Proverbs 31 for January 31, 2017

If you’ve been following me for the past year, you probably know that I was extremely blessed to write a lot in 2016…like 4 books! That’s a lot. I dare say I probably couldn’t have written one more word. But this year—2017—I’m staring at my email awaiting more contracts, awaiting someone to say: “hey you, write for us, edit this.” And it’s slow. Very slow.

So what does a writer do during the “in between” times of projects? Read the work you’ve already written! I don’t always read one of my 4 books, but today, I reread the last chapter in my first book (Successful Moms of the Bible) because it was on Proverbs 31 and I started reading proverbs each day this month (and voila, we’re on January 31…it’s a neat study I do some months when I don’t have a devotional to guide my reading time; simply read the Proverbs that matches the date of the month…only in February will you need to read several in one day at the end to catch up; but no worries, I’ve learned to take the pressure off myself…I might miss one or two during my selected month, but since I do this several times a year, I’ll get back to that chapter I’m sure.)

So today, knowing it was January 31 and that I used the Proverbs 31 phenomenal woman as the subject of Chapter 10 in Moms, I read my own work as a part of my devotion. And, once again, the words I wrote spoke to me and my situation right now. Words have the amazing power of touching people right where they need it and when they need it. It reminds me why I’m grateful and thankful to be called a writer and to write to share God’s love and expound on God’s Word for people—it’s a special task and I don’t take it lightly—even when I’m frustrated and stalled and waiting…

What stood out to me today comes from Proverbs 31:30-31 (Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.) To describe these verses, I wrote: When we as moms rely on God for wisdom and help, even when we might feel like sleeping in or quitting or escaping, we can be renewed. We can run like eagles and we can find renewed strength to keep on going one more day. We can personify Isaiah 40:31: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Where is your strength coming from today?