tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30019592217121704152024-03-13T17:29:11.024-07:00Young Wife's TalesThe adventures, tales, thoughts and things of a young wife striving to be a {Proverbs 31} wife of noble character in today’s world.Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-38795385192999083312020-09-12T07:11:00.000-07:002020-09-12T07:11:42.895-07:00Growing in grace<p> Hello everyone! It has been a VERY long time since I have posted on this blog forum. I have many times considered deleting it, and almost did so a few minutes ago... and then I started writing...</p><p>I have now been married for 8 years and have 3 little ones! I feel like I have grown up a lot since the beginning of my marriage, and on the other hand like I still have a lot more of growing up to do. I want to share this journey with you.</p><p>I have decided to take a break from Facebook and Instagram and rather focus my time on Bible study, prayer, personal devotion and reflections and sometimes sharing my thoughts on this blog. I will not be sharing the links on social media but will purely focus on this blog and also growing in my writing skills.</p><p>I pray you all have a lovely weekend.</p><p>Much love, Mel</p><p>2 Peter 3:18</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; font-family: Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."</span></p>Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-67176235699106448352013-07-05T01:13:00.000-07:002013-07-05T01:13:06.127-07:00Pleasing in Your sight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the world it's all about success, money and happiness - and how we can attain it. We are ever striving to be successful in ourselves, to make lots money, and to have comfortable and happy lifestyles. I've recently been challenged whilst reading a book by David Platt called 'Radical' which really made me think that-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. We shouldn't strive to be successful IF what we strive to be successful in is not pleasing in God's sight;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. We shouldn't strive to earn lots of money IF the way we earn money doesn't please God and if the way we spend it does not please God;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. We shouldn't chase happiness IF what gives us that happiness is not pleasing to the Lord. True joy comes from the Lord regardless of circumstances.<span class="text"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the Psalmist sings in Psalm 19:14 ~ May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in the sight of the Lord.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whatever pleases the Lord is what we should strive for.</span></div>
Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-87526561095107464122013-04-12T01:32:00.000-07:002013-04-12T01:39:05.610-07:00Trust in the Lord with all your heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Proberbs 3:5-6 {ESV}</div>
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<span class="userContent"><br /><em> "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,<br /> and do not lean on your own understanding.<br /> In all your ways acknowledge Him,<br /> and He will make straight your paths."</em></span></div>
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Trusting God isn't always as easy as it seems. Recently my husband and I had to make one of the biggest decisions that we've ever had to make as a married couple. It was definitely a trying time and learning curve for us. We discussed it for days, prayed about it together and on our own, read the Word and seeked counsel from our mentors. We did disagree on certain things at first, but I knew that my husband is a man of God and the head of our household and that he knew what was best.</div>
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A pastor at a friend's church gave us great advice with regards to the situation we were in. He told us about the '4 C's of decision-making':</div>
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<em>Conviction</em> ~You have a conviction about something which leads you to a point where a decision needs to be made. It is vital that you pray before you do anything else.</div>
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<em>Counsel</em> ~ Whilst weighing up your options, it is always a good idea to seek counsel from Godly men or women.<br />
C<em>onfirmation ~</em> Things will start falling into place to confirm the decision that needs to be made.</div>
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<em>Christ glorified</em> ~ Ultimately, the decision that is made should glorify the name of Christ.</div>
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We both knew that ultimately we want to do what God wants us to do and what would honour and glorify His name. We understood that it was not about us and what we wanted, but about God's will and His Kingdom. And so we prayed until we were sure where the Lord was leading us, and we made the decision. Looking back now I sometimes still have an ounce of doubt, but in those moments I hold on to the Lord and trust Him with all my heart. We can make all the plans we want in this world, but ultimately it is the will of God that prevails. Thank goodness for that, because who knows where we would end up if we all just made our decisions in life based on what we feel and want and desire for ourselves.</div>
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The will of God may not always be what we desire, but it should be, because His ways are higher than ours and His will is perfect. Trusting the Lord isn't always easy, but it is always worth it.</div>
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Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-68797979497254911162013-01-11T05:11:00.000-08:002013-01-11T05:11:53.733-08:00The greatest of these is love<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the most well-known and loved scriptures of the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13. Most of us can quote the verses word for word. Love is patient. Love is kind... It is an incredibly beautiful and powerful passage, but so often the words are mindlessly repeated, sometimes taken for granted, and not seen for the instructions that they are.</div>
