Strength and Honour

While I type this post, I'm sick - feverish, absolutely stuffed nose and head, tired and achy, and I need y'all to pray that I'll get better. Ü

Anyway... hehe....

What do y'all think when you hear of a "Virtuous Woman"? Proverbs 31 tells us of the virtuous woman. How many virtuous women do y'all know? After reading the Bible's definitions and after clearly comparing the women I know, I can tell you I know few. I myself am NOTHING close to being virtuous either, but I would like to be. I would love to be! In Proverbs 31, it states "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." What a verse! What a standard to live up to as daughters of God! "She... worketh willingly with her hands." (she's not lazy) "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms." (she takes care of her body - exercises, keeps herself fit and clean, etc.) "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." (she is compassionate and kind) "... in her tongue is the law of kindness." and "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet." She properly cares for her family... "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." This is one of the most important verses in Prov. 31, I think. It also talks about her husband being known in the gates (in Bible times, the gates were where all the social events, gatherings and meetings were held - where it all happened), so I assume her husband is an honourable man. It doesn't say he is the richest or the handsomest, the most talkative or the most achieved. It just says that he is known (of course well known) when he sits at the gate. Surely he is respected and honoured. Right? It also says that her children rise up and call her blessed. They praise her and bless her name! What an honour for a mother's children to be so fond of her! But this virtuous woman is not pampered and pet by her family. She doesn't earn the respect her family holds by being pretty or eloquent. She earns all these blessings by being a Proverbs 31 woman. It is vital and necessary to be virtuous now as teenagers if we girls are to be known as Proverbs 31 women when we grow up. And as daughters of the King of Heaven, we owe it to God to be virtuous, so that we will cause Him nothing less than a figure of honour and majesty. We are his ambassadors, after all. I can't even begin to get into the deepness and importance of being virtuous. Look at the women in the Bible who God used to do great things - Esther, Ruth, Jael, Sarah, Mary, even Rahab (a harlot at the time!). All where chaste, discreet, diligent, and willing. All were virtuous. They bettered the world because of their heart conditions - virtuous heart conditions. Now, Jezebel, Sapphira, Athalia, and a few other women in the Bible made wrong choices - chose to be immature and dishonest, not reverencing their husbands and being cocky, lead to their defeat - their deaths. Being virtuous is not only something we should want for ourselves and our family, it is a wonderful testimony of a woman of God! I don't know about y'all, but I WANT that testimony to be MINE!!!! Let's pursue it together...