Winds of Change
Can you feel it? The wind is stirring, the leaves are waving, and there is the slightest odor of smoke in the air. I'm not speaking of the weather, mind you, but of my spirit. Lately, I have felt the Lord stirring in me...changing me...igniting within me a desire to be more receptive to Him. He is gently prodding me to change the way I see the world around me and especially to change the way I treat & react to the people around me.
For the past several weeks I have felt a driving need to learn more about what it means to be a godly woman and how that godly woman should make her home a haven for her husband and children (if God blesses her with any). I have felt a need to do something to bring myself closer to God...things like memorizing Scripture, reading the Word more, and making a conscious effort to be kind in my thoughts and words. Much of this inspiration is due in part to the many blogs of wonderful, godly women that I have found over the past month or so. There are links to some of them in the sidebar if you'd care to take a look. One of my favorites is A Wise Woman Builds Her Home which belongs to June Fuentes of Indiana. This lady has EIGHT children and homeschools them all! She really has some godly wisdom on child-rearing, being a spouse, being a homemaker, and several other topics. If you want to be challenged, go read her blog. You won't be disappointed!
On several of the blogs I've been reading lately, I've read references to being a "Proverbs 31 Woman" or a "Titus 2 Woman." I had a vague idea of what the ideal woman in Proverbs is like-- pretty much perfect! But I had never heard of being a Titus 2 woman until just recently. So, like any good Baptist girl who finds herself on the very back row in big church & hopelessly distracted by all the potty-goers, I decided to look up the Titus passage. Keep in mind my desire lately to be a "homemaker", not necessarily a stay-at-home wife yet, but a homemaker.
Titus 2:3-5, NIV
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
That, ladies (and maybe gentlemen), is exactly what God has been stirring up in my soul! Hallelujah, praise the Lord! When I read those verses, it was as if God shouted in my head, "Look Ashlie! This is what I've been guiding you toward! This is how you can please Me!" I tell you, that was an "Ah-ha!" moment for me. I especially love how the NIV says "busy at home" because it portrays a woman who stays at home and yet is not at all lazy or bored. She is "busy" keeping a clean home so that her family will be comfortable. She is "busy" doing laundry so that her family will have fresh, sweet-smelling clothes to wear. She is "busy" cooking food that will satisfy hungry bellies and nourish growing bodies. In short, she is fulfilling the privilege, and, yes, it is a privilege, of making her home a haven for her family.
I have a long, long, long way to go before I am anywhere close to being a Titus 2 or a Proverbs 31 woman. But if the gentle breeze stirring in my soul is any indication, it will be a revealing & refreshing journey! I pray that you too will begin to feel God calling you back to a joy in godly womanhood.
For the past several weeks I have felt a driving need to learn more about what it means to be a godly woman and how that godly woman should make her home a haven for her husband and children (if God blesses her with any). I have felt a need to do something to bring myself closer to God...things like memorizing Scripture, reading the Word more, and making a conscious effort to be kind in my thoughts and words. Much of this inspiration is due in part to the many blogs of wonderful, godly women that I have found over the past month or so. There are links to some of them in the sidebar if you'd care to take a look. One of my favorites is A Wise Woman Builds Her Home which belongs to June Fuentes of Indiana. This lady has EIGHT children and homeschools them all! She really has some godly wisdom on child-rearing, being a spouse, being a homemaker, and several other topics. If you want to be challenged, go read her blog. You won't be disappointed!
On several of the blogs I've been reading lately, I've read references to being a "Proverbs 31 Woman" or a "Titus 2 Woman." I had a vague idea of what the ideal woman in Proverbs is like-- pretty much perfect! But I had never heard of being a Titus 2 woman until just recently. So, like any good Baptist girl who finds herself on the very back row in big church & hopelessly distracted by all the potty-goers, I decided to look up the Titus passage. Keep in mind my desire lately to be a "homemaker", not necessarily a stay-at-home wife yet, but a homemaker.
