Are You Worth More Than Rubies?

Disclaimer: This post is strictly for the ladies....

    "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." -Proverbs 31:10

    I have heard this verse many times and I have to wonder, why rubies? Then I did a little research. I found out a ruby is one of the most precious and valuable gemstones. So how is a woman more valuable than rubies?

    If you have not read through Proverbs 31, I highly recommend it. This morning, my small group and I really dug into what the Proverbs 31 woman looks like. Going through this passage can be a bit intimidating. The woman described in Proverbs 31 seems like the perfect woman. I found myself thinking "is this even possible to achieve?"

    "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplied the merchant with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." -Proverbs 31:20-26

   Are you kidding me? This woman is perfect? Does God call me to be a perfect woman? No, he does not. God does however give us guidelines to follow. These guidelines can be overwhelming at first glance. This woman had no fear, she was respected by not only the city, but her children and her husband. In all her "free time" she made linen garments and sold them. She seemed perfect. But I had to remind myself, the woman described in Proverbs 31 was not always this woman. Being a woman of noble character is not something you just become in a day. As I read through this passage more and more, I realized to become this woman takes work. It takes complete trust and faith on God.

    Proverbs 31 describes a woman who seems perfect. But we all have our trials. We all have times that things are not perfect. One thing I am confident of is that this woman looked to God in all of her trials and tribulations. I know that is the woman God calls me to be.

    So what does it mean to be worth more than rubies? To be rare, to be precious and to be valuable. To be a woman of the world is nothing like the Proverbs 31 woman.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." -Proverbs 31:30

Are you a woman who fears the Lord? Are you a rare gem? If you have not read through Proverbs 31, I think you should. And challenge yourself to become more like the Proverbs 31 woman. I will be praying that you have the strength and perseverance to become more like her. But remember, without God, it is just not possible.

   

Blessed Opportunity

    A couple of months ago, I felt God telling me to start a small group one morning a week. All I could think was "God, I am already so busy. How on earth am I going to have time to start this study and make it successful?" God simply said, "You are going to make time." Simple as that, huh?

    I had so many concerns. The biggest was, what 8th grade girl is going to want to get up on a school day to meet at 7 in the morning? To my surprise, more than I thought. 

    Today was our first meeting and 4 girls showed up along with one of my friends who is also a leader. I am not sure if they could tell, but I was so excited that they were coming to hang out with their small group leader to talk about God. 

    Every Wednesday evening during youth group, I am amazed at their passion for the Lord. When I was their age, I didn't have any friends who loved and understood God the way they do. I am so thankful God chose me to be their leader. I am excited to see where He will take this study and the impact it will have on all of us. 

    I know it will not always be easy to get up every Tuesday. But what I do know is that God has called me to pour into the lives of these girls. Mark 10:45 tells us "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." If my Saviour was a servant and I am supposed to live a life that is pleasing to God, I am going to serve with all I have. 

    I read a blog yesterday by someone I consider a mentor. She spoke about tithing not just our money, but our time. One hour every Tuesday may not be a lot of time to tithe, but hey, it's a start. It may even get us all in the habit of tithing our time to God more often.

    I wonder if these girls know what an impact they have made on my life. They encourage me to be the very best leader I can be. To serve God regularly and be a positive influence on them. If I have learned one thing by being their leader this year, it is, only good comes from serving God and pouring into the lives of others. I am blessed. 

 

What is Your Passion?

    Last week I saw a family with a little boy around five years old get out of a van. They had parked right next to a motorcycle and the little boy was completely captivated by it. He could not take his eyes off of the bike as he pointed to different parts of it, telling his parents everything he knew about motorcycles. It got me thinking about how passionate kids can be. If a child is interested in something, you know it. Not five minutes go by upon meeting them before you are hearing all about their passion. In that moment, the most important thing is to tell you everything they know about the thing they love.

    I wonder what my daily conversations would be like if I began sharing the thing I was passionate about. Unlike children, I worry about what a stranger would think if I walked up to them and began to describe how much I loved Jesus. I deceive myself into thinking any one of the six times I have run into this stranger around town was not the one specific time God had planned for me to share my faith with them. I wonder how many opportunities I have missed because of the questions I have constantly asked myself. I can only pray for opportunity and not seize it for so long.

    I am reminded today of how many lost people there are in the world. How easy it is for some to slip away. So many people in my life do not believe what I believe. They do not have a deep love for Jesus and do not understand why they should. The thought of people I love not spending eternity in Heaven with me should be enough to make me run around sharing the gospel like a crazy person.

    If I leave this earth tomorrow, I want to know I took every opportunity I could. I want to know I told everyone I know about my love for my Saviour. I want to know that I did everything in my power to bring the lost to Jesus.

    While it saddens me to know how many lost people there are, I am encouraged to know people are being led to Christ daily. People are hearing the good news. I just want to make sure I am one of the many being used by God to bring his people home.

   

My True Love

    As the "Week of Love" comes to an end... I thought it fitting to write about Valentines day and my true love.

    I was always the single girl that dreaded Valentines day. Always bitter at the fact that I didn't have someone to share my love with. This year was different. I realized that I have been sharing my love with someone for the last 26 Valentines day's. I realized that my true love has been by my side every single day of my life. No, I have not realized my undying love for an old friend. I am still single. However,  my perspective has completely changed.

    I felt more love this Valentines day then ever before. Not just because my uncle got me flowers, or because my mom sent me a very sweet package. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the gifts and was very grateful for them. I just realized that I have the most unconditional love I could ever imagine. The love of God. My creator. I know to some, this love does not seem tangible. God is not waiting at your door step with a bouquet of roses. Instead, he offers us a love that we cannot even comprehend. It is real. It is full. It is more than we are capable of.

