This has been on my heart for days. Love you guys. See ya later in the week with something hopefully light and fun!
ro
Ok girls.
We have reached the end of our study!
What can I say? I think that the Lord has moved in such an amazing way during this time of learning what the passage of scriptured we are named for is all about. There are so many layers, just like Sha said at the start of this study and we’ve dug deep throughout the last month or so to get to know this woman better.
We have seen in this woman one who’s relationship with God is genuine. It is both authentic and intimate. She’s confident in who she is and in the life she leads. She is strong, sure and thoughtful. She lives on purpose and she is committed to the life she’s been called to lead. She has experienced some things and endured them in such a way that she – and those around her – can trust her to handle whatever lies ahead. And the end result is a life of which she can be unashamed and character that can be highly regarded.
This woman is one whose expecation of herself was high; and because she expected greatness from herself others did too. They knew she could be counted on to do the right thing no matter the cost and the take the time to lay foundation for things ahead. She knew that life was serious business, but she learned through all that she endured not to hold on too tight or take things too seriously because in the end it would all work out as God intended.
Ladies, this was convicting. Not because it seems impossible. On the contrary, a good honest look makes this standard seem highly attainable – if we’re willing to submit to God’s will and not our own. The standard is high. But it’s not impossible.
As we move forward, remember all that Mrs. V is and is not. Make it a point to cultivate the same character in your own life. It’s not about a man – not about getting one or keeping one. It’s about you and God. Knowing Him well. Knowing what He wants for you, from you and, of you. Pursue that and the rest will come. Promise you, the rest really will come…
I think that each of us has taken something different and intensely personal from this study.Share with us what most impacted you. Use the comments. This place is your place. BMV is for you, about you. So join in and make it home.
We love you and we’ll see you ladies back in a few days. We won’t do another intense study until after the first of the year, but we will be filling the blog with some fun stuff on Holiday traditions and recipes and other stuff we like and find helpful. Maybe even some decorating and style tips. Who knows what you’ll find! Check back in both here and on the FB page.
Talk to you soon, ladies! And remember to be intentional about your lives!
BMV
Sha, Ro, Lynn, Orifie, & Elaine
Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise
As I read this verse, so many things went through my mind. Two things stuck out though: Reward and Praise.
Reward: A thing given in recognition of service, effort or achievement.
Praise: 1. the expression of approval or admiration for someone or something/2. the expression of respect and gratitude as an act of worship.
I think one of the most frustratingly heart-breaking things to happen to a woman is when there is the absence of both in her life. You serve and serve and serve (doesn’t matter whom)…you are just the general Martha and no one seems to notice. I guess that was what got Martha all uptight. She was slaving away while her lazy sister just chilled and was being generally pretty among the guys. Well, at least that was how Martha saw it. But I digress.
There is nothing that warms the heart of a woman like admiration or respect. The love of a good man, one which comes with admiration and RESPECT is a woman’s heart’s desire. Sure, there are many other desires but this is a big one.
Thinking about this, my heart went to Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
To me, a full reward would be my heart’s desires. Getting the admiration and respect of a man is just ONE of those desires. I could work and work towards that and make that my one goal in life. And he may or he may not reward me for that work. But when I take delight in the Lord, he gives me ALL my heart’s desires.
Being Mrs V means a change in perspective; a change in focus. You serve and serve and work and work. Not for the admiration of man, but because you delight in the Lord. That should be the main motivating factor. Sure, some man-praise is good and Lord knows we all crave some from time to time. But that’s fine. What is not OK is when that becomes our sole motivation.
So I guess the question now is: What do you take delight in?
Because it is that thing that is going to determine what the desires of your heart are. If you take delight in pornography…well, you get the picture.
As we round up this study, we all need to go back and take a good look at ourselves. Where do our priorities lie? Who are we focused on pleasing: God, man or ourselves?
