The Proverbs 31 Woman: Powerfully Influential Woman #2

Proverbs

Thie very influential Proverbs 31 Woman could also be called,” the one who almost influenced me right out of getting married!!”

NO JOKE!

A few short weeks before getting married I decided it would be a great idea to read a book on the famed and highly sought-after Proverbs 31 woman. What resulted was me in an anxious ball of tears feeling like I just would never cut it as this perfect wife. There was no way in God’s green earth I could ever achieve that status.

After my very patient fiance talked me off the proverbial ledge, we decided that I was to stop reading that book IMMEDIATELY! We would resume it together AFTER we were married!

The Real Problem

The problem WASN’T the Proverbs 31 woman though-. It really stemmed from faulty teaching both in my teenage /college years and this book I had decided to read. It was where lots of older women sent younger women to “teach” them how to be a woman worth more than rubies. The problem- IT’S NOT A REAL WOMAN!!! And it was NEVER intended for women!

This was a teaching tool used by King Lemuel’s mom. She used each letter of the Jewish alphabet to teach her SON what to look for in a woman to marry! Not many people teach the truth about Proverbs 31. Instead, we use it as some biblical checklist to attain wifely perfection. Yes, we can learn a great deal from her.

But we need to remember that she is an IDEAL!

Out of this, I have a bonus influential person for you:

As a teacher/ writer I have to be careful HOW I handle God’s word. It’s a hefty responsibility talked about in 2 Timothy 214-16 and James 3:1.

Teachers/ writers/Speakers….PLEASE I beg you PLEASE take James 3:1 to heart! Readers and consumers of Christian content- check what you read with scripture! Be careful WHAT you consume.

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was reviewing a book where the author was GROSSLY misrepresenting a book from the Bible. The sad thing was in the preface of the book the author said that she was untrained so she could handle the Bible however she wanted. Just because we aren’t trained doesn’t mean we get a pass to do what we please. If we have a platform we have to be EXTRA careful to rightly handle God’s word as 2 Timothy says. Notice how I said EXTRA careful! Even if we aren’t teaching or writing we still need to be careful how we handle God’s word. NO ONE gets a pass!

Sadly we don’t have to look very far to find these negative influences who are misinterpreting God’s word.

It’s Your turn

Have you ever read anything by an author that mishandled God’s word and what happened when you gained the right understanding? (This doesn’t mean someone preached or taught something you didn’t like)

ou Can Check out more #31days2022 authors here!

#31days2018

#31days2021

Ruth: Influential Woman #1

influential

Powerfully influential women mark my life. Without these women (both godly and negatively) I would not be where I am today! Today we are going to talk about the very first powerfully influential woman in my life.

Ruth and I met when I was a teenager. I read the Bible book named after her and her journey. It was the very first Bible book I had read in its entirety, on my own.

Frustration often leads to growth… if you let it.

I read the book with much frustration!

My Sunday school teachers and Youth leaders would constantly tell us that we needed to do our devotions every day, but they never told us how. So I read the book closed my bible ad had no idea what I read.

It was in that frustration that I cracked open my Bible again and all the times after that and it is what caused me to return to Ruth time and again. Hindsight, my motivation perhaps wasn’t the best (I was trying to check the Christian boxes) but it is what drove me to seek God…

I read her story and it made no sense but I had no direction. The frustration churned in my heart. I wanted to give up but there was this nagging deep in my heart that I must keep trying. I stuck with Ruth, revisiting her frequently. She was my first truly influential friend, even though I had never met her in person. I was fascinated by her courage and faithfulness.

A woman who was more than likely gossiped about and maybe even poked fun at and most definitely frowned upon. I was in awe of her faithfulness both to Naomi(her mother-in-law) and a God of a nation that was not her own.

Over the years Ruth has taught me many things, like what it really is to be faithful- even in the middle of my very uncomfortable circumstances., courage to d what is right, and to step out in faith when I don’t understand the new “customs” (aka the New Normal).

Ruth Challenged me to trust God on a deeper level, choosing obedience despite not knowing the outcome.

