men in your life. That you are less than a woman if you do not have a man in your life. That you are less of a woman if you are not beautiful and put together. THESE ARE LIES! Lies directly from the mouth of Satan.
You are not less of a woman for any of those things! You are a woman saved by the grace of a savior who found you so valuable that he went to the cross and died for you!! For you. For me.
You are precious in His sight.
1 Peter 2:4a “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.“
“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.”
Practical: Living excellently in our relationships
Now that we’ve established just how precious you are in the eyes of Jesus, I think its important to talk about how this applies to our earthly relationships.
Ladies– you should not settle for any man who does not look at you and see you like Jesus does– amazingly precious and wondrous. Proverbs 18:22 tells us “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”A woman/wife is a blessing from God and any man who does not see you that way does not deserve to be in the same room as you. You hear me on this?
I made the mistake once of being with a guy who did not care a hoot about my heart. He did not value me as a precious being who deserved special care and honor. Deep down, I knew I wanted to be treasured, but I convinced myself that this was only as good as it could get. Boy was wrong! It took me a long time to heal and forgive myself for not putting my value in Christ and allowing this person to mistreat me. Its heart breaking when women remain in and even pursue those types of relationships. Jesus has so much for us.
Proverbs 4:23 says “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.” Keep your hearts ladies. The NIV tells us to “guard our hearts.” Be vigilant and let no one have that heart until Christ binds you together with that person in marriage. If you are married, keep that heart unto the one you are married to!
Often when I attended events for young women in college, the term “guard your hearts” was often teamed with the message of abstinence. Though I came to discover that you can give your heart away, or even pieces of your heart away with out having any physical interactions. Pining away after someone, or even something is putting your heart in their/its hands.
One of my friends in college talked about a past relationship that was not God honoring. She explained that her whole mood and happiness was based on anything/everything her boyfriend would say/do or didn’t say/do. She allowed herself to let him control her heart before it was any of his business to have.
For those of us who are married, we need to be reminded that although our husbands are now one with us in marriage, Jesus needs to be our first love. And thats true for all of us no matter where we are in life. A wife who lives excellently is a wife whose heart is centered on Jesus first.
I heard this saying once and I just love it. Its called the JOY principal.
Jesus first.
Others second.
You last.
Eph. 2:4 reminds us of the enormity of His love. “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” He saved us and gave us life even when we were in sin.
Lastly, I want to say a word about living excellently. We know we are valuable in the eyes of Christ, we know that we need to choose relationships that reflect Christ, so I’m going to ask the question… are you an excellent wife/woman? What do you think you need to work on in your journey to becoming an excellent wife/woman? And ultimately, how can you bring more excellence into your walk with Jesus?
Father, thank you for your grace. Thank you for loving me so much, for seeing so much value in me that you died to save me from my sins. Lord forgive me for the times I don’t put you first and I don’t find my value in you. Make me more like you Jesus. Help me Lord as I strive to reflect you more. Only through Your grace can I become a more excellent wife, mom, and woman. Please do that work and me and in every person who is following this study with me. Thank you Jesus, thy will be done.
In your name– Amen.
Next week is Thanksgiving, so I’ll have my next Proverbs 31 post two weeks from now. See you then!
Fellowship.
What does that mean to you? A great book to discuss, snacks over a football game, worship and songs, craft night, girls night out, small groups?
To me, all the above! I truly LOVE fellowship; it is so uplifting. No matter what I am going through, I find hope and encouragement in fellowship of all kinds with other believers. Oh and by the way, I’m not an extrovert.
How are you fellowshipping with others right now? Are you spend more quality time with the tv than with people? If you have the time to sit in front of the tv, you have time to get together with someone.
It can be tempting when we are struggling to chose to stay away from others. You feel so drained, so spread thin. It makes you anxious to think about fitting in time for church, MOPS, or a night out with your friends. BUT, when you actually go and fellowship, you come back full, refreshed, encouraged, and even changed. I’ve been there, believe me! And I’m so grateful for the times I chose to fellowship over the choice of staying home with the tube!
God designed us to live in fellowship… don’t give up on fellowship!
For mre WFMW, click HERE!
Can I tell you why I am enjoying this recession? All my friends, family members, even acquaintances are all talking frugal now, and I LOVE it! Nobody looks at me like I’m strange when I get giddy over a coupon now! Instead, they are all asking me where I got it!
I’ve found some really great tips/freebies/info that are most helpful that I wanted to share with all you wonderful readers. And thank you for not thinking I’m strange for getting giddy over saving money. I’m glad you all understand. 
*Awesome freebie! 50 free photocards! Even free shipping! Read about it HERE! (Good until Nov. 30!)
