Category Archives: Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31: Part 5- A Woman Who Fears the Lord

Posted on by
1

(this post is 1 year old and is being re-posted)

What makes you tremble?

What brings tears of awe to your eyes? What brings you satisfaction? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.(Proverbs 9:10) It is the satisfied emotion that rests in the awe and presence of God. Knowing his wrath, his judgement, his power, his holiness, his grace, his sacrifice, his faithfulness, his tender mercies, his riches, his holiness, we bow in reverence, in fear.

I fear wind. The wind that is so powerful that the giant evergreen trees towering, surrounding, over our house swaying 50 miles per hour with branches falling terrifies me. Oh, some people have said, “wind storms are cool.” or “the loud sound of the wind is peaceful.” what??? Some winters, I have allowed the fear of the wind and the trees to be so controlling in my heart, that I don’t trust God to protect me, my family, or our home. Fear can be irrational. Fear can be all-consuming. Fear can seemingly take over our thoughts. Every winter a tree falls near our home. On days that it isn’t windy, my heart can experience more peace. I know that fearing God would mean even on the wind storm days, my heart would be in the same place as the “still” days. Fearing God is to trust him and his power over my fear of the wind. To experience calm and rest because God is keeping me safe. The last couple seasons, my wind fear has decreased as fear of the Lord has increased! I have bathed in psalms that talk about God being our fortress, refuge, safety, rock, stronghold, etc. As God has supplied my heart with His fatherly care, concern, lordship, and strength, I am starting to get it. There is no formula for replacing one fear for the right fear. Yet, in God’s grace, he has calmed my fears as I have placed more trust in God’s power, protection, specific love for me, his wrath, his kindness, and his mercy. I have to fight for this trust and fear. I have to tune my heart to the music of Psalm 27,31,61, 71 and believe the words!

In the same way that paying attention to the wind stirs my fear, which motivates me to hide from the wind, fear of the Lord motivates me to hide in him.

Psalm 46:1 God is my refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea

Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.

God wants us to Fear Him. He wants my heart to trust him, because he wants me to be satisfied in him, so He is glorified.

Proverbs 19:23The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

Deuteronomy 10: 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

Fear of the Lord leads to life, and satisfaction.

“Fear of the Lord means reverent submission that leads to obedience, and it is interchangeable with “worship,’”rely on,””trust,”and “hope in.” Like terror, it includes a knowledge of our sinfulness and God’s moral purity, and it includes a clear-eyed knowledge of God’s justice and anger against sin. But this worship-fear also knows God’s great forgiveness, mercy, and love. It knows that because of God’s eternal plan, Jesus humbled himself by dying on a cross to redeem his enemies from slavery and death. It knows that, in our relationship with God, he always says, ”I love you” first. This knowledge draws us closer to God rather than causing us to flee. It causes us to submit gladly to his lordship and delight in obedience. This kind of robust fear is the pinnacle of our response to God.” -Edward Welch When People Are Big and God is Small

Fear of the Lord is Worship.

“Fearing the Lord means that this worshipful awe is the single and unchallenged motivator of everything I think, desire, say, and do.” – Paul Tripp, The Quest for More

Fear of the Lord is REAL beauty.

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Are you amazed at Jesus? Are you bored in your Christianity? Do you tremble when you see glimpses of God’s glorious grace and presence?

We need to fight for fear of the Lord. It is a temptation for me, for all of us, to not fight for the fear of the Lord. It is a fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12) It is a battle to take the blinders of the world off, to fight against indwelling sin, and to fight against evil (Ephesians 6:12).

Just yesterday, a surprise early fall wind storm hit us. With power outages all around and a giant tree that split in half, resting on trees near our vehicles, and wind so loud you could hear the branches spitting. I saw the wind picking up early afternoon. Jesus worked on me. I felt peace. Instead, of right away having anxiety, I went to Psalm 121 and read it out loud to my kids and prayed silently that I would trust God and have peace in my heart. I took a nap! Now, that my friends, is redemption. It snuck up on me. I was sharing with my husband how I didn’t worry, then I realized I am growing in the fear of the Lord. God’s grace is evident! Thank you, Jesus!