There has been a lot to digest and frankly, this study has been like a mirror. I have not always liked what I have seen, but it has certainly been revealing. In the mean time,
Remain in HIM.
sha
Ladies, I sure am glad we’ve reached the end of this chapter! It’s been quite a journey with one set of convictions and mind-renewal after another and really quite gut-wrenching to be honest, but in a good way though. We all know these guts need to be wrenched every so often as we tread ever so faithfully in the Master’s footsteps.
For this last verse, I have used the Amplified Translation which is my new favourite Bible BTW 
– :
“Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates (of the city)”
The only real message I’m getting from this is that after going through the spiritual and physical changes we’ve been talking about since verse 1, this lady is well and truly worth a song and dance!
She gets praise….
In other words, a woman who truly allows the Lord into her heart and life, spending quality time with Him, learning to discern the truth from the others, and willingly working to teach others is going to get nothing but praise! From the Lord on high, and physically from folk all around.
Love the Lord, live His Word and you’ll get your reward… and where it matters most too!
But, and it is a really big but, we all must put in the work. Time with the Lord; Prayer; Constantly renewing our minds with the Word; Discerning what is good (via the mirror of the Word) and meditating on it; Reaching out to others with this good…
The Lord is a God of Order, and it’s almost like He’s on standby to open up the gates of harvest, except that a lot of the time we either don’t sow, or are not patient enough to water the seed and watch it grow.
Ladies, so much depends on us as women, as children of God that we CAN NOT but begin to live our lives on purpose.
You know, it seems to be that studying this chapter has been a personal journey for each of us. By about verse 14 or thereabout I began to notice a trend even in the verses we were studying/writing on; affected by where we each were in our lives at the present point.
Sharon’s verses seemed to centre around being secure of who you are in the Lord;
Rosheeda’s focused on a worthy woman and the man worthy of her;
Elaine’s verse spoke about maintaining dignity and your spiritual position though in the world;
And all of mine seemed to be focusing on the fact that we need to keep out bad influences and seek to serve out God’s will through our lives, by working with/teaching others to know this too.
Four different perspectives, all true, all in order and all ordained by the Holy Spirit.
Thanks for staying with us ladies, Rosheeda’ll put up the final post on Proverbs 31, and we’ll call it a day. BUT I’ll ask that we all come back to this study whenever we can and just have a read, I’m certain we’ll learn even more every time we read by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Cheers ladies, let’s continue to love the Lord together……
Orifie
***just a sidebar before we dive in, I’m giving this to you in the way that it came to rest on my spirit. So if it looks a little like personal notes, well that’s because it pretty much is. Ha! )***
Give her the reward she has earned and let her works bring her praise at the city gate (NIV)
Give her the product of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates (NASB)
Give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates (Darby)
Give her the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates (King James Version)
Based on this, the king isnt looking for his wife, he’s already found her. His mom is tellin him to honor his woman because she honors him. We can glean that because he can’t give to a woman he doesn’t know the respect regard and just due that belongs to his wife. If he’s being told to give something to somebody it stands to reason that she’s already there.
Mom is saying that he’s got this woman who has all these qualities, who possesses this outstanding character and that he doesn’t need to give away what rightfully belongs to her.
‘Give her the fruit of her hands’… don’t steal her harvest. She’s planted, she’s sown, she’s nutured and worked hard to see the fruit of her labor come to pass. Don’t steal that from her by carrying yourself as less than the man you were created to be and she has believed you to be. She’s walked with God.she’s believed Him for you and she’s worked to cultivate character that allows you to do the same. Don’t cheat her, son. Give her her due; prove her confidence right and her investment wise. Don’t let her have wasted all that work (prayers, sacrifices, fasting, etc). RISE TO THE OCCASION.
‘Let her works bring her praise at the city gates’ … him and their kids. Their household. They are her works. All that she’s done to allow godliness to be cultivated in her home and her family should be evident when they are out in public. You know how you tell your kids they are a reflection of you? Well guess what? THEY ARE. This mom is tellin her son to act like he knows who his wife is and to give her the same ability to be praised because of him and their kids that HE enjoys because of her.
