A Felicity Bee Devotional 7 days to becoming more like The Proverbs 31 Woman. A seven day devotional journal.

A Felicity Bee Devotional 7 days to becoming more like The Proverbs 31 Woman. A seven day devotional journal.

The Seven Scriptures Proverbs 31:15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. Proverbs 31:16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. Proverbs 31:25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. Proverbs 31:21-22 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. Proverbs 31:17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. Proverbs 31:27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

DAY 1. PROVERBS 31:15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her It is okay! It s normal! We are exhausted in our minds, bodies and household, And a portion for her maidservants. spirits. But think for a minute how we may change outcome of our day by sparkling up our morning routine a bit. How do you start your day? If you are anything like me, you check your email, texts, social media and Pinterest before you even get out What if, like our Proverbs 31 sister, we woke up early, maybe even of bed. Or you may hit the snooze button a few times. Or you may before dawn?. Instead of jumping on our phones, we spent time need one... okay... two cups of coffee to be semi-functional. alone with The Lord, we got the house in order, breakfast ready and let s be honest, a bit of peace and quiet before the days craziness begins. Let s talk about it... 2

What do you do first thing in the morning? In a perfect world, what would you like to accomplish first thing in the morning? How can you get from where you are to what you would like to accomplish? Lord, I thank you that I woke up this morning with air in my lungs and a song in my heart. I pray that you would give me the strength to rise early. Give me rest to my mind, body and spirit and give me the energy to start my day with You. Amen. 3

DAY 2. PROVERBS 35:16 Proverbs 35:16, She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. Are you considering a new business opportunity? Maybe you are a homeschooler like me and are thinking about curriculum for next year. Whatever opportunity you are looking at, do you let fear stand in your way? I know I do. Oh boy, do I ever. Fear of failing before I even start. Fear of the unknown. Fear of not being good enough. Whatever the opportunity is, fear is often my first go to. But the Proverbs 31 woman didn t fear. She considered her purchase - her new opportunity. She looked at it from all angles but no where in the passage does it say she feared it. She took a chance on the field. She took a change on her opportunity and she got to work building her business. Her result was great profit. Whatever it is that you are looking to begin, Bee-utiful girl, consider the opportunity, pray, and do not fear. Let s talk about it... 4

What new adventure are you about to begin? What is holding you back from starting? What steps can you take to become more like the Proverbs 31 woman when starting this new adventure? Lord, I thank you for giving me wisdom as I consider this new adventure. Help me to stay focused on you, not comparing myself to anyone else. But focused on your will for my life and my family. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 5

DAY 3. PROVERBS 31:17 Proverbs 31:17 says, She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. What are you wearing today? Have you picked out your outfit yet, or are you going to try on a bunch of different outfits finding the perfect one, maybe accompanied by some stress along the way? Gird yourself with strength today. Put on The Lord s strength so that whatever comes your way, you are able to face with strong arms - you are able to carry the pressures of the day. A perfect outfit does wonders for our confidence but let s be honest, is it really helping us shoulder the burdens of the day? Today, as you prepare for your day, remember that your beauty doesn t come from what you put on physically, but what you spiritually put on. Only the strength of the Lord can do that. Let s talk about it... 6

Do you find yourself spending more time in your closet than girding yourself with the strength of The Lord? What would change in your life if you put on strength (metaphorically speaking, of course)? What steps can you take to become more like the Proverbs 31 woman in terms of strengthening your walk? Lord, I thank you for giving me wisdom as I consider this new adventure. Help me to stay focused on you, not comparing myself to anyone else, but focused on your will for my life and my family. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 7

DAY 4. PROVERBS 31:20 Proverbs 31:20 says, She extends her hand to the poor, But what about giving your time? Perhaps giving some undivided Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. attention to your kiddos. For those of you in relationships, what about taking your significant other out - no phones - and spend time This amazing Superwoman was so generous. Whenever I think about together. generosity, money immediately comes to mind. Unfortunately, I am short on money these days. You may be as well. If you are good in the kitchen, bake something for a neighbor or friend. If you see a little trinket, or are crafty, give something to There are other ways to be generous to others outside of giving someone that needs some cheering up. monetarily. If you can give money to those in need, go for it. Do it! I wish I had millions to bless others with. There are so many ways we can be generous of heart, mind and spirit. Let s talk about it... 8