How can we practically cultivate and at a heart level have the Fear of the Lord? Borrowed from When People Are Big and God is Small:

1. Review the creation psalms: Psalms 8;19;29;65;104
2. Meditate on the enthronement psalms: e.g., Psalm 95-97;99
3. Memorize Psalm 139. It states that God’s providence is so extensive it goes into all the details of our lives.
4. Go through worship songs/hymn book and highlight songs that express God’s majesty and holiness.
5. Read the book of Habakkuk. It is similar to Job in that God directly addresses a man who had questions about what God was doing. All the questions were resolved when Habakkuk was schooled in the fear of the Lord.
6. Read The Holiness of God,by R.C. Sproul.
7. Review the New Testament passages on hell. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10;2 Peter 2:6, and Revelation 14:9-11.
8. Talk with others in community about your reflections and meditations.

AND- pray for the Lord to show you where you are hard hearted to fear him. Our God is slow to anger and abounding in love, holy and faithful to hear your desire for him.

Cultivating fear of the Lord is also surrounding yourself with other people who demonstrate this beauty.

Let us work out our salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING. Lord, thank you for your faithfullness to care for me. You are my rock, my safe place, my hiding place, my comfort, my refuge. I thank you for the work of redemption you have done in my heart. Jesus, your blood was shed so that I could experience new life in you, thank you that I receive that gift daily. You are a good dad, who knows me. Amen.

Proverbs 31: A Productive and Purposeful Woman

Posted on by
Reply

Proverbs 31: 26-27 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Speaks With Wisdom: Have you ever regretted speaking with a friend and you said something you wished you hadn’t? I hate that feeling, knowing I didn’t pray or acknowledge God in the conversation. The fool opens his mouth and speaks. The wise exercises prudence and is thoughtful with each word. I am not suggesting when I see you, you are basically silent then all of the sudden you pipe out KJV language to me, to sound oh so spiritual! YIKES! However, what I do believe is- that if I am prayerful as I listen to someone, whatever comes out of my mouth is thoughtful, prudent, and profitable. Speaking wisdom is James 3, if you want further study on the tongue that is controlled and submissive to God and for HIS purposes, not our own. Do we really speak wisdom? To whom do you feel like you are more ready to speak wisdom with? Why? Do you care what they think more than possibly your child listening to you? What about your spouse, if you are married? Do you speak wise words that build them up, pursue their heart, pointing them to Jesus, giving gentle correction and encouragement? Let’s speak words of wisdom, giving words that love.

Teaches Kindness: When we communicate with others, what is our posture? If we are to open our mouths with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on our tongue the heart’s posture is: humble, teachable, ready to speak truth, ready to give encouragement, content to be silent, warm, and wants to walk with a suffering person. The teaching of kindness is not a formula, where you need to have ready in your back pocket a list of kind things that a christian does. The teaching of kindness is knowing God, scripture, the heart is repentant and has experienced the beauty of redemption. AND is ready to be patient and loving with others as they walk through their own transformation. It doesn’t have to be a christian conversation. It is any expression of your joy in Christ, an act of service, a kind word, a warm hug, a meal, a thoughtful prayer, whatever the spirit of God gives. The teaching of kindness IS from God. Behavior that reflects Christ is modeling kindness.

Stays Productive: She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. She tends to the tasks of her home, not eating the bread of idleness. No sluggards here! Where do you find you are tempted to know what your household needs are and you rebel and choose idleness in the form of distraction? Productivity isn’t just doing stuff. Doing stuff can be just a distraction! NO, the kind of productivity here is focused, active, and persevering. Working until it is done. Productive because of Jesus. Not to just check the item off the list. (talking to myself, here) Productive as an expression of worship. Productive because of stewardship. Productive to love your family. Productive as repentance. (doing things you aren’t fond of). Productive as thankfulness and pleasure. (enjoying the blessings of healthy bodies to do work, appliances to help you, furniture to dust, and precious hungry mouths to feed, etc).

For me-I need more allegiance to the holy spirit when I speak, that I would speak with wisdom, that my mouth would utter kindness and enthusiastically exhort in kindness. I need Jesus to enable my mind, body, and heart to be productive. I do work hard, but the work isn’t ever done. My aim isn’t to have a perfectly clean house anymore, it is to truly worship with work. For me, this means that I am growing in consciousness of Jesus while I do the mundane tasks of caring for my family and home. Asking him for help, depending on Christ in everything, especially in “looking to the ways of my household.”

