Far Above Rubies

Hello Ladies~ It has been a while... Spring is upon us, and I thought "What could be better than putting some "spring" back into our lives and marriages?"

Big Task? I know.. Well Gods word gives us all we need to manage every little detail of our marriages to perfection...

So, my thought is a Proverbs 31 Mini-Series of Blogs. Researchers say that it takes 10 days of activity or non-activity to make or break a habit... so keeping that in mind, how many days would it take us ladies to become the Proverbs 31 Wife? Is it even possible? 

I have often thought about this.. I have always thought it was possible to be parts of this passage at different times, but not possible to be all parts at all times.

Well, I don't know about you, but I love a good challenge, and I hope you do too... What do you say? Are you with me?

So in this series, I will take a selection from Proverbs chapter 31 and write about it. It will sometimes be out of numerical order, and grouped together in one thought, I will give you the character or attribute of the scripture, and 10 items for you to achieve per 10 day section..   

Are you ready?

I would first like to talk with you about a virtuous woman. What is a virtuous woman, why be one, and who can catch one?

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Prov 31:10

What is a virtuous woman? She is someone who is moral, chaste, of high example, integral. She is rare, uncommon, valuable and desirable. You know, she is that women, who is in relationship with God, she strives to please Him, she is honest in all her ways, pure in all her love and compassion, she is a servant, and she serves with excellence to bring honor to her King.

Have you ever thought, I mean really thought about this scripture? She's rare, valuable, one in a million, so to speak, what kind of man could catch her? What kind of man could capture her heart and be blessed to marry her?

 Scripture says:

He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the Lord. Prov 18:21

Lets just make the assumption a wife, that is a "good thing" is a virtuous woman..

I am going to leave this thought of "what kind of man" for a while, but I want you to think about what kind of man deserves you, a virtuous woman! Don't settle ladies!

The charter or attribute of this scripture is: Rare

You are probably thinking.." How can I be rare?

Take a look at the world around you. What do you see? I am sure you see some good women, but how many of them do you see that are virtuous, rare?

In our world these days, women are different from say, our moms. No longer is the focus the same. The priorities have shifted,or necessity dictates it, resulting in less than committed marriages, children that struggle with stability, stress, loneliness, and depression. I know it sounds old fashioned, but our place is in the home..

Now, wait... I mean that figuratively.. regardless of whether or not you have a career or work outside of the home, your place in the home can not be duplicated. Whether you need to work or want to work, your priority is still being wife and mom.

I know, it is a lot of work, maybe you feel it is unfair, but "suck it up sister, that's the way it is"... lol... We women, are important, we are needed to keep the household running....lol

So lets talk about "rare". Rarely these days, do you see a solid family, that is happy, well adjusted, and successful. One who, shares faith, loves each other, plays together, communicates with each other, and cherishes life. More likely, your average observation of a family would be something like this: a Family Dinner Out, Mom sets in silence,  Dad can't disconnect from work, daughter with iPod in her ears, rolling her eyes at everything that is said, son, not speaking to anyone,clothed in black, pushing his food around on his plate. No communication, No love, No laughter, No respect. That is normal!

We as virtuous women, rare women, have to set our homes differently. We have to be rare women, of a rare husband, and rare children.

What to do to be rare

1. Strive for holiness.Dress in a way that sets you apart from the average. Dress to represent your God.
2. Avoid carnality. Carry yourself in a way that virtuous.
3. Be careful where you go. Avoid participating in activities that are "the norm", in the world.
4. Be God honoring
5. Always honor your husband, whether he is with you or not.
6. Speak highly of your family.
7. Be the "soft spot" for your husband and children
8. Do Not be a gossip! nuff said!
9. Serve in anyway you can, with a joyful spirit
10. Be an example. There is always someone watching you.

I hope over the next 10 days, you can achieve the qualities of a Rare Woman. If God has designed us to be, and has given us the tools necessary, IT IS POSSIBLE

God Bless you
Joy

 

A MIRACLE IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER.....


Good Morning all~ I just have to tell you what God did for us! I hope this will bless and encourage you today!


It is no secret, that my husband is a Federal Employee, and is not, and will not be paid until the Government re-opens... this is a very scary position to be in, because we have been fearful to spend any of the money we have, because we don't know when we will have anymore...SOOOO, we have reduced all of our spending to gas, and grocery.... okay, now for the miracle part

Our car has a 18 gallon tank...currently, we get 19.5 mpg... On Wednesday night we filled our car up 4 miles from home.. When we filled up, we had 345 miles until empty...we drove 4 miles home. I didn't go anywhere during the day on Thursday. On Thursday, my husband came home, and asked me if we should go ahead and go to church? Pastor had released us from Thursdays, {since we are faithful to 4 services a week} until this financial crisis is over. My husband was really torn, but we decide we are just gonna trust that God will keep us and be our provision... We went to church...

