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"She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27 Welcome to the fourth month of our becoming journey. In last month's Project 31 post, we learned how a virtuous woman works: diligently, willingly, humbly, and honorably. This month, we will unpack another trait of the Proverbs 31 woman: discipline and daily rhythm. How is daily rhythm different from work? In today's society, our daily ryhthm is usually centered around work or our children's schedules. Our waking, our coming and going, are all dictated by this schedule we keep. The Proverbs 31 woman wasn't so different. She worked. She cared for her children. She tended to her household and husband. She even cared for the less fortunate. She did it all, but how? Discipline and daily rhythm speaks to how a woman manages her life, her household, and herself. A virtuous woman is not just defined by what she does, but how she does it. Proverbs 31 depicts a woman who rises early to care and provide for those under her roof, not just her children but also her servants (Proverbs 31:15). This action reveals these qualities: A loving and generous heart Thoughtful time management skills Pride in provision She takes pride in caring for her home and family. It's not just a responsibility but an act of love. It is that love that allows her to remain diligent instead of distant. Think of your own relationship with God. What keeps you obedient to Him? What keeps you showing up in faithfulness to Him? Is it responsibility or is it love? I'm sure there are days when it is pure discipline to remain faithful, but I'm also sure--most days--your choice to follow Jesus is born of love. Both love and discipline are required to keep the rhythm of a virtuous woman. But this love and discipline is not only directed toward others. The Proverbs 31 woman also takes time for herself to ensure she is able to fulfill her responsibilities at home. "She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms." Proverbs 31:17 Note strength is mentioned twice here. I'd like to think the first strength she seeks is from the Lord. His strength is the internal perseverance we all need to show up in our lives. The second strength is the literal physicality needed to be our best for ourselves and those around us. Many look at the Proverbs 31 woman as a woman of service, constantly working and tending to others. I see her as a woman of balance. Balance is necessary to become the woman who does it all, because no one can do it all on a single day. God sets the example of balance, of task organization, time management, and rest when He created the world. God modeled the rhythm of virtue. Proverbs 31 is the portrait of a virtuous woman. The thing about portraits is, they take a while to finish. They are painted on canvas and the time to completion may span days or years depending on the size. As you become the virtuous woman God has called you to be, remember that He has not called you to become her in one day after reading one blog post or one scripture that depicts the air quotes "perfect" woman. Our God is a God of balance and of rest. He values small acts of daily faithfulness over dramatic attempts at perfection. This daily faithfulness as you care for your home and those inside it may look like: making breakfast or lunches for the ones you love having a special Sunday meal once a week creating small routines that help you (and others) maintain the home priming your heart for acts of love with daily scripture reading reframing responsibility in your mind as an act of love and stewardship checking in emotionally with those closest to you For me, I love taking care of my home. Not because I love every task (ahem, cleaning the shower), but because I'm so grateful for a safe, cozy place to live. And also, cleaning and caring for a home is a type of ownership, stewardship. It makes me feel more connected to what is mine. The same can be said when you show up for your husband, your children, your neighbors, your co-workers. When you show up you're saying, "This is mine. I'm going to take care of it." Or a more stewardly way would be to say, "This is mine to take care of." Taking care of what's yours is an act of worship and holy stewardship. That is the mindset of the virtuous woman, the heart behind the action. With that said, our daily rhythm and discipline may look different in different seasons. I'm currently in a season where it's more difficult for me to show up physically for my home and those around me. The love remains, but it shows up in smaller ways. It looks like doing what I can, but caring for myself enough to know that my recovery is the most important stewardship. Do not feel guilty if your best looks different from day to day. But having certain routines or rhythms will keep you grounded and disciplined even when you're not feeling your best. A virtuous woman understands emotional needs and physical needs. She models this understanding in the way she stewards her own body with spiritual strength (emotional need) and literal strength (physical need). As such, her rhythm is not just about being in tune with herself and home, but it's also about being in step with those under her care. The way she shows up for them is more than physical. It's emotional. She watches over all the ways of her household--what is coming in, what is going out, what is influencing those around her, how those around her are feeling. I'm sure I could keep going. This is where starting your day with God, building your spiritual strength, becomes the most important part of your daily rhythm. God equips you to love those around you. God equips you to serve those around you. God equips you to love and care for yourself. God equips you for wise stewardship and gives you things and people to steward. A virtuous woman is a disciplined, wise, and loving steward of all under her care. ***Visit the main blog page, scroll to the bottom, and subscribe to be notifed when a new post like this one goes live.

