She is clothed in Strength and Dignity

“Strength and Dignity”

Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.
She makes me laugh. She gives hope when I feel discouraged. She reminds me that my mind needs to have redirection when I am thinking of the things that are not life-giving. She is a woman of Grace.  She understands my struggles, either because she has lived them or because she is walking close to the one that knows my every moment and breath.
She is my friend. She is my warrior in battle. She is a Proverbs 31 woman. A woman fully clothed in strength and dignity.

Who is she? She is many. She is the many women that the Lord has put in my life to edify, encourage, build up, and strengthen me in this thing we call life.
In the presence of these mighty women, I can’t help be changed and transformed to be the woman that God had created me to be.

Just as the scripture says bad company corrupts good character (I Cor. 15:33), so can a strong woman influence the ladies within her circle.

Because she spent the time to cultivate my walk, I am able to say that I too am a woman of strength and dignity. I too can laugh at my future without fear.

I have been blessed to have women in my life give of themselves and take the time to instruct and teach the truth. They have spoken into my nows, for the development of my next.

Who the Lord chooses to place in my life has taken turns over the years. But each one that has imparted has made a lasting impact. I remember the women, that taught a young girl, how to raise my hands in worship. I remember the women that taught me how to go to the scriptures in all of my trials, longing, and joys. I remember the women that taught me how to be a wife that saught God’s plans for my family. I remember the woman that spoke to me as a young mother and reminded me that the seasons would go fast and to enjoy each moment. I remember the woman that taught me how to retrain my thoughts. I remember the woman that told me I was assuming another’s heart was ill-intentioned and that I  needed to trust in God for other’s motives and love without restriction. I remember the woman that spoke into my life, teaching me about my identity in Christ.

These many women changed my life from the victim to the victorious. From the mundane to the extraordinary. To a life full of expectation rather than a focus on what was lost or left behind.

Because she was willing to invest, I too can boldly say that I  am a woman clothed in strength and dignity and I can laugh without fear of the future. Because of the Holy Spirit within her pouring out, I was changed.

She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future.
She can walk in this truth as she listens to the instruction of the Lord. She dwells with the Holy Spirit. Letting His power be at work within.

She may not even know the impact she has made. For her efforts may have seemed so small in the grand scheme of things. But to the one that had her life changed, it meant everything.

She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future.

Spinning the wheels

With my husband out of work for so long and no prospects really in sight, some days I can literally feel my brain spinning the wheels. I am constantly looking up jobs, thinking about the forclosure sale date, and making sure we are attempting to move forward.

I am finding there is a fine balance between taking steps in faith, because faith without works is dead, and trying to make something happen in my own power.

Most often these days, the Lord is needing to remind me over and over to just rest and wait. Waiting is so not my normal nature. If I ‘think’ I can find the solution, I am going to keep racking my brains and try. If I think I am going to miss an opportunity if I am not looking for it, I am going to keep looking. These days if I let it, my mind spinning the wheels could drive me right into that ditch of despair. I need to be aware of what I am doing.

I do not do anticipation very well;  I am the kind of girl that would scrape the dirt off my seedlings in the garden to see if they were beginning to sprout, and cover them with dirt again. I would look in the back of the mystery book to see if I was right. One year I opened all my Christmas packages and re-wrapped them ( I was twelve).

Oh I can handle the woman in front of me in line on her cell phone, not putting her groceries on the belt just fine. I can wait forever and a day for the cat to decide if she wants to go outside or not. However, when it comes to anticipating something good to happen, especially when we are at the limit,  I do not do waiting very well.

I do not like this about me. I am finding daily I need to repeat to myself, trust in the Lord, rest, be full of peace, He has it covered! I fully and completely believe there is a plan for our lives and I do not have to know every single step.  So finding the balance between getting those wheels to stop spinning for a bit, and to get them moving when it is needed is the trick of this season for me.

Challenge this day my friends: When we want to think things to much, just rest in Him. Know that the plan is already there and we are taken care of 🙂 Trust me, I am completely taking this challenge up often these days. SO very thankful He is always patient with me and let’s me try that again.

Proverbs 3:5-

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.

(New American Standard Bible)

Ex-pec-ta-tion

In my lowest times of depression I had no feelings of expectations. Everything I had hoped for or believed for seemed to be crumbling down around me. With those crushed in the moment dreams I was was fearful to dream again. But then I realized I was sinking deeper because I was not expecting anything better for my life. I began to EXPECT joy and to EXPECT blessings. I started EXPECTING  the things I believed in once, would happen eventually. I EXPECTED Gods favor!

What happened was a transformation in me and my life. I began to see fruit from the things expected. I began experiencing joy because there was no other option in my mind. I began seeing our needs cared for, relationships healed, and God moving in wonderful ways. Because I expected it, I hoped for it, and when you expect something or hope in something, you begin to move forward in that hope.

Websters definition of  Expectation :

1. A strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.

2. A belief that someone will or should achieve something.

A life without an expectation or with a goal in mind for yourself is not a very hopeful life. You must have hope for your future and actively pursue it. Through prayer and confirming in the word that your expectations line up with with God’s plan in your life, NOTHING can stop you!

God plans for us to be productive, joyful, and abundantly blessed.

Challenge this day friends: Expect a change, Expect better, Expect joy, Expect your goals to come to pass and Expect an end to your frustrations. Don’t walk through life without the knowledge that you CAN achieve that which God puts before you!

Proverbs 23:18-

For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

(KJV)