Faith Archives -

January 15, 2021January 14, 2021

Proverbs 31: A Virtuous Woman – A Beautiful Heart.

I can’t believe these are my last two verses of my Proverbs 31 reading journey. I have learned so much from these verses about a virtuous woman. I pray my notes have been as helpful to you in growing your relationship with the Lord, as it has been helpful to me.

I wish I could say I have instantly become a virtuous woman, but it is a journey. Everyday just trying to love Jesus and my family more.

So let’s discuss the last two verses – Is your heart beautiful?

Since having a baby, I know for sure the woman’s body changes. Not in a bad way, but things never completely go back to the pre-baby body. I even started getting my first gray hairs when I was first married around the age of twenty-five. Oh how soon, we as women learn that “beauty” does not last.

I believe God made men and women different. There is something special and beautiful about a woman’s body. I read an interesting book that argued how women are the “crown of creation.” Other than the Sabbath rest day, we are the last thing that God created.

That should make us a feel a little special. 😉

As women, I feel we are all beautiful in our own different and unique ways. Some of us have luxurious hair, or gorgeous skin. Some of us have a perfect smile or dreamy eyes.

One thing I notice, as women, we often forget we only look “perfectly beautiful” maybe ten percent of the time.

Most of us especially as mothers, we have pulled back hair, with baby hairs growing back ( postpartum hair loss is no joke), we have no makeup on, we most likely have sweatpants on with a food stains somewhere on us.

While I am blessed to have a husband who would still tell me I look beautiful, I know that is not the word I would choose.

I am reminded of the Bible story when Samuel is going to choose King David to be king of Israel.

Based off appearance, David was not Samuel’s first pick. But God said –

So let me ask – Is your heart beautiful?

Most people are remembered for their beautiful character and heart, instead of just their beautiful face.

True beauty is a pure heart, a clean tongue, serving hands, a kind spirit, and a love for others above yourself.

So as a virtuous woman, on the days you are wearing sweatpants, know that your lasting beauty comes from the Lord. While its okay to dab on some concealer and coat your lashes with mascara – The beauty the Lord provides you with is a beautiful heart.

I also really like the KJV version – “Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

It says let her “deeds” publicly praise her, not let her words or other people praise her.

Are we living as virtuous women for verbal praise?

I know sadly, sometimes I do. As a mom, sometimes I selfishly want to hear – “Good job!” “You’re amazing!” “I don’t know how you do it!.”

A virtuous woman instead of waiting for her own praise, should be praising the Lord. We should daily be praising – “I praise you Lord for giving me my children.” “Thank you Lord for my husband’s job. “ “What a blessing this meal is.”

Let my works praise the Lord and not myself.

I hope as a virtuous woman my deeds declare:

She loved her children.

She cherished her marriage.

She served her church.

She was an encouragement to others.

She showed Jesus through her words and her actions.

So remember :

Is your heart beautiful?

December 11, 2020December 10, 2020

Proverbs 31: A Virtuous Woman – Blessed & Praised!

Happy Friyay! I am excited to share what I have learned about being a virtuous woman from Proverbs 31: 28-29. I found so many good thoughts just from reading those verses and looking at Bible commentaries.

From these verses I learned:

Little Eyes are watching you.

Your Husband wants to praise your excellence.

Be Jesus to your family.

Isn’t this verse just goals for motherhood and being a wife.

In the Benson Commentary it says: “Her children arise up – Whose testimony is the more considerable, because they have been constant eye witnesses of her whole conduct and therefore, must have seen her misdemeanors, if there had been any, as well as her virtues.”

Our children are our CONSTANT eye witnesses.

We can put on a show for the church ladies, but our kids see us when we are on the phone and they just knocked their plate on the floor while karate kicking their brother. 😉

They SEE how we react, either with godly correction spirit or “momma is about to lose it” spirit.

Her husband praises her.

Just like our children, our husbands see the true us.

And just like with our children – when we are repeating ourselves for the 16th time to our husband. We SHOULD say it with kindness. 😉

It is our small actions that we do everyday that we will be remembered by with our children and husband.

“The words of praise which the husband in Proverbs 31:28 is supposed to have addressed to the ideal wife.” -Barnes Notes on the Bible

The ESV Bible says – “many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

The NIV Bible says – “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

Notice her husband praises her… the world doesn’t praise her…. the church doesn’t praise her…. her friends do not praise her… Whose praise are we living for?

In her husband’s eyes, she surpasses them all. As a wife and mother we are to serve Christ first, then our husband and children.

There is no grading agenda for what level of excellence you are at as a wife. Each family has different needs and seasons they go through.