*Money Saving Mom posted about a site that helps you earn money for using the internet and visiting sites you often already visit like facebook, or gmail! You make a few cents for visiting certain sites once you click through their site. Its great! I’ve already made $1.05 with no effort at all. I love finding new and helpful ways to earn money from home and this one is ligit! Once you’ve made $10, you can request your payment! $10 may not sound like a lot, but for doing things you’re already doing, why not make $10? It would be AWESOME if you wanted to sign up! It would be even AWESOME-R if you used my referral link!! I would be most grateful! I hate sounding like a commercial, but I just really think this is a great money making deal. Not only would it benefit you to sign up and earn money, but it will also benefit me to get rewarded for referring my friends. I wouldn’t recommend something like this unless I knew it was worth your while. No pressure though!
http://us.beruby.com/promocode/uA85N3
*I read this great article about going green with Thanksgiving. Some of these ideas are a little extreme for me, but others I think are great ideas. Click HERE!
*Click HERE for some really great Campbells coupons! Soups are an essential pantry item at our house! I love it when I find coupons for things I already buy/need!
*My blogging friend Jill wrote an excellent post with gift ideas on the cheap! Click HERE to read her post. (I tried the ornament coupon and it didn’t work for me… I guess it expired already, darn!)
Enjoy!!
Today I almost tossed out an awesome coupon because I thought I had some junk mail! An envelope arrived that said “Welcome to the neighborhood!” I opened it and for all I could see, there were advertisements for cable companies, rentals, and just junk in my opinion. I was about to throw it away when the ACE Hardware logo caught my eye! We are in the midst of remodeling our first house and make trips to the hardware/home improvement stores often!
It was a $10/40 purchase coupon! Woohoo!
I’m so glad I doubled checked!
I’ve mentioned before how you can reuse junk mail envelopes, which I do all the time as well! Don’t be hasty with that junk mail, sometimes there are hidden treasures! (Or at least something you can re-use!)
For my local friends that are wondering about the deals this week, I’m skipping Rite Aid and going to Walgreens!Non-local readers can benefit from this too, my friends here are starting to coupon and I thought I’d help them out!
Here’s my plan:
4 Huggies Jumbo packs 8.99
1 Bayer Meter 14.99
2 Jello Packets 1.29
2 Clearasil products B1G1 $4.79
1 Walgreens Coloring activity book .99
Coupons I’ll use:
4 $2 Huggies printable coupons (These are available at coupons.com. You will need to access 2 computers to print 4.)
1 $30/1 Bayer Meter coupon (They will adjust this down.)
1 2/$1 Walgreens in ad Jello coupon
1.50/2 Jello printable coupon (See HERE)
2 Clearasil printable coupons (See HERE)
1 Walgreens $5/25 purchase coupon (in ad or at Walgreens.com)
Estimated before coupon total: $59.31 + tax
Estimated after coupon total: $25.24 + tax (Cheaper than the diapers alone!)
PLUS! I will get $5 in Register Rewards back from the Bayer Meter, have the opportunity to apply for a full rebate for the Bayer Meter- the rebate is on the box, and the coloring booklet is full of coupons!
So I have the potential to get $19.99 back after RR and rebates and will also have more coupons!
I am so excited to start this new series! Before we dive into this awesome piece of scripture, I want to share with you my story and love affair with Proverbs 31.
Rachel’s Proverbs 31 Story…
I read a Proverb almost every day through out the high school days. I had read Proverbs 31 many times! It didn’t truly become meaningful to me until I had gone away to college. I had just come out of a bad relationship I should have never had in the first place; I knew I wanted my next relationship to be a God honoring and glorifying relationship. I stole borrowed a book on Proverbs 31 from my mom by Elizabeth George and thus became enamored with this piece of scripture as a young woman who desperately wanted to become a Woman of God.
I studied that scripture more than I studied anything else that first year of college and eventually ended up leading a small group through Campus Crusade For Christ on Proverbs 31. I just loved it. I was amazed by all the things God showed me each time I dove into those 21 verses.
When I got married before my senior year in college, I sort of fell out of love with my beloved Proverbs 31. I was a wife now and in my ignorance, didn’t think I “needed” any continued study on this passage to be a Proverbs 31 wife. What had I been doing the past three years anyway?
Well, I was wrong. I desperately need God’s word and encouragement in my journey as a wife and now as a new mom, and especially, oh so especially, in my relationship with Jesus.
So, all that to say, I am deeply passionate about this piece of scripture. God changed me and challenged me as a single college student, grew me as a new wife, is now encouraging me as a mother, and matured me as a Woman of God through Proverbs 31. Join me as I share some of my learning and joy for this passage verse by verse!
(FYI: I am using the ESV Bible for my scripture quotes.)
An Introducti0n to Proverbs 31:
Did you know that Proverbs 31:10-31 is an acrostic poem? Each piece of this passage begins with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. You will see at the beginning of Proverbs 31 “The Words of King Lemuel.” Some believe that King Lemuel was taught this poem by his mother as a way of learning about the ideal wife– as were many other young Hebrew boys. The alphabetic approach most likely made it easier to memorize.
Its important to keep in mind that women of that day were expected to be married. Does that mean you have to be married to gain from the wisdom in this passage? No way!! There is SO much to take away from this at any point in your life.
