Oh my! Where did May and half of June go?!?!?! I cant even believe it is June 16 already! We had a vacation in May and then some how recovering from all of that I dont even know what happened to the month. June 11 was Chloe's birthday so I feel like for quite a bit of June I have been focused on my sweet girls 1st Birthday (But thats a whole different post)!
I want to jump right into my next Proverbs Bible Study post. I have been studying for this on and off through the craziness of our lives the last 2 months or so!
The Expositors Commentary breaks this passage down even more than just a wife behavior. It breaks it down into four more sections. I am going to go off of the Expositors breakdown and we might not hit all four this time. It might take one more post to hit them all. =) I will do what I can but don't want it to be too long for you!
I. Industrial Pursuits of the Household (Proverbs 31:13-15)
"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides for her household and portions for her maidens."
Seeking wool and flax and working with willing hands. She was NOT idol. She was always busy. Im not going to lie. There are times when my kids go to sleep whether it be for nap or for the night and all I want to do is crash on the couch with a lap full of some sweet or salty treat and chill! A lot of time "chilling" comes along with a favorite TV show or something. There is nothing wrong with resting but sometimes I too often would rather take time for myself than thinking about serving my family or household. (Heck, I'm taking time for myself right now. I am in Starbucks by myself. My mom has my kids and I am taking some time to refresh my soul with the scriptures). Time to yourself is important but how much more important is my time spent serving my precious family. I need to be working with willing hands. Hands that serve, hands that are not idol. Hands that love my family and love the job that the Lord has placed me in as a homemaker and a mother, an Excellent wife that I am striving to be!
She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. This generally means that she might not could find the best food close to her so she would go as far as she needed to to get her family good food. To context this, I have a Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Target, Aldi, (2) Lowes Foods all within a mile radius OF MY HOUSE! I can find good food at a good price at any or all of these stores and they are all only a mile from my house. This woman would have to travel far away to get good food. How much easier do I have it now than what she had it. How can I not strive to be more like her. Maybe my challenge here is to take a little more time to make my family good food. We have been on a better eating (lifestyle change) in the George house. It takes a little longer to make my pizza crust than it does to run to Little Caesar's get a pizza from them but I am feeding my family better food by making my own. At least I didn't have to travel hours just to get good food. There are always ways we can improve on the way we serve our family! Go above and beyond for your family! Don't give them second best because it is easier on you! Go the extra mile to serve them well. This will be different for different families but you know if you are giving your family second best. I know I am guilty of this regularly!
This woman, this exellent wife, must have had a big household. She even rose while it was yet night. That is so hard for me. I like my sleep. I am willing to do almost anything my family needs but PLEASE don't ask me to get up before the sun!!! haha. 4 days a week I have challenged myself to get up at 5am and have about 3-3.5hrs before my kids get up to get some things done. It is HARD and its only 4 days a week. This scripture doesn't tell us but it doesn't sound like this woman got up before the sun only 4 days a week. It sounds like it was a daily activity for her. Wow. What a servants heart. Speaking of a servants heart, she didnt send her maidens out to get the food and to rise up early and prep it! She did it!! She prepped food FOR her maidens. I tried to look up what exactly a maiden's job looked like in this time period and couldnt find much information but I am assuming she did NOT have to do this. She did it because she was a biblical woman that loved her household and was a servant with a heart that was willing to serve without complaining.
It is not a bad thing to take a break every now and then. Its healthy to take some down time but I know for me there are always ways to improve and to sacrifice some "self" time to serve my family better.
My family is always clothed and fed but maybe I can do it better. Maybe I can do things healthier or more frugal. There is always little things to improve on.
Am I (Are you) giving my (Your) family second best? Or are you giving them your all? Are you going above and beyond for your family or are you giving them what is best without inconveniencing yourself or what you want to do?
Are you sacrificing? Are you getting up early if you need to to serve your family well? Do you do it with a happy heart? I tell my 2 year old all the time that he needs to do things with a "happy heart" but then I grumble when I hear my alarm go off at 5am and I grumble to my hubby when he leaves for work at 6:30am.
Lets sacrifice and serve our households willingly and with a "happy heart"!!
This went a LOT longer than I had anticipated. It might be more than one more post to finish An Excellent Wife's Behavior portion.
Thanks for hanging with me and I hope that it is as convicting to you as it is to me!! Leave me a comment and let me know if you stop by!! =) I might be writing to myself but maybe not. Leave me some feedback if you want. This is the first time I have done this and know that I have a lot of improvement that I could do!!! =)
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