Proverbs 31 part 1

Proverbs 31:10-16

This last year my roommates and I memorized Proverbs 31 together. My first thoughts before we started were that this chapter was for wives so it wouldn't be very applicable for my stage in life....boy was I wrong! I began memorizing and studying this passage in depth and learned so much from it. Not only is this passage for wives, but for women who want to live in a Godly way, thus preparing them to be God-fearing wives who are humble and willing to serve their families (and not just make her husband a sandwich).....did I just make a woman joke? ha! =)

The passage starts off with King Lemuel's mother speaking to him about looking for a Godly woman who fears the Lord.

Vs. 10: "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies."
What does it mean to be of noble character? It means to be God-fearing, or a person who recognizes the power of the Lord and obeys out of love and respect. We see from this verse that a woman of noble character is hard to find...looks like not much has changed since this was written. Being a set-apart daughter takes time and effort. If you let the world pull you away from the Lord you are just like them, rather than being a noble daughter who loves and respects the Lord and lives a life that is glorifying to Him. If you are a woman after the God's own heart, you are worth far more than rubies or anything. The things of this wold never compare to the Joy of following the Lord wholeheartedly. You also have to be a gem to find a gem. Women who dress immodestly and flirt with every guy are going to get a guy who does not respect them and will not be a man after God's own heart. But, those who are so caught up in the Lord and treat men with respect in the way they dress and act, will be given a man who respects them and Loves the Lord!

Vs. 11: "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value."
Any relationship must have trust! Even if you are single, are you a person your friends can trust to keep them accountable and to lead them to Christ? Are you faithful to your friends? Like any kind of relationship, a marriage MUST have trust. You must learn to be trustworthy now, or how will your husband ever be able to trust you to be faithful?


Vs. 12: "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
Bringing her husband good would be things like not being a financial burden and letting him lead her. This is a huge way you can serve your future husband right now! Learn to budget and think through purchases. Here's a practical way to learn to save and be good with money-label a few envelopes with "spending money", "tithe", "save" and whatever else you would like. As soon as you get money, go to those envelopes and divide it up into those envelopes. This has really helped me to learn to budget and use my money carefully-hope this helps someone else! Most importantly, notice the word "all". Obviously you won't spend every day of your life married, so "all" includes your days right now (if you aren't married). If your future husband could see you everyday at every moment, would he be grieved at the way you interact with guys and in the way you dress?


Vs. 13: "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands."
A noble wife takes DELIGHT in providing for and serving her family. That can look like eagerly cooking for her family, not complaining when she has to stay home to take care of a sick child, or cleaning with a good attitude since it is a way to serve her family and look after them. If you are not married, that may look like obeying your parents with a good attitude, or diligently working on homework or whatever your task is.


Vs. 14: "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."
This is another verse to show how diligent we should be, rather than being lazy. She uses her gifts to enterprise to serve her family, or those around her.


Vs. 15: "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls."
A Proverbs 31 woman does not waste time and she is not lazy. The key is beginning the day well. Just as the Proverbs 31 woman gets up before the day starts, Jesus often got up before the others were awake and went away to spend undivided time with the the Father (Mark 1:35). She provides for those under her humbly. If you are a mother, do you humbly look after your children? If you are single, are you humble when you interact with little kids? If you are a manager at work and have people working under you, do you actively look after those who are under you and treat them with humility and respect?


Vs. 16: "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."
The word "considers" means to put careful thought into. She is not an impulse buyer, but thoughtfully makes purchases that will help, not hurt her family. From her purchase she was able to plant a vineyard, thus showing she uses her money carefully and uses it as a tool to serve. In our culture, money is used for our own pleasure and entertainment, but when you look at the woman of the Lord, she uses her money not for her own pleasure and entertainment, but to serve those around her and uses it thoughtfully.

Trusting the King

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

What does it look like to trust the Lord? We all know someone who rarely worries and who is one of those awesome peaceful people who are humble and sweet. Most likely that person trusts the King rather than themselves. Does it make sense for a princess to trust herself above the King? Absolutely not!  The King knows what is best for her and pleads for her to trust Him so He can lead her and protect her. At the end of the verse is a promise- He WILL direct your path. He doesn't say "go on your own, you can figure it out and work things out on your own".....He promises to not be by our side, but to DIRECT us!

He simply SPOKE the earth into creation. He CHOSE to create you. Do you not think He is capable of leading you throughout your life? Just take a few minutes to reflect on how powerful your King is....

