PROVERBS 31
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
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.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
First I'd like to begin with how amazing my wife is. My wife and I have been through a lot over the past two years and she certainly has risen to the challenge.
Last year I began praying as to which church we should attend. Through prayer and fasting God strongly lead it upon my heart that we were to go to a small fundamental baptist church in town. Up until this point we were attending a country club, concert type, all about the believers EXPERIENCE Pentecostal church. When I told my wife what God had laid upon my heart, her greatest reservation was that she didn't want to wear dresses and skirts all of the time. So we agreed that she could wear them on Sundays unless God convicted her otherwise (just a note that God doesn't have to convict you for something to be wrong or sinful).
Since that first Sunday a lot has changed in our lives. My wife was quickly convicted about her apparel and all of her low cleavage tops, pants, and shorts were donated to a local charity. We now believe that God has created man and woman to be different and we celebrate those differences. Our most convicting moment probably came when a former teacher told us that the schools are indoctrinating our children to be gender neutral. People wonder why there is a gender crisis, did they ever stop to think that it could be because they let little Jessica dress like little Jason?
In addition to women and girls wearing skirts and dresses, we believe in modesty for all members of our family (I always wear a shirt and my shorts always come past my knees). This originates from our belief that eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden ultimately led to our shame. At this point God created a covering for their bodies. We choose to cover our bodies to honor God and to cover our nakedness from the eyes of others.
As Fundamental Baptists we believe that learning takes place in the home, that's why both of our children are home schooled by my wife. We've received much criticism from quite a few people on this subject but my wife has certainly risen to the challenge. We believe that children are a blessing from the Lord and that we weren't given them for someone else to raise.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalm 127:3
In addition to the above verse we also do not believe in any form of birth control. That being said we are members of the quiver full movement. Children are a blessing, that being said by faith we believe that God will provide for those "blessings".
My wife has risen to all of the challenges we've been faced with since our marriage. On matters of faith, love and life my wife is far above rubies. Her diligence and hard work sometimes goes un-noticed by myself but never by God, surely her reward will be great.
Love you Hun.
