Proverbs 31 Women: Part 9

It's been awhile since I've wrote about the women in the Bible. I have been diving into the New Testament and studying. I'm not the most qualified person to be writing about things like this. But, these are my thoughts along with what the Bible tells us and I do believe with all of my heart that we can learn valuable everyday life lessons form all these women.

1. Tabitha/Dorcus: Proverbs 31 describes a woman who works hard and brings blessings to her husband and children. We don't know if Tabitha had a husband or children. But, because of Acts 9:36, we do know she was a hard working woman and a disciple of Christ. Tabitha died, but her death resulted in many people coming to know God. Tabitha didn't stay dead long though, God used Peter to raise her from the dead! (Acts 9:36-43).
2. Phebe: This woman carried a letter from Paul to the Roman church. She had to be a woman of high and noble character to even be trusted with Paul's letter. The Bible tells us that she was a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. My Bible says, in the notes section, "the word deacon refers here to a Christian designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:8,12." Now I know I'm talking about the women in the New Testament, but that was still during a time in which women did not have much of a say so or leadership role. I believe that the fact that Phebe was in charge of handing a letter over, that would one day be a part of the Bible, and that she was publicly known as a deacon of the church, means that she was defiantly a Proverbs 31 woman that we can all learn form in today's world. (Romans 16:1-2).
3. The Devout, Honorable, and Chief Women of the Jews and Greeks: To read about these women, check out Acts 13:50 and Acts 17:4,12. The best place to read about these women is at Women in the Scriptures. But what I found interesting is that the Jewish women did not want to accept Paul's teachings and they helped run him out of town. But the women in Greece helped Paul to get the citizens to listen to him. The women in Greece played a very important role in helping bring salvation to many peoples' lives. The fact that the Jewish and Greek women were of high society speak volumes about them in general.
4. The Lady who revived one of the letters from John: We do not know her name or where she is from. We do know that she has raised her children right and most of them believe in God and are honorable people. We also know that her sister's children believe in God and want to wish her well. We know she and John know each other and they have talked. We know that she welcomes people into her home. Maybe John stayed with her awhile. We also know she is the only woman in the whole Bible to have a "book" or letter dedicated to her. I truly think this woman was a Princess Warrior for Christ and that makes her a Proverbs 31 Woman! Her story is in 2 John.
5. Widow of Nain: Luke 7:11-17 tells us that Jesus saw this woman as her dead son was being brought out of her house. He was her only son and the Bible tells us that Jesus' heart went out to this woman. He told her not to cry and then raised her son from the dead. We don't know what this woman did or who she really was. But Jesus loved her and we can learn from her story that there is always hope and Jesus is always with us!
6. Woman with the Bleeding Issue: I put this special woman in the category of a Proverbs 31 woman because of her great faith. In Matthew 9:20-22 we learn that the woman had been bleeding for twelve years. In Mark 5:25-34 we read that the woman had spent all of her money on doctors trying to get healed, but to no success. In Luke 8:43-48 the woman explains to Jesus that she knew that if she could just touch Jesus' robes she would be healed. Jesus knew that some of His power went out from Him and He told the woman, in front of a crowed of people, that her faith was rewarded. I think this woman is a Proverbs 31 woman for keeping her faith in such a difficult situation!

Scripture Memorization

 Since September of last year I've been memorizing Bible Verses. I'm not the best at memorizing things and I remember when I was in school I hated having to do spelling test because that was nothing but memorizing. As I've grown as a Christian I have found a way that helps me memorize Scripture where it will stick with me.

The first thing I do is pray about what I am getting ready to memorize and that God will show me ways I can apply a verse to my everyday life. The second thing I do is pick out Scripture that I can relate to or I use the Bible verses in my devotional. Starting in September I used the Mandisa Word Warriors Scriptures. She had picked a verse for every month that went along with one of her songs on her album "Overcomer." I also used Bible verses on Twitter and in my everyday reading.

