Day 4 "She selects wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands."

Day 4 

M.J.  


"She selects wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands."


Today was another busy day.  I did, however, stop to smile at my husband.  I also did stop a few times to check myself to see if what I was doing was something to make my husband gain confidence in me.  So, you see, I’m teachable. 
I am prayerfully applying for a new job right now, and the hiring process is quite a share of paperwork.  I had time to read my devotional this morning, which was Luke 9:28-36.  It talked about how God made no mistake on letting us know that Jesus was His son.  He did not say “This is one of my sons.” Or “This is a really good guy.” He said “This is my son. Listen to him.”  I am relating it to my blog today because I think it is important that we recognize and reverence the Word for what it is.  God gave us such an awesome instruction manual!  One scripture can be such a help to us, if it is prayerfully approached. 
            My husband, noticing the difference in me, I’m sure, cleaned the kitchen for me and cleared the breakfast dishes and loaded the dishwasher, while I was filling out my paperwork.  What a blessing!  I am not saying he does not lend a hand with the housework from time to time, but what I am saying is, I really appreciate him doing it today. 
            Which finally, brings us to today’s verse, which has been on my mind all day. 
As I have stated before, I am notorious for stacking my days, and I’m trying to wean my way away from that, for obvious reasons.  The first thing I thought about with this verse was,  she was industrious. “She selects wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands.”  I thought, “I work eagerly with my hands!  I am really good at working eagerly! I'm industrious!”  But then such a conviction came over me as I read this verse again.  “She selects wool and flax…”
I am working eagerly with my hands tonight.  I am making desserts for about a hundred people for an event tomorrow at our church.  I love to bake, so I volunteered to do it. 
Again, the house is a bit of a mess and the kids did not get their night time story, because mom is in the kitchen working on another volunteer deadline.  Not good. 
            This proverbs woman is busy too.  She is out and about. What is this woman doing when she goes to the marketplace?  What do I do when I go to the marketplace? Again, I want to point out what the text did not say.  “She selects pretty fabrics and fine perfumes.”  Or it did not even  say “She selects fabric to make for the poor and needy.” Although, the passage refers to reaching out to the poor later on in this section, I think it is wisely and strategically placed. She takes care of her family and household before she reaches out to the poor or anyone else that might "need" her.  This verse, as is the next seven verses, a reference to her family.  It didn’t say she bought vases, perfumes, jewelry.  She bought wool.  I am looking at subtext here, but I think is it pretty safe to assume she is buying this for her family.  Wool to be spun into fabric, to be made in to clothes for her husband and children as well as herself.  She also bought flax.  Flax is a meal that is nutritious and shows care for the well being of her family’s health.  She is not out and about to impress, bring glory to herself, or even take care of any one other than her family in this verse.  She is virtuous.  
       I have been guilty of working “eagerly” outside of my home and have done some great charity and volunteer work.  I have also worked eagerly inside my home.  But if I had a dime for every time I worked eagerly outside my home and a hundred dollar bill for every time I worked eagerly inside my home, the first would be where my fortune would be made.  So, today, I am examining my priorities and setting some new rules about what I am doing in the "marketplace." Is my first priority to my home?  I am a very good wife and mother, but being painfully honest, I would have to say it has not always been.  I have done so much volunteering and “helping” that my first ministry, my household, has had times where they had to wait and watch.  It is amazing what revelation we can glean from a scripture.  God is pretty cool that way.  Tomorrow I am delivering desserts and “suspending” any more volunteer work and looking forward to spending some time with my family. I will look forward to  “Spinning them wool and preparing flax” in other words, letting them know, they are the most important thing in the world to me.
M.J.


Cat's  Day 4

"She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands."
I love to work with my hands.  I love working in the garden, doing yard work.  I love cooking and cleaning.  I love  making art-all kinds.  There is something very real about working with one's hands, something that grounds us.  If you've never 'thrown' clay on a moving wheel and made a pot with your hands, you are missing out on a very zen-like earthy moment that never quite leaves your mind.  While the rest of the world has moved on into the digital world with great enthusiasm, I choose to spend alot more time practicing the now archaic practice of traditional photography.  I love developing my own black and white film, taking also colored film and using alternative photography methods, creating all kinds of image transfers and altered art.  I need to get my hands dirty with creativity and digital, though quick and clean is too impersonal for me.  I need to commune with what I'm doing and digital  photography  smiles at me like an acquaintance and  I'd rather dance intimately with an old and dear friend.  Yes, I worketh willingly with my hands and what I work with sometimes takes great diligence in the chase.  The chemicals that I need to use in developing film etc. come from a limited list of suppliers now and altered art calls for a treasure hunt to gather the materials (yard sales, thrift stores, art stores, found objects in nature) and therefore alot of 'seeking' is called for .
In my practical daily life, I'm learning to apply this verse in everyday applications that will benefit my family. I have been concentrating on saving money on groceries and paper products etc., and I've found out I can save quite a bit if I handmake many things myself.  So far, I've learned how to make my own laundry soap (I can make a batch that will get me just about 300 loads for less than 10 dollars!)  I've also learned how to make my own facial cleanser for 1.00 as opposed to the usual 10.00 one I used to purchase.  I can make my own baby wipes that work better than the store bought kind.  I can also make daiper creme (which kind of surprises me, but really, do you want to be smearing something on your babies skin that will be absorbed into his bloodstream that you can't even pronounce?)I make my own household cleansers from natural and green ingredients.  From all these savings, I have enough to put aside toward a family vacation and have enough cash to buy organic fruits and veggies for my family.  I'm also learning to repurpose many items and recycle better than I have in the past.  I'm really enjoying where I am right now in this journey and I see that wherever I am in life, I need to give it my 100 percent, (not thinking that I'm working toward another life in mind, but really making the most of where I'm at), I think when we are giving our all to where we are at, we can't help but propel forward into the next phase of where we are supposed to be.  Colossians 3:23 & 24 says, " And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily , as to the Lord and not unto men.  Knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ."  My position while working inside our home is like working outside the home in the way that even on the worst days, I need to remember that I'm stilling serving my Lord in whatever I do and need to do it with a happy heart.    I rejoice in the seeking of the wool today and  will gladly continue to worketh willingly with my hands.  Thank you Lord for the privilege today to serve you by serving the beautiful people you placed in my life today.