Proverbs 31:16...
She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.
This morning in my Bible reading I was looking at the above verse. It is one of my favorite verses concerning the Proverbs 31 woman. This verse has always said to me that she is a capable, intelligent woman. She has a good savvy business mind; which is very needed when raising a family, especially on one income in these economic times.
I’ve read many times where people will feel this verse means she was an entrepreneur. I can see how it can be looked at this way. But when I was a younger mom with a house full of young children and babies the last thing I had time for was a home based business. I think we miss the bigger picture of this verse when we focus just on that aspect.
Proverbs is a book of wisdom. The verses concerning the Proverbs 31 woman are to help us become wise in our role as a homemaker. I believe this verses bigger message is that we need to be making wise financial decisions for our family. There are many areas of finance in our family where my husband and I sit down and work together to make the best choices for our family. But there are many areas where I alone make the decision on what is purchased and where the money goes. Wisdom is needed when I make those decisions. Proverbs 31:11 says “The heart of her husband safely trusts her”. He is counting on me to make good and wise money choices in the areas that are my domain. Therefore I need to give a lot of thought in my spending.
When it says she “considers” a field, this means she is giving it some time and thought. How many impulsive poor spending choices have we all made in our lives? The first lesson then is to slow down and think before purchasing. Being wise with the grocery budget (just one example) means I spend time making menus, grocery lists and then spend time cooking and baking to feed my family so as to put the least amount of strain on our budget (and get optimum health at the same time :).
With the money saved it is now time to use it wisely. Planting a field to me means the money saved is put back into the family resources to be used wisely again. It also means calculating the labor involved in any project I take on and plan to spend money. I am sure the Prov. 31 woman in all her considering looked at how much time and labor would be spent in working that field so it could produce at a profit. It was not just some idea she decided to plunge into, she weighed (considered) it carefully. It is easy to have great ideas, spend the money on those ideas only to have the idea shelved and never tackled. Ideas are easy, spending money can be easy (and more so when spent foolishly). Part of “considering” means to look at the labor and time that will be used for the project. If it is more labor and time than is available, perhaps it is not the best use of my money.
With these thoughts on my mind this Monday morning I am heading off to Costco with my planned grocery list to wisely find the best deals for our family.. :)
This morning in my Bible reading I was looking at the above verse. It is one of my favorite verses concerning the Proverbs 31 woman. This verse has always said to me that she is a capable, intelligent woman. She has a good savvy business mind; which is very needed when raising a family, especially on one income in these economic times.
I’ve read many times where people will feel this verse means she was an entrepreneur. I can see how it can be looked at this way. But when I was a younger mom with a house full of young children and babies the last thing I had time for was a home based business. I think we miss the bigger picture of this verse when we focus just on that aspect.
Proverbs is a book of wisdom. The verses concerning the Proverbs 31 woman are to help us become wise in our role as a homemaker. I believe this verses bigger message is that we need to be making wise financial decisions for our family. There are many areas of finance in our family where my husband and I sit down and work together to make the best choices for our family. But there are many areas where I alone make the decision on what is purchased and where the money goes. Wisdom is needed when I make those decisions. Proverbs 31:11 says “The heart of her husband safely trusts her”. He is counting on me to make good and wise money choices in the areas that are my domain. Therefore I need to give a lot of thought in my spending.
When it says she “considers” a field, this means she is giving it some time and thought. How many impulsive poor spending choices have we all made in our lives? The first lesson then is to slow down and think before purchasing. Being wise with the grocery budget (just one example) means I spend time making menus, grocery lists and then spend time cooking and baking to feed my family so as to put the least amount of strain on our budget (and get optimum health at the same time :).
With the money saved it is now time to use it wisely. Planting a field to me means the money saved is put back into the family resources to be used wisely again. It also means calculating the labor involved in any project I take on and plan to spend money. I am sure the Prov. 31 woman in all her considering looked at how much time and labor would be spent in working that field so it could produce at a profit. It was not just some idea she decided to plunge into, she weighed (considered) it carefully. It is easy to have great ideas, spend the money on those ideas only to have the idea shelved and never tackled. Ideas are easy, spending money can be easy (and more so when spent foolishly). Part of “considering” means to look at the labor and time that will be used for the project. If it is more labor and time than is available, perhaps it is not the best use of my money.
With these thoughts on my mind this Monday morning I am heading off to Costco with my planned grocery list to wisely find the best deals for our family.. :)
Once again Crystal you have encouraged me to be a better wife, mother and keeper of the home. Thank you great post. Hugs, Bobbi Jo
ReplyDeleteI really like your views on these verses, thank you for sharing them and encouraging me as a wife and mom. I have been working toward being a better steward when it comes to groceries and one thing I'm doing is using more rice and beans in our meals. We had your mexican hamburger rice bake tonight and since it made such a big pan, we are having the leftovers in tortillas for lunch tomorrow! Thank you for all your great recipes.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Rashel
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE this blog post. You have been such an inspiration to me and a dear friend.
Your words in this post are so true.
Love ya,
Cathy
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog for 5 years. You have been such an encouragement! This post is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you for sharing. You truly are a Titus 2 woman!
Blessings,
Sharon from NH
Hello, crystal. I have been reading your website and blog for several years and you always encourage me. I just tallied up what we spent (3people) eating out for august and it was over$600. I was sick because I didn't realize it. I cried out to god for help and he led me here today and I read your timely post. I am also going back to your website for meal starters and the budget ideas you gave. How do I turn from constant eating out to being more responsible with managing our money...especially our food budget? Thank you for sharing so much with us. Very encouraging! P.s... I have always hated to cook, that's why we eat out so much. Now, my 19yr. Old daughter has moved in and she eats as much as hubbub and 15yr. Old son. Jeanie
ReplyDeleteAs I understand, women couldn't own property in that time, so when she bought a field with her money.... it was for her husband! Think about that for a while. If only more women were like that today.
ReplyDeleteVery well said Crystal :)
ReplyDeletelove this Crystal so awesome :o)
ReplyDeleteCathie