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Proverbs 31 Is Not a To-Do List · Grace for My Home | Christian Women, Growing in Faith

• 1:13
  Audrey McCracken: Hello friends, welcome back to Grace From my Home.
• 1:16
  Audrey McCracken: I'm so glad to be back here with you guys again this week.
• 1:20
  Audrey McCracken: I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving holiday.
• 1:23
  Audrey McCracken: We did.
• 1:24
  Audrey McCracken: We enjoyed ourselves, ate too much and enjoyed our family and some time together.
• 1:32
  Audrey McCracken: Now we're in that period between Christmas and Thanksgiving and you know that's a busy season, right.
• 1:41
  Audrey McCracken: So this year is different.
• 1:45
  Audrey McCracken: It's different for us.
• 1:46
  Audrey McCracken: Our lives are changing and now that I'm working practically full time and still homeschooling and still trying to do all the other things that you know a mom does, it has brought me to reality that I'm just not able to do it all.
• 2:02
  Audrey McCracken: And that's not what it's about.
• 2:03
  Audrey McCracken: It's not about doing it all.
• 2:05
  Audrey McCracken: You know, it's really easy to watch television or be on social media and see all the things that we're supposed to do for Christmas or for the holidays, and we naturally, when we see those things, we feel expectation or at least I do I shouldn't say we.
• 2:22
  Audrey McCracken: I do feel an expectation of making things grand and beautiful and perfect, and the truth is only a small fraction of those things do we ever really get around to doing.
• 2:36
  Audrey McCracken: You know our house is never going to be perfect.
• 2:38
  Audrey McCracken: You know we're not going to do all of the things all of the time.
• 2:42
  Audrey McCracken: Sometimes we have to take things in seasons and I'm in a busy season and things are changing and guys, you know it's that's a, that's a catch 22 for me, because I love new things.
• 2:58
  Audrey McCracken: I get bored easily and I like to switch things up.
• 3:00
  Audrey McCracken: I like to do new things, like right now.
• 3:03
  Audrey McCracken: I love getting up in the morning and there's a Christmas tree up, because that makes me feel like something new, something exciting.
• 3:11
  Audrey McCracken: But at the same time, I love tradition and I don't like to let go of traditions that get that have been a blessing to me and my family.
• 3:22
  Audrey McCracken: For example, many years, for many years, my family and I, after Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, black Friday, we have always gone out and gotten a live Christmas tree, brought it home and decorated it together and that was our beginning of Christmas.
• 3:41
  Audrey McCracken: It was like the start of the season and we I've always enjoyed that and the boys have enjoyed that and will pop popcorn.
• 3:48
  Audrey McCracken: Well, you know, as the years have gone on, we've gotten busier, the boys aren't as interested and that makes me sad.
• 3:57
  Audrey McCracken: It has made me sad and so I've just had to say you know what Things change, we're changing, we're growing.
• 4:04
  Audrey McCracken: And last year I was so busy with trying to get the shop open that I actually went out and bought a prelit tree.
• 4:11
  Audrey McCracken: Oh, my goodness, you'd have thought I had desecrated this sacred art of the Christmas tree, because my kids just could not believe we're going to have a fake tree.
• 4:20
  Audrey McCracken: And I said, boys, I didn't know a real tree growing up.
• 4:24
  Audrey McCracken: We always had, we always had prelit trees.
• 4:27
  Audrey McCracken: But that was hard for them.
• 4:30
  Audrey McCracken: But I'm going to tell you it made things easier for me because they'd gotten where they were.
• 4:33
  Audrey McCracken: They weren't interested in decorating the tree, they were watching football or doing something else while I was decorating the tree.
• 4:40
  Audrey McCracken: So that was that's what happened last year.
• 4:44
  Audrey McCracken: Well, this year I had to work the day after Thanksgiving, which was hard for them because it just completely knocked out our tradition.
• 4:52
  Audrey McCracken: But I told them you know, things have changed, we're growing.
• 4:55
  Audrey McCracken: But I was a little sad.
• 4:57
  Audrey McCracken: Well, let me tell you what they did.
• 4:59
  Audrey McCracken: Let me tell you what they did.
• 5:01
  Audrey McCracken: When I got home, actually on my way home, my husband text me and said the boys have done something for you.
• 5:10
  Audrey McCracken: So when you get home, act excited.
• 5:13
  Audrey McCracken: Well, they had gone to our storage unit, gotten that pre-lit tree and put it up for me so that when I got home the tree was up and the lights were on and they were really excited about that.
• 5:27
  Audrey McCracken: That was their present to me because I had to work that day and so it was a blessing.
• 5:32
  Audrey McCracken: And they did that because they love me and it really blessed me that they wanted to bless me, if that makes sense.
• 5:42
  Audrey McCracken: So we have our Christmas tree up and little by little I'm trying to put up other Christmas decorations and I don't have a big chunk of time.