Proverbs 31: Part 3: a Strong Woman

Posted on by
1

Proverbs 31: 17-25 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hand to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She in not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

Godly Strength: In a world that tells me that power, wealth, health, independence, positive self-esteem, and successful goals is strength, the Bible has many different explanations for what strength is. Godly strength is humble dependence on Christ, faithful security on God’s provision, presence, and grace for you. IN the knowledge of God, His holiness produces a freedom to be strong, because He is strong and He is the one in control. Godly strength is surrendering control and trusting His control. When I think about how magnificent God’s glory is and how perfectly detailed his provision and love is for me, I feel loved and strong!

Godly Clothing: She puts on strength and dignity. I don’t recall ever thinking, “What am I wearing today, OH!, I know, strength and dignity!” My story has an deep thread of vanity and my wordly influence body image. I have struggled for years to see beauty the way God sees it. Biblical beauty is not outward.

1 Peter 3: 3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

Beauty that you put on like FEAR OF THE LORD, strength, dignity, gentle and quiet spirit. In God’s sight, that is true beauty. My cravings for outward beauty are diminishing, and being replaced with a worshipful view of beauty. Out of that inward beauty, the heart submitted to Jesus, will radiate far more loveliness than the worldly outward image of beauty. So, I like to think of this section as a reminder of what I wear.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Godly Confidence: Confidence is not self-focused, self-knowledge, or self-confidence. Godly confidence feels like the pressure is off you. You and I are continually receiving the Grace of God and stewarding and loving others around us all the time, not because we know how, have learned, or have the positivity to impart! Godly confidence is an ultimate trust in the sovereignty of Christ. When I feel this kind of confidence, it is a tender hearted trust that I don’t have to bear the ultimate weight. I will do my job, but I trust God to order my life.

Godly Provision and Planning: It is good to plan, prepare, provide. I love to geek out with lists, outlook, and ooh and awe over productivity tools, yet I could accomplish planning and not acknowledge the giver of good gifts, which is idolatry. I have written about this before, where it is easy to get sucked into behavior modification and set yourself up with a bunch of tools and projects for becoming a more efficient worker. Horray for you if that came from a desire to honor and worship Jesus with simple to complex tasks. YET, if your motives are clouded by desires to be planned, routined, or organized as an end, you have missed the point! We have an incredible opportunity to worship God in the planning, projects, and busy work.  A Godly Strong woman plans her life according to God’s plans for her. She sets about her tasks with eager hands, a willing heart, and humble dependence on God to enable productivity in her. She asks for help before, during, and afterwards thanks Him for the perseverance and competence God gave. She provides and organizes to God’s glory.

Godly Service: She reaches out to the needy, to the poor. She seems to be aware of her community and the needs around her. She isn’t focused just on her household. She thinks, plans, and works for her household. And, beyond that she is loving those in her community. Why? She serves because she sees seeing others rightly. Fear of man can motivate me to serve others, to impress them with great food, compassion, or just consistent love. Fear of the Lord motivates me to be prayerful and ready when there is a need. Fear of the Lord keeps me quiet about it. With that as a heart motivator, I wouldn’t tell others if I served a widow in my neighborhood, or if I ran a last minute meal to a sick friend. Because, my aim isn’t for their approval, but it would be a worshipful heart, seeing myself actually serving the Lord Jesus!

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working of the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

In reading thru, my estimation of some elements of a biblical strong woman, what jumps out at you? What area, are you rebellious with? Do you sense the Holy Spirit conviction and you are covering your ears to him, as I have with beauty for so long? My prayer is 2 Corinthians 12 for myself, a section of scripture that I have tried to ignore for so long. I think this section of God’s word is so powerful to speak to what really strength is. Verses 9-10. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Proverbs 31: Part 2: Willing and Eager to Work

Posted on by
3

Proverbs 31:13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. 15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. 16 She considers a field and buys itl with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

The NIV says eager and the ESV translation of the Bible says willing. Two awesome words to say a woman that is ready to work!

When I walk in to a room that had previously been clean, organized, and presentable, instead I find couch cushions out on the floor, toy bins dumped, thrown, books pulled off shelves, and the floor is covered with various debris of a 30 minute chunk of time, I thought would be bliss? I think to myself, “YOU are kidding me!!! This will take forever to put back together.” My redeemed heart COULD say, “Looks like these kids had fun while I was upstairs making lunch, maybe we can make a fun game of cleaning this up together.” My heart would be stilled. My heart COULD be eager to clean up after my children instead of aggrevation, masked with a happy face, trying not to dishonor my kids and make them feel like a burden.