When I started the devotional Faithful One by Amy-Jo Girardier I would memorize the verse the devotional said to. In my latest Bible study, Stepping Up: a Journey through the Psalms of Ascent by Beth Moore, I am going to memorize a whole chapter in Psalms. I also use the verse of the month on the Karen Kingsbury 2015 Wall Calendar. 

What I use to help me memorize is a stack of colorful note cards to write the verse on and draw pictures to help me remember key words. I use a post-it note to put on my bathroom wall so I see it everyday. I set a goal to memorize it by. I write the verse down in a little notebook everyday. When I have the verse memorized I highlight it in my Bible, write a way it can apply to life, and put a colorful tab on it so I can quickly turn to it in my Bible when I need it or just want to read it.

Some verses I've memorized are:

• 1 Peter 1:8
• James 5:16
• Ephesians 6:20
• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I hope this helps you as you set out to memorize Scripture.

Protecting Love

 (picture from the movie One Night with the King. You can buy the movie here.)
Happy Valentine's Day!
 I have been doing a 13 day study on the book of Esther through She Reads Truth​ and I read something that got my attention and is perfect to share for Valentine's Day.
"The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden." ~Esther 7:7
Okay, I know you're probably wondering why I'm sharing this verse about a king being angry, but just hear me out. Esther had just reviled to the king that she was a Jew and that Haman was trying to kill her people. I believe the king was upset that Esther had kept her heritage from him for so long, but he was more upset that his right-hand man had used him and was trying to kill his wife and her people.
So what does this have to do with Valentine's Day and love? I believe the reason the king got up and went outside is because he loved Esther so much he wanted to guard her heart. I think he didn't want to scare her because she saw him get mad, maybe yell and throw a few things. I believe he didn't want her to think he would ever hurt her, emotionally or physically when he was angry. I believe he wanted her to know she could tell him anything, yes he might get mad, but after he cooled off he would be there for her. The king loved Esther enough that he didn't want her to see him as anything but the gently husband she needed. To me this is a big sign of true love and a sign of a godly man.
Also through this study, I think the feast in the end of Esther, Purim, happened on Valentine's Day! I did some research and the month of Adar is possibly in February. So, I've made Hamantaschen and Kreplach for Valentine's Day. Here's the recipes:
Hamantaschen Recipe
Kreplach Recipe
Finally, I want to share this music video because it fits my life on this Valentine's Day:

Again, Happy Valentine's Day!

My DIY Christian Wreck This Journal

     

My mom got me a Wreck This Journal for Christmas. On my bucket list on Pinterest I have a picture that says to have a Christian wreck this journal. At the beginning of the year I started the Bible study Faithful One by Amy-Jo Girardier on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I love the study and the activities really help me understand the text more. So I've been using my journal to drive home the point.

If you're doing a Bible study and would like to visualize the contents even more getting a wreck this journal is a great way to do that. I don't do the journal says. I cover up the instructions with pictures or paint and label what day of the lesson the page goes with. I hope whatever Bible study you are doing you get what God is trying to teach you out of it!

   

Bible studies of 2015

  Welcome to the "official" blog post of 2015! I wanted to share about some things to be looking for on the blog in the upcoming months. First of all I am doing something that is on my bucket list this year. I am taking a photo everyday for the whole year. I have an album titled "A Photo A Day" on my Facebook page. I am doing this to document the changes I will make over this year.
Next, I will probably be doing some posts on the Bible studies I will be doing this year. The first one I have started out with is Faithful One by Amy-Jo Girardier. It is an eight week study on the books of 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. You can buy it here. I use the 1st and 2nd Thessalonians journal, which you can buy here, to take notes and provide more study tools. I also use a "Wreck journal" to doodle  in and drive home key points with pictures. My Bible choice is my NIV Bible I use everyday and my Quick View Bible that has graphs and charts in it. 
I'm taking a different approach to studying God's Word this year. Instead of just reading the Bible cover to cover, I want to do different devotionals to dig dipper into the Word and maybe understand it more! It's going to be a great New Year!