• 5:53
  Audrey McCracken: So every day they get home from school I've put up a little more and I may not get it all up before Christmas and that's OK, we'll enjoy what we have.
• 6:03
  Audrey McCracken: But this kind of leads in to what I wanted to talk with you about this week.
• 6:08
  Audrey McCracken: I saw a meme on Facebook this week and it made me sad.
• 6:14
  Audrey McCracken: It was a meme and it basically said it showed a lady who was wore out and drained and the caption was this is what, trying to be a Proverbs 31 woman did to me and I thought, oh my goodness, that was really sad to me because God never meant it to be a burden.
• 6:38
  Audrey McCracken: It's like Christmas.
• 6:39
  Audrey McCracken: God never meant Christmas to be a burden.
• 6:42
  Audrey McCracken: Christmas is to be a gift.
• 6:44
  Audrey McCracken: But we in our competitive selves, in the way that we're always worried about making things perfect or impressing other people or we make things a burden, that God meant to be a blessing.
• 7:00
  Audrey McCracken: And when I read that meme I thought, Lord, help me not do that, because I love the Proverbs 31 woman.
• 7:11
  Audrey McCracken: I love her.
• 7:12
  Audrey McCracken: And I'm not talking about Proverbs 31 ministries I love them too, but I'm just talking about the Word of God.
• 7:18
  Audrey McCracken: I'm talking about that proverb, that passage in the last part of Proverbs 31 where God talks about the Godly virtuous wife.
• 7:28
  Audrey McCracken: And I just I want to to encourage you in that today, and I want to just share some thoughts with you today about the Proverbs 31 woman and what she means to me.
• 7:42
  Audrey McCracken: And to do that, I'm going to start off just by reading a few verses at a time.
• 7:48
  Audrey McCracken: I won't.
• 7:49
  Audrey McCracken: I'll try not to read the whole thing too, so I don't lose you, but I'm just going to read a few verses at a time and I'm going to read out of the ESV version, the English Standard Version she is like the ships of the merchant she brings her food from afar, she rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her handmaidens.
• 8:29
  Audrey McCracken: She considers a field and buys it and with the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
• 8:34
  Audrey McCracken: She's a busy woman, right.
• 8:37
  Audrey McCracken: She's taking care of her husband, she's taking care of her children.
• 8:42
  Audrey McCracken: She is planting a vineyard, she's buying land, she's working with her hands and her husband trusts in her.
• 8:52
  Audrey McCracken: She does him good and not evil.
• 8:54
  Audrey McCracken: And it goes on to talk about how she dresses herself.
• 8:59
  Audrey McCracken: It says in verse 17,.
• 9:00
  Audrey McCracken: She dresses herself with strength and she makes her arms strong.
• 9:04
  Audrey McCracken: She perceives that her merchandise is good, it's profitable, her lamp does not go out at night and she puts her hands to the disstaff and her hands hold the spindle.
• 9:17
  Audrey McCracken: She opens up her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
• 9:23
  Audrey McCracken: She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
• 9:30
  Audrey McCracken: She is taking care of people and she's taking care of her.
• 9:37
  Audrey McCracken: She's dressed in scarlet, she dresses with strength.
• 9:41
  Audrey McCracken: She's looking out to the needs of other people, but she's also taking care of herself so she can take care of other people.
• 9:49
  Audrey McCracken: When I read Proverbs 31, I know the Lord didn't give us this passage to beat ourselves with.
• 9:56
  Audrey McCracken: This is not a measuring stick to show us how short we always come up.
• 10:02
  Audrey McCracken: This is a woman who is living well.
• 10:09
  Audrey McCracken: She has decided that she's going to live well right where she is.
• 10:14
  Audrey McCracken: She is a generous woman.
• 10:16
  Audrey McCracken: She's thinking about other people and at the same time, taking care of herself.
• 10:21
  Audrey McCracken: And it says she dresses herself in strength.
• 10:24
  Audrey McCracken: She takes care of herself because she knows if she don't take care of herself, she can't take care of anybody else.
• 10:29
  Audrey McCracken: She looks out for the people that live in her home.
• 10:33
  Audrey McCracken: She's making sure they're taken care of.
• 10:35
  Audrey McCracken: She's starting businesses.
• 10:36
  Audrey McCracken: Read through that and see how many businesses she starts.
• 10:41
  Audrey McCracken: She looks at a piece of land and decides if it's a good deal and then, when she buys it, she plans a vineyard and then she's making sashes for the merchants and she says my merchandise is good.
• 10:51
  Audrey McCracken: And when I read Proverbs 31, I don't see it as a stick to beat myself with.
• 10:58
  Audrey McCracken: I see it as permission to live well.
• 11:02
  Audrey McCracken: You know, in the ancient world women were considered second class citizens.
• 11:07
  Audrey McCracken: They were treated as property.