6am, the alarm goes off. I have an hour before my kids wake up and greet my husband and I for the day. Some mornings, I am eager to get to work, to work out, get some time alone in the Bible and pray that my heart would be patient and that I would be self-controlled that day. Most mornings, my heart groans, “could it possibily be 6, already?” Am I eager, willing, and ready to get up and serve my Lord?

The sluggard stays in bed long past time to rise for work. Proverbs is full of verses rebuking the lazy sluggard, who is the opposite of our eager and willing worker. Here are a few looks at how God describes this reluctant worker.

Proverbs 6:9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?

Proverbs 20: 4  A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

Proverbs 26:14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

Where is Jesus in the midst of the messy play room or alarm clock going off? In my flesh, I don’t see him, I don’t acknowledge the Holy Spirit tapping on my wandering heart. The truth is, those moments are precious opportunities for me to obey. To obey and worship Jesus, to be still, to know that a messy room doesn’t mean I am messy. My messes are not who I am. Even in the midst of chaos and endless task lists, my heart can be calm. My desire is that my heart would be continually Controlled by the Spirit.

Eager. Eager and Willing are the opposite of Lazy and Disobedient. Are you the Eager Servant or Reluctant Sluggard? What motivates you to do either? AGAIN, we are to see that the Fear of the Lord could be our motivation. Fear of man, can superficially motivate me sometimes to get things in order, yet my heart isn’t intrenched in the satisfaction of serving my family, which is serving the Lord.

When I am tempted to not work with eager and willing hands, is my heart sensitive to the Lord? When I say, “ugg, more work, could it really be this much, Lord?,” am I quick to rely on God for strength?  Do I pray a dependent on Jesus prayer, “Lord, please make me quick to serve and eager to put others first!”

Do you ever find your self tempted by laziness, a sluggard mentality? Do you struggle to get organized? Do you change your behavior for a while and eventually find that you are right back where you started? I am praying that you, that I, can continue to gaze on Christ and that He would show us where repentance needs to happen. Perhaps, it is selfishness, love of pleasure, lack of self-control, lack of time-management, i.e., stewardship, etc.

Sluggards can repent. And the proud productive worker can repent. The willing servant can repent of feeling like you have arrived. There is no proverbs 31 woman. There is only Jesus. He is the goal, the precious treasure! He is the reason why I can get out of my bed at 6am.

Working with willing and eager hands isn’t the end, it is a means to worship. And it is worship when you surrender your desires and your desires change and become a willing heart enjoying Jesus, and EVERY part of His lavish grace on you.

So, my friend, are you worshipping? Where is your struggle? What side of the fence are you on? Or are you straddling?

Proverbs 31: Part 1: Consistent Character

Posted on by
Reply

This section of scripture is an acrostic poem exalting a noble wife. Each of the 22 verses begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Such a woman is almost a personification of wisdom.

“A wife of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value, She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. ” Proverbs 31:11-12

The first attitude of her heart I see is- consistency. This woman has consistent character. Her heart is consistent, let’s explore that more deeply!

Capable Trustworthy Heart “Noble, Translated Capable. He trusts her. Her careful household management enhances their family’s wealth. This kind of woman is an asset, not a liability, to her husband. Good comes to him that can be directed attributed to her. She supports and encourages him.  And she is faithful in helping him all ….her life..” - The Bible Knowledge Commentary

Consistent Stewarding Heart. Faithful. Her husband doesn’t doubt her delivery of her duties and it comes from a consistent and faithful character. Behind her character is the theme of this section, the fear of the Lord. She fears the Lord which is her motivation for her behaviors. Her diligence comes from fear of God.

Serving Generously Heart. If she is always doing him good, she is generous servant. She anticipates her husband’s needs and meets them, so much so, that he always trusts her. Her love for her husband thinks about him and acts with ways to show him.

Abundantly Fore-bearing Heart. He doesn’t doubt her work or her heart. She is consistent and ready to love, serve, work, and enjoy him. She is a crown, a Godly helpmate to her husband, if he can always trust her. She is thinking of ways to love not ways that she could be loved.