A virtuous woman serves her family as Jesus would. We have to be Jesus to our family before we can truly be Jesus to anyone else.

So remember:

Little eyes are watching you.

Your husband wants to praise your excellence.

Be Jesus to your family.

~Gracefully Fashionable Britt

December 4, 2020December 3, 2020

Books, Routines, Education Toys, and How I Share Jesus with my Toddler.

My 17 month old and I try to read books daily, follow a routine, and try to learn skills like scribbling almost every day. But most importantly, I try to share Jesus with my toddler through books, music, and loving him as the gift from God he is.

I have a middle school teaching degree, but I don’t think you have to have an educational degree to teach a toddler. It is kind of funny how I get a little excited planning what we will do for the day. It’s almost like lesson planning… but the lesson can easily be destroyed depending on his mood. 😉 Bless toddler teachers. 😉

So today, I wanted to share with you things we do, toys we use, and songs we sing.

Click here to watch video!

In the morning:

TV Time

Normally after breakfast, I will let Milo watch 15-20 minutes of television. I use this time to get a few chores done around the house or any other important thing that needs to get done.

Milo loves the shows Patch’s Number Forest and Cal’s Sound Yard.

I highly recommend these shows. Milo has learned his numbers 1-4 and letters like A, E, C, and H from these shows.

Whenever Milo has been a good boy, feeling sick, or I am having to unload the groceries, I let him watch this Baby Einstein video for fun. He loves this show.

****AFFILIATED LINKS **** -DISCLOSURE- PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT SOME OF THE LINKS IN THIS POST ARE AFFILIATED LINKS AND IF YOU GO THROUGH THEM TO MAKE A PURCHASE I WILL EARN A COMMISSION. KEEP IN MIND THAT I LINK THESE COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS BECAUSE OF THEIR QUALITY AND NOT BECAUSE OF THE COMMISSION I RECEIVE FROM YOUR PURCHASES.

Books

In the morning we read 4-5 books. Here are my recommendations:

Pop-up peekaboo! Farm (This is a great book to incorporate stuffed animals as well as animal noises.

Pop-up peekaboo! Under the Sea

Eric Carle’s A B C ( I sing the ABC song after reading this book.)

If You’re Happy and You Know It – Little Words Matter. (Milo learned how to say “Amen” from this book!)

In the After Noon

Education Toys

Milo loves these Magnet letters. He is even learning to match them, like big S to small S.

He also enjoys playing with these magnetic dinosaurs.

I found this toy at Target. I will try to link it here! He enjoys pushing the shapes through the hole and turning it over.

I try to let Milo learn how to scribble with jumbo crayons and a notebook. He still doesn’t seem very interested in learning about scribbling. He does however love to put crayons in a small hole on his shoebox. Click here to watch! I think this is a great hand eye coordination skill he has learned.

As long as I am not busy, I never turn down books when Milo wants to read.

Here are some of his afternoon books:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You see?

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Trucks – Priddy Books (These book has flaps he loves to lift!)

Dr. Suess Books – Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb (I try to also sing the song, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” with books about the body.)

Poke-a-dot First Words ( Milo played with this for 10 minutes straight when he first got it!)

Night time

At night we spend family time together. Milo often plays with his toys and daddy. We always read books before bed.

Books for Bedtime

Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton ( Milo’s favorite bedtime book. I can read this book without even looking at the words 😉 )

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton

Big Trucks Getting the Job Done Together (Milo learned how to say “Beep Beep” from this book!)

Pigs in a Blanket by Hans Wilhelm

How I share Jesus with my toddler

Sharing my faith with my son is one of the most important things I can do as a mother. I try to make time each day to read Christian books with him. I also try to sing with him every day the song, “Jesus loves me.” Each time we sing the song, I do the hand motions that I learned as a child with the song.

I recommend the iTunes album “The Best of Kid’s Bible Songs.” Whenever Milo seems fussy, this album seems to help and also great to play in the car.

Christian Books

God Created Everything illustrated by Pan Georgiou ( I could not find this online.)

Peek a Flap – Noah

Little Bible Heroes Storybook (This also has video links in the book to go with each story. Milo loves this book!)

Baby First Bible Story.

I also pray with Milo before each meal and at bedtime. He will even say “Amen” as soon as I start praying, because he knows food comes right after. 😉

I hope all these books and toy ideas can be helpful, especially with the Christmas holiday coming up.

I pray from all these activities Milo learns to love learning, reading, and Jesus.

~ Gracefully Fashionable Britt

November 6, 2020November 5, 2020

Proverbs 31: A Virtuous Woman – Styled in apparel, words, and actions.

