I found this post on a friends blog, and thougt it was a very good take on the Proverbs 31 woman. Lots of us have felt bad about being "night owls" instead of an early bird like the Proverbs 31woman obviously is. But the way this post puts it sheads a new light on it and shows us what the passage really means.
” ‘She rises up while it is yet night’ – Prov. 31:15. How many sermons have been preached about this sweet domestic woman who gets up out of bed before the rooster crows to cook and clean and be a good housewife? How many night owls have felt condemnation from the typical understanding of this verse (and its companion verse in vs. 18 “her candle goeth not out by night”)? I know I have wrestled long and hard with this.
Until.
Until one night when I was hugely pregnant with my 3rd child (my 10 lb 4oz chunk!), and I was up late because I couldn’t sleep. I was reading my study Bible, the one that has an actual lexicon in the back. I started looking up the words in Prov. 31 to see what the words mean in the original Hebrew language. And I was TOTALLY blown away!!!
For those of you who don’t know, the Hebrew language, the original language, is a picture language; in other words, they draw pictures with the language to communicate a message. This is opposed to the Greek language of the New Testament which is a very precise language. It says exactly what it means. If there was a more precise word to use for communicating a message, they would have used it – no room for ambiguity. But the Hebrew language is a beautiful language that teaches and expresses things by drawing a picture in our minds.
So, the first word I looked up was “night.” And it can mean a literal night. But being a picture language, that same word can also mean “a time of trial and temptation,” even as we would say in English “the dark night of the soul.” So next I looked up “candle.” And yes, it can mean a literal candle or light. But it also means “trust and confidence in God”! So her candle goes out at night can mean she stays up all night canning vegetables and sewing clothes and working, or, equally valid, it can say that her faith and trust in God does not stop in those hard times of trial and temptation!
Then, and here is the best part to me. You’re not going to believe how powerful this is! In Proverbs 31:15, she rises up while it is yet night. She gets up out of bed? NO!!!! “Rises up” is a WARFARE term! It is used of the armies of David rising up against their enemies. It is used to say “Rise up, O Judge of the earth” in Ps. 94:2. It is a POWERFUL word, with the idea of rising up in the natural or in the spirit prepared for battle, prepared to win! This is the only time in Scripture that it is translated to mean a wimpy getting out of bed in the morning. That is NOT what it is talking about at all. The Proverbs 31 woman who was a woman of God who would see adversity coming, against her home, her family, her nation, and she would become bold in her prayers. She would rise up in the spirit in those times of difficulty and intercede before the throne of Almighty God for Him to help and intervene! She gave “meat” to her household – the meat of the Word, the meat of what God showed her in prayer, and she gave “portions” to her maidens, to her friends around her, because there was so much overflow of the power and anointing and the truth of God that she was able to bless others around her and give into their lives as well.
The Proverbs 31 woman was a mighty woman of God, strong in intercession, who loved God with all her heart, and knew how to rise up in the spirit to see God move in a mighty way in the circumstances around her!
So as you pray today, in times of difficulty and darkness, may you RISE UP in authority and boldness, and get ahold of the throne of God as you pour out your heart to the One Person who can change nations, who can turn the heart of a judge, who can redeem us from the snare of the enemy. May you be encouraged and strengthened!
Blessings,
Terri LaPoint”
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The Lost Art of Being a Lady : Part 1
Alright. Now that I've gotten past ranting about things that have been on my mind lately, I can get back to my series on being a lady.
In short, this subject is one very near and dear to my heart. Not only because I feel like it's a very important trait for young women to learn. But also because some of my earliest memories of my mother are of her standing in front of her mirror on a sunday morning in a beautiful dress, highheel shoes, and long dangling earings. Blow drying her hair to make it fall gracefully around her shoulders. Then she would turn, look at me and smile her beautiful smile, making me feel like I was the luckiest girl in the world, to have a princess for a mother. Then she woud swiftly yet gracefully go about getting us ready for the day. And all I knew is that I wanted to be just like her.
Now does this mean that I think every women should be like this. Never going outside and always wearing high heel shoes?
Deifinetly not. I for one think that would be rediculous. My sister is more of the "tom-boy" of the family, but still sometimes I can't help but run around with the little kids in the back yard, or throwing on my blue-jeans to work with the guys outside. In fact I think doing these things are a big part of being a lady. There's a happy medium, and women wear many hats.
After writing the first introductory post on this I visited a friend who loaned me a book called....can you guess it? How to Be a Lady....ironic right? In it I found a quote that describes the point of view I'm seeking to portray in these posts.
