Focus up Friday

Becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman {week 2}

"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 of value."

Proverbs 31: 10-11 

I was struck this week by two things from these verses:


{1} What character qualities do I need to work on?


There was a powerful list in the book I'm reading alongside this study that lays out exactly what a Proverbs 31 Woman is NOT...the ones I struggle with the most are in BOLD.


1. She does not rival her husband.
2. She does not mope around and complain about her housework. (even though I don't even DO that much housework). 
3. She does not overspend and put her family into debt. (Online shopping anyone??)
4. She is not bored, discontent, greedy or selfish. 
5. She does not gossip and slander others.
6. She does not spend her days doing leisurely shopping, texting, emailing, web browsing, watching late night movies, and sleeping in. (Oh, the sleeping in one is SO hard for me.)
7. She does not criticize, mock, or disrespect her husband. (I can get carried away with joking and sarcasm.)
8. She does not have children and a husband who embarrass her.
9. She does not let her outer beauty take precedence over her inner beauty. (It's better now than in the past but can easily creep back in my life if I'm not careful).
10. She does not take God’s word lightly. (I can easily justify a verse by saying, "Well that doesn't pertain to ME")


While these honest evaluations are good, I don't want to spend all my energy on how I don't measure up to the Proverbs 31 woman. Instead, I want to focus on practical ways I make a change!





{2} How can my husband have full confidence in me when I have such little confidence in myself? How can he trust me to handle my emotions when I DON'T EVEN TRUST MYSELF?

Here's the scenario: I wake up groggy and moody at 7:30am. It doesn't matter what time really...it's just ALWAYS early in my opinion. Half-dressed I feed the kids breakfast. All day long I hear Kensie exclaim "I do it Mama!", while Mason has climbed on the fireplace ledge and starts rattling the poker stick for the umpteenth time. Then when I finally get them down for a nap a salesman comes to the door and ignores my "Please knock" sign and rings the doorbell which inevitably wakes my peacefully napping children up. Or worse, my children team up against me and decide they are NOT going to nap that day...thus spurring a series of complaining, whining and crying spells all afternoon. My husband works until 8:00 that night. By then I'm pretty sure I don't have leftover dinner for him because (a) I didn't have time to cook, (b) I'm lazy and all I can think about is putting my kids to bed asap, and (c) I'm mad at him for being late (again).

So minutes before we head to bed he asks about my day. Uh, wrong question. I end up complaining to my poor husband about all the terrible, horrible ins and outs of my day...when he probably had just as awful of a day at work.

***

My prayer this week...

"Lord, you know my failures. Forgive me for the ways I've failed my husband and family. Forgive me for ignoring my need for you. Please Lord, continue to open my eyes to ways I can be more like the Proverbs 31 woman. Give me endurance on the days when I have no patience. Give me encouraging words for my husband when all I want to do is complain. Give me full confidence in my daily tasks...so that I may be a wife of noble character. Amen."

Proverbs 31 study

Let's get real for a minute shall we?

I signed up to do a bible study a while back online. It was a 12 week study on the book of Ephesians. A very low-key commitment, but one that required reading a few verses from the Bible every day and writing down my reflections. I really enjoyed it and could see God working in my life. But, like most commitments I struggled with consistency. Why is my problem always consistency??? Anyway, I lasted about 3ish weeks, feeling discouraged the more days in a row I skipped, and eventually fizzled out. 

So, what did I do?

I signed up again. 

This time it's on Proverbs 31. It's a 14 week study with daily Bible reading plus a small book to read alongside. The blog I am connected with also sends bi-weekly emails with words and videos of encouragement. 

It's not too late to sign up if you'd like to join me! I just finished week 2.

Head over to Good Morning Girls to see what the blog is all about! It's such a great community.

Click here for the Proverbs 31 study {reading plan}

I have a friend in real life who I consider closer than close. We've been there for each other through thick and thin. She's my accountability in real life...and we're darn good at it! I love that girl. We've been friends for almost 7 years now and I consider her a lifer. We're doing this study together and are trying to be more diligent this time around to lift each other up when we "just don't feel like doing it".

Me and CJ on a retreat in 2008.