Her work is consistent because her character is. Her fear of God is in place and from that flows fruit of righteousness, capable work, abundant trust from her husband. God loves this woman and she is responding to God’s love by faithfully pouring out love to her family. It isn’t hit and miss, it is consistent, because her relationship with God is consistent.

So, the Holy Spirit prompts me to ask myself, “When am I not doing producing these attributes, God?” And, the LORD reminds me that if my heart is first motivated to love and serve Jesus, the rest will follow. There is no formula for being a productive woman. For the woman who fears God is to be praised. That is what I want to desire more. To fear God is beautiful. Not the perfect body, not the perfect house, family, effective household management, etc, etc. To fear God is it!

Jesus, I pray that I would first fear you and trust you to iron out my weaknesses. I thank you for your grace that you give me daily when I don’t worship through my work. I know that you want my realigned worship, that my heart would seek your face only and out of that by your grace, fruit would follow for your own glory! To your Glory and in your name, amen.

Proverbs 31 working woman

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever wondered what the Proverbs 31 woman was really like? I would love to follow her around and learn from her. Yet, God wants more than my productivity. He wants my worship. Join me in exploring the work of the Proverbs 31 woman and the quest for a heart that worships thru work.

I am going to post a 5 part series on this woman.  My aim is not to set up a perfect ideal of a worshiping woman of God. She isn’t the Goal. Christ is. He knows our hearts and I believe he wants our realigned worship.  My prayer is for myself and for you, to read with an open heart, be watchful of condemnation (the hints of the enemy that you will never measure up) and search your heart for where you are needing to confess sin and ask the Lord to show you how to worship Him.

Being like Christ is our motive for change- not to be a good and productive woman. I am excited about this journey through understanding this working woman and her motives, looking at my motives, and exploring lies we believe, and truth for our meditation.. More exposition to follow:

Proverbs 31 *ESV10[d](P) An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than(Q) jewels.
11The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13She(R) seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15She(S) rises while it is yet night
and(T) provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17She(U) dresses herself[e] with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20She(V) opens her hand to(W) the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in(X) scarlet.[f]
22She makes(Y) bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is(Z) fine linen and(AA) purple.
23Her husband is known in(AB) the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24She makes(AC) linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25(AD) Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29“Many(AE) women have done(AF) excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30(AG) Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

homeWork: Productivity

Posted on by
1

working ant

First things first:Is time yours? Whose is it? Do you try to control your time or are you rebellious to observe time? Time is a gift from God. NO one has more time than you. Time management is a myth. David Allen, of the popular book and productivity system Getting Things Done, says that you can’t manage time, but you can manage actions. I wholeheartedly agree. 

Proverbs 6:6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! -NLT 

 

This was our proverb for our ‘morning heart journaling proverbs time’ with the kids today. I laughed out loud, because of how fitting the ant is with productivity. Considering the ant in productivity is wise, God says. The ant is an expert with productivity. Productivity is good. However, we must remember that productivity needs to be an outworking of a heart that fears the Lord. Stewardship isn’t just planning and producing; it is a worshipful heart that seeks to honor God with thoughtful work. Please be mindful of your heart as you seek to grow and be productive.Work is a biblical mandate. We need to take that seriously.  Our successful productivity is a worshipful response to God’s blessings. We can enjoy work and feel a godly pride from the productivity, as God enables the job well done!

1.PLAN and Schedule

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. 

 

“The key is not to prioritize what is on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” What are your priorities? Have you written them down? Have you and your spouse talked about what is essential to the vision/mission of your family? Start with a conversation about what is important for your time. We will talk much more about priorities and balancing relationships and tasks in another post; this one is about shear productivity. Keep lists all in the same place: a file, a drawer, an envelope. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.

Incorporate your lists into a schedule. Buy a week-at-a-glance appointment book, use Outlook, or buy a business table top calendar for your desk or wall. Write everything that you need to accomplish in this book or the margins. Differentiate between the urgent and the vital. The urgent may be making a lot of noise to get your attention, but it is rarely vital that it be done right now or at all.

The daily, weekly, and monthly plan needs to be posted in some form. A calendar in your cabinet door, a posted calendar on the fridge, or Outlook for those who are online often. Look at it frequently, as a reminder of what to stay on top of. I have a calendar in my kitchen on the inside of the cabinet door that has the menu plan and our social (guests, visits, playdates, appointments) calendar on it. This is not my household management calendar. I use Outlook for household chores, birthday reminders, project lists, shopping lists, and the activities and events that are months away.

