Day 1 August 25, 2009

Proverbs 31:10-31 (New Living Translation)
A Wife of Noble Character
10 [a]Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. 12 She brings him good, not harm,all the days of her life.
13 She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. 14 She is like a merchant’s ship,bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. 18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.
19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. 20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. 21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm[b] clothes. 22 She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. 23 Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. 24 She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. 26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. 27 She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.
28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. 31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
This is my goal. I am going to spend a year, 365 days, working toward being an excellent Christ follower, wife, mother and friend. This is not out of vanity, but I truly want my children to stand and bless me, my husband to praise me, I want to be described in the beautiful ways that this proverb describes this "Excellent Wife". To me this challenge (journey?) means the opportunity to work towards being the woman that Jesus wants me to be. Practically this means (for me) that I want to get my household organized, get into a regular routine for laundry, for cleaning, for meal planning and grocery shopping. To be a better steward of the household finances that I have been entrusted with. I want to be a more attentive mother. ( I believe that my children know that they are deeply deeply loved by me, but I know that there are areas that I can be more deliberate about my mothering.) Most of all I want to have some concentrated time reading my bible, talking with the Lord, and teaching and instructing my kids as a godly mother should. My vow to myself is to be honest along the way. I am excited about the challenges that lay ahead. Day 1 of this journey is this blog entry, it's not a huge step, but it's a step, and at the risk of sounding totally cheesy, every journey begins with a step.
Dear Jesus, inspire me, help me, keep me focused. This is challenge is hard to put into words, but I know that if you lead me, it can be completed. Please help me to "suffer nothing from laziness" because if I'm honest, that is a big problem for me. I love you Jesus, Amen.