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!

God First: the Chase

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else...and He will give you everything you need." ~Matthew 6:33 NLT  As I'm sitting here drinking my Orange Pumpkin Pie Spice tea and listening to "Priceless" by for King and Country, I decided to reread chapter one of The Chase by Kyle and Kelsey Kupecky.

The title of the first chapter is "God First" and that is the perfect title for this blog post that is somewhat a review of chapter one of this book.

The book starts out with Kelsey sharing a time in her life when she put a boyfriend before God even though she knew he was not the one God had planned for her. She opens up about her heartbreak from the experience and realizing she needed to get back to God being the One in her life.  As she says "God's plans are always far better than our own", she shows the proof in that statement by telling how when she and Kyle met they were happy being single and not looking for a relationship. At the end of her part of this chapter she gives great advice for growing closer to God.

"None of us are ready for a romantic relationship until we chase God." This quote sticks out to me as the chapter changes to Kyle's story and he tells about his first relationship out of high school and how he cared more about the status of the relationship than the relationship itself and was not putting God first. Kyle tells about a friend who stood up for his faith through purity and how that friend was an example to him. This part of Kyle's story is evidence that what you do in your life affects others and you have a chance to be a great role model and mouth piece for God. Kyle ends with telling how God blessed him by keeping him single and opening up many doors in his career. Then, out of the blue, he met his future wife in the most unlikely place and time. I like how he words it in the book: "On March 8, time froze. Everything stood still when I was introduced to a girl backstage. Her name was Kelsey." The chapter ends with questions to think about from Kyle and Kelsey.

Wow! Who could write anything better? God is the Ultimate Author of Fairytales because He loves us so much and is so involved in our lives. No one knows us better!

God First!!! "Let the chase begin!" ~ from The Chase.

Hello October

                                                         

As I'm sitting here watching "Castle" after a really bad day at school, I realize I have been MIA for almost a month! I'm sorry I have not kept up with my posts in the month of September. School has been insane, crazy and last month I could not find one free moment to write! But, I'm going to make it up to my lovely readers!

There will be eight posts this month. I will be writing the three that I missed in September on Mondays this month. On Saturdays I will be posting my regular updates.

Here is the schedule for the month of October:

• October 3rd: The Chase by Kyle and Kelsey Kupecky, chapter one.
• October 10th: Proverbs 31 Women of the Bible
• October 12th: Other Women of the Bible
• October 17th: The Cinderella Rule by Bethany Jett
• October 19th: Another Proverbs 31 Women of the Bible
• October 24th: Another Other Women of the Bible
• October 26th: Another The Cinderella Rule by Bethany Jett
• October 31st: A Halloween Special and another The Chase by Kyle and Kelsey Kupecky, chapter 2.
• November 2nd: Another The Chase by Kyle and Kelsey Kupecky, chapter 3 and an update on what is to come.