Foolish or Wise?

(Abbey Altson, On the Balcony)

A thought provoking quotation I read yesterday afternoon. Hopefully it will encourage some other young ladies out there:

"We have so few years as young women to cultivate and embrace the character of the Wise woman of Proverbs. The Foolish woman is so ready to step into our shoes, it's such a natural fit, but the Wise woman takes work and investment.

"I have two (very) handsome eligible brothers, and my sisters and I warn them of this foolish woman. While they may laugh and joke with this girl because they share the social circle, they will never marry her."

- Christa Taylor (empoweredtraditionalist.com)

Which am I -- the foolish, flirtatious woman or the godly, contented woman?

Penance or Dependence

Throughout my youth, I have been taught biblical, sound, plain-and-simple truth. For too long, however, I was the sword drill queen, the goody goody, the know-it-all. All the Bible verses, all the answers -- Sunday School teachers counted on me. So, "harsh words stir up anger?" No problem. Another verse crossed off the list.

Don't misconstrue my words: I've benefited beyond comprehension from my parents' and authorities' careful moulding. Years later, internalized verses come to mind for rebuke, correction, and training in righteousness. Yet for a time, memorization was just what Jane Ellen did.

Back to the harsh words. To be honest, the watch tower of my lips was vacant for many, many years. Cobwebs and dust settled over its surfaces. Poisonous darts and slanderous missives sprung through the opening, eager to sting. Occasional self sufficient efforts to "do better tomorrow" usually ended in the rotten floor giving way under my feet. Feeble attempts to control my words failed more miserably than ever. So, the guard tower remained desolate, and my speech continued to pierce, deadly as arrows.

Years went by. Finally, I had a heart-to-heart with this passage, and the veil fell. Penance, that self-sufficient salvation, helped not a bit. To assume so is despicably selfish. As John Calvin affirmed, "Nothing good proceeds from a man, however perfect he be, that is not defiled by some spot." No matter how often we tug on a sapling, it will grow no faster into a tree. Similarly, expecting growth in return for independent attempts will never satisfy.

Readers, as the Father tends the orchard, so also He tends our hearts. Without the Gardener, we wilt, fade, die. Call out to the One who has food that nurtures, water that satisfies, and authority that empowers. He will not -- no -- cannot fail, for it's foreign to His formidable nature. Stooping to our level, only He can bring about growth. Are we willing to humble ourselves, fall at His feet, and beg for aid?

The Old Testament

What is the significance of the Old Testament? If we look at the Old Testament, we see there [are] all kinds of information in the Old Testament about creation, about people, about history, about human conflict. Wars, migration, slavery, sin, all kinds of things are taking place in this dramatic history.

But the Old Testament is not simply a history book because, above all things, what the Old Testament accomplishes, beloved, is the self-disclosure of God. The chief character in the Old Testament is God, and it is in the pages of the Old Testament, as God reveals his law, as He reveals his promises, as He interacts with his covenant people, in everything that he says, in everything that he does, every event that is recorded in the Old Testament serves in some degree to remove the veil from the face of God and disclose his pure character to us.

So how in the world could a Christian ever come to think that the Old Testament was irrelevant? To be irrelevant would mean that the character of God is irrelevant, and He is the chief character. In a very real sense, the Old Testament is the autobiography of God, God as He relates to the world that he makes and the world that is fallen.

Dust to Glory by R.C. Sproul

Good Medicine

7:45 one morning found me walking into the convenience store to purchase two papers (we're coupon clippers!) and a gallon of milk (a necessity in our household). As I entered the man at the counter said, "Good morning." I smiled back and then hurriedly grabbed my items. I don't know about ya'll, but convenience stores aren't my favorite place to be; I have that "get in, get out" mentality when it comes to gas stations. After selecting the longest date of milk and checking to make sure the papers still had the coupons inside (it's horrible when you get home and find out they were swiped), I made my way to the counter.

This is always the worst part for me. In a department store, or even grocery store, I don't mind purchasing my items and talking to the cashier, but at a convenience store? Aren't they all just rude, depressing smokers? Hoping to get out as soon as possible, I pulled out President Jackson as the employee greeted me again (probably just an enforced courtesy) and rang up my order.

Suddenly, he (still with a bright smile)nodded at my shirt and asked if I attended Dartmouth, the college named there. Taken aback, I had to wait a moment and locate the English language that had temporarily flitted from memory -- not to mention any form of a smile. At last I recovered it and replied that I didn't (how did he confuse me for a college student, anyways?) and told him Daddy had attended there. "Wow! That's a great college," he amiably added. At this point my total had been compiled, so I relinquished the twenty and he pulled out my change. A few other remarks passed, nothing rude just simple, friendly conversation, and I was prepared to leave.

"Have a very good day!"

"You, too! Oh, and thank you very much," I cheerfully said with a genuine smile on my face.

He nodded his head while simply asserting, "My pleasure."

And I was out. Feelings and thoughts crashed over me like waves at the beach. But relief was not one of them. No where could I locate the motivation to mull over the rudeness of the cashier or how horridly sickening his aroma of cigarette smoke was. Why? Because none of that existed. The man at the register appeared and smelled clean. No rude look or comment ever made me uncomfortable. To quote a beloved movie, "He was all ease and friendliness!"

Then I began to analyze the situation (I've fallen into the habit of doing that with everything), and I quickly discovered my fault. I had committed an error that I am always preaching against, stereotyping things. Obviously, I hate stereotyping. In fact, I don't know anyone who enjoys it. But, in my sinful nature, I found my self judging someone I had never met. I entered that gas station completely expecting and awaiting a certain attitude and experience-- a bad one. I was totally confused when the only bad attitude in the whole store was my own and the experience was a great one. His cheerful behavior and uplifted countenance encouraged me to find something to be grateful for and to avoid putting a label on things.