2. Prioritize your tasks Time-consuming but relatively unimportant tasks can consume a lot of your day. Prioritizing tasks will ensure that you spend your time and energy on those that are truly important to you. Urgent tasks take our attention from the important ones. If the important ones aren’t done, they create stress. Being thoughtful and prayerful about planning gives you a little more freedom to respond to urgent things. 

3. Free your brain from “open loops” Learn to say no if it is beyond your priorities. In Getting Things Done, David Allen talks a lot about “Open Loops.” These are the items that go on a list somewhere that swirl in your brain and you lay in bed thinking, “I should do that tomorrow or next week, presents to buy, recipe ingredients, a conversation to have, hopes, and regrets…” – just random thoughts that need to be captured somewhere. Open loops can make us daydreamers or to even lose sleep. Busy brains can rest, if we can prayerfully put most of those swirling thoughts to bed in a plan, list, or prayer. As soon as you realize you are out of peanut butter, put peanut butter on your grocery list, or as you accept a party invite, put the present on a list and the event on the calendar. Otherwise, trying to remember all that will take up brain space. Those “open loops” will start to diminish as we write things down. The “GTD” language calls that “capturing.”

4. Establish Routines. What is your morning routine? What do you try to accomplish before 9am? Everyone dressed, and the kitchen cleaned from breakfast? What is your routine while kids are napping? What is your routine while getting your family out the door for an activity? What is your bedtime routine? Establishing routines makes it easier for you to habitually accomplish what you need to do to run your home well.

5. Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks. Work on big tasks a few minutes at a time until you get them all done. Get a cheap timer and set it for 15 minutes and challenge yourself to cleaning and organizing one room, top to bottom. Maybe it is the competitiveness in me, but I love this! I do this with my kids and they work on a task while mine is the whole room, and we have fun doing work together.

6. Limit distractions. Block out time on your calendar for big projects. Try to focus on one thing. During that time, silent your phones, and have self-control to not check email. This work will have distractions if you have children around or are in a work environment with knocks on your door. That is ok; don’t be angry. Lovingly respond to ‘people distractions’; they aren’t robbing you. Then after the conversation is had, get back to your planned task or project.

7. Get plenty of sleep, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Healthy choices can improve your focus and concentration, which will help improve your efficiency so that you can complete your work in less time. Waking up early gives the opportunity to work out and study the Bible, take a brisk walk, get a few minutes to think about your day with your calendar, pray that your heart would serve and love those near you, and that you would depend on God to give you the courage, endurance, joy, and strength to accomplish what you need to do that day.

When in doubt about your time: Journal your productivity. Keep track of your time by 15 minute increments for 2 weeks to see how you actually spend your time. Compare this to what you should be or want to be spending your time on. It will give you the motivation to make needed changes. This is helpful if you feel frustrated with not getting things done, and feel like you are constantly working. You may find that you are working frantically but not necessarily working with wisdom.

Keep an “inbox” in every floor of your house My mother always said, “Make your trips count.” The basic idea is that if you are going downstairs, take something with you. Having an inbox, bucket, or container that holds various miscellaneous items that go to other rooms can be an important time-saver. My kids are constantly taking things from other rooms and leaving trails. It is helpful to throw those items in the container when you are cleaning up. That way, clutter doesn’t pile up and you can “make your trips count.” You obviously shouldn’t be neurotic about this one, but you will see how much miscellaneous items pile up, and then you can empty the ‘inbox’ in just a few minutes.  Some ideas are to keep a bag in the car for items that go to the house, a container on the stairs, a laundry basket for bedroom items, etc.

Repent of Procrastination Procrastination has a lot of different causes: fear, boredom, perfectionism, an overwhelming task and unclear goals. Sometimes it is plain laziness. Rebellion isn’t new. If you know God wants you to do it and you say no, it is sin. Be thankful for God’s grace! He is patient with us as we learn and consider how to worship in work. I pray that Jesus will show us his grace continually as we work as a reflection of his love, and that our hands would merely express our gratitude by loving him and those in our lives. Work is WORSHIPFUL when we consider our hearts before an awesome God and respond with joy, repentance, and surrender! For more resources: Here is a great article about Getting Things Done.

There is so much more to discuss in this topic of productivity. I would love to have a long list of comments here! Please send your responses and comments. I would love to add your helpful tips, as we all need wisdom in this area of home management! 