"What you are while you are a girl, you will be when you become a woman. 'But, would you have a little girl act like a woman?' Not Precisely. But I would have her act like a lady. Not to put on airs - not to put herself forward, and take the place of a woman before she is big enough to fill it - not to feel above labor, and despise those who perform it - not to look down with scorn upon everything that it common - not to treat with contempt those who cannot dress as well as herself, or have have not seen so much of style and fashion. Those who behave so are pseudo-ladies ( or phony-ladies ). A true lady would despise such meanness. To be a lady, one must behave always with propriety; and be civil, courteous, and kind, to all. To treat any human being with rudeness, would show a want of breeding of which no lady would be guilty. But the romping, roistererous miss, who pays no regard to propriety of conduct, will never be a lady. You will not, however, misunderstand me. Do not suppose that I would have you dull and mopish, never manifesting any gayety of spirit or playfulness of conduct; but, in all these things, I would have you behave with strict regard to propriety."
Long winded as that may seem, he makes a very good point. I think that being a "lady" is sometimes very misunderstood. For instance, as I stated before my sisters and I do enjoy running around outside in blue jeans with the boys. I don't think that's wrong, as long as conduct is maintained.
Conduct must be taught to children ofcourse. And it appears in many different ways.
Manners: I think that this is a good place to start. As children we are taught to say "please" and "thank you", "your welcome" and "excuse me". But should this be the extent of our manners?
Certainly not. In fact these words mean nothing without an attitude of selflessness, politeness and consideration. This is the key, because truthfully, throwing all your mental images of an old, boring, victorian lady asside. In it's essence, being a lady is about character.
Manners and good conduct spring from a heart full of love for those around us, which comes from a heart full of love for Christ. And this is what everything always comes back down too. For love is an action, and it can only be acted out the right way when our hearts are right. After this is done it doesn't matter whether your running around with the little ones, outside with the boys, or inside with the ladies knitting a sweater. You will have discovered the essence of being a lady. And manners will certainly follow.
In short, this subject is one very near and dear to my heart. Not only because I feel like it's a very important trait for young women to learn. But also because some of my earliest memories of my mother are of her standing in front of her mirror on a sunday morning in a beautiful dress, highheel shoes, and long dangling earings. Blow drying her hair to make it fall gracefully around her shoulders. Then she would turn, look at me and smile her beautiful smile, making me feel like I was the luckiest girl in the world, to have a princess for a mother. Then she woud swiftly yet gracefully go about getting us ready for the day. And all I knew is that I wanted to be just like her.
Now does this mean that I think every women should be like this. Never going outside and always wearing high heel shoes?
Deifinetly not. I for one think that would be rediculous. My sister is more of the "tom-boy" of the family, but still sometimes I can't help but run around with the little kids in the back yard, or throwing on my blue-jeans to work with the guys outside. In fact I think doing these things are a big part of being a lady. There's a happy medium, and women wear many hats.
After writing the first introductory post on this I visited a friend who loaned me a book called....can you guess it? How to Be a Lady....ironic right? In it I found a quote that describes the point of view I'm seeking to portray in these posts."What you are while you are a girl, you will be when you become a woman. 'But, would you have a little girl act like a woman?' Not Precisely. But I would have her act like a lady. Not to put on airs - not to put herself forward, and take the place of a woman before she is big enough to fill it - not to feel above labor, and despise those who perform it - not to look down with scorn upon everything that it common - not to treat with contempt those who cannot dress as well as herself, or have have not seen so much of style and fashion. Those who behave so are pseudo-ladies ( or phony-ladies ). A true lady would despise such meanness. To be a lady, one must behave always with propriety; and be civil, courteous, and kind, to all. To treat any human being with rudeness, would show a want of breeding of which no lady would be guilty. But the romping, roistererous miss, who pays no regard to propriety of conduct, will never be a lady. You will not, however, misunderstand me. Do not suppose that I would have you dull and mopish, never manifesting any gayety of spirit or playfulness of conduct; but, in all these things, I would have you behave with strict regard to propriety."
Long winded as that may seem, he makes a very good point. I think that being a "lady" is sometimes very misunderstood. For instance, as I stated before my sisters and I do enjoy running around outside in blue jeans with the boys. I don't think that's wrong, as long as conduct is maintained.
Conduct must be taught to children ofcourse. And it appears in many different ways.
Manners: I think that this is a good place to start. As children we are taught to say "please" and "thank you", "your welcome" and "excuse me". But should this be the extent of our manners?
Certainly not. In fact these words mean nothing without an attitude of selflessness, politeness and consideration. This is the key, because truthfully, throwing all your mental images of an old, boring, victorian lady asside. In it's essence, being a lady is about character.
Manners and good conduct spring from a heart full of love for those around us, which comes from a heart full of love for Christ. And this is what everything always comes back down too. For love is an action, and it can only be acted out the right way when our hearts are right. After this is done it doesn't matter whether your running around with the little ones, outside with the boys, or inside with the ladies knitting a sweater. You will have discovered the essence of being a lady. And manners will certainly follow.
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