Scripture Sundays, Proverbs 31:15

Well I worked on introducing some new foods to my family over the past few weeks as I said I would when I wrote about Proverbs 3:14. We had mahi mahi, fresh papaya, and I made colcannon to go with our St. Patrick's Day dinner; all foods we had never had before. We did not care for the fresh papaya, but everyone enjoyed the mahi mahi and colcannon.

Now to continue on to Proverbs 31:15-

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

I like to sleep so this scripture will prove to be a bit more difficult for me to implement, but I will try my best.  To me, this says that a virtuous woman gets up before the day starts to prepare food for her family and those who work for her.  We do not generally hire others to work for us, but this could apply to guests or neighbors as well.  This week , I will try to get up before the rest of my family in order to prepare their breakfast.  I also will be having a friend sit with my kids on Friday night, so I will be sure to make an extra special treat to give her that night.

Scripture Sundays, Proverbs 31:14

I apologize for not posting Scripture Sunday for the past several weeks.  Sundays are a family day and blogging comes second.  So now on to where we left off, this week we continue on with Proverbs 31, verse 14:

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

To me, this scripture says that a virtuous woman brings food to her family from a variety of places.  Merchant ships traveled to many different places and traded their goods, so that in the end, they had merchandise from many locations.  A virtuous woman brings the same variety into her home through the menu she presents.  It is not always the same things day after day.  To apply this scripture to my home this week, I am going to try 2 new recipes, each one with at least 1 new-to-us ingredient.  If the recipes work out, I will post them at some point in the near future.  Please feel free to share any unique recipes with unique ingredients that you might have.

Scripture Sundays, Proverbs 31:13

This week's scripture is Proverbs 31:13

 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh

willingly with her hands.

This tells me that a virtuous woman looks for good materials and does her work willingly, without complaint.  This week I plan to have a more cheerful attitude when doing my work around the house.  I am not sure how I plan to implement seeking good materials any differently than I already do, but because wool and flax are not typically useful in their original form, I believe this implies that the materials will be used to make things for the home.  I plan on working on my knitting this week, hopefully learning at least one new stitch this week.  

Over the past two weeks, as I have begun to implement these changes, I have had a change in attitude toward my husband.  This is not to say that I have not always done these things, but I have not done them consciously.  As I have thought more about my husband on a daily basis, I am finding that I appreciate him more than ever.  Our marriage is far from perfect, but so am I and I am enjoying the changes I am seeing in both myself and my husband. 

Scripture Sundays, Proverbs 31:12

Last week I began my study and application of Proverbs 31:10-31.  I continue this week with verse 12:

She will do him good and not evil 

all the days of her life.

This verse, like many of the ones in this section, is pretty straight forward.  It tells me that a virtuous woman will treat her husband well every day and not do anything bad to him.  I do not struggle so much with treating my husband bad, but I there are times where I struggle with treating my husband well, especially on days when I may be feeling frustrated with him.  So this week I plan to work on:

- I will try to do at least one thing each day to let my husband know that I love him.  On the days when I may be frustrated with him, I will do two good things for him.  This will be in addition to the everyday things I do anyway (cooking, cleaning, etc).

What are some of the ways you "do good" for your husband each day? 

 

Scripture Sundays, Proverbs 31:10-11

I have generally kept religion off my blog and for the most part will continue to do so.  The reason for this is, not because I do not have religious beliefs or that I am ashamed of them, but because I have a reader base that covers a wide variety of lifestyles and beliefs.  However, I am planning to start something new on Sundays where I choose a section of scripture or other religious document and break it down precept upon precept and apply it to my life.  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, also known as the "Mormons", so I will be choosing from The Bible (Old and New Testaments), as well as the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and other church publications.  If this is not something you are interested in reading, that is fine, please just choose to ignore my Sunday posts.  Also, for those who may only be interested in the Biblical scriptures I use, I will put the scriptural reference in the title each week so that you will know ahead of time where I am working that week.  The rest of the week, I will continue to honor my beliefs, but not broadcast them.

Having said all that, I am planning to kick this off by starting with Proverbs 31:10-31, the virtuous women.  One of the goals I have set for myself this year is to become a more virtuous woman.  This week I am going to start with the first 2 verses of this section, verses 10 and 11:

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he 

shall have no need of spoil.

These words say to me that a virtuous woman is much more valuable than precious gems and that in order to be a virtuous woman, a wife must have her husband's trust.  If he trusts her, he will have no reason to stray.  The trust I am speaking of is deeper that just trusting her to stay loyal, but that he can trust her to keep his secrets as well.  My goal for this week is to work on being a more trustworthy wife.  Here is how I plan to do that:

- Be more aware of my interactions with other men, to ensure that nothing I am saying or doing can be misconstrued as flirting.

- Make sure that I am not speaking ill of my husband to others.  If we have a disagreement, that is between us and is not anyone else's business.  I will not run to my friends/sister/mother/facebook and air our dirty laundry.

- I will also keep my husband's business to myself.  If others want to know about his medical care or how he is handling school, they will have to ask him.  Of course, I will not be rude about it, but I will only speak positively and will not disclose personal information about my husband.

I am hoping to continue on next week with an update of how this week went as well as moving on to the next verse (12).  How do you interpret these verses?  How will you (or for my male readers, how can your wife) build up your husband's trust in you?,