Proverbs 31 Woman Study Outline

This is the outline I use while studying the Proverbs 31 Woman:

Verses 10 - 12 Her Character - She is virtuous, trustworthy, and committed to doing good.
10 
Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

Verses 13 - 19 Her Lifestyle - She fulfills all the traditional household roles performed by women, working hard to care for her family.
13 
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
14 
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
15 
She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 
She considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 
She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
18 
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.

Verses 20 - 21 Her Values - she has a deep concern for the needy as well as for the welfare of her family.
20 
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.

Verse 22 Her sense of self worth - She thinks enough of herself to enjoy the luxuries her hard work makes possible for her.
22 
She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Verse 23 Her Impact - She is not simply known as her husbands wife: he is also respected as her husband.
23 
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.

Verse 24 Her Enterprise - she takes steps to sell any excess produced in her household.
24 
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.

Verses 25 - 27 Her Wisdom - She is valued for her wisdom as well as her work.  She is sensitive to what is happening in her household and offers good counsel in a loving way.
25 
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Verses 28 - 31 Her Reward - Her reward is the love and praise of her children and her husband, and the knowledge that what she values is pleasing to the Lord.
28 
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 
“Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

I am Afraid, but I Will Not Hide

As I look around our society, I struggle not to be afraid.  Afraid not only for myself, but even more so for my children.  I often wonder, what will their future be?  Will they ever know the great country that was founded under God?

I am overwhelmed by the immorality that surrounds us daily.  We slaughter babies by the millions, and call it a right to choose.  Really?  We celebrate perversion, and say that is the way God made us.  Again, really?  We claim we have a relationship with God, yet we have no reverence for Him or His word.  Once again, really?  How can this go on?

Admittedly, I have been ready to throw in the towel.  Not give up and accept what is going on.  No!  Instead, I have been ready to gather my family and go into hiding somewhere.  I have been ready to shut the world out and protect them from what is going on around us.  

One night as I was thinking of this... several verses came to mind in rapid fire motion....

Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 2 Timothy 4:7 

The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ Matthew 25:23   

But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 1 Peter 3:14 

Wow!  I knew what it was to be humbled before the Lord.  So then I began to apologize to the Lord, and ask for His guidance.  That's when a new series of verses began to flood in... (see what hiding His word in your heart can do for you?)

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1 

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 

At this point, I began thanking God, and praising His name.  After a few minutes, I asked God, what will you have me do?  And again, God answered in verses...

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:15-16 

So, here is where I am now... yes, I still get afraid, but my hope is in the Lord.  I will not go into hiding.  I will not concede to the world's way of thinking.  I will continue to follow God, and raise my children to do the same.  And I will pray for a Great Awakening for our great country.

A Real Super Sunday

I am sitting here on Super Sunday wearing my Dallas  Cowboy shirt.  Yes, I know the Cowboys are not in the Super Bowl this year, but no one ever accused me of being a fair weather fan. As I think about the upcoming game, I realized that I can't remember who was in the game last year.  Now I realize that many people can quote stats from many years past... but not me.  I enjoy the game, and then I move on.  

There is one Super Sunday that I will always remember, and it has nothing to do with football.  Eight years ago, Super Bowl Sunday 2005, my son was 4 years old.  We went to church that morning, and was spending a quiet afternoon at home.  I was pregnant with our daughter, and had laid down for an afternoon nap. Ethan came to me and told me that he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart.  He had done this several times in the previous weeks, but Jason and I kept putting him off because he was 4.  So, once again I told him that I was glad he was thinking about this, and when he was older we would talk more.  

It was at that moment that Ethan stomped his foot and said something I will never forget.  He said, "I have done some wrong things, and if you don't let me ask Jesus into my heart, I can't ask God for forgiveness."  Nap time was over!  I said, "Go get your daddy, we need to talk."  Jason joined us, and that afternoon Ethan prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior.  That night at church he went forward and made a public profession, and later followed through with believers Baptism.  Now that made for a REAL SUPER SUNDAY. 