Do you think of yourself as a generous person? Other than money, what can you give? List a few names of people in your life that need a little bit of generosity and how you can bless them with your gifts and talents Lord, I thank you for the gift of your Son on Calvary's cross. I pray that you give me wisdom and desire to be more generous in my giving. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 9

DAY 5. PROVERBS 31:21-22 Proverbs 31:21-22 says, She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. But if we clothe our minds in royalty and righteousness like The Proverbs 31 woman, we can fight off any harsh words that may come our way - or even worse - harsh words we tell ourselves. What are you dressing yourself in today? We are so filled with negative talk every day of our lives. From what we tell ourselves about ourself to things we hear from others. People can be mean. Just plain old mean and if we aren t careful, we can fall to their words and take it as truth. Let s not listen to the words of the culture, that say we aren t pretty enough, good enough, special enough. Bee-utiful ladies, let us clothe our bodies, as well as our minds with righteousness and royalty. Let s not listen to any harsh words that may come our way. Because you know what, we are royalty and that is how our Heavenly Father sees us! (1 Peter 2:9) Let s talk about it... 10

Do you listen to the negative talk you hear from others or tell yourself? How does that talk frame your day What steps can you take to ensure that you are clothing yourself, you mind, body and spirit in righteousness and royalty? Lord, help me to see myself the way that You see me. Help me to clothe myself in royalty and righteousness and allow me to tune out my ears to anything other than Your Word. In Jesus name, Amen. 11

DAY 6. PROVERBS 31:25 Proverbs 31:25 says, She is clothed in strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future. This is my favorite verse in Proverbs 31 and I can bet it may be yours to. I love the purity of this verse. Strength (which we spoke about yesterday) and Dignity (a composed manner or style, nobility, majestic, royalty. The state or quality of respect.) I just love that. She doesn t fear the future. Oh Lord, if only I could learn how to do this. Our sister doesn t fear her future, because as we read in the previous verses, she plans ahead and takes care of all the things she needs to to ensure a successful future. She laughs. Whatever comes her way - She laughs. The Highs - She laughs. The Lows - She Laughs. She clothes herself with royalty and when she walks about of her Dear Bee-utiful sisters, let us look toward our future laughing home, our Proverbs 31 woman walks with her head held high because we know God s got it in control. Let s talk about it... because strength and dignity surround her. 12

Do you see yourself as dignified? What about the future do you fear? What steps can you take to ensure that you laugh at the future with dignity and strength? My Father, teach me how to not fear the future. Show me how to see myself as You see me - Your royalty. And give me the grace to hold my head high with dignity and strength. In Your Name, Amen. 13

DAY 7. PROVERBS 31:26 Proverbs 31:26 says, When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly. Wisdom poured out of her. She was smart, ladies. She always had something important to say and she always said it with kindness. Let us follow her example. Let s get rid of gossip! (Proverbs 20:19) Let s get rid of anything that isn t useful to say. Let s build each other up with encouragement and love. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) I remember how our grandparents and parents put it, If you don t have anything nice to say... don t say it at all. Let us not become like the reality show women we see on TV, always backstabbing each other - well, never mind television - look at real life! Let us work towards speaking with wisdom and kindness. If we think before we speak, if we concentrate on building each other up and not tearing each other down, we can frame our worlds with our words. Let s talk about it... 14

Do you struggle with your words? Speaking kindly and with substance? Be honest with yourself, is gossip something that finds its way to your front door? What steps can you take to transform your speech in kindness and dignity? Father, teach me to speak with your words. Teach me to speak love, joy, peace and kindness. Teach me to speak with wisdom and understanding. In Your Precious Name, Amen. 15

Keep Flying, Bee-utiful friends Seven Days to becoming more like the Proverbs 31 Woman. www.thefelicitybee.com Copyright 2016 by Erika Michelle. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. xvi