This is it – the final week in Proverbs 31!

Proverbs 31:31 says

“Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

 

I had challenged you all to memorize the Proverbs 31 passage with me – did you do it?  I did it but had a few hiccups when recording it - I left out a verse - can you tell which one? and I misquoted verse 31 – ARGH!  Grace right?

Here’s the final video of our summer Proverbs 31 series:

 (If you are reading this in a feed – click here to view the video)

Oh how I love the Proverbs 31 woman and long to have hands like her – hands that are diligent, busy, eager, vigorous, profitable, industrious, open to the poor and needy, and praiseworthy.  Though this series has come to an end – I want to never stop striving hard to follow in her footsteps!

Rather than giving you a final challenge instead I have an announcement!

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Sign-ups for the Good Morning Girls fall session will begin August 15 and run through September 15th!

The Book of the Bible we will be going through issssssssss…drum roll please…

Colossians

We will do an EIGHT-week series in the book of Colossians starting September 15!  This will include a FREE eWorkBook, Bible study Guide, videos, articles, resources and MORE!

At the end of the 8-weeks – we will then launch a 4 week Advent Bible study for Christmas! 

ALL the resources for these studies will be FREE!  This is going to be so good – I don’t want you to miss it!  I will not be doing any of this study here on Women Living Well – so if you are interested in following along – I encourage you to go to http://www.GoodMorningGirls.org and subscribe or follow on Facebook – so you don’t miss out on the coming details!

 Chime in: If God has used the Proverbs 31 series  in your life this summer – please tell us about it in the comments section.  Also, we wonder –  will you be joining us for the Colossians and Advent study? Sure hope so!

 Walk with the King!

*If you missed a week from our series, you can view all of the Proverbs 31 videos and download the free Proverbs 31 ebook by clicking here!

Angela, from GoodMorningGirls.org is back and she writes…

Welcome back! Our journey through Proverbs 31 is almost over…….it’s been such a joy for me to learn about the inspirational Proverbs 31 woman right along side of you! Thank you so much for joining us this summer!

We will announce the fall Good Morning Girls series at the end of the week on GoodMorningGirls.org – so please stay tuned!!!

This week we are going to focus on verse 30.

Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceptive, and beauty if fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

(If you are seeing this in a feed or email- click here to watch the video)

Can I be completely honest with you???? I think verse 30 is the hardest verse for me in all of Proverbs 31. You see I get tempted to think like the world when it comes to beauty……I like to think that beauty is NOT fleeting when in fact it really is. I struggle with not wanting to “age”. I try to eat right, exercise and wear my sunscreen…..but the fact still remains……my outward beauty is fleeting!

That’s why I need to invest and cultivate my inner beauty……the beauty that will never fade.

Instead of worrying about what I put on my face, I should be more concerned about the words that come out of my mouth.

Instead of worrying about the wrinkles that are beginning to form around my eyes, I should be more concerned about the tenderness of my heart.

Instead of focusing on what I’m wearing, I should be more concerned about what I’m feeding my mind.

Instead of worrying about my fading beauty, I should be actively cultivating my inner beauty………investing in what will last forever.

I know many women look at the Proverbs 31 woman and get discouraged and intimidated…..but we really shouldn’t. Instead we should allow her example to inspire us. She is an example in the way she lived to glorify God through every aspect of her life. That’s why at the end of her life she is praised……..she is praised by her children, husband and others.

She lived her life well…a life that was completely focused on God.

She couldn’t have done all these amazing things on her own, in her own strength…….she was able to accomplish so much because she knew where to go to get her strength.

She was a woman who feared the Lord…..not fearing in a negative bad sense, but fearing the Lord as in bringing Him glory and realizing that He is HOLY.

Our God is the same God of the Old and New Testament…….He is full of grace but He also is completely Holy too. Let’s focus on living lives that bring Him praise out of our love and respect for the One who sacrificed it all on our behalf…….the One who went to the cross for us.

Weekly Challenge: This week focus on cultivating your inner beauty more than your outer beauty. Pay attention to the type of information you are filling your mind…..is it helping you to be more loving, kinder and bringing you closer to God? As you go about your week, try to be aware of God’s presence in your life…..see if it makes a difference in the way you talk and the decisions you make.

What are some ways that you cultivate inner beauty in your life?

 Love God Greatly!

 

My heart is overflowing with joy  from an amazing weekend at the Proverbs 31 Ministries Conference titled She Speaks.  I spoke in 3 sessions and took LOTS of pictures.  I will share them tomorrow! 

But now – We are up to week 11 in the Proverbs 31.

 A reader emailed me and asked the question:

“How can I be a Proverbs 31 woman with a husband who has an alcohol problem and can’t hold a steady job?”

Here are my thoughts on this:

(if you are reading this in an email or feed - click here to view the video)

The Proverbs 31 woman knew her husband’s needs, met them and as a result he praised her.  If we neglect what our husbands ask for, ignore their advice, withold love in the bedroom *wink*, refuse to respect them – it’s inevitable – we will not get a whole lot of praise from our husbands.

We can be the best room mother, best career woman, best servant at church, or best friend another woman can have but when we come home – if our husband’s needs are not met – we have failed to be like the Proverbs 31 woman.
{excerpt from the ebook}

Now let’s reverse the above scenario – let’s imagine that you do respect your husband and do all of the above…and he does not praise you…this is a very real scenario for many many wives.  I stood in the hallway at the Proverbs 31 conference while a woman told me the story of how she loved her husband and always sought to please him…and he was cheating on her.  This was not her issue – this was his!  It was not her fault that he walked away – it was his. 

Proverbs is a book of principles NOT promises.  The principle stands that a woman who strives to be noble – will have a husband who at the end of her days praises her.  But this is not a promise…and for some – their husband’s will never be the Proverbs 31 husband – and it is HIM who is falling short of what God has called him to be in Proverbs 31 and in Ephesians 5. 

We cannot change our husbands or be their Holy Spirit.  We must simply pray for them and walk in obedience to God’s word.

This week’s challenge: Go to your husband and children and ask them…what is it that I do or say that makes you feel loved?  Find out what is most important to them…is it a backrub, a homemade meal, tossing a football in the back yard, gifts, words of affirmation, or something else?  Write it down somewhere so you never forget what makes each individual in your family most feel loved and be sure to do whatever that thing is as often as you can this week. 

Walk with the King,