Becoming the REAL Bad Chick: The Proverbs 31 Woman Subtitle: Build your CHARACTER first!

So…. I am pretty sure that most women have read about, heard about, or heard reference of the Proverbs 31 woman. Well, I have heard about her, read about her, and have even attempted several devotionals. I went as far as purchasing an entire devotional book regarding the Proverbs 31 woman. I created a binder to complete the activities within it because I was determined to become the Proverbs 31 woman. I just knew that if I could become the Proverbs 31 woman, I would finally attract the husband that I deserved, I would be the mother, daughter, sister, friend, employee, church member, and person that I needed to be. I guess I had this fairytale that completing the book and the correlating steps would make me this perfect person doing all of the good deeds described in the scripture. Oh boy….. was I wrong. I was not only wrong. I was doomed and off-track before I even started. So, it’s no surprise that I didn’t get past week two (2). I started over several times, but for some reason I couldn’t get into it and couldn’t really connect it to my daily life and apply it. Eventually, I just set it aside.

Now, fast forward to about a week ago. I was going through my emails and saw an email regarding a 31-day challenge and guess the topic. If you said, Proverbs 31 woman, then you guess it. Well, I signed up with no hesitation. I didn’t think about the book that I had previously failed to read, I just signed up in anticipation of something new. Well, when I completed day one, I was left with a few questions, so I decided to do some study on my own and boy it was mind-blowing. It was mind-blowing because I had finally connected the dots. The devotion had explained clearly what the scripture was truly about and my extra study has assisted with the application, so now let me share….. enough of the background of my story.

When reading Proverbs 31, you see that she is doing so many great deeds. She is a true superwoman. Whew. It’s almost hard to keep up. Well, the truth is the focus is not on the deeds itself, the focus should be on the character of the Proverbs 31 woman. The reason the Proverbs 31 woman is able to do those good deeds is because of her character.

Make sense? If not…. Continue reading. Let me break it down.

* First, your action/behaviors will be a result of your character, which means that you will do good or bad deeds based upon your character. This means that you must FOCUS ON BUILDING GOOD CHARACTER.

* Second, you must BEGIN GUARDING YOUR HEART because this is where character and most things start.

* Third, you guard your heart by renewing/controlling your mind. So, TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MIND.

* Fourth, start dwelling on (and applying) scripture, positive quotes, positive I am statements, positive I am statements, uplifting lyrics to a song. LOAD YOUR MIND WITH POSITIVE THOUGHTS.

So, the purpose of controlling your thoughts is to take control of your mind, which will allow you to guard your heart. Remember that Satan wants to take control of your mind to take control of your heart, which will make you react how he wants. Let’s not allow Satan to get the best of us. Start minute by minute. Start being intentional. If you need to put stickies’ around your house, office, or in the car, then do it. You may need to set a reminder on your phone every 30 minutes or so to remind you to reset. I often listen to motivational speeches or music while I am working to control my thoughts. Do whatever it takes. Most importantly, you must study the WORD and get closer to God. The WORD will defeat satan and his ploy to take over your mind.

I will leave you with this nice summary I found on Bible Study Tools in an article titled, “How to Guard Your Heart” by Adrian Rogers.

“Sow a thought ------ Reap a deed”

“Sow a deed ------ Reap a habit”

“Sow a habit ------ Reap a character”

“Sow a character ------ Reap a destiny”

Remember, we are destined to be a Proverbs 31 woman. We just have a little work to do, but who doesn’t need a little self-improvement? So, build that character girl….. Guard your heart by controlling those thoughts and remember your sword (God’s word).