Proverbs 31: Part 5: A Woman Who Fears the LORD

Posted on by
Reply

What makes you tremble?

What brings tears of awe to your eyes? What brings you satisfaction? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.(Proverbs 9:10) It is the satisfied emotion that rests in the awe and presence of God. Knowing his wrath, his judgement, his power, his holiness, his grace, his sacrifice, his faithfulness, his tender mercies, his riches, his holiness, we bow in reverence, in fear.

I fear wind. The wind that is so powerful that the giant evergreen trees towering, surrounding, over our house swaying 50 miles per hour with branches falling terrifies me. Oh, some people have said, “wind storms are cool.” or “the loud sound of the wind is peaceful.” what??? Some winters, I have allowed the fear of the wind and the trees to be so controlling in my heart, that I don’t trust God to protect me, my family, or our home. Fear can be irrational. Fear can be all-consuming. Fear can seemingly take over our thoughts. Every winter a tree falls near our home. On days that it isn’t windy, my heart can experience more peace. I know that fearing God would mean even on the wind storm days, my heart would be in the same place as the “still” days. Fearing God is to trust him and his power over my fear of the wind. To experience calm and rest because God is keeping me safe.  The last couple seasons, my wind fear has decreased as fear of the Lord has increased! I have bathed in psalms that talk about God being our fortress, refuge, safety, rock, stronghold, etc. As God has supplied my heart with His fatherly care, concern, lordship, and strength, I am starting to get it. There is no formula for replacing one fear for the right fear. Yet, in God’s grace, he has calmed my fears as I have placed more trust in God’s power, protection, specific love for me, his wrath, his kindness, and his mercy. I have to fight for this trust and fear. I have to tune my heart to the music of Psalm 27,31,61, 71 and believe the words!

In the same way that paying attention to the wind stirs my fear, which motivates me to hide from the wind, fear of the Lord motivates me to hide in him.

Psalm 46:1 God is my refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea

Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.

God wants us to Fear Him. He wants my heart to trust him, because he wants me to be satisfied in him, so He is glorified.

Proverbs 19:23The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

Deuteronomy 10: 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

Fear of the Lord leads to life, and satisfaction. 

“Fear of the Lord means reverent submission that leads to obedience, and it is interchangeable with “worship,’”rely on,”"trust,”and “hope in.” Like terror, it includes a knowledge of our sinfulness and God’s moral purity, and it includes a clear-eyed knowledge of God’s justice and anger against sin. But this worship-fear also knows God’s great forgiveness, mercy, and love. It knows that because of God’s eternal plan, Jesus humbled himself by dying on a cross to redeem his enemies from slavery and death. It knows that, in our relationship with God, he always says, ”I love you” first. This knowledge draws us closer to God rather than causing us to flee. It causes us to submit gladly to his lordship and delight in obedience. This kind of robust fear is the pinnacle of our response to God.”    -Edward Welch When People Are Big and God is Small

Fear of the Lord is Worship.

“Fearing the Lord means that this worshipful awe is the single and unchallenged motivator of everything I think, desire, say, and do.” – Paul Tripp, The Quest for More

Fear of the Lord is REAL beauty.

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Are you amazed at Jesus? Are you bored in your Christianity? Do you tremble when you see glimpses of God’s glorious grace and presence?

We need to fight for fear of the Lord. It is a temptation for me, for all of us, to not fight for the fear of the Lord. It is a fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12) It is a battle to take the blinders of the world off, to fight against indwelling sin, and to fight against evil (Ephesians 6:12).

Just yesterday, a surprise early fall wind storm hit us. With power outages all around and a giant tree that split in half, resting on trees near our vehicles, and wind so loud you could hear the branches spitting. I saw the wind picking up early afternoon. Jesus worked on me. I felt peace. Instead, of right away having anxiety, I went to Psalm 121 and read it out loud to my kids and prayed silently that I would trust God and have peace in my heart. I took a nap! Now, that my friends, is redemption. It snuck up on me. I was sharing with my husband how I didn’t worry, then I realized I am growing in the fear of the Lord. God’s grace is evident! Thank you, Jesus!

