Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Proverbs 31 woman - Day 9
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Ladies, ladies, ladies, PLEASE let me apologize. For being such a 'grumpy gills' (cue 'keep on swimming' music from "Finding Nemo"). Seriously, I had NO idea I was being so hard on everyone, including myself, until I had this little meltdown yesterday. After it was all said and done.....I had some serious 'knee time' (opposite of "me" time) and God impressed upon my heart what a grumpy, combative Gus I've been lately. And it's reflected in my writing, which it always does. So, I've been properly chastised by GOD......(ouch) and I really am going to try to focus on being a little more JOYful and grateful in future. Ok, now I can start today's Proverbs 31 woman reflection. "FUN VERSE, FUN VERSE"!!!!!!! "She doesn't worry about her family when it snows' their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear. She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful linens and silks. Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers, She designs gowns and sells them, brings sweaters she knits to the dress shops. Her clothes are well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a SMILE" OK, I just HAD to include all of that today......for LOTS of reasons, but mainly for that last sentence......"she always faces tomorrow with a SMILE". Boy, did I get THAT wrong yesterday. I would like to point out one VERY helpful thing that God shined about this verse. That sentence is the FUTURE tense. NOT "today", but "tomorrow". Which told me that even though I blew it yesterday.....I could go to bed last night and determine, with the help of God, that I could smile TODAY!!!!! THAT was such a 'picker-upper' and so God like and SO RELEVANT to MY needs.....I just had to share that. God is SUCH the God of the second and third and bazillionth chance. If we've blown it today, we can start tomorrow with a smile! We can ever start thinking about starting tomorrow with a smile! I often read thru several verses as I'm doing this study to determine which ones to comment on and where to draw the line. Sometimes there is just one, sometimes there are 2 or more.....and today God impressed upon me this whole 'bunch' for a very unusual reason that I had not noticed before. Ok, so......we're buzzing along reading thru Proverbs 31, reading about all the "things" this woman does, is in charge of, accomplishes, etc. Then we get to a set of verses about her sewing skills and RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE of those verses is this phrase "her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers". HUH? So, what's THAT all about?? I mean, seriously, I thought some time warp had occurred or something. I'm sewing my clothes, I'm mending for my family.........BOOM.........my husband is respected..........I'm designing gowns, knitting sweaters.........sheesh. And no 'aesthetic pause', either....just SMACK, there it is. Well, one thing I've learned about God over the years, is He always does things FOR A REASON. So......let's look at this with that in mind. WHY would God just plop that verse there in the middle of all this talk about what my clothes look like? I examined the above and below verses (which I will refer to them as) and tried to put them together in my mind. With God's help of course. Above verses state: My family isn't running around in tank tops and shorts or winter coats that have huge holes in them when it's snowing outside, I've already taken care of that. MY clothes are absolutely beautiful.......colorful.......linens and silks? (I wonder if denim and cotton counts?) Then BELOW that statement about my husband I see I'm designing gowns and sweaters to be sold and AGAIN.....MY clothes are described AGAIN.....well made, elegant.........and finishes up with a smile for tomorrow. Is it possible that the REASON my husband is "greatly respected" is not only because I take good care of my family, not only because I am industrious and contribute to the family income, not only because I face tomorrow with a smile......but because I present myself dressed in beautiful garments that I made myself? Then I got to thinking about that whole modesty issue. And THEN I got to thinking about men in power or places of authority in this country and even in my town. I think of the legacy that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis left us. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS clothes. Big black sunglasses. Classic, tailored lines. I think about the current Presidents' wife. She is ALWAYS dressed very modestly. Her hair and makeup is NOT severe. I even think about some officials I've know in past, when I worked for gov't. The men I had the most respect for had wives that dressed well. And I don't mean just spent alot of money. I mean their clothing was subtle. Not flashy, like they'd just walked off the set of some soap opera. THEN I though about men who I had little respect for.......one man in particular that comes to mind had a wife who thought she had to wear her entire jewelry box at the same time. She sparkled, clinked and shined to the max every time I had occassion to see her. She ALSO thought she needed to dump and entire bottle of perfume over her every day......and her clothes.......can we say "trendy". I am SURE she never wore anything after that season. Sharp lines, fussy ornaments, brassy accessories. And her husband? Didn't care for him. Not because HE did anything wrong or immoral. I just didn't like his flashy, trophy wife. Huh. So, maybe there IS a reason this verse is stuck in here seemingly like a mistake, eh? Just struck me this morning, that's all. Maybe you all have some different ideas. Let me know. I also know without a doubt that GOD gave me the last verse as a hope verse for today and for all that happened yesterday. "She always faces tomorrow with a smile". Gonna go practice that. ALSO, I will be going back thru these verses with a word study starting tomorrow. I'm being led that way and I'm SURE God will have something in there that I need. Denise aka The Domestic Angel |
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - You did it again!
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Posted by Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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