~~FEMININE MATTERS~~

WOMAN OF VALOR AND BEAUTY (guest post)

From Rob Young's Photos:

Look at this lady - Let us never forget! 
The world hasn't just become wicked...it's always been wicked. The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving.

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive'. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews (being German). Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids). She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.  After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

The Irony of it All:

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. President Obama won one year before becoming President for his work as a community organizer for ACORN and Al Gore won also --- for a slide show on Global Warming.

In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll consider doing the same.. It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated!

Now, more than ever, with Iran , and others, claiming the HOLOCAUST to be "a myth". It's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.

By: Rob Young

Patience Is A Virtue, Especially These Days

Well, I got a lot of writing done today.  Three devotionals.  Yet, not one chapter in my book.  However, it's only 11:30 a.m.  There's still time.  I haven't cleaned my house in months.  Serious as a heart attack, friends.  I look at my messes and cringe.  My back just prohibits that kind of movement.  It's so annoying.  Hence, the need for more patience today.

I get aggravated that I cannot play with my grandchildren like I once did.  No puzzles on the floor.  No trips to the park.  No lifting them on monkey-bars, no pushing them in swings.  It's irritating to want to do something but face such limitations.

I have to be patient with myself.  With my lot in life.  With the reality that I am limited.  With the annoyance that I must thrust the work I ought to be doing upon another.  I want to do more but simply can't.  And yet, I praise the LORD.  He is so good.  He provides for me.  He gives me strength to endure.  He fills my heart with joy so I do not get discouraged and depressed. 

He gives me my husband.  He pushes the swings.

I look at my dear sweet spouse who goes beyond the second mile with me.  Laundry, sweeping, mopping, scouring.  He helps me put together meals when I cannot stand long enough to wash the veggies, and cut them up for salad.  As soon as I get stuff on the stove, he watches it for me, so I don't have to stand.  He sometimes brings dinner on his way home from work. He puts up with my cranky attitude when I don't sleep at night.  

He's a jewel; his worth is far above rubies.  I count my blessings for his unconditional love.

It does get tough to sit back and let others do what I feel is my role as homemaker to do.  Even as my husband does what he does without complaint, I realize how often I complained about doing housework when I was able.  If not for the grace of God and His mercies, I could be extremely guilt-ridden.

Soon, my husband will be packing our belongings so we can move to a smaller, more convenient place.  He will take the care with the treasured items, because he cares for how I feel about the memorabilia.  He will paint new colors on my walls if I decide I cannot live with what I've picked.  He will unwrap my junk and place it for me.  Then he will move things around to appease my change of mind.  Patience is definitely a virtue.  And my husband has it.  Every day, but especially these days. selahV

For a devotional on patience:  The patience I'm daily devoted to learning, go HERE.

BROOKLYN'S BENEVOLENCE BEADS

She has a dear friend.  Her friend's mom has cancer.  She wants to help.  She got an idea.  She'd make necklaces and sell them and give the money to help.  She asked me for help.  I researched various websites to ensure they were safe so she could create her own beads out of paper.  We worked all afternoon one Sunday, cutting paper, gluing it, and rolling it into these darling little beads.  She's now stringing them and selling them.  She's excited.  I'm excited.  And I am sure the Lord is excited, too.  And that's the best part of it all.  May Jesus gain all the glory.  After all... she's a Proverbs 31 lady:

"She...works with eager hands." (13b)

...sets about her work vigorously;

...her arms are strong for her tasks. (17)

....she extends her hands to the needy." (20)

Double Blessing Or More

First blessing is my precious 13-year-old granddaughter, Brooklyn.  Secondly is what she shared on Facebook today:

"Its such a beautiful thing when your on the bus and all the little kids start to sing Jesus loves me! They are becoming my romodel!"  (that's role model).

And thirdly, it thrills my soul that while other girls her age are posting things on Facebook which are very unbecoming a young lady, that God is working in her life to see the most important things in life and then be bold and willing enough to share them with the world.

Such things cannot be taught.  They are caught from the Spirit of God.  I'm so grateful and so blessed.  hariette

Vulnerability

It's a very dangerous thing.  To bare one's soul, open one's heart, or share one's thoughts.  To do so tills the ground for anyone to tromp all over the intimacy we once guarded and crush the tender shoots of trust.  Boundaries.  Most often they serve us well.  Otherwise even the closest friend can take advantage of our vulnerability.  Just when we begin to release a piece of ourselves into the care of another, they're apt to treat it carelessly--more so than we would tend to it ourselves.  Erecting walls, invisible or real--may be the only way to live within a world of constant critiques and bias.  It is a peaceful thing to know there is no need for walls, nor ceilings, locks or keys with our Father in heaven.  He knows.  And He loves anyway.  selahV

I'M NOT TOO VIRTUOUS

"SHE selects wool and flax and works with eager hands." Proverbs 31:13.