We drive 54 miles from our driveway, to the church parking lot, one way...

Service was Great! We are so glad we went, Bro Rafael preached a good message, and it was a blessing to both my husband and I. We almost missed out!

After service a dear friend came to me (they will be anonymous, but they are integral to the story) and said, we would like to fill your car up with gas.. would you follow us to the station?.. Well, I balked at this.. explaining, everyone is struggling and there are others in the church who are really in need.. Sometimes the devil uses our own flesh to cheat us out of a blessing. We pray, "God make a way", then when the way comes, we reject it! Then she said the words.... " so, you would rob me of my blessing?"..... ughh.... she got me! I thanked her and told her I would accept her blessing, but my car is almost full right now... so we made plans for a future time...

We left and got in the car.... when I turned the car on, my husband said "Hey, look at the fuel meter!" We had 354 miles to empty! Immediately, I turned to my husband in astonishment, and said "You gave
 Bro ________, the keys to our car to fill it up?" He replied,"No, I didn't!"...

I said " Oh, my word! Bro _________, went and got a gas can, and filled us up!"... My husband said, "no, you can't do that with this car, only a gas pump nozzle will release the valve".... Instantly, my flesh began tying to figure out, how was that possible? Just like the rotten enemy, to plant doubt that my God is enough, to supply all needs. How can I serve the creator of all things, and doubt his ability to turn my situation around! We sat there in astonishment..... as we left the church, everyone got their cell phones out to do the math... Here's the bottom line.....

We filled up at 354 miles till empty...
We drove 4 miles home after fill up...
We drove 54 miles to church...
and we left the church with 354 miles till empty....
OUR GAS METER SHOULD HAVE READ......296 MILES TO EMPTY!!!!!!

THAT IS A MIRACLE! God has blessed us for going to church when we had permission not to.... When it would have been perfectly understandable to miss. God blessed our faithfulness! TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

This brings me to a few scriptures:

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Psalm 68:19

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6: 30-33

This may seem small to some. There are those this very minute struggling for their lives, in broken marriages, living in a spiritual desert, and so on... but I know, that God sees my needs, and how huge they are in my eyes... and He cares about me...AND I HAVE TO THANK HIM FOR EVERY LITTLE THING....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
J

Fall...

   So, I am just sitting here, windows open, Iced coffee in hand, listening to the sounds of the world around me.. I can hear birds, and the occasional dog, the breeze blowing the trees... it is wonderful. It is hard to imagine a scene so relaxing and serene, with all the "yuckiness" of a government shut down, negative

headlines, and illnesses that are plaguing us.

   When I think of Fall, with all of its "Pumpkin Mania" IE: pumpkin candles, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin cleaners, pumpkin ice trays, pumpkin perfume, pumpkin dog treats... the list goes on and on... Fall is a wonderful slow season... Its a time to kick back and enjoy all that God has created. 

   It has always frustrated me, how the commercial industries just rush us through Fall.... the minute the costumes go out, so does Christmas...Wait!, where are the Thanksgiving decorations?? WHY? Why do they do this? MONEY... They want to rush us from an $89 dollar costume into at $1500 dollar Christmas...lol, I am serious...

If we don't ever slow down, we just speed through life never enjoying the things God has created just for our enjoyment... We catch ourselves so busy that we forget why we even celebrate Thanksgiving.... For christian people, Thanksgiving is huge, we are celebrating the freedoms of the United States.. We came to the "New World" to enjoy freedom of worship, to worship the way we wanted, to worship the one true living God!

Thanksgiving is HUGE... Yet for most it is just a bump in the road on the way to Christmas...

Fall is a cherished time in my family... although, my kids are growing up, and we have a lot of church responsibilities, we still try to take time to enjoy the season. We spend a lot of time outdoors, we have always lived in a hot climates, so fall weather is such a reprieve, we enjoy sitting outside in the evening, enjoy watching the kids toss the football, or riding bikes... while loving a bag of candy corn...

We don't celebrate Halloween, but I do enjoy loading my patio down with pumpkins of all sizes, and Indian corn, cute scarecrow dolls... and as reluctant as I am to "buy In" to societies definition of Fall, I do burn a pumpkin-something type candle... we prepare for Fall, and Thanksgiving.. and even though, the menu never changes, my daughter and I begin thinking about Thanksgiving Day Dinner, we get out the cook books, we tear through the magazines, as if we are gonna do it up White House style.....lol

I guess the point to this blog today is, even though you have inventoried your Christmas decor, and you have it all ready as if it were lined up at the starting line of the Indy 500, STOP, sit down and enjoy the beauty God has handed you, enjoy the season, beg it to stay a little longer, enjoy your family, make every moment count for something...ENJOY FALL....

God Bless You,

J

Drawing A Line In The Sand.....