Seriously, girls. Mom was all over this one. She knew he had a good woman and she was intent on making sure he knew it too. This chapter was a call-out for the king, not a code of conduct for us women. But what it DOES mean for us is just as strong as this mom’s words to her son. If we are not striving to be the woman of this passage, we can’t expect him to get it together. We’ve no right to require what we ourselves are not willing to do, be, or embrace.
It’s simpe really. If we want our man to rise up and be kingly in his conduct, we need to be on a mission to be queenly in ours. That doesn’t mean perfection, but it does mean consistency and intentional vigilance in our own hearts and daily lives.
It is the life that is lived intentionally and with dignity and integrity that can require the same of the lives of those they serve.
Strong word, huh? You can expect excellence because you yourself walk in excellence.
I dunno about you, but that’s a lot to take in. I’ll end here and I can’t wait to see what else the Holy Spirit reveals to the other ladies.
I love you girls and I’ll see ya soon.
Ro
vs. 30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised….
Ok ladies. We are in the home stretch. I dunno about you but I’m ready to finish this thing up! We’ve learned some great stuff about this woman, haven’t we? I know I have.
Well let’s get to it shall we?
Let’s take a step back a little bit. We need to recall that this is Mommy talking to her wayward King of a son. Remember that she’s told him he needs to be the man his position requires, a man as rare and as special as the woman appropriate for a King.
As I read this verse I get the impression that Mom is wrapping it all up nice and neat in a bow. She’s gettin’ to the gist of what she really wants to say right here.
What Momma is really telling her boy is this: Son, she might talk a good game and say all the right things. She might be fine as wine, might be the most beautiful woman you think you’ve ever seen. But listen to what I tell you. That stuff doesn’t matter. Talk is cheap and beautiful women come a dime a dozen. EVERYTHING THAT LOOKS GOOD TO YOU ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU (my Granny would’ve said ‘ain’t! ha! ) The woman you want, the woman worth associating yourself with is one who fears the LORD. She knows who He is to her. She understands the woman He’s created her to be and she knows that in order to be any part of that woman she has to walk in intimate relationship with Him. She knows that her first responsibility – and truly her ONLY responsibility – in this life is to please God. She knows it and she’s about the business of making sure her life is a reflection of it. Son, THAT’S THE ONE, she’s the one who oughta have your attention. She’s the one you should be regarding and whose respect you should be after.
Yep, girls. Mom put a bug in Lemmuel’s ear, didn’t she?
What does this mean for us? Well, I think it’s pretty clear. We’re called to do lots of things in this chapter. We are called to life lived up to a rigorous standard. But what it all boils down to is this: We need to live like God is our master. Wholly submitted, wholly purposed, wholly committed to what pleases His heart.
If we live life like we know who we belong to and if we are willing to experience Him to the very depths of His spirit, He will take us places we can never fathom. There will be times of sacrifice and times where it looks like obedience is not worth the price we’re paying, but following God will never prove wrong and living for Him will always be a benefit to us and those around us. If we do that, He’ll bring who and what we need to us – and even when we pay a price to have it, we can be sure its worth having because we live our lives in such intimacy with Him that we know He’s the one who sent it.
Life lived in the fullness of Christ is what makes us worthy of carrying another person’s essence; it makes us trustworthy and useable. It makes us the woman of this mother’s heart…
Lord, we thank You for such an example. We praise you God because our value, our worth, our very identity lies in You. Take us into the shadow of Your wings oh Lord and fashion in us the very women of this Proverb. Not our will God, but Your’s. Not our way, but Your way. We submit ourselves and commit lives wholly and completely to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
ladies, verse 31 is tomorrow. You will have posts from all of us, sharing what the Holy Spirit reveals to each and then a wrap-up on Monday of next week.
Love you and we’ll see u tomorrow!
ro
I didn’t intend to do this write-up today, but something happened to me earlier this evening, which I just knew was tied into the verse.
