Are you a Proverbs 31 woman/wife?
Today I decided to just open the bible and let God lead me to the page I needed and he led me to Proverbs 31. I absolutely love verses 10-31.
So my questions to you are:
-Are you a Proverbs 31 woman/wife?
-How do you practice being a Proverbs 31 woman/wife?
Reading it is extremely encouraging. I just wanted to see how you ladies live out being a Proverbs 31 woman/wife in your daily lives.
I love this passage! I am far from a perfect wife, but these are practical things I do. Dh and I promised each other than when we talk about each other in public, we would only build each other up and not tear each other down (verse 12). I also enjoy crocheting, knitting, and sewing and making things for my family (verses 13, 22, 24 - although I don't sell things). The past couple of winters, I've made my kids wool winter hats.
There are things I need to work on, like speaking with wisdom and not letting idleness rule.
Amanda, DH
This is an excellent question, and one we should ask ourselves often!
I've spent a lot of time in this passage in many aspects, but the things that have stood out to me is that this woman works hard, she manages her home, and her husband and children praise her and call her blessed.
I work outside the home because my DH quit his job several years ago to pursue running his own business, and I provide the healthcare benefits for the family. However, working outside the home does not free me of the responsibility of managing it (cleaning, organizing, food shopping, cooking). My husband and child are always priority over work; caring for them and making sure their unique physical and emotional needs are met, and that's going to vary from person to person. There are things that are very important to my DH that wouldn't necessarily be important to me or someone else's DH, but I strive do those things as a service to our family; for him and as an example to my daughter on serving.
I do have aspects that I need to work on too, speaking with wisdom and being clothed in strength and dignity.
I also see my role as wife and mother as something of value. I often wish our society would see being a mother and wife as an important role. I often let idleness get the best of me but have done better lately. I don't "make" anything per say but enjoy decorating the house and keeping up with it. I'm not the "best" cook ever but enjoy making a homemade dinner for my family.
I also try very hard to only speak positive words of my husband. I think this is a trap that many women can fall into so easily, one person start complaining about her husband and the rest follow. I've been guilty of this myself. I would be heartbroken if my dh spoke bad of me to others-even to complain about the way I did his laundry! So I try very hard to only build him up.
Consensus...i swear we live the same life. I am also working out of the home and DH stays home with the kids as he has been pursuing his own business.
I could not agree with you more in saying that just because I work out of the home that all my responsibilities are lost. I still cook, do the laundry, clean the house and my primary role is take care of the kids when I am home. My first priority is to serve and love God and to do the same for my family. Serve and love them.
Amanda: That is so great that you make so many things for your kids.
hanvan: I feel the same way. I know I am not the greatest cook, but I love to make meals for my family. And it really IS easy to jump on the "husband-bashing" bandwagon and how sad is that?? I really need to be more conscious of how I speak to and about my husband. It's not anything bad, but I think we can complain without really knowing it...if that makes sense.
But this Proverbs 31 woman....what an amazing person to strive and look to become. I know some might think it is unattainable or out of reach, but I find it to be an awesome goal to look forward to.
Last edited by luvinmykids; 03-05-2012 at 07:39 AM.
Well, not much time lately.Originally Posted by luvinmykids
Consensus...i swear we live the same life. I am also working out of the home and DH stays home with the kids as he has been pursuing his own business.
I could not agree with you more in saying that just because I work out of the home that all my responsibilities are lost. I still cook, do the laundry, clean the house and my primary role is take care of the kids when I am home. My first priority is to serve and love God and to do the same for my family. Serve and love them.
Amanda: That is so great that you make so many things for your kids.
hanvan: I feel the same way. I know I am not the greatest cook, but I love to make meals for my family. And it really IS easy to jump on the "husband-bashing" bandwagon and how sad is that?? I really need to be more conscious of how I speak to and about my husband. It's not anything bad, but I think we can complain without really knowing it...if that makes sense.
But this Proverbs 31 woman....what an amazing person to strive and look to become. I know some might think it is unattainable or out of reach, but I find it to be an awesome goal to look forward to.
Thank you for this encouraging thread!
Amanda, DH
I actually remembered this yesterday, but one of the verses I read I guess a bit out of context, but it helped me quite a bit in the past. DH and I had financial struggles for a long time, and though I was making a decent salary there was zero money for a clothing budget, so even though I was a working professional I had clothes that were hand-me-downs from my sister (when she was an admin in an office) and high school/college. Occasionally my MIL would pick up some something that was the wrong size for her and give it to me, or say something about a shirt looking shoddy and get me a gift card for my bday to a store so I could buy some work clothes, but it was a bit of a (silly, I know) struggle to get dressed each day and just dislike the clothes I was putting on but not able to do much about it. I began telling myself that what I needed was to clothe myself in strength and dignity, and wear God's glory, and the clothes I was wearing on the outside didn't matter.
Like I said, it's kind of out of context from the passage, but I think it helped me to remember to glorify God in a humbling way.
Last edited by Consensus; 03-05-2012 at 08:44 PM.
Thank you for posting this.
Last edited by marmar; 04-06-2012 at 01:24 PM.
Jenn - I don't think that is out of context at all What a wonderful way to apply the verse about being clothed in strength and dignity to your life!
One interesting thing I learned about Proverbs 31 recently is that it is an acrostic poem. Because the Hebrew alphabet is different, we lose that in the translation. But every line begins with one letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from their "A-Z". I used to think it was written about an actual woman, but now I really doubt it. I think it is meant to paint a picture as a guide for how to be godly women. It seems to target areas that are natural weaknesses so we can recognize and change those things in our lives.
The part that always really sticks with me is where it talks about the heart of the husband trusts in her... she does him good and not harm all of her days. I think about whether I am a safe place for my husband to confide in, and show his flaws and be himself; if I encourage him enough. I know I don't all the time. But I want his heart to trust me. I want to do him good and not harm. Its something I'm working on.
I also love the part where it says she laughs at the time to come. It seems she doesn't worry about the future like I tend to. She must have a lot of faith.
And the bit about the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. I try to teach my children kindness, both in the way I parent and in how I treat others. Again, not perfect, but praying for wisdom and grace in this and all areas of being a wife and mother.
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