How can we practically cultivate and at a heart level have the Fear of the Lord? Borrowed from When People Are Big and God is Small:

  1. Review the creation psalms: Psalms 8;19;29;65;104
  2. Meditate on the enthronement psalms: e.g., Psalm 95-97;99
  3. Memorize Psalm 139. It states that God’s providence is so extensive it goes into all the details of our lives.
  4. Go through worship songs/hymn book and highlight songs that express God’s majesty and holiness.
  5. Read the book of Habakkuk. It is similar to Job in that God directly addresses a man who had questions about what God was doing. All the questions were resolved when Habakkuk was schooled in the fear of the Lord.
  6. Read The Holiness of God,by R.C. Sproul.
  7. Review the New Testament passages on hell. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10;2 Peter 2:6, and Revelation 14:9-11.
  8. Talk with others in community about your reflections and meditations.

AND- pray for the Lord to show you where you are hard hearted to fear him. Our God is slow to anger and abounding in love, holy and faithful to hear your desire for him.

Cultivating fear of the Lord is also surrounding yourself with other people who demonstrate this beauty. For example, John Piper. Watch this:

Let us work out our salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING. Lord, thank you for your faithfullness to care for me. You are my rock, my safe place, my hiding place, my comfort, my refuge. I thank you for the work of redemption you have done in my heart. Jesus, your blood was shed so that I could experience new life in you, thank you that I receive that gift daily. You are a good dad, who knows me. Amen.

Proverbs 31: Part 4: Purposeful words and Productive work

Posted on by
2

Proverbs 31: 26-27 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Speaks Wisdom: Have you ever regretted speaking with a friend and you said something you wished you hadn’t? I hate that feeling, knowing I didn’t pray or acknowledge God in the conversation. The fool opens his mouth and speaks. The wise exercises prudence and is thoughtful with each word. I am not suggesting when I see you, you are basically silent then all of the sudden you pipe out KJV language to me, to sound oh so spiritual! YIKES! However, what I do believe is- that if I am prayerful as I listen to someone, whatever comes out of my mouth is thoughtful, prudent, and profitable. Speaking wisdom is James 3, if you want further study on a tongue controlled and submissive to God and for HIS purposes, not our own. Do we really speak wisdom? To whom do you feel like you are more ready to speak wisdom with? Why? Do you care what they think more than possibly your child listening to you? What about your spouse, if you are married? Do you speak wise words that build them up, pursue their heart, pointing them to Jesus, giving gentle correcting and encouragement? Let us speak words of wisdom, giving words that love.

Teaches Kindness: When we communicate with others, what is our posture? If we are to open our mouths with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on our tongue the heart posture is: humble, teachable, ready to speak truth, ready to give encouragement, content to be silent, warm, and wants to walk with a suffering person. The teaching of kindness is not a formula, where you need to have ready in your back pocket a list of kind things that a christian does. The teaching of kindness is knowing God, scripture, the heart is repentant and has experienced the beauty of redemption. AND is ready to be patient and loving with others as they walk through their own transformation. It doesn’t have to be a christian conversation. It is any expression of your joy in Christ, an act of service, a kind word, a warm hug, a meal, a thoughtful prayer, whatever the spirit of God gives. The teaching of kindness IS from God.

Stays Productive: She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. She sees how her household needs to run and she runs it well and to do the job she has to stay productive, not eating the bread of idleness. No sluggards here! Where do you find you are tempted to know what your household needs are and you rebel and choose idleness in the form of distraction? Productivity isn’t just doing stuff. Doing stuff can be just a distraction! NO, the kind of productivity here is focused, active, and persevering. Working until it is done. Productive because of Jesus. Not to just check the item off the list. (talking to myself, here) Productive as an expression of worship. Productive because of stewardship. Productive to love your family. Productive as repentance. (doing things you aren’t fond of). Productive as thankfulness and pleasure. (enjoying the blessings of healthy bodies to do work, appliances to help you, furniture to dust, and precious hungry mouths to feed, etc).

For me-I need more allegiance to the holy spirit when I speak, that I would speak with wisdom, that my mouth would utter kindness and enthusiastically exhort in kindness. I need Jesus to enable my mind, body, and heart to be productive.  I do work hard, but the work isn’t ever done. My aim isn’t to have a perfectly clean house anymore, it is to truly worship with work. For me, this means that I am growing in consciousness of Jesus while I do the mundane tasks of caring for my family and home. Asking him for help, depending on Christ in everything, especially in “looking to the ways of my household.”