So, next time you walk into a gas station, just remember my experience. Granted, I don't encourage you to walk into every store expecting a amiable attitude every time (that isn't realistic anywhere). But I think we should give people a little grace and remember that even if they smell like cigarette smoke and are short with us, we have all been created in the image of God. We might just try acting like it! (Great Scott, I'm on a roll today!)

In conclusion, I'll leave you with Proverbs 17:22, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." The BP employee did some good doctoring on my heart, so I'm gonna share the love. Will you?

Friendship

Painting by Adrien Moreau, Helping Hand

Shared joy is doubled joy, and shared sorrow is half sorrow.

This little proverb holds so much truth within it! It's amazing how many times I have announced some great and exciting piece of news to another and felt the joy that I had already been feeling rise in intensity. The second part of this saying is right, too. When we confide our agonies and heartaches, their hurt seems to lessen knowing that someone else cares too.

Let us all continue to not only "bear one another's burdens" (Gal. 6:2) but "cast our cares upon Jesus" (1 Peter 5:7). Glory be to God that He truly does care for us!

Thoughts on Biblical Dress

"Do not let your adorning be external -- the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing -- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:3-4

In a Bible study I am doing, The Joy of Womanhood, I am studying this passage. This morning, one of the study questions was, "What clothing would God consider beautiful? Use Scripture as a basis for your answer." This is what I came up with:

According to 1 Timothy 2:9, our dress should be modest and show self-control. It shouldn't reveal a heart that seeks gratification in the sinful desires of this world. Our clothing is to be respectable and simple, not rich or expensive (in other words, not trying to out do others). It should be tasteful. Christian women should never wear clothes that would cause a brother (or a sister!) to stumble in their walk with the Lord. (Romans 14:13) As in all things, our clothing should not show a woman who compromises and conforms to the world but rather one who has been transformed by Jesus' sacrifice! (Romans 12:2) When others see us, they shouldn't draw a parallel between us and the adulteress and seductress described in Provers 5, 7 and 9. Women should also dress practically. They should dress mindful of their duties, the weather and their day. (Proverbs 31:21) Godly women should be beautiful. I bring up again the ever insightful Psalm 144:12. I think this verse applies not only to daughters, but all women! Women should dress in a manner that is beautifying! A woman's attire should always reflect the fact that she is a woman and that she is a Christian and that her Lord has given her strength, power and a clean heart. (Proverbs 31:17 and 25)

Though this isn't an exhaustive list of all that the Word has to say on modesty, I am definitely going to be keeping these Scriptures in mind as I dress each day! May God give all of us the grace to dress in a manner that is pleasing to Him!

Kindness

"Speak kindly in the morning; it lightens the cares of the day and makes the household and all other affairs move along smoothly. Speak kindly at night, for it may be that before dawn some loved one may finish his or her space of life, and it will be too late to ask forgiveness. Speak kindly at all times; it encourages the downcast, cheers the sorrowing, and very likely awakens the erring to earnest resolves to do better, with strength to keep them. Kind words are balm to the soul. They oil up the machinery of life and keep it in good running order." - Daughters of Destiny, compiled and edited by Mrs. Noelle Wheeler Goforth

Definitely convicting! How true it is that when we speak kindly throughout the day, the day seems more joyful and light! God, give me that spirit that seeks to be kind. Teach me the lessons of the "soft answers that turns away wrath!" God, give me a meek and humble spirit!

Give Them Liberty

I just read this in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I am so very glad that this isn't the way my parent's view things. I pray that I won't follow the world's pattern for children my age. (By the way, my thoughts are in blue.)

Don't take personally your teen's efforts to ditch you. How comforting...teens are trying to ditch their parents -- the very people God has blessed them with for guidance and discipline. Lord, help me to never ditch my parents. Help me to honor them like You command in Your Word and to listen to their advice. I don't want to be a fool...or have my eyes plucked out by ravens and eaten by vultures. (Yes, that is in the Bible. Proverbs 30:17.) Help me to be a dutiful daughter who listens to my parents direction. Teens need to define who they are apart from you. Uhh...no they don't. What happened to sons and daughters adorning and being a part of their households? Check out Psalm 144:12 and this post to better understand what I am saying. I want, most importantly to be defined by God, but I definitely don't want to be a rebellious daughter...who wants that identity? Give yours some solo time -- and a practice run at adulthood -- on your next family vacation by letting him visit a tourist spot alone or take his own day trip. Uhh...that's really messed up. They are called teenagers for a reason. A time between childhood and adulthood. Parents are there for a reason. Teenagers aren't ready for adulthood. There is a time for everything. Ugh.

Hopefully this doesn't come across as self righteous. I don't want to be that way.

Man's Steps

"A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" Proverbs 20:24

If I am interpreting this correctly, then we shouldn't be angry or annoyed when we don't understand the way life is going. When our path is blurred, we shouldn't be surpirsed. God is the one who orchestrates everything! He has His own plans. We can't understand anything unless God has revealed it to us, so why do we expect to automatically understand our lives unless God has chosen to reveal it to us? Why are we so angry and irritable when we just don't know?

I would like to encourage anyone whose way is blurry, who doesn't see where life is headed. Don't worry about it! Your "steps are from the LORD"! He knows whats going on. And, personally, I'd rather my life be in the hands of a perfect God who is working all to my good than in my own blinded, sinful ones!