Good (Chapter 21)

A person is what he does.

“A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.”(Proverbs 12:4) This chapter once again made me think. Made me think of how I spend my time. Do I spend it wisely? It is so easy to waste time doing things that really don’t matter I really like to surf the internet. Read blogs, read recipes, read household hints, design my blog and other things, but I have to be very careful of my time. The minutes fly by and it is so easy to forget about the tasks at hand and ignore my family. Years ago I gave up reading romance novels or fictions (Christian of course) because I found they were a waste of time. It often got frustrated when I was into the book and I had to ‘care for my child’. So I decided to give them up. I didn’t feel what I was reading was wholesome and life giving. And since then my appetite has been for wholesome books, books that teach, challenge and uplift rather than entertain. When we had TV I remember how easy it was to waste my afternoon away by watching the afternoon talk shows. I usually didn’t learn much, mostly just entertainment. For what? Now that we have older children and you see how they spend their time I realize how important it is to be a good example. They are watching and they are learning. When they have their own households some day I don’t want them to be used to being entertained, but rather i want them to be used to spending their time wisely. So we don’t have games that waste time, we gave away all our fiction/romance books and we read only Christian biography or true stories that don’t just please the flesh but give life. I am so saddened today when I see what parents let their kids read. Sometimes I wonder if parents even monitor what their kids read. Just because it is labeled ‘Christian’ does that make it so? I have been appalled when I go into the Christian Book Stores and see some of the literature that is out there for our kids. It looks just like the worlds, just with a Christian title. And the romance books that are out there. What good do they do except ignite passions that should be kept quiet until the time that they find their spouse. So I beg you, be careful of what kind of books you allow into your home. Do they support the morals and beliefs of your family? Because if they don’t, you are giving your kids a double standard. So let’s not just entertain our families for entertainments sake. Maybe you need to go through your family library and seriously consider why you have the reading material you do. Another topic that was discussed was researching and examining why we do what we do. Re: vaccinations, nutrition, schooling, ect. Do we do things the way we do just because that’s the way everyone does it? I have to admit I started out our marriage and parenting this way. Didn’t really even think of some of these issues, just did it the way I always saw things done. But we really need to think through why we do the things we do. Why do we vaccinate? Why do we cook the way we do? Why do we school the way we do? And I could go on and on….another day! Let’s remember to seek God’s way for all areas of our life, even in the way we run our household. I agreed with Debi when she talked about how a woman can help her man and do the yard work and even some minor fixing things around the house. This has never been an issue for me for two reasons: (1)Yard work time is in the busy season of farming. If Mark would have to do the yard work it would be after 10:00 or later each night. Doesn’t work! So I have always done the yard work.

(2) I love to fix things. I love the challenge of fixing things. So I often fix things. Of course there are many things that are way over my head, but if it is small enough, I will tackle it. I have done what Debi said, gotten into a job that is over my head and my hubby has to bail me out. I always feel worse about that because it is usually at a time that is inconvenient for him. So I try to choose my ‘fixins’ wisely  I quote from the book “A Good Woman Is A Prudent Woman A prudent woman is not dumb A prudent woman is not lazy A prudent wife does not waste her time A prudent wife is a learner” When reading Proverbs 31:10-31 I see again what a hard working woman she is. In this world of automatic everything it is sometimes easy to get lazy. So I encourage you to read Proverbs 31 and notice verse 31 and how these years of being a mother, someday you will receive the fruits that you have sown. I want to make sure I sow the right thing. Good fruit will be worth more than any amount of relaxation or entertainment, don’t you think?