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14

How Do we Treat God's Authority?

It is funny to watch an over zealous mall cop get ignored and left behind.  I am sure we all chuckled a little... or maybe a lot.  It is a funny clip... and it is a clip that God has used to teach me a lesson... imagine that!

As I considered this clip, it left me wondering...  How often has God tried stopping me, and yet I just ignored Him?  How often have I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit, and chose my path instead of His? How often have I known what I should do, and yet did what I wanted instead?  How often have I rejected the authority of God and chose my own authority?

We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.  People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.  Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:1-3

Lord, soften my heart that I might be open to your directions.  Help me to never ignore your instructions.  Help me not to reject Your authority and your plans for me.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Hope this have given you something to consider.

Blessings,

Kerry

How am I using my Talents?

I love studying the Proverbs 31 woman, and it is little secret that my desire is to become such a wife and mom.  Recently, as I was studying this passage, and one of the familiar verses revealed something new to me... Don't you just love when that happens? I do!

Proverbs 31:13
She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.

Here is what I gleaned...

I am not to be lazy.  I need to take inventory of both my talents and my resources.  Then ... and here is the important part ... I am to use both to benefit my home.  Everything the Proverbs 31 woman did benefited her family and home.

Now, let me throw in a little Titus 2... As a mom of a daughter, I am prayerfully watching her.  I want to help her develop the talents God has given her.  I want to guide her in a manner that one day she will be able to use those talents benefit her own family.  

Merry Christmas to All

 As I prepare for the celebrations over the next couple of days, I am reminded that the joy of Christmas does not come as easy to others as it does to me.  I know many who are struggling with the loss of a loved one, with the break up of family, with sickness,  with financial issues, or just tragedies of life.   God has placed Romans 12:15 on my heart... Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 

My prayer is that each of you have a very blessed Christmas! 

It is About Who Gave it To You

This was originally posted in March of 2010... It is a lesson that we value, and I feel it is important to share again.
Over the last 6 years, God has really been working in the lives of my family. One of the greatest things during this time is that both of my children made the decision to follow Jesus. Praise!

Not only was God working in the hearts of my children, He was working in the hearts of myself and my husband. There have been tests that we passed immediately, and there have been others that we have taken more than once.

One of our biggest failures, rest almost entirely on my shoulders. When we moved to Texarkana with Jason's job, we had to sell a house that we built in Magnolia. I knew that God would not want us to go from home owning to renting even for a short amount of time. Please note I said I knew, I did not say we had prayed about what we should do. So we built a house. And we struggled. Jason was not happy in his job. We truly believe that God used that job to move us here, but because of our poor financial decisions (i.e. building the house), he was stuck in it longer than he should have been.

Before the house was even complete, we knew we had made a mistake. However, instead of confessing it, I just kept proclaiming that God was giving us this house. Even after we moved in, we knew we were not supposed to be there. Yet I was not ready to trust God with that. So, I kept proclaiming my version of the truth, and Jason kept struggling to figure out what to do next.

It was a beautiful house, but we were miserable. Jason finally decided to put the house on the market. I did not argue with him, but began praying that no buyer would come. And no buyer came. I prayed daily over this house that God would provide the means to pay for this house. One day I was praying, and I said, "God, you gave us this house..." before I could finish He said, "NO, I did not." I am sure He had been telling me all along, I just wasn't listening. I immediately dropped to my knees and I gave the house to God. That was on a Friday. On Monday, we had a buyer for the house.

We moved out of the house the we had built, and began renting. You see, we never owned that house... it owned us. We rented for about 9 months, and God worked wonders in our lives. Since that time, Jason is no longer in a job he hates. Instead, God gave us a business of our own. We are not renting, God gave us a house that we love. We finally passed the test, it is not about the stuff you have... It is about who gave it to you.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11