Hey guys! I am so happy to finally be completing my Proverbs 31 virtuous woman study. It has been a year since I last uploaded a blog about Proverbs 31. Milo wasn’t even born yet with the last one I wrote. Now he’s 16 months old!

Massive facepalm moment but I was busy about learning how to be a mom. Then goodness gracious hasn’t 2020 been everything but normal! 😉

But now, here I am, ready to finish. So today I want to blog about verses 25-27.

This verse is so short but has so much meaning behind it.

How many of us when we get up in the morning are like, “oh now let me put on my strength, and where is my dignity… the washing machine maybe!”

Now I understand that those are not physical items we can put on. But what if we tried to today.

Our strength is from the Lord.

What if we prayed every morning for the Lord to clothe us with His strength.

She is also clothed in dignity. Now dignity means “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.”

Another word for it could be clothed in righteousness. Not our own righteousness of course, but Christ.

I recently have been trying to memorize the Bible verse Galatians 3:27.

When I think about getting dressed in the morning, how much more would it change my appearance knowing I was to be clothed with God’s strength and Christ righteousness.

Now, it might not change my clothes so much because I understand those days of sweatpants for stay at home moms.

But it would change my attitude towards positive thinking, knowing I have God’s strength to get me through this day. It would change my “glow” knowing I should strive to be a reflection of Christ to my son and husband.

Whew that little part is a lot to take in… I am still working through these realizations myself. But the verse doesn’t end there.

“She laughs at the time to come.”

Another version says she “rejoices in time to come.”

Some commentaries mentioned how this could be talking about the end time and her faith in God. I think it somewhat has to do with now.

Even if “time to come” means tomorrow, two weeks from now, 5 years from now, or the last days on earth, her faith is in God.

I strive to continue to build my faith to be like this verse.

I like how it says she laughs or rejoices in Proverbs 31:25. She is still showing womanly beauty with her smile, while showing confidence in her Lord to guide the rest of her days.

As a stay at home mom, this one is a big accomplishment. My son is only 16 months and I already can tell he makes my temper flair some times. I can only imagine when he’s ten.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom.” Now, you don’t have to be a scholar of some sort to have wisdom. I was always taught wisdom comes from experience. That’s why a lot of older people have more of it. 😉

I pray as a mother, I don’t forget the importance of the simple words of wisdom. Words I say everyday can actually be pretty wise – “Brush your teeth.” “Clean up.” “Don’t touch the hot stove.”

All of those things actually have consequences. Don’t brush your teeth – cavities. Don’t clean your room – even bigger mess to clean later. Touch the hot stove – burn.

More important simple words of wisdom are – “Let’s pray about that.” “What does the Bible say.” “Jesus loves you.”

May I always remember the importance of simple wisdom.

“The teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

Another version says, “gives instruction with kindness.”

How many times do I bark instruction to my family? Too many times to count sadly. What if I just changed my tone and spoke with more kindness.

I know on days when I try I feel so much better, and my family seems happier.

So everyday before you are about to repeat yourself for the tenth time to your kids AND husband ( 😉 ) breathe AND speak with kindness.

I actually like the NLT version a little better – “She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.”

“She carefully watches everything in her household.” This is something I have been striving to do. I have really picked up an interest in traditional homemaking. There are several great YouTube videos and blogs with lots of great ideas.

But most importantly, I have been realizing my home is a blessing and a job. The Lord has blessed me with a home to take care of. While many of the chores are not my favorite thing to do, they are something that God has made me a steward of.

“Suffers nothing from laziness.” This is another thing I have been challenging myself with. I often tend to put things off because I want to watch a show, check Instagram, or finally have a moment to myself.

I have challenged myself to do as much as I can now. If I have 5 minutes – wash Milo’s sippy cups, if I have 15 minutes – the bathroom actually takes a shorter amount of time to clean than you think. 😉

Dust or fold laundry while you watch a YouTube.

By applying this to my life, my home has been easier to clean, and I am actually getting a lot of things accomplished.

I encourage everyone to write a schedule for yourself, check yourself to see if you are being lazy in anyway.

I understand as a mom, somedays you just need to lay on the couch and snuggle your teething toddler. But someday’s toddlers are the perfect companion to tag along around the house while doing chores. 🙂

I feel like I could write blog post on each of these verses alone. I hope we can continue to dwell on these verses the rest of the week.

Remember

Put on some strength and dignity.

Smile with confidence from the Lord.

Speak with wisdom and kindness.