I love the fact that Proverbs 31 was taught to young men. (by the way, when I say Proverbs 31, I’m referring to verses 10-31.) It was important to families in that time to teach men about the importance of finding a woman of character; a woman who would be a blessing to him. So before we even get into the scripture, we know that we as women are so important to these mothers as potential blessings to their sons! So much so that they work to teach them a poem about what we potentially could be! That anticipation of a wonderful wife is already building in those young men at a very early age.. what a blessing!
As a single woman, I remember desiring to prepare myself for my future husband. But there is so much more than that to this scripture. We as Christians are the Bride of Christ. Marriage on earth is a reflection of the unity we have with Christ.
Ephesians 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” Christ is to the church– us– what a husband is to his wife.
When you put this into Proverbs 31 perspective, Christ’s anticipation of us as His bride is growing in Him just as the anticipation of a wonderful wife would be building in the young men who learned this poem and so looked forward to that future with her! Christ is looking forward to the future time with us when we will be united with Him eternally in heaven! How stinkin’ exciting is that!
In the commentary of the ESV Study Bible, we learn that the acrostic poem begins and ends with talking about the woman’s excellence. “The probable intention of putting this together with the acrostic pattern is to show that this woman’s character runs the whole range of excellence.” Wow. The whole range of excellence? I have so much to learn!
Its easy to get overwhelmed when reading Proverbs 31. You may find yourself feeling discouraged. “I can’t do all that… I can barely get in a shower and get dinner on the table, let alone run a business and make my family’s clothing!” Don’t worry. I used to get caught up in that too. Proverbs 31 is not a to-do list! Say this with me now “I will not beat myself up for not being/doing all this stuff!”
Its not about what you do that makes you a Proverbs 31 woman, its about the heart that is behind it. This is key when studying this passage– and it took me a LONG time to figure that out! So please, put away the to-do list, let’s take off our Martha hats, and just sit at the feet of Jesus. Remember what he said to Martha as she fretted about things getting done? “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
I love that, the portion she chose– to sit at Jesus’ feet– will not be taken from her. Our to-do lists can always be taken away from us with the busyness of the day! We’ve all had days where we can’t get anything done! But sitting at the feet of Jesus cannot and will not be taken away from us!
The actions and things we find listed in Proverbs 31 are not the answer of what “to do” in order to be a Woman of God. They are the fruit of a heart fully devoted to Christ! An outward showing of an inward growing!
Lord, please teach us how to be more like you as Women of God. No matter where we are in life, teach us and grow us in you. May our lives be filled to overflowing with the fruit from our love for You and Your Word. Use this scripture and this study we are doing to build us up as women and prevent the enemy from making this out to be a burden of a to-do list. Teach us the value we have in you Father as daughters of the King. Thy will be done,
In your name Jesus,
Amen
Thank you so very much to all those who have served or are serving our country! I appreciate you so much and thank you for your sacrifices!
I especially want to thank my friends Aaron and Khursten for serving and sacrificing, my friends Nate and Tami for all they give, and my friend Melissa who’s husband is serving in Iraq right now. You all are amazing!!
I love my friends. I really do.
Lately we’ve been doing something that truly works for me– we’ve been using facebook to alert one another to good deals in our area. Its awesome because we are helping each other and supporting one another in our efforts to live on less.
I love it and it only takes me two minutes to pass on info about a great coupon or a great money saving blog post I found.
You cannot be an island as a frugal person– it takes support from others to truly make it as a coupon clipper/budget cutter/thrifting queen/cook-from-scratch extraordinaire!
I used to be shy and kinda embarrassed about my efforts to save money. Now that I share that with others, it is so much more fun and even easier!
Got friends? Share the money savin’ love with them! It works for me!
Check out We Are THAT Family for more awesome tips!
Please don’t rush things! You’ll end up spending more money, wasting time, and feeling like poo-poo. Can I tell you all very honestly that that was me today?
I wanted so badly to finish painting little Molly’s room so we could create a peaceful place for her. Everything at the house is in upheaval and we come back to my parent’s house with a frazzled and upset baby. I wanted SOO badly to create a place for her to rest that I tried to rush getting things done and ended up with nothing done, and a baby screaming her little guts out– for a long time! I felt terrible that I had stressed her out so much just because Mommy wanted to get something done!!
In my anxiousness, I headed off to Home Depot to get the paint we needed– we had ran out and needed more to finish her room. Its about a 20 minute drive. I realized that I forgot the paint can lid to have them make me a new one. We had picked the color at Lowes, but liked the Home Depot brand better… SO I realized this, went over to Lowes, grabbed the color I picked, and went to Home Depot. They made the paint, and as we were coming back, Mollly started screaming. It didn’t really stop for over an hour.
We got to the house and low and behold– I got the wrong color! I wasted time, money, gas, and exhausted my poor little one so much so that she wouldn’t even eat! She just screamed until she passed out!
I realized something, its not worth it to rush things. Its better to wait. Its cheaper to wait. And its better for my family to have less stress in their lives. Its better for me too.
Click HERE for more Tightwad Tuesday ideas and tips.
