Welcome to Proverbs 31 Wannabe, where Alexis Heaslip, a stay at home mother of two and follower of Jesus, shares her personal walk with Christ. Her goal is to help women explore the Bible and walk with Jesus by being a Proverbs 31 Wannabe woman. In her second episode, Alexis will continue exploring what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman and why you should read Proverbs 31 today. 

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Episode Transcript

21 November 2022

WHY BE A PROVERBS31 WANNABE PART 2

1.    PODCAST INTRO (1-2 MINUTES)

Start with podcast music to set the stage (appx. 15 seconds before speaking.)

A.    Voice Introduction

i.    Hi there and welcome to Proverbs31 Wannabe where we discuss biblical womanhood in our constantly busy and sometimes crazy daily life. I’m Alexis Heaslip and as a wife and mother of two, I am always striving and praying to be a Proverbs 31 woman of faith. Last week we started a discussion about my journey towards discovering what it means to be a Proverbs 31 wannabe and today  we will be continuing to take a look at why you should strive to be a proverbs 31 wannabe. Let’s dive on in y’all. 

ii.    Theme music (10 second segue) 

2.    TOPIC 1:  PROVERBS 31: 22-24 (12 MINUTES)

A.    A Hands-On Woman

I.In our last episode we discovered the true value of a woman who is virtuous and capable. We saw that is is rare and extremely valuable, more expensive than diamonds and rubies, and that sadly a proverbs 31 woman is statistically harder and harder to find in our country today. As a proverbs31 wannabe, my soul was set on fire to go out and tell others about what it means to be a fun, exciting, and modern biblical woman who loves Jesus, loves her family, and strives to be a proverbs 31 woman. We saw how a proverbs 31 woman is energetic and strong and that she helps those in need. We are going to continue where we left off now and read more of scripture to see what else this woman of grace embodies. If you have a Bible on hand please open up to Proverbs 31 and we will start at verse 22. These verses say ““She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.” There’s a lot to unpack in these three verses. I first want to look at verses 22 and 24 because they seem connected to me. Not only does this woman make clothing items like we talked about last week, but she also makes her own bed coverings and sells her garments that she makes in the market. What a boss babe woman she is. I struggle just to make my bed with my Walmart sheets some mornings, let alone make my own. This woman is just someone to be admired. A wife who runs her household, a businesswoman who is respected in her community, and not only that but she also dresses herself as a queen. That’s right, did you catch that little bit in verse 22? It says that she wears fine linen that is purple. This is a woman who is after my own heart. Purple has always been my favorite color ever since I was a little girl watching Barney in the morning. I’ve had purple dresses, purple hair clips, purple shoes, and at one point in my teens I tries sparkly purple lipstick- trust me it was a look that I am wanting to forget. So when i read that a proverbs 31 woman wears purple, I was ecstatic because we have similar taste already. Then I started to do some digging about the cultural and historical significance of the color purple. Back in the day, outfits with different colors were harder to come buy unless you were wealthy. These items had to be hand dyed with natural material and it was an expensive products, purple being one of the most expensive colors of the time. Because of this, the people that tended to wear the color purple were royalty and the priests in the Temple of Jerusalem. This was a color of honor and commanded respect when in a room. As a proverbs 31 wannabe, I pray that my character is one where people respect me because I work hard and honor my family by fearing the Lord. The outer beauty of the purple garments reflect this woman’s royal character. Last night I was tucking my son into bed and he looked at me and said “I love you mommy.” And then gave me the biggest hug in the world. Even though i lost my temper earlier that day, even though I know i should have been off my phone more, my son still told me he loved me and gave me the best hug in the world. What a joy it is to know that our father in heaven does the same thing with us when we trust in him. He dresses our hearts in purple and says “I love you” and then gives us a bear hug. As a daughter of the King, we are royalty and we are his. We don’t have to be perfect- all we need is to turn to him. 

II.In between all of this boss babe queen realness is a verse that brings in the proverbs 31 woman’s husband and a new perspective. Verse 23 sheds light on her other half and who he should be like. Just like when buying a field, she was patient and pondered what type of man she should marry. She didn’t just marry a Joe Shmoe who is a lazy and ungodly man. Rather, she chose a man who is well known at the city gates, where he sits down with the other city leaders. In our culture today, we might gloss over the detail of the city gate because that’s not something we really have here in the USA. But back in the days of ancient Israel, the city gate was an important place. That’s the place where all the news was shared, where people met to hang out, and where court was conducted. There were no courtrooms, everything was done out in the open in a loud and public way. And it’s not like our legal system where everything is hush hush, these proceedings, whether good or bad, were done for the whole community to take part of. The Israelites took the view of well established members of the community seriously and they were the ones who would sit around at the gate making these important decisions for the entire community. For this woman’s husband to be a part of this group, that just shows how wise and excellent his own character is. But here’s the real kicker ladies- how do we find a mate who is of noble and excellent character? I mean…have you seen how men act and how they don’t lead even though that’s what they are called to do? According to pew research, only 66% of men in the United States identify as Christian. Out of those men, only 44% attend church on a weekly basis and half of those are married men. Only 29% of the Christian men in the US pray, read their Bible, or participate in other faith building activities at least once a week. Y’all, if you are single and looking for a man, this can seem extremely frustrating and discouraging. But as a proverbs 31 wannabe, we can lean in on the Lord and pray for a spouse who is respected and loves the Lord. If you aren’t already married, I encourage you to start praying for your further spouse every single day. If you are married and going “UGH why isn’t my husband more like this man?” I encourage you if you aren’t already so start praying for your husband and also ask yourself “Am I being a proverbs 31 wife who is there to encourage her husband to be that type of man?” Am I living a life of honor and showing respect to my family and neighbors? Or am I being hyper critical and judgmental of everything around me? I know I am guilty of doing all of the above. That’s the beauty of these verses. They turn us back to what we should be striving for.