Perhaps most importantly- how to have laser focus on obedience to God rather than the voices that were around her. I’m inferring here. But we know that Ruth was a Moabitess and the Moabites were looked down on by the Israelites, so her very presence was not welcomed. I can’t imagine the frustration she felt. Yet, she never gave up and was obedient.

I thought then and I still think now I want to be like Ruth when I grow up full of courage, faithfulness, and perseverance.

It’s Your Turn: Which Bible person made the first and lasting impact on your life and why? Let me know in the comments below!

You Can Check out more #31days2022 authors here!

#31days2018

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Powerful Women of Influence: #31days2022

Powerful

Hello writing friends! Welcome to the landing page for this year’s #31days2022 writing challenge. Right off the bat, I am continuing my 3-year series on Influence. This year I am focusing on the examples of both Godly and Negative influencers in my life. Now before you say “MARY! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO CALL PEOPLE OUT HERE ON YOUR BLOG?” the answer is no. I will make mention the positive influences in my life and *almost * all have them have given me permission to use their first names here! the negatives however are more generalized. We all have “those” people in our lives and I will discuss more the impact they had. I will speak of the impact these groups of women have had on me rather than singling out one person in general.

A Little About Me

Hi, I am Mary! I am a passionate servant of Jesus Christ. I have been married to my pastor hubby for almost 20 years. A little over a year ago we left our ministry of 12 years and started on the journey of looking for a new place of ministry. As God would have it we ended up staying in the very church we opted to attend in the meantime. It’s been a year of changes. In May we transitioned from our old home to our new property where we have been transforming a barn into a home., all while “camping “in our camper..

Did I mention we have 4 teenagers (ok one will be a teenager in April). We are parents to two kids with special needs. One with Autism Spectrum Disorder and another with Dyslexia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder. The week before COVID shut down the world we decided to homeschool our 4 kiddos. It hasn’t been a perfect experience but the kids love it and so do hubby and I.

In my free time (Hahahahaha) I enjoy all things arts and crafts, though in this season arty things and writing has been tough. I have unintentionally taken a two-month break from writing and October is the time to get back into the crazy swing of things.

My passion and purpose here on this blog is to help women grow closer on our walk with Jesus and each other because really we are all on this journey together!

You can check back here each day to find the latest blog post and the links to the other landing pages from the previous 2 years. ( I will also link them in every day’s post as well.).

Introduce yourself in the comments below. I would love for you to join me on this journey!

You Can Check out more #31days2022 authors here!

#31days2018

#31days2021

There will be some changes over the next few days made to these landing pages so be sure to come back and check them out.

Find the posts here…

  1. Ruth: Influential Woman #1
  2. Proverbs 31 Woman: Powerfully Influential Woman #2
  3. Tabitha: Powerfully Influential Woman #3
  4. Beth: Powerfully Influential Woman #4
  5. Esther: powerful Woman of Influence #5
  6. The Nagging Wife/ Woman: Powerfully Influential Woman #6
  7. Sarah: Powerful Woman of Influence #7
  8. Mary: Influential Woman #8
  9. Martha: Influential Woman #9
  10. Steph: Influential Woman #10

When the Fog Clears

Fog

My eyes popped open at 4 this morning. I made myself stay in bed until my alarm went off at 5. Yesterday I battled a scratchy throat and some congestion so I didn’t want to overdo the not getting rest. But as soon as my alarm went off my feet were on the floor. I got dressed grabbed my journal and my coffee cup and headed to the barn we are turning into a house.

It was a brisk morning but no worries I had my sweatshirt on. I scanned the sky. YAY! There are clouds!! (More on that in a minute!!)

I went into the barn and started the coffee pot.

I gathered some other stuff around the barn for our typical day at church.

I went back to the coffee pot and grabbed my cup and as I turned to grab my creamer from the fridge my eyes caught what had happened out the window…FOG!!!!

WHAAAAAT? When I came into the barn a few minutes ago there was no sign of fog ANYWHERE! And now I couldn’t see the forest behind the barn-house.

