You know you are on your way to becoming a Proverbs 31 woman WHEN:
#1 HE IS YOUR GREAT REWARD... "After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Genesis 15:1
#2 YOU FULLY COMPREHEND THAT YOU WERE MADE BY HIM AND FOR HIM... "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." Colossians 1:16
#3 YOU SEEK AND STRIVE NOT TO SWERVE..."Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Proverbs 4:23-27
#4 YOU FIND PURPOSE IN LIVING ON MAP ON MISSION AS A RESPONSE TO HIS CALL TO SERVICE..."For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."
#5 YOU PLACE LOVE AT THE CENTER OF ALL THINGS LIVING OUT OF THE OVERFLOW OF HIS LOVE IN YOUR LIFE...1 Corinthians 13:1-13
#6 THE CHASE OF MEN PALES IN COMPARISON TO THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF GOD "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise up on the wings of the down, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as a light to you. Psalm 139:8-12
#7 GOD DESERVES MORE THAN YOUR LEFTOVERS AND YOU RECOGNIZE YOU ARE MERELY A STEWARD OF TIME, MONEY, AND PEOPLE PLACED IN YOUR PATH FOR A SEASON..."Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
#8 YOU REFUSE TO SETTLE FOR LESS THAN GOD'S BEST IN ANY AREA OF LIFE...""Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
#9 YOU FIGHT NOT TO WAIVER IN YOUR FAITH DESIRING TO BE OBEDIENT IN EVERYTHING..."Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." Ephesians 4:14 "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6 "The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything." 2 Corinthians 2:9
#10 YOU VOW TO LIVE IN PURSUIT OF HIM HAVING BEEN DEFINED IN HIM TO BE A WIFE OF NOBLE CHARACTER in his eyes NEVER CONFUSING THE SIZE OF THE H... "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing in value.
This is in NO way a 10 step process as there are characteristics that take a lifetime to put on as clothing each day. These are simply 10 things I've discovered to carry the most responsibility in making me who I am. By no other avenue would I be where I am today. So why such a title? "PRINCESS FOR A SUMMER....praying for a LIFETIME" Well, inside of marriage a woman is to be treated as a princess and a man honored as a little l lord. Using the triangle illustration I so firmly believe in, God is the apex and husband and wife are the remaining vertices. The closer a man gets to God, the closer he will be to his wife. The closer a woman gets to God, the closer she will be to her husband. The straight and narrow is a beautiful thing. The journey is straight to God with fixed eyes and few detours making the trades of Romans 1:25. I say few, because the trades you make in life enlarges your perspective of who God is causing you to find Him irreplaceable.
Without a doubt this has been the best summer of my life. Coming out of the rain and into the sunshine to some may be a no-brainer. But for me, I NEED the storms to shape me, to allow me to add beauty to another's life, and to grow me in ways I never imagined to be my reality. The difference is that I would choose the storms over the promised sunshine any day as long as I remained in His boat Matthew 14:32. The sunshine is a promise and the storms shape me. Why would I want to stand in the sunshine as less when the storms of life would uncover the more God has for me? You may need to marinate in that for a bit to capture the weight of it.
I rode out the storm of an incredibly painful but beautiful relationship. ...and the sunshine is so much brighter having traveled that road. This summer I decided that I would join meetup.com and go out and do the things I both love to do and have always wanted to do, but would never sign up for myself. Instead I got to do them all in great company. I hiked the waterfalls in a different state each weekend, went whitewater rafting, took my first cliff jump, slid off Turtleback Falls, went zip lining, learned how to play tennis (sort of), soon to go sky diving and most likely caving. And that's the short list. I was blessed with the most beautiful relationships, made a ton of friends, and found great fellowship in the best company. And God put it on my heart to start up my own meetup. I titled it CENTER STAGE 3:30 and designed it for singles 22-35. We alternate between local outings, service, and outdoor adventure. And for a very short but memorable season with a few and 4 days with one other I chose to search for unmarried men for my group using dating websites...and was blessed with new friends and beauty like I've never known. I have had the honor of getting to know the most intentional kind-hearted men to ever cross my path. This summer, I got to know what it's like to be chased, prayed for, and desired. BUT all of that only adds beauty to an already beautiful life having been chased by a relentless God all my life. Standing in the light of that wisdom requires darkness no matter your story. I've known what it's like to read a book and respond in the form of a book. For non-writers out there...in my world that's called an e-mail. I've known morning fuel and nightly affirmation. I've known the asking of how my day was and the refusing to share until the answer is received. I've known audible prayer from miles away, and prayers in the quiet of a home, a bed, a car etc...For ME. I've stood in awe and been humbled by love to the greatest depths. I've known the receiving of gifts with great meaning in small packages...because a man simply listened. I needn't hint at anything because if it's possible it will soon be my reality. I've known the life of a princess. ...and I'm not even in a defined exclusive relationship. Who am I to deserve such love? For however many tomorrows I am blessed with I will NEVER forget the beauty of THIS summer. "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." ...and who knows maybe my followers and readers will one day get to learn about the ONE prince who signs on to make princess for a LIFETIME my reality. My prayer is that I am NEVER a part of another's regret story and that I ONLY add beauty and subtract nothing from a life.
Heavenly Father God,
I lift up all those who cross my path. I pray that I steward well, communicate well, challenge them, and add beauty to their life....always getting their attention with your truth. Help me to strive to remain obedient in everything. And thank you ahead of time for the rain that's coming, because it only grows my appreciation for the sunshine that comes from all that I plant in my life and the ways you interrupt my plans. Thank you for your promises, for being my hope, and my strong foundation. It would be an honor to be a small part that makes up the roots of another. As I head back into the realities of work give me opportunities to be reminded that no matter the soil I stand on the mission is the same. Give me eyes to recognize the fruit of my future husband no matter his name, and continue to mold me into a proverbs 31 wife. Be near to my readers. Let them find great encouragement here, and help them to seek your face each day by first digging into your Word. Give them reason to pause and notice you in both the simple and complex. And make them a vessel of your love carrying a new testimony with the rising and setting of the sun. I hear you God. I ask you why the sun seems to rise and set from East to West and you remind me that it's to show the expanse of your love FOR me.
Forever praising you in the storms!