3.    TOPIC 2: PROVERBS 31:25-27(12 MINUTES)

I.The next three verses show us how to uplift those around her and keep a spirit of love. Look at verses 25-27. They say “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.” What goals these three verses are. Two words immediately jump out- strength dignity. Echoing back to the beginning of the passage, a proverbs 31 woman is one who is virtuous and capable and clothed with strength and dignity. She is woman who is grounded in her faith and does not fear the unknown. How many times have I worried about things that just don’t matter. I have a big example- my husband and I are currently renting and would love to buy a home, but the market is just not great. Although my husband works hard as a deputy, with the amount he gets paid it feels as if we will never be able to afford to own a house of our own in a neighborhood we want. Do you hear what the problem is- instead of trusting in God to provide, we have put our selfish desire in our hearts as a priority and because of that it causes unnecessary anxiety and worry about the future. I have to constantly thank God every day for what we do have and remind myself that His timing is perfect, not mine. Although this seems like a reasonable thing to worry about, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” When we humble ourself before the almighty and rest in Him, all we need will be provided and the proverbs 31 woman seems to have this down. The other thing she seems to have down is being kind and wise. UH OH. I feel like I’m being called out on this one. How many times have I used the excuse of being tired for the reason why I used a harsh tone or said something not so nice to my son or husband. I’m sure my husband would say too many times. I know it’s something that I wannabe better at and God tells us how dangerous the tongue can be. James 3 reminds us this: “but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” This past week I have been trying something new- every time I am about to say something I pause and think “is this something that is going to be a praise or a curse? Now I don’’t always catch myself in time and then an apology is in order, but when you take the couple of seconds to stop and think, your whole mindset can be changed on the power of your words. I feel like this proverbs 31 woman does something like this too. We are told she is wise and kind and she carefully watches over everything. I wannabe a woman who is like that and isn’t lazy- physically or spiritually. 

4.    Topic 3: PROVERBA 31:28-31 (12 MINUTES) 

I.These final few verses are what tie in everything we have been learning about this proverbs 31 woman and trust me they do not disappoint. Take a look at verses 28-31. They say “Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.”  Don’t you love when all the pieces of the puzzle start coming together. Verses 28 and 29 astound me because the scripture tells us that a proverbs 31 woman is praised and blessed by her husband and children. WOW. My son is four and my daughter is only one and right now the only things he likes to bless me with are farts, not picking up his room without a fight (sounds like a teenager not a four year old) and calling me a poopy butt mommy because poopy butts is just his favorite thing to giggle at. I know I know he’s a silly goofy four year old boy, but that doesn’t mean that it still doesn’t hurt when your children don’t seem to ever appreciate all the things you do for them. Although I know that my children love me, I can get sucked into the feelings of being underappreciated. I love how the scripture re-affirms us ladies that our work is not for nothin. Although we might not always hear it, our children do appreciate what we do and love us so much. The next part of these verses makes me just smile. I don’t know about you but I just love receiving compliments from my man. It just makes me all smiley and giggly when my husband sees something I’ve done and gives me a genuine and heart warming compliment. When you live as a proverbs 31 woman, we are told how much this woman’s husband brags and praises his wife. What a joy to be told that you are better than all the women in the world. WOW I know that although their marriage is not perfect, that they have deep relationship and communion with each other. What a great reward that is. This woman is loved, she is strong, she is wise and dignified, but above all else this is a woman who fears the Lord. It is only by her love for the Lord that she is able to be what we have talked about. She leans on God and wants to please her creator. She values God’s opinions and will above all else, and because of that she is blessed. Who wouldn’t wannabe like this woman. I hope that you are now inspired to start to live a life as a proverbs 31 wannabe, because it s a fantastic way to become closer to Jesus.

5.    OUTRO (2-3 MINUTES)

A.    Recap:  What an amazing opportunity our Father has given us. God I thank you for this passage in scripture that shows us what it is like to fear you. Lord I pray that, as a proverbs 31 wannabe, I am able to lean on You and Your Word so that my character can be formed into a woman of virtue. I wannabe a woman who is rare in this world of darkness and deceit. I wannabe a woman who is strong, a woman who is hard working, a woman who is patient in her decisions, and a woman that laughs without fear. Lord, I wannabe a woman whose children and husband bless and praise her because of her humble and kind character. I can’t do this without you Lord. I know that my nature is inherently sinful, lazy, and self-reliant. Jesus I cast those characteristics out. I put my trust in you. I pray that anyone who is listening today has the calling in their heart to make these desires a part of their lives as well, Lord so that they can continue their journey along side me to become a Proverbs 31 wannabe woman. Thank you God for all you do.  In you name, Amen. 

i.    Music segue 

B.    Call to action:  Thanks to listening to Proverbs31 Wannabe. We hope you enjoyed the program. If you enjoy our show, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts—and be sure to come back next week as we start the journey to Christmas and start the discussion on how we can keep Christ in Christmas this year. Until then, this is Alexis Heaslip, and I hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless. 

C.    Closing theme