There are difficulties in life that God will lead you to that ONLY He can fix, to prove His faithfulness.

Think about your human strength for a second...you can lift maybe a 25 llb weight? God not only holds the world in His hands....but the universe and all the galaxies....He's just a tad more powerful! Why do we tend to trust in ourselves more than in God, who's strength is incomparable to ours? PRIDE.

I looked up "trust" on pinterest and it was amazing to see how many pictures talked about trusting in yourself. Why trust in yourself when we have an ALL-POWERFUL God who is faithful and promises to lead us if we will simply trust Him. Trusting in myself is the last thing I want to do...I am an imperfect human. I don't even want to imagine a life filled with only trusting in myself. "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe." Proverbs 28:26

This year the biggest thing the Lord taught me was to trust Him. I am definitely a planner and love to have a plan for everything. Senior year of high school I was happy to say I had a planned major, so I knew where I was going and exactly what I was going to major in. Then, of course, with God's humor, He decided to show me who was REALLY in control. I got to orientation to find the major I had selected was not an undergrad, but only a Master's program. Inside I was crushed....I was going to be one of those "undecided kids" who had no plan for college. I had NO idea what I wanted to do. Honestly, being undecided has been one of the GREATEST blessings in my life. God had to take away that plan in order to remind me who was in control and who's hand I was in. I knew He was trustworthy and that He would guide me, but it was hard to give up that pride of doing things in my own strength over to Him. It takes a lot of prayer and reminding yourself of how powerful the Lord is.

     "Vast quantities of time and energy are wasted in obsessive planning. When you let Me direct your steps, you are set free to enjoy Me and to find what I have prepared for you this day" (Jesus Calling).

Once I trusted the Lord and placed my love of planning on the alter, He set me free, and gave me peace.

Once you truly trust the Lord, He can show you His mighty power and blow you away!! After God taught me to trust Him, He showed me His pure faithfulness. I felt like it was time for me to go on my first mission trip, but did not have a peace about any of the ones DBU had this year. After many searches online for Madagascar mission trips, I came up empty. I began praying He would open up doors when the time was right. At the beginning of January God began to start showing me how faithful He is. A friend at church asked me if I was interested in going on a mission trip to Madagascar with his school (southwestern theological seminary). UMMM....YESSS! I couldn't help but laugh at how faithful God was...and that was only the beginning. After getting information to me over time, He got interested in it too and we both signed up to go....we got the last two spots available. We will be spending one week in West Madagascar where we will take a class on animism, so we can witness to the people there. In the hotel there is a lemur room where you walk in and lemurs come and jump on you. SWEET MUFFINS! (Lemurs have been my favorite animal since I was little and it is what God used to connect me to Madagascar where He has called me to be a missionary). From there we are taking a 5 day African bus ride (oh boy....) to the very south of Madagascar where "out in the middle of nowhere" will be the right term to use haha. There we will go hut to hut and witness to people and we will all have our own translator. Not only did God place this trip in my hands, but I was also praying for people to get in touch with who are missionaries there. My roommate walked in one day and said she saw a family's name in the prayer room who are missionaries in Madagascar and they had their email address. I began to email them and found out they are actually going to be part of our trip. Not only did God give me people to get in touch with, but I will get to meet them.....talk about FAITHFUL. This is what God can do when you trust Him.

Maybe you are having trouble trusting the Lord in your college choice. Maybe it's your major, maybe it's an important move, Maybe it's with something medical, maybe it's with a relationship or a future relationship. Whatever it is....just remember, He is Faithful to lead. LET HIM LEAD. Part of being a set apart daughter is placing your thoughts and actions on the alter and giving your King FULL control. He Loves you and wants to give you freedom from worry, freedom from over planning, freedom to trust the Lord with the future.

How has God been faithful in your life?

oh, hey there first blog

*that awkward long silence while trying to figure out the first words of the first blog post...*

        This blog was created to cover issues to spur young women on to live a set apart life for their King. He is a jealous God who desires you to follow him when it's easy WHOLEHEARTEDLY. What does that practically look like? What does the Bible say about being a woman? How do we seek the Lord and live set apart when the world is telling us to look a certain way, act a certain way, and chase after beauty, guys, and acceptance?


         This blog will look at issues such as: beauty, modesty, Proverbs 31, solitude, simplicity, finding fulfillment, guarding your heart, purity, guys and relationships, the gift of singleness, the story of Ruth, and many others.

         Any other suggestions for topics? I'll try to post at least once a week.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
 Proverbs 31:30