    It has taken a long time to realize this, but I am not single because God wants to hurt me. I am not single because God has abandon me. I am single because God is protecting me. I am single because God loves me. I am single because God does not want me to settle for less than the who he has created for me. God wants me to understand that HE is my true love. God wants me to rely on Him to provide the intimate love I need to feel. He knows my hearts desire. He knows that I want to be married. But for now, I truly believe that he wants me to trust in him so that when the right guy comes along, I will be able to love him without straying from God.

    Last year I wrote a letter to my future husband. I prayed and made a promise to God and to myself that if I was dating someone and I could not hand them that letter on our wedding day with full confidence that they were everything the letter described, I would not continue dating them. I have waited 26 years for the right guy. Why settle now? God does not want us to settle. And that is not just for single people. God does not want you to settle in your married relationship. Every relationship goes through tough times. But if you make God the center, spend time in prayer together and separately and trust in him to make the relationship stronger, He will.

  I want nothing more than to find a man who loves the Lord and will be the spiritual leader of our home. Someone I can serve God along side of. I know being single will not always be easy. I know I will struggle. But I know who I can always come back to and share my heart with and I am thankful that God loves me so much and wants me to constantly pour my heart out to him.

    I hope that those of you who are reading this will realize how much God loves you and how He wants to be your true love. And when you love Him and put your trust in Him, your life will totally change.





   

Praying in the Moment

    I once heard a sermon by Mark Driscoll (one of my favorite pastors to listen to) that talked about prayer. He said when you tell someone "I'll pray for you", you are not only making a promise to them, you are making a promise to God. Why had I never looked at it like that? How many times have I told someone I would pray for them and just as quickly as I said it, I forgot to say a prayer. Time goes by and you remind yourself "Oh yeah, pray for this person for this struggle" and you still don't pray.

    In the last year, prayer has come up so much in my daily life. I remember a little over a year ago, if someone asked me to pray in front of people, I would freeze. My palms would start to sweat, I would get that big lump in my throat, I would stutter and get nervous that I would say something wrong. Then after a sermon at church, I realized what prayer really was. It is a conversation between God and I. It does not matter if I "pray well" in other people's opinion. It does not matter if I stutter or stumble over words. It does not matter if I forget to say something and add it in at the end. God knows what is on my heart and the moment I realized God does not judge my prayers, I didn't care what other people thought of them either.

    After hearing what Mark Driscoll said about making a promise to God, I took it as a challenge. I am challenging myself to pray in the moment. If I am talking to someone who is going through something, instead of saying "I'll pray for you", I will challenge myself to say "can I pray with you now?" If that person is texting me, I will challenge myself to put down the phone and pray in that moment. I also keep a pad of paper at my desk and when I hear someone is having a hard day, I write their name down and bring that paper home and pray for those people.

    I was talking to someone today who said that she uses her Facebook news feed as a tool. When someone's name comes up, she prays for them. She said "I don't always know what their struggle is, but God does". She is right. God knows what the people we pray for are going through. Psalm 145: 18 says "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." God wants us to call on him. Not just in the bad times, but to praise him in the good. When we call on him, he is near. What a comfort.

    So my goal for myself is to pray in the moment. Keep track of those in my life who need prayer. No more empty promises to God. What tools will you use to better your prayer life?

You Never Let Go

As I was driving home from youth group last night, I was filled with questions for God. He had not been speaking quite as clearly the last week. I knew he was there, but I just had to talk to him and pour out my heart.

I was overwhelmed with sorrow for a particular couple from church who is going through something I would never wish on anyone. I began to sob while I asked God why these things happen to such great people. "Why God?" I kept begging that he would help this couple to rely on him through this time and to that they would become stronger as a couple and be what each other needs. I prayed that they would seek him in this time and also remember him when things get better. Suddenly God said "be quiet and listen". So I wiped my tears and listened. And as soon as I did I heard the words "Oh no, you never let go. Through the CALM and through the STORM". There it was. God's voice was speaking to me through KLOVE.

Right when I think "hey, I have not heard from you today", he reminds me that it is because I have not called out to him. And as soon as I did, he reminded me that he is there. Always. In good times and bad. That is his promise to us. And I know that while this couple is struggling, God will continue to do amazing things through them. He will help them use this pain to comfort others just as he has comforted them.

A Little Hot Beverage and a Whole Lotta God!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going over to my pastors house to have warm drinks and conversation with his wife and some women from our e3 service.  I was excited for the opportunity to get to know some of these women I see every sunday a little bit better.

It is becoming more apparent to me each day that God has bigger plans than I can imagine. I have spent so much time lately thinking about the changes that God is throwing my way and all the exciting things to come. I tend to forget what God is doing in other people's lives. As I listened to all that was going on around me, I heard the different ways that God was working through these women and their families. One woman talked about how she and her husband are looking to start a home for children in the foster system that have attachment issues. Another woman talked about how she and her husband were in the process of adopting. I listened to the excitement coming from both of them. Both so excited to see how God was going to change their lives completely. But I could not ignore the women who were hurting. While some of us have incredibly exciting and new things happening in our lives, some of us are struggling to get by. And sometimes I wonder why people have to struggle, or why they have to hurt. And then I remember John 9: 1-3 "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Neither, this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

I do not think that we have to struggle because of sins that we have committed. What I do know, is this, God will help us in times of trouble. We just have to put all of our faith in him. Each of us is going through something different in our lives. Some of us are on top, while others believe they have hit rock bottom. It is important to remember that in either instance, we must rest in Him and know that all we have is His and that he will provide for us and get us through the rough times.

I am thankful for the time we had yesterday and thankful that God spoke to me in that couple hours we spent together. I am thankful for the reminder that we all have a story and I need to take more time to listen to what others are going through.