I work, but I don't select wool and flax.  I select daisies and petunias.

I scour toilets and tubs--especially when company is coming.  I scrub pots and pans--whenever I forget to soak them overnight.  I dust my furniture--when a spring breeze and overhead fans create dust-bunnies from the build-up.   I wash my windows--occasionally, when I can no longer see outside for the dog licks and handprints.  I pretreat laundry and fold it--when we no longer have towels in the linen closets.  I unload the dishwasher--when I need to reload it.  I vacumn, mop and sweep--when I'm shamed into it because my dust-bunnies resemble tumbleweed.

And before you say, well, nowadays we have ready-made dresses, jeans and sweatshirts,  I need to confess.

Most times what I do, even if modern convenience and progress allows me to avoid knitting and weaving--I do not do with eager hands.  No.  I do it with grumbling, complaining and procrastination.  I begrudge the time I allot to diligent housekeeping.  I'd rather be gardening, writing or playing with grandchildren.  I'd rather be hiking or lying in a hammock reading a book.

And if that isn't bad enough, I do not set about my work "vigorously", either. (verse 17)  Why? Because my arms are not "strong for my tasks".  It takes far more strength for me to accomplish a task than, say...my friends Barb and Chris.  Now those ladies are virtuous.  Beyond virtuous.  And what I like about them is they still like me even though I'm not.  And I truly and sincerely appreciate that they aren't like me.  They are women to be admired.  They are the epitome of a virtuous wife.

However, even though I'm not virtuous in this respect, and probably never will be--my husband still thinks I make a mean spaghetti sauce.  My flaws he overlooks.

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]

PASSION'S NOT A VIRTUE

PASSION.

Such a powerful dominating word.

PASSION.

What comes to your mind when you hear it?  When you read it?  Strength?  Power?  Might?  She's a very passionate mother.  A passionate wife.  A passionate friend.  A passionate______, you fill in the blank.

To me, passion is not virtuous.

Passion hungers for itself--its own satisfaction.

It is a fisted infant demanding recognition.

"Passion is a sort of fever in the mind, which ever leaves us weaker than it found us." William Penn.

We strive.  We push.  We challenge.  We demand.  We force.  We never relent, because concession is weakness.  Never let it be said of passion that it would compromise, nor give one inch.  Passion slams doors to reason.  It boils and fumes and is never quenched, even when its goal is presumed an attainment.  Passion finds no pleasure in itself; it drains our spirit and leaves us empty--in search of more, more, more.  Such a selfish thing.

A heart without passion is a heart filled with peace.  A storm calmed, a lion tamed, a spirit controlled.  Yielded, open, inviting.  A challenge met, savored and cradled~~that is virtue...not passion. [copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007] 

WHO CAN FIND A VIRTUOUS WOMAN?

"SHE IS FAR MORE PRECIOUS THAN JEWELS;

HER VALUE IS FAR ABOVE RUBIES OR PEARLS."

Where do you stand in a room with her?  By her side, or in a corner?  On the stage of life is she center stage or in the wings?

I know some very virtuous women.  I am privileged to be called their friend.  I am honored to be called one's mother.  What is a virtuous woman?  What are the virtues that come to mind when we consider the makeup of a woman more precious than jewels?  Of value beyond rubies or pearls?  Is virtue singular or plural?  I wonder.

"There is but one Virtue--the eternal sacrifice of self."  George Sand.

"Virtue is nothing but well directed love." St. Augustine of Hippo

"Virtue is nothing else but an ordered and measured affection directed towards God fo His sake alone." The Cloud of the Unknowing.

"Virtue is like a rich stone--best plain set." Francis Bacon, Essays 'Of Beauty'

VIRTUE~~sacrificial.  In love with God.  Seeks nothing of itself for itself.  Like morning dew upon a daisy's face--drink me, and use me up and be all you need to be in life for others.

Virtue~~ever present,

ever giving, ever dying,

ever living beyond itself for others.

Seeking not~~its own way.  VIRTUE.  [copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]