Let’s look at the verse before I tell the tale :
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all [KJV]
My story goes like this - I was strolling through the streets of the shopping centre at The Hague Centrum, actually I was leaving to go back to my host’s as it was already dark. These two young ladies walked up to me and started speaking Dutch (or some other language, I assume it was Dutch). My initial reaction was “Oh sorry, I don’t speak Dutch and I’m a visitor here as well, so I don’t know the way around and can’t give you directions”. But then they said – in broken English, that they were from Curacao living in The Netherlands, and they were Christians. Now that I found interesting, evangelists in Europe! They went on to tell me about how Christ loved me and had died for my sins and how I needed to be born again, and I listened with the patience of an older person patronisingly waiting for a younger one to finish recounting an experience that he (the older one) had gone through before. I was thinking “Yes, I know I know, you’re preaching to the convert, so go out there and tell someone who really needs it cos I already got it”.
But for some strange reason, these beautiful young ladies would’t just let me walk away. They asked if I’d been baptised by water and the Holy Spirit, and if I spoke in tongues – to which I was like, “Yes, and yes – can I go now?”
But one of them caught something in my tone when she spoke of baptism – Up till today, I was of the school of thought that baptism is baptism, whether you’re 20 minutes/ 20 hours / 20 years / 200 years old, and I told them as much. I told them I had been baptized (by sprinkling) as a child, not as an infant and truly believed that this satisfied the Christian rite of baptism and more importantly I DID NOT believe that God would turn me back at the gates of heaven because I didn’t get dipped three times in some random pool of water!
Then one of them – Rochelle – said something I will never forget. She said, (and I paraphrase)
Sometimes the Lord just wants us to submit our hearts and our will to Him, and it could be that He’s just waiting for that submission to take us from the point where we are to a higher level.
I tell you, she might as well have been a burning bush, because at that moment, it dawned on me that what I have been doing is serving the Lord on my own terms. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t steal or lie or cheat or commit adultery or swear, but my heart is still ruled by me – what I want and what I don’t want.
So while I am a born again heaven-bound child of God, doing right in my own eyes, I am not being the woman of virtue that the Lord wants me to be.
Even without reading the verse, I knew that the experience had something to do with it, and when I got home I again looked up the meaning of virtue.
It is the Hebrew word chayil which means to be strong in all moral and mental qualities.
In essence what this verse confirmed to me was the fact that while I may be strong in moral and mental qualities, doing good in all things good, I have not attained the “excellest them all” rating.
And ladies, who is that woman that excellest them all? I think by now we all have a pretty good idea who that is.
She is the woman who not only spends time with God on purpose to know who He is and live her life for Him, but also ENTIRELY submits her will TO Him, to be His child and His servant on this earth.
If you’re like me, you probably have been asking the Lord to take you to a deeper level of knowledge, understanding and intimacy of Him, and ladies this is His response:
Daughter you have done virtuosly, but thou hast not excellest them all
The Lord does not do halves and it is a choice we have here today – Ladies, I’d like you to seriously consider this one now – You can either stay where you are spiritually (and probably retrogress, maybe) or continually step forward into the Lord’s Will.
It is a choice, and a continuous one too!
If you’re ready, pray with me will you:
Father in Heaven we thank you for speaking to us this day. We thank you because you always choose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Thank you because you are the master of the whole universe and you work through whomever you please. Lord, we thank you for your revelation today, that you want us to submit to you wholly so that we can move from this level of our walk with you to the next. Lord, everything we do is by you grace and your grace alone. Grant us therefore precious Lord this grace to continously give up and surrender and submit our will to you that we may be emptied of self and filled to overflowing with the love of you. Merciful Father we thank you because it is your pleasure to hear and grant our prayers – we are grateful Lord, now and forever more in Jesus Name.
Amen.
God bless you Rochelle and Lisette, and all of you BMV ladies!
I love you all.