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<b><i>1 Corinthians 13:4-7 {ESV}</i></b></div>
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<b><i>"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things".</i></b><br />
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The Bible says in 1 John 4:8 that "anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love". In order for us to know God, we need to love, really love. Now looking at the above passage, can we honestly say that we have love? If we really just take a few moments and think about this, we realize that it is not always the case. If we had to replace the word "love" in this passage with our own name, how true would it still be?</div>
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Can we now say with certainty that we love like that? Not always, no. This is where the challenge comes in though. Love is not just some emotion that happens or some nice warm feeling, and it shouldn't only be reserved for certain people or things. In Luke 10:27 Jesus commands us to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength, and to love our neighbours as ourselves. In 1 Corinthians 16:14 it says that all we do should be done in love. 1 Corinthians 13 is an awesome guideline in showing us what love should look like.</div>
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More than anything , do all things with love, and love with all your heart.</div>
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<b><i>"So now faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love".</i></b></div>
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Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-70294992966151899702013-01-01T02:07:00.003-08:002013-01-01T02:07:44.919-08:00Happy new year<div style="text-align: justify;">
Happy new year everyone xxx May the Lord bless and keep you in this new year, may 2013 hold many happy and exciting moments, and may you be blessed in all your endeavors. </div>
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Let us thank God for guarding and guiding us in the year that has passed, and may we look to Him for our hope and sustenance in the new year. Paul says in Philippians 3 that he himself has confidence in the flesh, and has the most reason to boast (see Philippians 3:3-11), yet he counts all the gain he had as loss in order that he may gain Christ.</div>
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<b><i>Philippians 3:7-8 {ESV}</i></b></div>
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<b><i>"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Philippians 3:13-14 {ESV}</i></b></div>
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<i><b>"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Christ Jesus."</b></i></div>
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No matter how far we've come or what we have or have not accomplished, and no matter how far we still need to go, may we no longer look behind us, but strain forward to what lies ahead, knowing that we do not have to fear tomorrow because we have our hope in the Lord.Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-89891478321705084582012-11-22T11:11:00.002-08:002012-11-22T11:22:21.526-08:00Cupcakes, chaos and clemency<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yesterday I felt like I was on top of the world.</div>
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I worked from 7am, then after a long day of hard work, I cleaned our entire flat. Our place was tidy and spotless, which always makes me happy. Then after that my husband and I went for a long run by the lagoon and to the beach, where we watched the sunset together. Then after that we went home, had a small dinner and then watched a session of a Philippians teaching by Matt Chandler, where he spoke about being humble and lowly, and counting others more significant than ourselves.</div>
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<i>Philippians 2:3-8 (ESV)</i></div>
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<i>"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind amongst yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a bondservant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."</i><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I felt so inspired after watching that session, ready to take on the world loving everyone, being humble and obedient and living a life like Christ! So far, my day had gone perfect, and all that was left for me to do was bake the vanilla cupcakes with fudge icing which I had decided while I was cleaning. I made the batter, and it was the most perfect and delicious batter I had ever made. I even called my husband to come and see how perfect the batter came out. Then I put the batter into the oven. They were rising perfectly. I was so excited about my cupcakes and how perfect they would be. My day couldn't have ended better.</span></div>
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Somehow, for a few moments, I got distracted and left the cupcakes in the oven just slightly longer than needed. When I took them out, they were a bit hard and dense. I was somewhat disappointed. It was already bedtime, I was exhausted after such a long and eventful day, and the last thing I wanted to do was clean a messy kitchen (after all, I had just cleaned the whole flat). So, I decided to go to bed, leaving the mess for the morning, which is something I never ever do.</div>
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This morning, I woke up grumpier than ever! My poor husband... I overslept, was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open and even moaned at my husband for making Rooibos tea instead of coffee (I needed the caffeine!). He even sent me back to bed so that I could wake up in a better mood. I was complaining about the messy kitchen, my flopped cupcakes, and even the washing that I had left to lie in the machine through the night after its cycle. I felt so sorry for myself. My husband kissed me goodbye and left for work, leaving me to quickly tidy a bit and get ready for work before I get in a worse mood for being late. I hate being late. As I stood in the kitchen, still half asleep and very frustrated for various reasons, I burst into tears. </div>
