Digging Deep | Wise Women Meditations

Welcome! I know this is a week and one day late, but with the holiday and being away I got a little behind on my schedule. Today I'll finish talking about the Wise Woman and ways that she manages. The last two areas I chose to cover are: Manager of her man and a Manager of her time.


#3 Manager of Her Man

I'll try to keep this one short because I have some thoughts for an upcoming post on marriage and husbands anyway.

• His health

You are sole caretaker for your husband's health. You feed him, you clean for him, you generally care for and about him. These are general tips that affect his health.

Be very aware of what you feed him, be sure you feed him enough. God created a man's body to need more calories and they burn them faster than a woman. Be sure to have some form of protein. Within the last year this has changed for us, because Working Man has come down with an intollorance to any forms of beef or Pork { But that is another post for another day}. Eat a whole foods, balanced diet, not just veggies, or no carbs, but balance in your eating. Making sure he drinks sufficient amounts of water and very limited sugary drinks. You aren't his mom or the Wife police but you can lovingly remind him what's going to make him feel the healthiest, ultimately it's his choice to forgo sugary drinks or not.

If he needs to be more physically active, be his cheerleader and his team member. Everyone is more apt to get moving if another person is holding them accountable. Take a walk, work in the garden, mow the lawn together.

I am contemplating starting a series of posts on Making the Change in Your Home in regards to building a chemical-free household. It is astounding how toxic everything is around us. But just for the moment, start doing some research on how cleaners affect your body. This includes cleaners for the house, for your laundry, and for your body. Prepare my friends, posts are coming soon on these topics!

• His reputation

"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,

and loving favour rather than silver and gold."

Proverbs 22:1

It's so important to have a good reputation in this dark, evil world and you directly affect your husbands reputation too. How you talk about him determines how people perceive your man. Never, ever talk bad about your husband to anyone. If you have concerns talk to the Lord, He's the only one who can change him anyway. And the next time you are with someone who wants to badmouth their husband politely tell them you don't want to hear it.

And be sure to live your life so it isn't an embarrassment to your husband, because what you do and how you act is a reflection of your husband. The Proverbs Thirty-one woman's husband was known in the gates by her (Prov. 31:23). I have a feeling they knew him by "Oh, that guys wife is a workhorse, she's always cheerfully serving, kind to everyone she meets, keeps him and their children happy. Even their servants love working for her!" And earlier in verse 12 it speaks of her doing "him good and not evil all the days of her life." That speaks for itself, his reputation is helped by her doing him good.

• His needs

This involves a whole slew of things.

Feeding him, keeping his clothes clean, listening to his hopes and dreams, keeping a clean house for him (some more men are more paticular than others), caring for bills, scheduling appointments, and intimate matters.

It's your priviledge and duty to care for him, so care for him well. You know it: if your meet his needs, he won't look to have them met somewhere else.

• His likes and dislikes

This digs a little deeper than the general ways to take care of your husband. I think we tend to not spend enough time continuing to get to know each other. Remember when you were a teenager always asking your friends: What's your favorite ice cream? Tv show? Color? Song? Animal? Movie? Food? Season? You probably even did some of that when you and your spouse were seeing each other, but how long has is been since you've reviewed those things? People's tastes change. Spend a little time playing "What's your favorite____?"

It also has to do with actions. What does he like you to do? Meet him at the door? Go to bed at the same time? Give him a suprise back rub? Do things that make him know you care about him and love him.

Along with favorites, most people have things they dislike too. You know those little things that get on each other's nerves. Let's try to stay away from them. I'll give you an example that was not so easy at the time. It was a Wednesday night at our small church and I had a jean skirt on and had put on a pair of flip-flops. Husband dearest wasn't so pleased that I wore flip-flops to church, and I didn't react quite so well. (Anyone else have major defensive skills?) Long story short, he doesn't like flipflops at church. So I don't do it. He may not like certain smells, or foods, or clothes. The point is learn his likes and his dislikes. If you try hard enough, you end up knowing what he wants and likes before he even says a thing.