Orifie
Hi ladies, a big thank you for staying the course with us on this very emotionally tasking, yet immensely rewarding journey through Proverbs 31; one thing’s for certain I will NEVER look at this chapter the same ever again
That being said, we are getting to the end of it and this verse (verse 28) is sort of the epilogue of the chapter. In a way, it seems to me that verses 28 – 31 show a picture of the lady who is, who emerges after going through different stages from v. 1 to 27, but I digress – let’s take a look at v. 28 shall we?
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her [KJV]
Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate and to be envied); and her husband boasts of her and praises her, saying … [AMP]
I have attended a few birthday and wedding anniversary celebrations (of women) where either her husband or one of her children stands up to give a toast of the “virtues”of the lady (if you like), I always find such toasts very emotional and can only imagine how the subject herself would have been feeling at that moment…. Wait, I think I have another example – I turned 30 recently and my mum sent me this text message basically chronicling my life from the moment I was handed over to her in the hospital to the woman, mother and wife I had become, needless to say I found that also very emotional and I’m still tearing up just thinking and writing about it now :)
What I imagine this verse describing is that feeling of having run the womanly race well and having been poured out to be and do all that the Lord has commanded us to do as women.
Looking through the Bible, its not naturally very easy to be that Mrs. V [which is probably why we have a fb page and blog and all of this just studying her ]; we’re called to be submissive, yet successful; meek of heart, yet bold in spirit (and not be afraid); 2nd-in-command in the home, yet an ever-ready leader-in-waiting poised to step into any spiritual gap to do the needful for the home and the family; AND be a discerning, industrious and loving helper. Quite a tall order, IN THE NATURAL! BUt by the spirit of God, it is entirely possible and I know this because I have met women whose families would stand on a table and sing their praise at the slightest invitation, and I think this is what this verse is talking about. In other words, it can be done.
And why is that?
Because:
And when she is done her children and the greatest husband of all – The Bridegroom of the Church - will rise up and praise her saying - ”Well done good and faithful servant”
Ladies, this is our goal. Like Joyce Meyer would say – Our goal is to get to Heaven, and also have a pretty good and enjoyable life right here on earth” This means impacting lives of others and also inadvertently showing them the way to our Lord.
Our lives count, your life, my life, we each all count in our Lord’s scheme of things and I bet He’s looking down from Heaven and cheering us on as we study this Word and try to know Him more each day!
Taking it back to the start – the Queen Mother is telling Lemuel her son here, “Son, that lady of yours is one you will be proud to stand on the rooftops and sing about, because she is all that, and then some!”
Prayer:
Father God, thank you for your Word and the privilege to be able to study it freely. I thank you for your admonition, gentle and not-so-gentle teaching thus far on the women you want us to be, on the woman YOU want ME to be. Lord, again I surrender my heart to you for teaching, guidance, correction and love. Mould me, shape me, make me Lord into Your ALL-THAT daughter by your grace and mercy. Lord we want to live our lives poured out before you, that our lives on earth may be a testament to you in our homes, our jobs and everywhere we go. And at the end, You O Lord, our Heavenly bridegroom will not only welcome us home with open arms, but with loud praise and ovation – in Jesus Name we ask this.
AMEN!
I love you ladies…..
Take care
Orifie
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Wisdom… defined as ‘knowledge of what is true or right COUPLED WITH just judgement as to action; sagacity (acuteness of mental discernent or soundness of judgement), discernment or insight.
Faithful… defined as ‘adhering or true to fact, a standard or original; accurate’
Instruction… defined as ‘the act of furninishing with authoritative directions’
Verse twenty six. It builds on so much of what we’ve learned so far. Wisdom, as we can see comes from more than just what we think we know. It’s two fold. First we have to know what really is true – not what seems true, not what feels best, not what looks easiest, but what really is TRUTH based on God’s word. Then we have to make a choice based on that truth as to what steps we take.
Please note: wisdom is TRUTH, not opinion. It’s easy to confuse. Opinion is what WE think on a thing. Truth is what God SAYS about a thing.
In a nutshell, this verse is saying that beause she’s allowed all that has gone before in this chapter to become her reality, she knows enough of God’s truth to be trusted to train others. She has an insight that goes beyond what is typical or common, so she is equipped to speak with authority and to lead others to discover truth for themselves.