Don’t be lazy. 😉

~Gracefully Fashionable Britt

June 16, 2020

As A Mom – Why if I love Jesus… I should take a NAP!

as a mom - if i love Jesus... I should take a nap

Milo, my son, has been fighting his nap since three this afternoon. It is now 4 o’ clock and he still hasn’t fallen asleep.

I didn’t sleep well the night before either. Milo had tossed and turned all night, so momma was running on little steam by 4pm.

I love to-do lists! It makes me feel so accomplished when I can mark everything off at the end of day. This was one of those days nothing was getting accomplished. I had a work certification that needed to be completed. I had laundry still in the washing machine that needed to be moved to the dryer. My bed was unmade, and my floor was not vacuumed.

I was feeling like a complete failure. I was focusing so much on what I hadn’t accomplished rather than looking at my little 11 month old falling asleep FINALLY in my arms.

I was curled up on the couch with him laying on me. I could feel I was getting an exhaustion headache coming on.

Then the normal thoughts flooded into my mind that happen to every parent when your child FINALLY goes to sleep.

Do I move him and risk him waking up?

Enjoy me some rest time snuggling my baby.

Then other thoughts came over me.

I am a Christian wife and mother. That is my “job” I serve in every moment of the day. If I don’t take this nap and get some rest will I be showing a Christ like character to my husband and son?

Here I was worried about failing my work company (which this certification had no due date, it was a completely work- as -you- go -on -your -own -time -certification). I was worried about failing my friends if they saw my house in its current state, and failing my silly worldly standards.

So I chose to take a nap, with my son snuggled on top of me. I had lots of other things to do but I chose to nap so I would be kind to my husband and son that evening. So I could cook supper with a smile, and giggle with my son at bath time.

I have done it before where I don’t nap. Then surviving the evening is a struggle. I get snappy at my husband and frustrated at my baby.

By me choosing my nap it helps to be a kind and Christ-like mother and wife, which is so much more important than completing my to-do list.

I saw a quote while thinking about this topic. It said, “Your kids don’t want a perfect mom, they want a happy mom.”

I think the quote can work for your husband too, “Your husband doesn’t want a perfect wife, he wants a happy wife.”

I took my nap and woke up to a sleepy baby rubbing his eyes and smiling looking at me from my chest. I woke up to my to-do list still having everything written on it. I woke up to not having a headache. I woke up feeling pretty good.

I’m writing this as I hope it can help you, and I still have to preach this to myself.

Take the nap so you can share Jesus with your family.

Gracefully Fashionable Britt

November 14, 2019November 14, 2019

New Love for Bible Journaling

Hey guys! I wanted to share with y’all a new love I discovered about a month ago.

September was Women’s Month at my church. So the sweet Women’s Ministry leader challenged the women in our church to a 30 Day Bible Journal Challenge.

It is where you sit down and pick a Bible verse.

Then you write the verse. Writing the verse down helps memorization. Its also fun using your favorite pen color and writing all fancy. Or at least trying to. 😉 . Here are some of my favorite pens from Amazon!

You then study the verse. I would read a few verses before and after the certain verse.

I would then compare the verse in different versions using my phone app. Versions I like are: NKJV, ESV, NIV.

I would also look at the foot notes section in a study Bible and write down any footnotes that stood out to me.

After studying the verse, I would take a few moments to see how this can reflect in my life.

Daily steps I might take or a topic I would focus on today.

To end my short devotional, I would write out a prayer. I would ask Jesus to help me apply what I have learned from just one Bible verse.

Here are some of my favorite things I have learned from studying just one verse a day.

Dear Jesus,

“Please come into our home with your wisdom, guidance, and truth.” – Psalm 127:1

Dear Jesus,

“Let me run towards you through growing in righteousness.” – Proverbs 18:10

Dear Jesus,

“Thank you for your Son and Spirit. Please allow your Spirit to grow more in me.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17

Dear Jesus,

“May every ‘step’ I take be pleasing unto you.” – Ephesians 4:1

Dear Jesus,

“Refresh my soul each day.” – Psalm 23:3

I am continuing journaling a Bible verse every day that I can. I am not perfect so I miss some days.

I love this journal I found off amazon for less than $10! I’ll link it here!

I want to encourage everyone to try this new habit of mine. It can just take 10-15 minutes.

I can personally say I have found so much wisdom and guidance just from reading one verse a day. For a long time, I thought you had to be super studious and read a full chapter.

But just reading one verse a day, and taking some time to journal has taught me more and brought me closer to the Lord than many other devotional books I have read.

Thankfully the Lord enjoys simplicity. Love Him with your whole heart and just spend a few minutes each day.

Go read a Bible verse!

~Gracefully Fashionable Britt