Titus 2:3-5, NIV
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
That, ladies (and maybe gentlemen), is exactly what God has been stirring up in my soul! Hallelujah, praise the Lord! When I read those verses, it was as if God shouted in my head, "Look Ashlie! This is what I've been guiding you toward! This is how you can please Me!" I tell you, that was an "Ah-ha!" moment for me. I especially love how the NIV says "busy at home" because it portrays a woman who stays at home and yet is not at all lazy or bored. She is "busy" keeping a clean home so that her family will be comfortable. She is "busy" doing laundry so that her family will have fresh, sweet-smelling clothes to wear. She is "busy" cooking food that will satisfy hungry bellies and nourish growing bodies. In short, she is fulfilling the privilege, and, yes, it is a privilege, of making her home a haven for her family.
I have a long, long, long way to go before I am anywhere close to being a Titus 2 or a Proverbs 31 woman. But if the gentle breeze stirring in my soul is any indication, it will be a revealing & refreshing journey! I pray that you too will begin to feel God calling you back to a joy in godly womanhood.
Oh, Ashlie, what an inspiration you are! I love reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Ashlie, thanks for the kind words--they are much appreciated! It is wonderful to hear how the Lord is working in your life! I was just concerned because when I clicked on the post it seems to go into my dashboard---how on earth did that happen?!? Would you mind changing this to the URL that you have placed on your sidebar (www.proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com)---that goes straight to the homepage. I would really appreciate it and thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteThank you and many blessings...
Thanks for taking care of it SO quickly! :) Reading how you are coming closer to the Lord brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of those days when the Lord was teaching me so many new things and revealing a whole new side of Himself to me. I will be praying for you on this wonderful journey with our Heavenly Father---He is Good!
ReplyDeleteMany blessings...
Ashlie, I just found this blog and am enjoying reading it. You are a good writer. It is awesome to hear your desire to be a godly wife. My husband and I do marriage ministry (we mentor married/engaged/and even dating couples) and it is always so encouraging to me when I hear women who are very passionate about marriage.
ReplyDelete-Lori
my mom's been feeling a lot of this lately too! she joined a really nice bible study group at our church that's doing the disciple bible study series...she seems to like it...keep listening and praying, God will let you know where exactly you should be to grow...
ReplyDeleteall for nows!
Hi--I noticed you stopped by my blog today so I came here to see who you were. By the way I like Todd Agnew also '-) . I have one of his CD's that I sometimes listen to when walking or driving. There really is nothing in the world so satisfying as drawing closer to God and fulfiling the role He has given you. I hope you continue to grow in Him and in your love for your husband. I have found that I loved each season of my life--I worked otside the home until I was pregnant--I worked in nursing homes and felt it was such a blessed ministry. Then when my kids were at home I was at home and I loved that--it is so wonderful to bring them up in the ways of the Lord (even if they depart from them when they are out of the Home the Lord has that foundation in their lives and it truly continues to work in them), then I worked for a while again outside the home with the disabled to help my kids with college and again that was a rich blessing. Now I am home again helping my in-laws as they age. Each stage of life has been rich--the main thing is to be and do what God calls you to do--in every area you are a blessing and ministering to others and that is a rich life!! God bless you as you nurse and touch people's lives for Him!!ps--love your blog
ReplyDeleteThat was great, Ashlie! As a stay at home mom, I needed to read this. Sometimes I forget that the Lord wants me to have those sweet smelling clothes and a floor that you can walk on without stepping on a Pop-Tart. Thanks for this post!
ReplyDeleteAshlie: I have been reading "A Wise Woman Builds Her Home" blog every since I stumbled across it on your blog. As a stay at home mom who is trying to have a home business, love her children and spouse, and do things a little more naturally, I have found that I just love her blog. She is great and so informative.
ReplyDeleteYou have really been blessed with an awesome attitude and a heart for God in this new journey that you have begun as a married couple. You guys are going to do great together!