I've also found the simple act of blogging to be another great way to stay consistent. So, I want to take it to the next level:

Tomorrow I will post on what I am learning this week from the Proverbs 31 study titled, Focus up Friday. Once a week, for the next 12 weeks I will be as vulnerable as I can with what God is teaching me. You may even get some humorous stories as well--because realizing you've failed at something can certainly be humbling--but in the right context it sure makes a funny story! And I don't know about you but I desperately need to laugh at myself more often. It makes it much easier to pick yourself up and move forward.

A fashion feature @ {My Name is Jacy}

While my blog is not primarily about fashion...as in, I only have TWO posts on the subject...I was encouraged by one of my new blogging buddies to submit a fashion related entry to be featured on her blog!

Well...

Today is the day!

I'm so excited to have my very first feature over at 

My Name is Jacy. 

Yup. Her name is actually Jacy.

She's a sweet and honest blogger with incredible writing talent. For realsies. You will be inspired by what she's been through, how she's dealt with things, and who she has become. You may even find something you have in common! I know I have. And even though we've never met in person, I call her a friend. 

So, hop on over and visit my Fashion Column: Shannon Style!

Whoop whoop!

How to re-use an entertainment center

Our TV is almost seven years old. We purchased it when we got married.

For the last month or so, it started turning itself off at random times.

We came up with all kinds of irrational theories as to why it was happening.

We came to the conclusion that it was dying a slow death and decided it was time to start looking for a new one. 

I also knew our current entertainment center {which I found on craigslist for $125 about four years ago} was not going to fit our new 40 inch flat screen {which Greg scored HERE for an insanely good price}. It's a very well made piece of furniture in perfect condition. And with entertainment centers like these going out of style, I knew we wouldn't be able to re-sell it. 

So we got creative....

We simply took out the screws that were holding the two pieces of the entertainment center together.

After setting the cupboard portion on the floor, I thought it looked a bit top-heavy with that crown molding on the top. So we flipped it upside down.

Annnnd...voila!

Our NEW entertainment center!

The legs would make a perfect table/ storage location for toys. It's still a work in progress...needs a coat of white paint, replace the glass shelf with a piece of plywood, and needs a tabletop. I just laid some leftover boards on top for a temporary solution. Still brainstorming exactly what I want to do with it.

We have SO much more storage now too! The shelves on the inside of the cupboard were easily adjustable.

The only part that looks a little unfinished is the "new" top of the entertainment center. This was the side screwed tight to those wrought iron legs, so it doesn't have the nice finished paint like the rest of the unit. 

Not sure what to do about it yet....any ideas?

The paint would be pretty hard to match. It's a textured creamy color with little specs of brown in it.

Still...

It's amazing how much money you can save with a little creativity. 

***

What can you re-use in your home?

linking up to:

Singing some tunes...

Kensie has been into books lately. Big time. 

She had to take at least three to the grocery store with her today. 

She especially loves books that have nursery rhymes of any kind.

Kensie is getting pretty good at singing them too.

And Mason is getting pretty good at patting his head on command.

Take a look...

And just to keep things grounded...

Mason is also getting awfully good at saying "NO!", climbing on everything in sight, and laughing in my face when I tell him to stop shaking the heck out of the lamp on the side table. But, I don't have videos of THOSE things of course. Let's just say he's getting more mischievous every single day. Total boy. And it sure keeps me on my toes!

***

Beachy entryway!

It looks like my blue and gray mini makeover is starting to spread through the rest of the house!

It's no mystery...

I love the beach.

And I love bringing it indoors where I can enjoy it everyday!

I finally gave in and made my first paint chip garland--it doesn't get any cheaper than that folks! I was happy to remind my hubby that it cost us ZERO dollars.

After cutting each paint chip to the shape I wanted, I super-glued them to some clear fishing line. You could easily sew them together but I don't own a sewing machine, so...

I bought these blue glittery letters to use for Kensie's first birthday party (feels like FOREVER ago).

I'm so glad I kept the rest of the letters for a future project!

After playing "scrabble" for a few minutes I found a way to use the few leftover letters. I then super-glued them to some twine.

Speaking of "summer glow"--my pale skin need some. Bad.

Can't have a beach without some shells!

This beautiful print is by far my favorite piece. My sweet friend Tammi {she takes all our kids professional pics} made a whole line of prints that she is selling to raise money for their upcoming trip to Ghana. If you would like to purchase one visit her AVENUE 17 shop. They are in the process of bringing  their {already adopted} two young boys home to the states! If you are interested in reading their amazing story go HERE to read her blog. 