 How do we mark the times in our life, where the enemy thought he had us? When you have been tried and tested, sometimes you have passed the test, sometimes you have failed, but by the grace of God, he has lifted you up and set you on the right path...How do YOU mark that in your life ??

This is just a short blog today, just a thought from the scripture I was reading today.. I wanted to share with you. This mini blog is about your line in the sand, so to speak. You know that place in your life where you say "In your face satan, I declare right here, in this spot, YOU LOSE!" 

You know, that place in your life, where you say, " I have been there before, God delivered me, and in that moment, I determined, I will praise you Lord......" Your Monument...

The Children of Israel  were on their way to the Promise Land, the land that God had promised to them. They had suffered, not because they had to, but because they didn't listen to the voice of God, they were disobedient to God, they complained, grumbled, and bickered, all the while, God was showing them miracle after miracle. God was delivering them over and over...

 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:

 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.  Deuteronomy 27:1-3

It is unfortunate in this day and age, we have to declare and announce to the world that we will be Godly people, we will uphold his laws and commands at all times, but the truth is, we have to declare what in days past, were just good old fashion morals and values. We have to chisel Gods commands on our monuments so that all can see who we are, what we stand for...

Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. 
 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.
Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God:

And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 27:4-7

There are times in our life, where we have to stop, look back at all God has brought us through, and say "at this monument, I will praise thee, I will offer myself to you, I will honor you" This monument is where you celebrate freedom from sin, you celebrate with liberty in worship.

Even if God hasn't delivered us into the Promise Land yet, we have to Praise him for bringing us this far, and for where he is taking us... 

When we build monuments is our lives, and the enemy comes up behind us, he sees that monument and all that it represents, he knows, we have already passed this way before, we have overcome somethings, we have struggled and found victory. The monument says I am not going back that way, I am headed into the promise land.... A monument in your life crushes your enemy, limits him, binds his evil plan for you....Building a monument makes us strong, it shows wisdom, and commitment to serve God

If you have not built a monument in your life, what are you waiting for? Do it today!

God Bless You,

Joy.

Once Upon A Time....

In every great love story, there is a Prince, and a fair maiden. They meet and at once they are in love. Birds are singing, woodland creatures come near, butterflies flutter about celebrating their magical love… The Prince sweeps his Princess up and off they ride astride a beautiful white horse, to their glorious castle on top of a hill,where the air shimmers, 
and the sunlight is the perfect shade of gold… 
Life is a dream….


Truth is, this is a depiction of a fairytale, reality never intrudes. In real life love, there are ups and downs, illness, health, wealth and meager times. There are times when the birds sing at your windowsill, and then, there are times when a stranger comes by with an apple…
There are seasons when we are living in that fairytale world, and there are seasons of reality..

See, the fact is, in that fairytale romance, the Prince and Princess, share no reality, they meet in perfection and their love remains in perfection.. In real life there are ups and downs, highs and lows, there are victories and struggles.. This is why true love is always changing… this is why love grows… if you never cry through a struggle, you will never laugh in victory…

21 years ago, I met my Prince Charming…. He didn’t ride up on a white horse and he didn’t have a glorious castle to sweep me away too.. He was simply there… like magic…
He did have to slay a dragon though….Our life has been full of ups and downs, highs and lows, struggles and victories… and it is a perfect fairytale love, because it has grown, and strengthened. Life is not always about what you can gift to each other, or singing birds, sometimes it is about knowing, when life has handed you a bad apple, you have someone waiting for you. When it feels like your dream is dying, you have someone to remind you

 that dreams really can come true.

Sometimes you are a Prince and Princess, and sometimes you are just a Husband and a Wife…that’s when you know your love is perfect…

Thank you Dan Godwin for my perfect, realistic, fairytale, I wouldn’t change a thing about it!…..

You are my Prince Charming

Happy Anniversary,
I Love You,
Your Princess

A Priceless Valentine...

Its almost Valentine's Day, and I thought nothing would be more fitting, than a gift so unique to give the Love of your Life, a gift that only you can give him. If someone else gave him this gift, it would not be as effectual. Others may try, but it's uniqueness can only come from you...." What is this gift you ask? Where can I get it, and how much will it cost?"  Well, you wont find it in a store, you can not purchase it, and you cant even wrap it..... It's Your Prayer

I came across this list of verses to Pray For Your Husband, on Pinterest. No, this is not my original work, but I found it so awesome that I wanted to elaborate on it. So there are six verses and areas of prayer. I will be blogging in a series over the next few weeks.. I hope you will join me for each one..

Did you ever go to pray and you find your self praying the same old prayer for your husband? You know the one..." God keep my husband, give him strength and wisdom to guide his family, help him find favor on his job"..... This is a great prayer, don't get me wrong. Those are things we should be praying about, but, maybe there are other issues that your husband needs you to take before God.. What about when your husband is overwhelmed? Yes, our husbands become overwhelmed. They may not show it or tell us, but they do.. Think about it..they have a ton of responsibilities that we don't have to worry about.