I grabbed my coffee and headed to the picnic table but not without some apprehension first.

fog

Taking the Step into the fog

It’s not the first batch of fog we have had at our new home. Matter of fact I shared a pic in yesterday’s blog post of another foggy morning from last week. I enjoy seeing fog. I think it is pretty. However, fog is daunting and a little scary too because you can’t see through it. You don’t know what is there with you.

This morning’s fog was thicker than the other days. Everything felt a lot “closer” than usual and I could see how someone who struggles with claustrophobia might not enjoy this experience. I could have chosen to stay safely in the barn. I didn’t know what was in the fog. I know what could have been….coyotes, fisher cats, Bears Oh my.

However, I was EXPECTING something so I took the risk and stepped over the threshold of our barn-house. And carried my coffee to the picnic table and watched the sky over where the woods should be.

Waiting Expectantly.

Over the next half an hour I took sips of my coffee and waited expectantly looking at the sky. I began to notice something happening. The sky over the tree tops started to lighten and change colors. I kept watching but with the next sip of coffee, I noticed something amazing. The more I stayed focused on the sky, the more the fog was clearing.

All of sudden this thought crossed my mind- Mary this is the perfect explanation of this restlessness you have been dealing with.

The funny thing about fog is that you can walk through the fog, seeing just what’s ahead of you for a few feet. So as I traversed through my restless fog I kept taking steps forward, but couldn’t see past my current place. I chose to write through it, baby steps inching forward in faith. I kept my eyes on God or at least in his direction waiting for some glimmer of the rising sun. I knew He was there, He always has been.

I began an old habit I had put in place during college and as I wrote my way through words and prompts I saw the brightness in the sky. I looked around me and realized the fog was beginning to clear.

What happened next is amazing.

When the fog lifts

It lifted just as quickly as it had come. I finished typing my last few words for the blog post Called Restlessness and Grace, I sat back and took a deep breath before I started the editing process and I was flooded with some understanding. I knew what my next steps were, albeit daunting.

I had to take the steps of faith in the fog before I was ready to say yes.

YES TO…

  • trusting my husband in a new way (nothing bad, just new)
  • changing my perspective/ idea for what my #write 31 days project in October will look like
  • tweaking the last 3 #write31days projects to fit a MUCH bigger writing project
  • Changing a title and a focus
  • Being brave in every way possible.

I told you all the restless fog usually comes before a big breakthrough.

Now about those clouds

We always seem to think that having a cloudless sky made a day beautiful. We also tend to think that a life without clouds and storms is a sign of a really good life. And yes some clouds are gray and can make us feel gloomy and sad.

Can I just tell you though I have gained a whole new appreciation for clouds both literally and figuratively, and here is why. Clouds give the sky character. I have a very distinct childhood memory of laying in the grass f our backyard just watching the clouds float by and talking with my brothers (i think) about the shapes we saw in them.

As we have transitioned into our new home and we have a much bigger view of the sky I have taken more notice of the clouds, especially at certain times of the day. Sunrises and sunsets. Sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous on their own but add in the clouds and wow! Extra colors, extra shadows. The sun just bounces off of them in so many ways.

How about the sunsets right after a storm? Gorgeous. So often we see the clouds in the sky and we forget that they can be transformed from what they appear to be into something so stunning.

The same is true for the clouds and storms in our lives

As I sat pondering all of this, this morning with a coffee cup in hand I saw these little puffy clouds. I could just barely see them as the fog began to lift. But as the fog lited those little puffy white clouds GLOWED PINK in the rising sun…..AND then I looked behind me, the fog had lifted and the clouds behind me weren’t just glowing pink, but were purple too.

fog

Sometimes we get so incredibly focused on the clouds themselves that we forget to see what God has done around us.