Or in other words, she gives good advice beause she doesn’t give her own thoughts on a thing. She can be trusted with the hearts of others beause her heart walks in truth. She leads by example.What she says and what she does line up with scripture and you dont have to wonder if she’s just talking crazy or trynna sound all holy – becaues her life tells the story.
Faithful instruction… accurate direction. Accuracy born of wisdom. She’s learned it. She knows it. She’s lived it. So now she can comfortably, consistently guide others to do the same because she knows not only the process to get it, but the results when you submit to the truth of a thing – truth based on God’s Word. She knows that man thinks one thing wise and God another. She goes w/God instead of humanity.
Ladies, this one verse is a lot. If you really consider what it takes to be in a position to lead others to anything, it’s a lot. That’s some serious experience with God, some serious intimacy with Him. In order to be able to guide another, you first have to submit to being rightly guide yourself.
vs 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idlenss.
She is vigilant about what happens internally – both literally and figuratively. Because she knows the truth of the Word. God calls us to vigilance because Satan prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. This sister knows that to not pay attention to the things that are invited into her life, her mind, her heart, her spirit or to not pay attention to what those in her inner circle invite into themselves as well is to set all of ‘em up to fail. And fail MIGHTILY, at that. She knows that being vigilant allows her to fight offensively rather than defensively. Vigilance allows a sister to PRAY before the enemy decided to shred her and her people.
The last part of the passage says that she does not eat the bread of idleness. This can probably be interpreted lots of ways, but considering what’s before it, as much as I think this woman doesn’t just sit and eat bonbons and watch TV all day long, I think that idleness is a reference to a spiritual activeness, rather than just a physical one. Think on it for a minute. If she’s being vigilant, looking out for the enemy and being ready to stand against those schemes, she’s gotta stay prepare. She’s gotta keep her house ready. Meaning she chases wisdom, she lives as pure a life as possible, she studies truth, and she makes decisions rooted in what she learns. She lives out what she discovers in the Word and in her walk with Jehovah. There’s not a think idle about that. She’s not just sitting by waiting on life to unfold. She’s not just waiting on the wind to blow. She is about the business of being ready to face life head on, so that when the winds do rise and the storm does come, she is prepared to stand up and take the bull by the horns, so to speak. She knows there will be a time in life where she’s gotta do battle and she plans to be about that thing fully equipped and ready to endure. Ephesians 6, ladies. This chick puts on her armour so that in that day, having done all she can to stand, she is able to stand.
I told y’all in the newletter, this is a baaaaad girl. She’s serious about this thing. She’s not playing games here. She understands that if she’s gonna live life fully and well, she’s gotta do it on the right terms. She gets to know her Creator, allows Him to become her personal God. She sees Him as Master and she lives life like He’s tellin her the truth.
Not many of us can say that can we?
Today’s assignment:
Take inventory of yourself. Are you living on the offense or the defense? Are you vigilant? If the battle came to your door tonight, would you prevail or would you be totally clueless? If a friend calls you up, are you the sort of woman who would be called wise? Do you have the courage to put the world aside and live life like Creator God knew what He was doing and knows what He’s talkin about? Don’t tell me. Tell God. This is personal for each of us and I can tell you from experience, these two verses are as real as it gets. Don’t sleep on this one ladies. Delve in and get honest.
Prayer
Father God, You know Your plans for us. Plans to prosper us and not ot harm us. You know what it will take to make us wise in Your sight. Equip us Lord. Birth in us a spirit of spiritual vigilance and personal conviction to adhere to and train others up in Your standard. You are God above all. Sovereign and True. We yield to You tha we might live life full and well. Search us and know us oh Lord, create in us clean hearts and renew a right spirit within us. You alone are our God and we want to live life on Your terms. All things we ask and pray, In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Love y’all and I’ll see ya for verse thirty!
Ro
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Spiritually Unequal Marriage
beingmrsv
Sharon
lovingapart
Ro