This world has become so stressful and negative. In years past, a man could go to ONE job, and support his family. Now days, 65% of men, at some point have to work a second job. Our husbands worry if they will make enough to make ends meet. It seems when trouble comes, its never one issue at a time, it is always a whole herd of issues...money, stress on the job, family matters, his relationship with his children, his relationship with you... the list goes on and on... Let's face it ladies, our husbands need our prayers...

We need to pray for our husbands when they are feeling overwhelmed.. Psalms 27:1 says, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Pray this scripture for your husband, pray that when the world around him is overwhelming, and too stressful, that God will be his light, that God will save him from drowning.. pray that strength and confidence will come to him, that he can  lift up his eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh his help.

Ladies, God didn't create us to be confined to the traditional role of wife, he created us to be a help to our husbands in all ways. So besides, keeping his world spinning... we need to be in prayer for him. I have said it before and hold on, cause I am gonna say it again.. There is power is being submitted to your husband, it is not a shackle, its freedom! Freedom in worship, praise, prayer.. when we are submitted as God defines, we have power in the Spirit. Power to become prayer warriors, to intercede, to see things changed in Jesus Name!

So where is the Valentine Romance??? What could be more romantic than knowing your husbands name has reached Heaven? What is more romantic than knowing, at the whisper of your prayer, angels will be dispatched to your husband day or night???

 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Psalm 91:4 

God Bless you,

Joy

Clicheic I know, BUT Save The Drama For Your Momma!

How casual the devil tried to sneak in there huh? Just a friendly little conversation between old friends...

See that's how he does it... because lets be honest, if he came to you and said..."Hey, I am the devil, and I am here to destroy you and all you hold dear" how long would we entertain that? Not very long.. If a sister from the church comes to you and says, Hey... I wanted to take a few minutes of your time

 and gossip to you about so-n-so... how long would you entertain that? Again, probably not very long... But see, the devil is smarter than that... he knows how us women are, it has to smell good, and be all flowery, and sound so sweet and innocent....because I care... that sort of nonsense..
So it comes in the form of a kind, old friend, who in casual conversation, just gently says, well what I was told was......

The bible describes a gossiper as someone who refuses to acknowledge God...

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.
Romans 1:28-30

Make no mistake.... whether it comes from a sister, a friend, a co-worker, or a complete stranger...A GOSSIPER HAS A DESTRUCTIVE SPIRIT, and that is NOT FROM GOD.

My Pastor talked to us last night at the end of service about, attitude,gossip, and negative talk and thinking... how damaging and destructive a lying and gossiping tongue is. He admonished us to commit to speaking positive and speaking life into our lives and the lives of others.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
 Ephesians 4:29

 It got me thinking.. It is no secret my Pastor doesn't love facebook, but he doesn't require us to abstain from it, just use caution and wisdom. I think what we forget sometimes is our facebook lifestyle is very public.. your church family can see it, God can see it. We can't  use facebook as a dumping ground for drama, bitterness, gossip, and attention seeking, and then expect to minister one to another as the bible directs us to do.

 How can we one minute, run down our leadership, or ramble on about how hideous our life is, and then be able to lift up or encourage our sister or brother? It is two conflicting lifestyles...
Here's a perfect example, imagine someone with OCD  counseling someone about relaxing, and not being so ridged and controlling... Same rule applies, how can I encourage someone who is feeling despair, and confusion if they just read my facebook rant about how miserable my life is, how isolated I am, and how I am offended by comments, and I'll just deal with it all alone.....? Yes, I am exaggerating, but do you see my point?
Just BTW... Don't post negative posts, and expect only positive people to reply... negative attracts negatives.....that's just the science of life...

We have the authority to speak life into others lives, and what a better outlet to do that than facebook? Maybe you don't think you have the power or spiritual authority to speak life? If you have the Holy Ghost and have been baptized in Jesus Name, it is your obligation.

 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25
 
 I am not talking about giving a prophetic word to someone, that is something different, that is a gift from God will be confirmed through your Pastor.. what I mean is we need to be claiming victory in our lives, declaring liberty and freedom, recognizing spiritual bondage and demanding it go in Jesus Name... 

Sometimes we perceive ourselves to be so helpless, another words " well this is my life, and all I can do is make the best of it". That is not true, you can live like you have already won the victory! You have the ability to proclaim yourself VICTORIOUS!.... how? So easy.... out dance your drama, out worship your worries, overcome your confusion.......

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will^[a] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 

The things you are struggling with, God has already overcome for you!.... you don't have to wrestle with it, it is already conquered...YOU HAVE ALREADY WON!

Be Blessed,
Joy