Proverbs 31:11 - Trust

"The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." -NAS

"Her husband has full confindence in her and lacks nothing of value." -NIV

As I read through today's verse, I am reminded of the importance of trust in a healthy marriage. In the NAS version, it says, "the heart of her husband trusts in her." The heart is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible. It is the center of our being. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." When our heart is involved, we are vulnerable! And in Proverbs 31:11, we learn that our husbands should trust us with his heart. He should trust us with his inner-most being, the part of him that will affect everything he does. If my husband trusts me with his heart, and if his heart affects all he does, then it is of utmost importance that I do all I can to preserve this trust! His success is tied to this trust, as confirmed in the second part of verse 11. "And [he] lacks nothing of value", or "And he will have no lack of gain." When my husband is able to trust me with his heart, he is able to succeed. Likewise, if I am not trustworthy, it will contribute to his inability to succeed. This gives me a sense of my importance, and reminds me of my worth as his help mate! It moves me to ask several questions of myself. What am I doing to earn my husband's trust? How do I behave toward him that encourages this deep trust? Am I doing all I can do to preserve this trust?

Now, what does the Bible say makes us women who are worthy to be trusted? The behaviors and qualities listed in the rest of Proverbs 31. Stay tuned...

An excellent wife, who can find?

I have been thinking much of the identity of this blog. I have been blogging for about a year now and mostly it has contained the facts and figures of my growing family. Occasionally, I have gotten crafty and blogged of my cooking adventures. As we embarked on the adventure of moving away from all family and friends, I feel that I have become more focused on trusting the Lord. I have been feeling that maybe I should share, here, a bit of my heart and what the Lord has been teaching me.

In my effort to become the wife God has called me to be, I am going to challenge myself to study Proverbs 31:10-31. I will go verse by verse and share here what I have studied and ideas to implement this wisdom into my life. Today is verse 10, "An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels." I know that only God can make me into an excellent wife. So that is why I write today of all the ways I have found to help me to grow into the wife of Proverbs 31.

The past few months have been a time of growth in faith for me. After moving, Jason and I were able to quickly find a small group which includes several other young families. We have been blessed beyond words by the amazing people whom we can now call friends! Each of the families has a fire and passion for the Lord, and encourage us in our walks. I have been especially impressed upon by all the wonderful ladies in the group. We seem to share common interests in maintaining a warm home, providing solid nutrition for our families, raising our children to love the Lord, and in being the wives God has called us to be. Through these ladies, I am encouraged to raise the bar, so to speak, and examine my weaknesses so that I can change and grow into the wife God wants me to be. I have also been reading a couple of books lately that have further helped me to examine the areas in which I can grow as a mother and wife. One is "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George. Before moving, we started this study in a mom's group I attended, and since I didn't get to finish before we left, I decided to read the book on my own. I have been challenged to be wholly dedicated to my walk with the Lord. Building into my daily routine time for the Lord, both in prayer and in study of His Word. I have learned that supporting my husband in prayer is vital to his success, and mine! I have also been encouraged to view my position as a mommy as a most precious ministry, as I lead my children toward the Lord. I am by no means perfect in any of these areas, but am able to strive to be better every day! My goal? I want my husband to look at me and think of me as being worth more to him than diamonds.