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How selfish, conceited, arrogant and ungrateful I was. All I've been doing since I woke up was grumble, moan and complain, thinking only of myself and no one and nothing around me. Just last night I was excited about living a humble and obedient Christ-like life, and there I stood in my kitchen, just a few hours later, having a breakdown over cupcakes, whilst others have way more difficult things to deal with. I cried and prayed and asked the Lord for forgiveness, and phoned my husband and told him I was sorry.</div>
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In order to live a Christ-like life, we need to be humble, counting others more significant than ourselves. We need to bear the fruit of the Spirit, be gentle and have self-control. The way I carried on was completely the opposite. I pulled myself together, asked the Lord for help and guidance in living a life like He did, and went to work, leaving the house in the same mess as last night. Even our bed was unmade! I decided that I would sort it all out tonight.</div>
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When I got home, I made the fudge icing and reached another stumbling block, but this time I handled it differently. The method in making the fudge icing is almost like making real fudge. The mixture had to boil and reach the soft-ball stage... Do you think I got it right? No. But this time I didn't grumble or feel sorry for myself. I did what I could to make the best of the icing and, even though it wasn't perfect, it didn't come out too bad.</div>
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I have learnt quite a lesson. It's amazing how the Lord can take any situation or predicament in our lives and teach and guide us through them. It's in these moments and days that He reveals more of Himself to us. We will never get it perfect, but it is extremely important to practice the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and constantly strive to live a life according to God's word and His standards.</div>
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<i>James 4:6 (ESV)</i></div>
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<i>"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."</i></div>
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Even though my cupcakes probably won't taste as grand as they look, at least I know my husband will eat them, all of them. He always knows how to put a smile on my face. And God always knows my heart and He has grace for me.</div>
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<i>God bless x</i></div>
Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-60855560038213010312012-10-17T05:34:00.002-07:002012-10-17T08:29:13.133-07:00A Virtuous Wife {Proverbs 31:15} ~ Good Morning!<br />
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<em><strong>Proverbs 31:15 – "She rises while it is yet night; And provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants”.</strong></em><br />
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Usually, I’m not a morning person. I’m not always grumpy when I have to wake up early, but Young Husband does have to wake me up quite a few times before I actually come by. And if I still don’t wake up, he’ll start shaking the blankets so that all the cold air creeps in. Thankfully he’s too funny so I can’t stay grumpy, even if I try. <br />
<a name='more'></a>Anyway, I am working on it and it is getting better. We’ve been married for 5 months, yay! Sometimes for newlyweds it can be hard to get used to living together at first and to get into a good routine. We’ve figured out a morning routine that works quite well for the both of us so far. Every morning we make turns. One of us gets up and makes coffee while the other gets to lie in for a few minutes extra, and then also prays before we leave for the day... Some mornings though, I manage to convince him to make coffee when it’s my turn. He shakes the blankets. He makes the coffee on my day. We’re even.<br />
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Proverbs 31:15 speaks about a virtuous wife that wakes up early. This isn’t always easy, but there are many good reasons to wake up early in the morning, provided you go to bed earlier. Enough sleep is very important. Rising early will get you up and ready for the day. <br />
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It will allow you more time do get things done during the day, so you will have more time in the evenings to spend time with your family or catch up on other things. It is good for your metabolism to get busy early, and you will feel more positive and energised during the day. You will also have enough time to do all the things you need to in the morning before you start your day. <br />
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For Young Husband and I it’s still quite simple. No kidos yet, just the two of us. And he doesn’t eat breakfast or lunch at home as it is provided at work (sad, I know, I don’t get to pack my hubby lunches). But it still gives us enough time to exercise (well, we’re working towards that) and spend some time together in the morning before we head out to work. Even before I started working I would wake up the same time as him and we would do our same routine. It’s good to support your hubby, you can’t let the man get up alone. By the time we have kids one day, I will be so well-trained to be an early riser it will come naturally and I’ll easily be able to provide for my household just like the virtuous wife did. <br />
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At the end of the verse it also mentions that a virtuous wife provides a portion for her maidservants. We only recently started to get a lady helping us in our flat once every two weeks. I love our little place and I never mind cleaning and tidying up, but getting a bit of extra help every now and then with the big chores is wonderful. I believe as Christian women and virtuous wives we must treat our maids with love and respect. As much as they help us around the house, we must strive to help them in any way we can. Whether it be kind words, prayer, extra finances, clothes or toys or anything around the house that you don't use anymore, and even friendship.<br />