Today's post is inspired by today's sermon. I always love finding little nuggets in a larger sermon. Today's nugget of encouragement comes from a story about Michael Phelps. While our guest pastor used the famous Olympian to teach us about shame and honor, I took something else from the image of Phelps on the big screen. He was before he was recognized. He was the best swimmer in the world before the Olympic gold medal was presented to him as proof. He was before the reward. Phelps didn't just win gold medal after gold medal. The reward and recognition didn't just come on a random Tuesday. He prepared for them. He prepared for his race. He trained his body over and over again for the appointed time in which he would be put to test. It was in the training, the becoming, that he became. The test, the race, only served as the arena where he proved himself. The medal around his neck and his place on the podium only served as recognition for the preparation that had been done, the becoming that had already taken place. The medal served as Phelps' crown, but he was already king of the pool. Scripture provides us with the call to prepare, to have endurance, to run the race of life with steadfast faith. Following Jesus is a choice made daily. Obedience is a choice made daily. It is our training, our becoming. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Ephesians 6:13 Prepare for your test by putting on the full armor of God Stand firm in your faith when you are tested "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Have endurance Do not give up You will be rewarded "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 There will come a day when the preparation and testing are finished and what remains will be glory. As Christians, we do not have to earn glory the same way Michael Phelps did. It is ours to behold because Jesus died for our sins, defeated the grave, and has given us the gift of everlasting life. As heirs of the kingdom of Heaven, as children of God, we have glory right here and now. We are victorious because God recognizes us as such. Still, there is preparation to step into the glory of the Lord. It's in the preparation that we truly become all that the Lord has called us to be. I think about all the things that we prepare for, all the titles we wish to claim, all the crowns we wish to wear. And unlike some, I won't tell you not to desire things for yourself. I won't tell you not to desire that promotion, that success, that relationship, that car, that compliment, that recognition for all the work, all the waiting, all the preparation. Instead, I will tell you to first submit your desires to the Lord and then to prepare to receive. And when the recognition comes, recognize Who the reward comes from. Prepare to be that impactful entrepreneur. Prepare to be that godly wife. Prepare and you shall be. Prepare because you are. Perhaps this post is a little more feel-good encouragement than biblical wisdom, but there are scriptures to back up these sweet words. "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9 This verse does not say that the Lord denies or contradicts our plan. He simply directs us along the path until we reach our destination. This may look like encountering obstacles we wouldn't have chosen for ourselves. Hello, preparation. Hello, training. This may look like our desire evolving into something greater and more impactful than we ever could've imagined. Hello, glory. The Bible never tells us not to plan or prepare. It simply reminds us to submit ourselves to God in all that we do, and He will intervene in our plan to prepare us for and lead us there in righteousness. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 This scripture can be both encouraging and discouraging. I questioned what delighting myself in the Lord really meant. I felt like if I wasn't happy and joyful all the time, if I wasn't peacefully surrendered then I wasn't delighting myself and therefore I wouldn't be given the desires of my heart. Feeling like I had to be perfect--worship perfectly, wait perfectly, remain surrendered perfectly, be obedient without struggle--made me feel the opposite of delightful. But a mature Christian mentor said delight does not mean without struggle. Delight means remaining obedient, remaining surrendered to Him despite the struggle. Delight is an active devotion to the Lord. It is not perfection. It is not the death of humanness. Even Jesus in His manhood struggled with the task set before Him, asked God to take the challenge of the crucifixion away from Him, felt forsaken by God and cried out to Him as He felt abandoned. And yet, Jesus Christ was devoted to His Heavenly Father. Devote yourself to the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. As we devote ourselves to God, He guides our preparation to not only step into His glory but to step into the roles and relationships we're praying for, the roles and relationships that are already written for us, the roles and relationships that are already ours. He who finds... She who is... They who believe receive They who prepare become