I want to challenge us to do 2 things:

  1. Trust God in the middle of the fog. Keep taking baby steps in our walk with Jesus. Understand that he is there with us in the middle of the fog. Fog is going to look different for everyone. For me, it was a restless heart and mind. for others, it might be depression, anxiety, grief, and a host of other situations.
  2. When we see the storm clouds rolling in or overhead keep our eyes peeled for the painting God’s about to paint. He has a plan to take those scary clouds and turn them into something beautiful. We have to be willing for him to do that though. We ALSO have to keep our eyes peeled in order to see it.
fog

So to recap we MUST

TRUST AND MOVE

BE WILLING AND WATCH

Breathing Deep: Happy Homemaker Monday

breathing

Happy Monday Friends! I don’t know about you all but I have found myself this week taking in more time breathing in deeply these summer days. This past week I did something I haven’t done since we moved here to our new place and that is watching the sunrise.

Coffee in hand I have met the sunrise 3 days this past week and honestly, I plan to keep on doing so as long as the weather permits (this week looking a little sketchy

!Last week started out kinda rough but by the middle of the week my fog cleared and some amazing things happened, in my heart, in my mind and I begin to do some forward thinking that I haven’t been able to do in a long time. Things for my blog here and for some things in the future.

Let’s jump into it

♥♥ The Weather ♥♥ 

Well, we had a gorgeous week this last week but this week appears to be very stormy. But I’m breathing in and soaking up all these warm sunny days for sure.   

Monday –  stormy and 81

Tuesday – 79 and partly cloudy

Wednesday – partly cloudy and 83

Thursday – Stormy and 82

Friday – rain and 80

Saturday – partly cloudy and 81

Sunday – partly cloudy and 85

♥♥  As I look outside my window ♥ 

Out the back of the camper, there are new walls for the expanded kitchen, master bedroom, and craft room, and a newly set door!

♥♥  Right now I am ♥♥ 

Typing this blog post with my earbuds in listening to our Family Jams playlist

♥♥  Thinking and pondering ♥♥ 

writing projects. I’m planning for my write 31 days series. I will start writing this week and that fits into a larger writing project. A pretty huge answer to prayer.  

♥♥  How am I feeling ♥♥ 

I’m feeling really well minus some sinus stuff but that is minor.

 ♥♥  On the breakfast plate ♥♥ 

coffee (Of Course) and oatmeal 

♥♥   On the lunch plate ♥♥ 

Sandwiches

♥♥  On the dinner plate ♥♥ 

Leftover pasta

 ♥♥  What I’m wearing  ♥♥ 

Shorts and T-shirt with sneakers

 ♥♥  On my reading pile ♥♥ 

Finishing up 2 Corinthians in the Bible

Hello Fears (Should be finished later this week)

A counseling book (will be finished later today)

I will start Lead Small tomorrow

♥♥  On my TV this week  ♥♥ 

Whatever I can find o Pureflix

♥♥  On the menu  ♥♥ 

Monday – Leftover pasta

Tuesday – hamburgers and chips

Wednesday –  BBQ and tater tots

Thursday – Pizza

Friday –  Hot Dogs

Saturday – Dinner with friends

Sunday – Sandwiches

♥♥  Looking around the house  ♥♥ 

It’s peaceful and ready for a new day. Today will be tough because there won’t be a whole lot of outside time with the storms But we can at least move to the barn to work on stuff there!

♥♥ To-Do List ♥♥ 

I have some homeschooling stuff I need to work on. I’ve taken a break over the last two weeks but I need to jump back into it.

And I have a bunch of writing I need to do along with two more blog posts for this week

♥♥  From the camera  ♥♥ 

Breathing
Saturday morning I was up as the sun rose. The fog rolled in and left within ten minutes. These misty mornings on our hill have easily become my favorite!. I’m breathing in deep these quiet mornings watching the mist roll in.

♥♥  Devotional  ♥♥ 

I have been spending a lot of time with my girl Queen Esther. . I’m back to writing about her and her amazing influence on my life! The fun part is I’m writing about a bunch of other friends and as I have been studying and growing I am reminded of this profound passage.

Hebrews 11:32-38 )MSG)

32-38 I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, and routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.

Thanks so much for joining me this week for Happy Homemaker Monday! I pray that it has been an encouragement to you! For more Happy Homemaker Monday Posts you can Check out Diary of a Stay At Home Mom and for more of my Happy Homemaker posts you can go here

What are you breathing in deep this week? What’s your favorite thing about summer that you like to savor?