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Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-23889200438848642862012-10-16T12:37:00.002-07:002012-10-17T08:30:06.607-07:00Passion 2012 World Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Saturday, the 6th of October 2012, a group of friends and I went to the Passion 2012 World Tour. Together with thousands of other people we made our way to Cape Town Stadium, with our hearts expectant and excited for what was to come.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passion World Tour - Cape Town Stadium - 6 October 2012</td></tr>
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I remember thinking how amazing it was that there were these thousands of believers together in this one place, and how incredible it would be that after this conference, we could and should all stand together and truly live out our salvation. Imagine what huge change that could bring about in the city of Cape Town. So just before we started, I prayed for every single person in the stadium, that their hearts, including my own, would be open, that we would be touched, and that this unity wouldn't be left behind as we leave the stadium later.<br />
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Amongst all the people and under the open skies and in the icy wind and cold, I felt completely whole and loved, and so overwhelmed. As the music started and we started singing together, I felt so blessed to be standing where I was and to be able to be at this conference in the first place. The Lord is good, so good and perfect. I absolutely loved praising God together with all those thousands of strangers who felt like family. I realised that while we are all so different we are all the same. Broken and imperfect and lost in this world, and in very desperate need of a gracious and loving Lord. The words of one of the songs we sang, stayed in my heart since Passion:<br />
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<i><b>"Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me, this one thing remains, and on and on and on and on it goes, it overwhelms and satisfies my soul, and I never ever have to be afraid, this one thing remains."</b></i><br />
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As I sang those words I couldn't stop smiling. I looked up with my arms wide open, and felt His love really so overwhelming. Yes, my emotions were high, but this is definitely not just about experiencing a feeling. It is a fact. God loves us very much.<br />
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Louie Giglio, well known for his Indescribable series about the stars and the universe, how great God is and how small we are, loves talking about how God loves us. This definitely shone through in all things that were said and all the songs we sang. God's love is something we will never be able to fully comprehend. Louie read the following verse and then did a bit of a demonstration which absolutely blew me away!<br />
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<b>Psalm 148:7-12 {NIV}:</b> <i><b>"Praise the Lord from the Earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths. Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the Earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers of the Earth, young men and women, old men and children."</b></i><br />
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(Do note, this video clip is from a different conference, but it was the same demonstration)<br />
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WOW! I just cannot get over how cool that is! I actually have no words. Did you get goosebumps like I did? How great is our God!<br />
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I walked away reminded of how incredibly great God is. Jesus Christ and his glory was the prevailing theme for the entire evening and as we left I remembered the words of Jesus in the book of John chapter 12:32 -"And I, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26601A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup>when I am lifted up from the earth, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26601B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup>will draw <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26601C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup>all people to myself." May we never relent in lifting up the name and renown of Christ.<br />
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<strong><em>Isaiah 26:8 {ESV}: "In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for You; Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul."</em></strong>Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3001959221712170415.post-86491641617073219732012-10-06T04:39:00.003-07:002012-10-06T04:39:57.035-07:00Mrs Virtue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Proverbs 31:10-12 {NKJV} "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This scripture has always meant so much to me. The whole virtuous wife scripture in Proverbs 31 is a wonderful guideline which I decided to make part of my life as a newlywed. The virtuous wife is the kind of wife I want to be. Man, she should be known as the Mrs Virtue and be given a (really stylish) cape!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sometimes when I read the verses in Proverbs 31 I have to sit and wonder what in the world have I gotten myself into, because it sounds pretty tough! Then I have to remind myself that no one is perfect and as a young wife I still have a lot of room for learning. Thank goodness!</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">This, however, is the type of woman us girls should all strive to be on a daily basis, whether married or not. It is a perfect example of the type of woman the Lord will be pleased in.</span></span>Melanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961141610359647356noreply@blogger.com2