In this final post inspired by my recent mission trip to Greece and Turkey, I want to write about a message that came to me my very first day in Athens and continued to ring true throughout the entire trip. We are a people searching for truth, and we always have been. When you travel through Athens and the Greek islands, you are surrounded by ancient ruins. Unlike many cities with historic districts, the entire city of Athens is historic. This is a city, a country that was ancient (well over one thousand years old) during the time of Jesus. And every corner of it still holds remnants of its past. While this is incredibly cool to see, these ruins aren't just pretty old houses or cobblestone streets. These ruins are what's left of ancient temples to gods and goddesses. The ancient Greeks, like all of us, were trying to make sense of the universe. They were trying to make sense of creation, of how they came to be. And they were searching for a higher power than themselves to believe in. At our core, we are seeking understanding and we are seeking someone to worship. Imagine a world where there wasn't a God at all. Imagine a life in which you had only yourself to rely on. Imagine an existence without a promise of purpose or an eternal destination. How hopeless is that? How overwhelming is that? It makes sense that ancient cultures sought something or someone to believe in. But where we lack understanding, the devil presents a lie--a counterfeit faith, a counterfeit god, a counterfeit gospel. On that note, I think it's worth acknowledging that as prideful as Satan is, he never created a fake religion in which he was the only one to be worshipped. It was always gods and goddesses, multiple beings to drive humans away from the idea of one all-powerful, almighty God. Even witchcraft promotes the worship of different demons rather than just Satan. And yet, there are traces of biblical truth found within the counterfeit religion. Traces of truth that represent both how far the enemy will go to make his lie seem valid and how impossible it is to erase God's truth. Every lie that the enemy thought would prevail eventually is left in ruins. As we walked through the Acropolis museum on that first day, we saw specific artifacts and heard specific stories that felt like a distortion of truth, or perhaps a grasping at truth. For example, one of the statues had a rod that turned into a snake, which we know to be taken from the story of Moses. A story from Greek mythology, depicted with artifacts in the museum, revealed the belief that giants are the children of the earth goddess and the sky god. We know this to be true, except we know from the Bible it was the fallen angels (from the sky) that procreated with human women that bred the giants known as nephilim. In many ways, the ancient Greeks were so close to understanding, but two things kept them from it. The first, the Bible tells us that the mystery of God was intentionally hidden until the Son of God revealed the truth. "...the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:26-27 "...was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed." Ephesians 3:4-6 Second, we know the devil's influence was at play. The worship of false gods is not new. The desire for truth, for understanding, to believe in a higher power, and to worship is not new. Our hearts long for truth and understanding, because God has always sought to reveal the mystery of Himself to us. And now that the mystery has been revealed, I can't help but think of how many people still haven't heard the good news? How many people are left searching for truth and understanding? How many people are grasping at the devil's lies thinking they are the only option? In Acts 17:16-21, we see Paul preaching the gospel in Athens. Surrounded by all of the symbols of idol worship, he was enraged and yet, he also recognized this people's desire for understanding when he came across the altar to the unknown god. "And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean." For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing." Acts 17:19-21 "Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us..." Acts 17: 22-27 It is surreal to have walked the very streets that Paul walked, to have visited both the acropolis in Athens (the place where the false gods were worshipped) and to have stood on Mars Hill, or the Areopagus, where Paul preached the truth of THE UNKNOWN GOD. As you can see, there is no temple where Paul preached, because God does not need a temple built by human hands to be present. He has created His own temple--us--in which He dwells. With the grand temples of Athens in the background, Paul preached on a rock--a natural rock created by the Creator, about a God who needs nothing from us, but seeks to give us everything. This image resonates with me today, but I imagine it resonated with those Athenians seeking truth thousands of years earlier in a much more significant way. They stood amongst nothing except each other to hear of the God who created everything and seeks to give everything to those who seek Him.