#4 Manager of her Time

Time! Who has time to manage their time?! Exactly.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

This is something that I really want to work on better. It seems as if I can't ever get everything done in a day that I want too and most times I feel like things keep piling up because I can't get them all done. Doesn't anyone else ever feel that way? I try to keep up on things I can multi-task on, like doing laundry and washing dishes or straightening up the house. I want a heart applied to wisdom, wise in how I set up my day, the time I've been given.

• Morning Schedule

If just seems like by the time I'm done with my morning routine, spending time in devotions, getting ready for the day, and eating breakfast half of my day is gone. The problem is I can tell you the reason why I feel that way. It's because half the day is gone, because I slept later than I should have. I want need to get on a better morning schedule, because some mornings I am up earlier and others I choose to sleep in. All the while I know it would be easier on my body if I just stuck to the same schedule, plus I'm sure my productivity would increase too. So that is one way I am working on managing my time.

When it comes to schedules and getting things accomplished making lists helps people, my friend Sandy is one of them. I know making lists helped me keep track of everything in college that was going on. I don't make them regularly, but when I have company coming or we are getting ready to travel I usually make a list because my mind is full I'm afraid something will be forgotten. I also made a list recently of big activities coming up that I need to do some research on (vbs, Bulletin Board How-to's class, Photography meetings). Lists may be one thing that really helps you set a better schedule for the day.

• Activities

My husband lovingly reminds me I cannot do everything, nor am I supposed to do everything, by way of engagements or church ministries or whatever you will. I just finished reading a book from the library called The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeust, and the gist of the whole book is about choosing the best opportunities and activities based on whether they are the best yes for you and your family. Will the activity take away time that you really need to be spending on your marriage? Is this ministry opportunity going to put too much pressure and stress on your young family? Am I going to end up stressed out, and with a sour attitude because I chose to plan a lunch date with someone who need a listening ear on the same day I caretake my grandfather? What good would I be to them if I'm a grump and not walking in the Spirit?

So with every activity or ministry opportunuty that arises, take time to pray about it and wisely consider if it really is the best thing for you at this point in your time and what else you have going on that might conflict. They may be great things, like church ministries, but if you are stretched thin you'll be useless. The Lord just pointed out a verse this morning, it's one I've had memorized since probably age 7:

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing."

Psalm 100:2

Did you catch that first part? I tend to zone out on verses I have memorized. I just go into a quoting coma, not thinking about the verse. But this morning I glanced at our church memory verse for the week and this was it.

"Serve the Lord with gladness:"

{gladness: blithesomeness or glee, exceeding joy, mirth, pleasure}

Am I serving the Lord with gladness? Or am I serving Him with a fake smile, stress in my heart, and an obligation to duty? The Lord wants gladness that we can serve Him. True gladness. Glee that we can serve the Saviour in this minstry. He wants nothing less than gladness when we serve Him. Anything less, don't do it.

• Distractions

A section on managing your time wouldn't be complete without touching on managing your time that gets wasted on distractions. Beware of things that steal your time, whether it's television, internet, reading or other hobbies, needless talking on the phone, social media and anything else that may distract you and before you know it you've spent an hour on needless things. The key is balance. If you have spare time in your day, then have fun enjoying those things but in moderation. I'll be the first to tell you I love blog stalking reading, checking pinterest feed, and reading a great book, but I also hate that feeling of doing those things and then remembering you were supposed to do something else.

Ephesians 5:16 says:

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

Ephesians 5:16

That redeeming literally means to rescue from loss in the Greek. Lets rescue our time from being lost by over commitments, distractions, and poor scheduling skills. Let's be wise Managers of our time.

These last few weeks of studying the Wise Woman has been eye opening to me, illuminating areas I need to work on. I want to manage well, wisely.
Be sure to catch up on the Digging Deep series on Creating Kilter and Grace Happening also!

Missed part one and two? You can catch them here:

Wise Woman Meditations | Part 1

Wise Woman Meditations | Part 2