I don't know about you but Greg and I share the same middle name. Its called CLUTTER. We have a bad habit of letting clutter build up around our house. It's a blessing because we don't get on each other about the issue. As a result, we often let it go on FAR TOO LONG and wind up buried in our own stuff wondering, "Where on earth did I put those keys?". I'm hoping this little bowl in the entryway will help us keep track of our keys, sunglasses, electronics, outgoing mail and wallets a little better. 

So there you have it!

A beachy entryway that will probably stay clean and organized for 2.5 seconds. 

***

linking up to:

 

Loving {my} little years on mother's day

I am having major writer's block. I have typed three different introductions for this post and deleted all of them. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm DOG GONE tired from taking care of poor Mason who is at his teething worst. He cried off and on all through the night last night. And like most moms, my ears are the size of elephants, so any little noise keeps me wide awake.  I'm also blaming this lack of writing motivation on this gorgeous weather. I can't think clearly when all I want to do is get outside and sit in Michigan's warm sun today!

So, I'll {try to} keep it short.

I am a mother. A mother who loves what I do, even though I don't fully understand it at times. A mother who desires to model Christ to my children, even though I don't always know what that looks like. A mother who struggles with how to balance everything. A mother who trips and stumbles over my own words and actions. A mother who wants the best for my kids but sometimes wakes up hoping my kids will just leave me alone all day. Yes, this whole being a "Mom" thing is wonderful and overwhelming and amazing and trying and life-changing and just plain hard sometimes.


I'll tell you one thing....it sure makes me love my OWN mother even more--shes a Mom to five of us goobers. Love ya Mom!

Ryan. Mom. Gretchen. Lauren. Me. Katelyn

Okay. On to the book that I mentioned last week...

Without dissecting each chapter {I will pray you may all find time to read it...it's THAT good}, I will leave you with a section from Chapter 6 titled, "Heavy Branches". The first 5 chapters were a breeze. I nodded through every single one thinking, "yes, yes, YES!". But, this one was harder for me to swallow. I did not like it the first time I read it.

"Just what does being fruitful look like? 

...probably one of the first things you think of is Psalm 128: 'Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table'.

But the funny thing is that in this verse, the fruitful vine is not bearing children, she is bearing fruit. The children were all off her vine long ago and are responsible for their own fruit-bearing. She is just a heavy laden vine...the mere fact of having children does not mean you are a fruitful person. That would be like the apple trees calling it off after their first year of bearing fruit. 

But true fruitfulness requires constant, year-round attention. It requires taking risks. It might mean making a truckload of apples to throw in a ditch out in the country somewhere. It is funny to think about, but God does not tell us to necessarily be strategic with our fruit. We do not need to know what will happen to the fruit. Will someone check on it every day? Harvest the best to make a pie? Or will there be a junior high kid sweating around among yellow jackets trying to pick it all up--wishing that we were not quite so bountiful? What happens to all our fruit is not our problem. That doesn't mean that we are not to care about the fruit. While it is on our branches, it is our life work. It is an offering to God, and we ought to care intensely about the quality of our fruit. But the branches are our responsibility; the ground is not. 

But what does this apply to in real life? Well, think about yourself and about the things you do. Look at it like fruit. Are you holding yourself back on things, afraid that the end result will not be worthy of your labor? Are you afraid to fail? Is there some domestic activity that you would love to know how to do, but don't want to try in case it doesn't turn out? Are you afraid to try new recipes? Are you afraid to put energy or money into something that might turn into nothing? Do you think fondly of some day when you might bear fruit, but resist getting right down to business this year? Do you evaluate the necessity of everything, passing it by if it doesn't add up to be practical? Are you limiting the branches upon which you are willing to bear fruit?" 

--Rachel Jankovic 

Loving the Little Years 

[Chap. 6, pg 32-33]

 

Whew! That's a lot to think about, right? I could spend the next year just trying to answer all those questions in the last paragraph. Geesh! But, OH so good for me to read, digest, re-read, and hopefully put into practice.

Hope you are having a lovely Mother's Day.

I had a big chef and little chef who treated me like a queen today!