This Woman

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭30-31‬ NLT)

If you have ever read the Proverbs 31 woman before you know it is a pretty lengthy list.  It is a pretty specific list.  It is pretty hard to attain.  There have been sermons, journals, and thoughts about the Proverbs 31 woman in the past.  I am sure my thoughts and opinions have been stated by others, but I have two thoughts today-

1. This is not something easily attained, nor is it something you just become.  This is someone who is intentional to be what God has called her to be.  You don’t have to be everything on this list the same way it is on the list.  Take the principles and not the specifics when evaluating.

2. The last two verses in my opinion are the most important-

She is a woman who fears the Lord.

She should be rewarded for that.

As a husband/father we should be publicly declare her praise because:

A. We are commanded to.

B. It is an encouragement for them.

Today I want to publicly declare that the women in my life are women who fear the Lord.  They love Jesus, and they point their families toward Him.  They will not let them waver or stray from their faith.  In fact as I am typing this my wife is asking my boys if God is first in their life or video games.  She is challenging them, and directing them to make God first and to be in their Word.

I want to thank my Mother-Adrienne who worked with us, and taught us the principles of scripture over the years we were in her home.  She loved us, and challenged us to be like Him still to this day.

I want to thank my Mother-in-law-Becki who did the same thing with my wife.

I want to say how proud I am of my sisters-Abby and Emma who are serving the Lord.  They are becoming mighty women of the Lord.

I want to say how proud I am of my daughter-Whitney who is learning to become all that God has called her to be.  She is learning what it means to fear the Lord.

There are many more women I could list here, but I will conclude with my wife and mother of my children.  We have been married for 18 1/2 years as I write this today-Crystal

She has grown in her worship of the Lord.  She has challenged me to be who God has called me to be.  She is teaching and training our children to fear the Lord.  She is an amazing woman, whom I am thankful for.  The lady Proverbs describes as a blessing through the entirety of the book is my wife, and I am blessed.  And oh by the way-Her beauty is lasting as well!

Anxiety Attack that Changed Perspective

All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him. (‭2 Samuel‬ ‭14‬:‭14‬ NLT)

It has been a while since I have written.  This has been intentional for a season, and unintentional.  I am sure you could careless about either reason. So, I will get on with it.

As I was reading today this verse jumped out at me.  It jumped out at me for a couple of reasons, but I first I want to give context to the passage of scripture.

Absalom, King David’s son who has been banished from the kingdom, is now coming back to the kingdom.  David has been tricked by a women who was sent by Joab to bring him back.  She makes this statement to the king, and it is a direct reference to the death of Amnon who was killed by Absalom.  I will say this, the Bible is not boring.  If you don’t know this story go and read 2 Samuel 13-15. It is a pretty interesting read.

Now back to present day:

The past few weeks have been eye opening to say the least.  My father had an emergency procedure done for his heart.  My mother-in-law thought she was going to have an emergency procedure done to her heart.  And last night, I woke up with an extreme spirit of fear that my wife was dying.

Before we go on, my Father is healed in the name of Jesus!

My mother-in-law is doing great!

And there is nothing wrong with my wife, and I am very thankful for all three truths.

As I was praying for a couple of hours last night for the health of my wife and my family.  I was remembering the story of Job.  I was remembering how even in the middle of the worst case of life scenario’s he was still praising the Lord.  I was trying to figure out how he did that as I was in the middle of my own personal anxiety attack.  The answer was simple-It is a choice.  My praise of the Lord is not contingent upon my current circumstances.  My praise of the Lord is true regardless of what is going on.  It has been a challenging few weeks.  It has brought some things into perspective.  It has reminded me of the things that are truly important.  Most importantly it reminded me that I am to praise Him regardless.

Reading this verse today was one more reminder that the Lord is truly for me.  Even in death we must be reminded that the Lord’s desires is to make a way for us to be in relationship.  His desire is not separation, but rather eternal life spent together.  The only way to experience that is to confess your sins, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, and believe He died and rose again.  Then death is nothing, but a means to eternity with Him.  It is a promotion, and not a demotion.

I love my father, I love my mother-in-law, and I love my wife.  I am thanking the Lord for their health today. But it is important for me to say, that I would be thanking Him regardless.  I don’t praise because of good circumstances.  I praise because God is good all the time!