• 11:10
  Audrey McCracken: And when Jesus came he changed all that.
• 11:14
  Audrey McCracken: He treated women with respect and dignity and they followed him and ministered to his needs.
• 11:23
  Audrey McCracken: He made a place for them and he defended them when others attacked them.
• 11:31
  Audrey McCracken: He defended women.
• 11:32
  Audrey McCracken: You know, when the woman the woman who apparently had lived a sinful life came and anointed his feet with precious ointment, the men around her were saying of Jesus, if he knew what kind of woman she was, he wouldn't let her touch him.
• 11:48
  Audrey McCracken: You know, if he can't be a prophet, I mean, how could a prophet not know what kind of woman this is?
• 11:54
  Audrey McCracken: And Jesus, he said leave her alone.
• 11:59
  Audrey McCracken: What she has done for me is good.
• 12:01
  Audrey McCracken: It'll be spoken about her everywhere.
• 12:03
  Audrey McCracken: The gospel's preached what she has done for me will be remembered because she did this for my burial.
• 12:10
  Audrey McCracken: And if he defended her, he said don't give her a hard time.
• 12:14
  Audrey McCracken: You know she did this for me.
• 12:15
  Audrey McCracken: So when I read Proverbs 31, I see it as the Lord saying Audrey, I give you permission to live well, I give you permission to try new things.
• 12:28
  Audrey McCracken: I give you permission to not be limited by what the world and society says you can do.
• 12:36
  Audrey McCracken: I see potential, I see opportunity in Proverbs 31.
• 12:44
  Audrey McCracken: And it is not meant to be a burden.
• 12:46
  Audrey McCracken: It's like Christmas.
• 12:48
  Audrey McCracken: Christmas is not meant to be a burden, it's meant to be a blessing, but we have to receive it as such and not use it to beat ourselves with.
• 12:56
  Audrey McCracken: Just to read a little bit more, it says in verse 22,.
• 13:02
  Audrey McCracken: She makes bed coverings for herself and clothing is her clothing is fine linen and purple.
• 13:07
  Audrey McCracken: Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
• 13:12
  Audrey McCracken: She makes linen garments and sells them.
• 13:15
  Audrey McCracken: She delivers sashes to the merchant.
• 13:18
  Audrey McCracken: See, she's got another business going on.
• 13:19
  Audrey McCracken: Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.
• 13:24
  Audrey McCracken: She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
• 13:29
  Audrey McCracken: She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
• 13:35
  Audrey McCracken: Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her.
• 13:40
  Audrey McCracken: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.
• 13:44
  Audrey McCracken: Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
• 13:50
  Audrey McCracken: Give her the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates.
• 13:57
  Audrey McCracken: So see, I see Proverbs 31 as a tribute to women, to strong women, to women who are wise, to women who have their hands to the dis staff.
• 14:11
  Audrey McCracken: They're working on important things.
• 14:13
  Audrey McCracken: They're not consumed with idleness and gossip.
• 14:18
  Audrey McCracken: They're doing the things God has called them to do.
• 14:21
  Audrey McCracken: They're serving Jesus with all their heart.
• 14:24
  Audrey McCracken: And Jesus said when we're about his business.
• 14:29
  Audrey McCracken: He said my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
• 14:33
  Audrey McCracken: So, guys, if we're feeling a heavy burden, then maybe we're toting something he didn't give us.
• 14:38
  Audrey McCracken: Have you ever thought about that?
• 14:41
  Audrey McCracken: If it's too hard, maybe you're doing it yourself.
• 14:46
  Audrey McCracken: Maybe that's not what he's asked you to do.
• 14:49
  Audrey McCracken: Let's ask him today.
• 14:52
  Audrey McCracken: Okay, father, we come to you in Jesus name and I ask you to show us what you have asked of us.
• 15:02
  Audrey McCracken: Father, we want to be about your business.
• 15:05
  Audrey McCracken: We don't have time, lord, to be doing things that aren't from you.
• 15:10
  Audrey McCracken: Show us, lord, the assignments for right now.
• 15:14
  Audrey McCracken: And, lord, help us to read through Proverbs 31 and be inspired and encouraged, and not beat down and heavy God.
• 15:24
  Audrey McCracken: Let us see it as permission to live well and not a scale to show how, how much we're lacking.
• 15:33
  Audrey McCracken: And, lord, I just pray for these ladies who are listening today.
• 15:36
  Audrey McCracken: I pray, lord, that you would breathe fresh wind into their sails, that, lord, christmas would not be a burden but a blessing, and, and anything that tries to make it so, anything that tries to weigh them down, you'd help them to just let it go and To trust you with all the questions and other things that they don't have the answers to God.
• 16:01
  Audrey McCracken: I pray the same thing for me and we thank you, lord, for walking with us on this path and showing us the way.
• 16:07
  Audrey McCracken: In Jesus name, amen, amen.