Friday: Proverbs 31

I have been thinking a lot recently about the examples of women in the Bible.  There are those who try to follow the Proverbs 31 example.  And Titus is another book that has several followers of Biblical womanhood.  Today I was reading, and saw a family that based their family life on Deuteronomy 32:46-47.  Of course, I had to stop what I was doing and look this verse up.

Amy at Raising Arrows says a lot of things about being a Godly wife.  Things I catch myself pondering at different odd minutes in the day.  I wasn't raised in a church-going family.  My husband isn't a believer.  So my views and ideas of what a Christian wife and mother might look like have changed over the years.  When I was young,  I worked outside the home.  I enjoyed my job and have worked for many years.  I remember thinking that the Bible didn't say that I couldn't work.  I did not see that addressed anywhere.  But as I aged, I become more mature in the Word.  I collect life experiences, and now I see where these examples would probably make life easier and better for everyone, but especially for my family. 

Last night I was aggravated about something.  Then my husband came into the kitchen and got a spoon.  He preceded to get spoonfuls of peanut butter to eat as a snack.  I know I said something to him, complained that he should find another snack, one that hadn't gone up in price 40% in the last few weeks!  Now normally, I am trying to keep him away from the sugar and sweets, because he is diabetic.  So this was a healthy snack, and he really was trying to please me.  And all the time I'm having this bad attitude I'm thinking, "Amy would think he should be able to eat peanut butter if he wants.  She probably would say he works hard and pays for it".  So Amy, if you see this, and you wouldn't have felt that way, I'm sorry.  But I am starting to stop what I'm doing to notice my husband and to think about how to honor my husband and show my appreciation of all he does.

I'm trying to be like those wives in the Bible.  But I know I have a long way to go.  We will be married 29 years next month.  That is a long time.  My husband retired last year, and my children are grown and really don't need me now.  So I need to invest time in this marriage of mine now that I have the time.  We have the opportunity to get to know each other again, and spend time on each other.  I think that sounds nice! 

Media Monday: Media and Our Walk with God

I am following a new series at Women Living Well called Media Monday. This series is about how the social media and Internet type activities in general affect our lives today. The age we live in has appliances and apps to perform just about any duty or action we need. We can hire people to do what ever we want. Accountants, lawn services, house keepers, you name it. But still we are rushed. We live in one of the most stressful times ever. With all the time saving devices we have today, we have trouble fitting in the things in our lives that are most important. Quality time with our children, alone time with our husbands, worship time with our Lord. The easier our life is supposed to be, the harder it seems it is to make time for the important things.

With progress, comes distraction. Computers allow us to talk to friends and relatives far away in a second, but we forget to spend time with the people in the same room with us. We can schedule a trip on line, but we forget to spend real time in The Word.

The Internet has really opened my eyes spiritually. I never knew that Christianity could look so different, and have so many different beliefs until I started spending time with others in blogland. I have an access to meet like-minded women who share my beliefs and feel the same way I do about important things. That is hard to do in real life sometimes. The Internet makes comparing several versions of scripture so much easier than it would have been just a few years ago. But sometimes we get distracted too easily by what our friends posted they are having for dinner, or by playing the latest video game.

Phones buzz and ring anywhere and everywhere, even church! I feel drawn to check my texts in church, because I have young adult children, and I think "what if they are hurt and need me?" But for eons of time, people have been able to sit through an hour service without being in touch with the outside world. I need to work on this distraction in my own life.

My husband and I make a conscious effort to limit our time on the Internet. My husband would laugh at that statement, because he never gets on the Internet. But we have boundaries to protect our family and our marriage from the distractions found in this world bombarded with media and the like. I think we all need to be extra careful to "Seek first the kingdom of God" and the put our families next. I plan to think about this over the next coming weeks. Maybe you will decide to, too.

Open Heart, Open Home: Chapters 3 and 4

I'm sorry, but I am very late in taking part in this post. We had company for the 4Th. ALOT of company! But it was a lot of fun. It seems the older I get, the longer it takes to recover from things like that. But that is OK. I believe that I relaxed and enjoyed this more than I usually do. I tend to fret a lot and want everything to be perfect. But this time I let some things go, and it all worked out OK.

Over at the Common Room, the Head Mistress posted some questions we could use if we chose. I'm going to use them, because I feel like I tend to not comment on the chapter so much if I just ramble.

Question 1. What does the Holy Spirit have to do with your hospitality? I pray each day that I will recognize the opportunities the the Lord and the Holy Spirit put before me. Too often, too many people confuse "entertaining" with "hospitality". I think entertaining should be a part of hospitality, but hospitality is done because we recognize a need in some one's life. Even if it is inconvenient, hospitality should still be offered. There is always need, and opportunities will become apparent to us if we are open to them.

Question 2. Is, "I don't have the gift of hospitality" a valid reason for a Christian not to practice hospitality? No. Many times in the Bible God has put tasks before someone that they did not want to do. But they still had to do it, and God showed them a way. God sees in us talents that we don't realize we have. But regardless, if the need of hospitality is there, the recipient will not care if you are not "good" at it. They will just be glad you offered and shared what you have.

This just happened in my own kitchen, just this afternoon. I heard knocking, and a neighbor couple was knocking on my door. The next thing I know my husband was leading them inside to sit in my kitchen because it was too hot to visit outside. I looked at them before they even got inside and said "I'm glad you came by. Please have a seat, just don't look at my dirty house!" They laughed and acted as if I were joking. But I proceeded to pick up, rearrange, and wash dishes the whole time they were here. We had a big gathering at our home on the 4Th of July. We are still putting up platters and large bowls we only use for times like that. Plus, even thought dishes had been done that night and the next day, we are still gathering bowls, and glasses, etc, to be washed and put away. I had it on my list today to work on the kitchen, but the neighbors arrived just as I was getting in from church. My husband apologized later, and explained to me what had happened. I told him that it was perfectly fine. I would rather the kitchen been neat, but I was doing a Bible study on hospitality and I could not allow my pride to keep me from offering to share with our neighbors. My husband is not a believer (Christian) yet. I think he was impressed that I would swallow my pride in the middle of a kitchen of dirty dishes and make these friends feel welcome. Maybe this was one of the days that the "Lord worked in mysterious ways" in my home.

I think the older I get it is easier to offer hospitality to others. I don't know if it is because we have more to offer, we have more room now, I have no small children, or because I'm just more comfortable with who I am. But what ever the reason, I find it easier at this stage of my life.

Question 3: How do you develop the gift of hospitality? The only way I know to develop the gift of hospitality is to be hospitable. Practice makes perfect, I always told my children. It will get easier the more we do it. As my children got older, they sometimes would be quicker to notice a hospitality need. When they would ask me about it, I never wanted to discourage this action in my children, so I always tried to make an effort to offer hospitality, even if I wouldn't have on my own. I wanted my children to know that with God, we can do anything!

Before you have people in your home, it would be a good idea to pray about the evening and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and show you how to proceed. I think wonderful things will happen if this path is taken.

If something comes up and you feel led to ask someone to dinner, do it. Don't worry if you haven't cooked enough. I'm sure there is something you can add to make enough for dinner, Everything will work out fine. Recently I asked some children what they were doing after Easter service. They said "nothing - there is nothing to do!". I said go ask your Grandma if you can come home with me. So they did, and our egg hunt for one Grandboy stretched easily for four other children. They didn't care what we ate. Regardless it was festive, and something they weren't going to do at home. So I felt glad I could share with them, and wished I had planned it from the start.

I look forward to the next chapters in this book, and will try to be more prompt in the future!

Please come back to see us. Love, Honey