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by Brittany S. from Virtuous Daughters, August 2009~Volume 9, Number 5 As a young child, I memorized portions of Scripture here and there—anywhere from verses to chapters. As I grew older, I continued to memorize chapters on occasion. But I wasn’t memorizing Scripture consistently until several months ago—I was memorizing the book of First Timothy when the study material for the National Bible Bee became available. I was enrolled and decided to post-pone my memorization of 1 Timothy. :)
by Gina L. from Virtuous Daughters, October/November 2018~Volume 18, Number 4 "Panning for Gold" Proverbs 31 Study Series Part 21 ~Proverbs 31:30~ My sons have developed the business of buying ATVs and fixing and selling them. It has been an eye-opening endeavor. When purchasing ATVs, my sons have seen every imaginable trick in the book by slick sellers trying to make their 4-wheelers appear something they are not. The deceptions are many. There are the cosmetic tricks, painting over blemishes, pumping up flat tires, and putting stickers or such over broken plastics. There are the motor tricks, hiding a knock with thicker oil, JB welding (gluing) together a broken part, and promising it only needs a small adjustment to run when it is blown up. Then there are the identity tricks, saying it has a title, but never producing it, giving the wrong title intentionally, or worse, having no title at all. Sometimes people are so sincere and genuine-looking that they are easy to believe, but my sons have found that the Bible's words, “all men are liars” are true. In fact, the outer appearance of many of these machines isn't always an accurate reflection of what is “under the hood.” They have become quite adept now at spotting the fakes, the tricks, and the deceptions, but it took many trials and mistakes to get to this point.
Quads are one thing, but later my sons will make a much bigger choice. I often wonder when they go to pick a wife, if this experience will serve them well and give them wisdom to avoid a much greater pitfall. You see, women have their bag of tricks too. There are fake words and feigned smiles that can cover a sour spirit. There are charm and personality that can deceive and hide a selfish, unthankful, lazy, or prideful pattern. And there are beauty and style, all made up into a perfect little package, that can draw attention away from a shallow character or a worldly mind. Even smooth words and flattery fool one who is unsuspecting and willing to ignore wise counsel. by Gina L. from Virtuous Daughters, August/September 2018~Volume 18, Number 3 "Panning for Gold" Proverbs 31 Study Series Part 20 ~Proverbs 31:29~ When we moved into our house in Cottonwood five years ago, I was amazed at the beautiful scenery that lies outside my windows and likewise blessed by the nice craftsmanship within our home. It was all just about perfect, except for a large wall-sized, full-length mirror which hung directly outside of our bedroom closet. Upon first glance in this mirror, I knew there was a problem. It wasn’t exactly like those funny house mirrors you find at a circus, but there was some major distortion going on. In reality, I may not have minded if the distortion made me taller and leaner, but it was a shorter and wider version of myself that looked back at me from that mirror. Remembering the problem with the mirror, I gladly snatched up a framed full-length mirror at a local garage sale for five dollars. This I rested against the untrustworthy mirror and the problem was solved, at least temporarily! I enjoyed the accurate reflection and the confidence based on truth my trusty mirror provided, until a rambunctious child knocked over the mirror and it was taken in pieces to the trash. Life goes on. People get busy. Minds forget things that they once knew. I never took the time to replace the old distorting mirror screwed into my wall. Rather, I got used to looking into that untrustworthy mirror, and in time, I made a huge mistake. I forgot it was untrustworthy. I based my reality on a lie. I believed fully the lie the mirror told me and forgot that the source was unreliable. Over time, I grew frustrated with myself as I embraced as truth the mirror’s widening deceit. Then one day, I was in the restroom at church and turned to gaze into the full-length mirror, and I was shocked. I was not what I thought I was. This mirror revealed a leaner version of myself, and all at once I remembered the problem my mirror at home possessed. I chided myself for forgetting something I should have known and basing my reality upon a lie. For the lie I believed about myself did affect me.
As I stood there realizing the trick of the untrustworthy mirror, I thought of a deeper truth. What mirror am I looking at to size up myself as a person? Do I look at what the world says about me and women in general and size up myself by my accomplishments in that mirror? Do I look inwardly into what I am feeling about myself and trust that mirror’s reflection? Do I look to others’ words around me and allow those to be my mirror of truth? Do I look at the past and believe that old reflection to be my current size and shape and state? Perhaps sometimes I do. Perhaps we all do. But why? by Gina L. from Virtuous Daughters, September 2016~Volume 16, Number 6 "Panning for Gold" Proverbs 31 Study Series Part 6 ~Proverbs 31:15~ When I was a child, I remember many children whose mothers were sleeping when they left for school in the morning. Not my mom! She was up fixing me and my brothers breakfast (Cream of Wheat, soft boiled eggs and such) and we also had a time of prayer together before we headed off to school. As we got to be older teenagers with differing morning schedules, we often fixed our own breakfast (there was always something on hand) while our mother cared for our new little siblings, but we still had our daily time of prayer before leaving for the school day. Proverbs 31:15 says the Virtuous Woman riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. My mom did indeed rise in the early morning and gave us food throughout our life—physical food and also spiritual nourishment as well.
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"Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."~Proverbs 31:29