Proverbs 24

One of my favorite things to do in the mornings is to read the Proverbs for the day. There are 31, and there are 30/31 days a month, so I like to read the Proverb that corresponds with the day of the month. This morning I started with the "wrong" one, I read Proverbs 25 because I thought today was the 25th. It was super neat though, because I saw something I wrote in my Bible exactly one year ago tomorrow :).

Last year Shane went on a 3 week mission trip. That was the longest we had been apart and I was anxious. He travelled all during the night by plane. The boys and I were at my parents house. The morning after he left I woke up and read my Proverbs. This is the verse God showed me that day, "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." It was really neat to feel like God made me see that verse to let me have peace that Shane and the teams travel was OK.

This same team headed for the Czech yesterday. Shane did not make the trip this year because we had a little visit from the Stork. The Stork did not look at our calender before he visited us this year. Shane stayed up all night last night as the team travelled. They arrived safely at 5am this morning! It was sweet to see the same verse again this year. It highlighted God's faithfulness to me today! Even though Shane is home with us physically, his heart is in the Czech right now, and our family is praying for an amazing trip for these high school and college students. I am thankful for my husband who leads our family and these students with faithfulness and integrity.

Here are some more highlights of Prov 24 today. This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. "By wisdom a house is built; and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. " (vs.3-4)

"Does not he who guards your life know it?" I love the picture that this verse paints. God guards my life. He perceives my heart and the hearts of those around me.

"Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off"

"Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." This one reminded me today that there is a proper and good order for things. God will bless me when I keep my priorities in order.

"I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgement; thorns had grown up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw; A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." I usually love this set of verses because the last part is funny sounding to me-talking about bandits and armed men :). Thing I loved about it today, besides the bandit talk, is that little by little our choices shape up to the big picture.