Proverbs 16

Im caught up on the right chapter for the right day FINALLY!

I just want to say that I am loving reading Gods word again and trying to apply it to me and my life :) Its pretty awesome.

 verse 2 "All a mans ways seem innocent to him,but motives are weighed by the Lord"

What I got from this chapter was that God knows my heart.He knows my motives.He knows me.I doesnt seem like a lot to get out of a chapter of 33 verses,but this is what struck me the most.I know Im not perfect,and sometimes my motives are definitely not what they should be!

Something I need to work on,being a bit more pure of heart!Because even though others cant see inside my head,God can!

Proverbs 15

Skipped 14,it for me personally was going over things I have already thought.

In reading chapter 15 I found it reiterated what I had read in the previous 14 chapters.But thats good!Ive learnt (or rather been reminded) to listen to wise peoples advice,to keep my mouth shut sometimes!,to remember how important my marriage is,how much I love God and just how wise he is and how much I really do need to listen to that,for all of my body mind and soul to be healthy and happy!

I LOVE verse 13 "a happy heart makes the face cheerful,but heartache crushes the spirit".

 So friggin true!!!!For me I so often get stressed out over little things,I let other peoples problems get to me (there is empathy and then there is just madness!) and it literally reflect on my face!I am 25 and have wrinkles!Not cool lol.But yeah,I guess I need to give things back to God and move on and not have that yuck 'heavy' feeling in my spirit.I cant control what other people say and do and I need to stop letting it affect me so much!

Onwards and upwards from here!

Proverbs 13

Too many gems!!

But the one that stuck out for me is verse 3 "He who guards his lips guards his life,but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin".

I mentioned this before,but seriously,this is something I will probably have to work on my whole life!Steve and I have an understanding now (after 8 years together!),that if we are arguing and I walk away,dont follow me!Leave me be for a while.I will come back.But its something I learnt when I was in counselling when I was a teen (yes I was very screwed up!),that if I keep myself in a situation and get angrier and angrier,if I dont remove myself I will without a doubt say something hurtful and mean to the other person.It took me a while to figure this out.Even now there are times where I forget.But I figure it is far better for me to get away for a bit,or even hang up,then say something out of anger that will hurt someone and cause a bunch of issues that didnt need to be there!So for me,this is me guarding my lips.So for any family or friends that may read this,if I walk away or hang up the phone,it is me trying to be kind,not mean!It is me trying to do the right thing.I guess I have learnt enough about myself over the years to know this trait of mine!And to know its not one I like!!But I would rather zip my lips then hurt someone

Proverbs 12

verse 15 "The way of a fool seems right to him but a wise man listens to advice"

A big lesson Im learning through reading Proverbs so far is the massive comparison between being 'wise' and listening to wisdom and not being wise,and well choosing to be an ass.Verse 15 stuck out to me a lot!I don't often like advice,unless I've asked for it.If it is given without me asking you can bet I'm not going to like you for a while.But thats not wise is it?!I know,I need to be wise (theres that word again!) in who I listen too,who I let speak into my life.But its all a part of learning isnt it???Hope God understands that!I may not always listen,but I dont ignore intentionally.Lesson in this one is that I need to stop sometimes and listen to those 'wise' people in my life,and maybe I would learn a thing or two!

Proverbs 10 and 11

Im combining these two chapters as there is so much in them!
But for me the gist of it all is,if you listen to God,try your hardest to do what is right then you'll be blessed and prosper.If you choose to ignore God then things will get pretty hard for you!

Proverbs 9

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" verse 10

Right so fear of God is pretty understandable,Im not afraid of God,but I respect Him.He created the whole world for goodness sake!I think Im pretty right in thinking I need to show God respect.Not that I think He is going to 'smote' me or something if I dont,but I think if I follow Him and try my hardest to live a life that He would want me to that that is listening to some of his wisdom.I mean hes the oldest being around right?I listen to my Nan because shes older and has lived life and has 'pearls of wisdom' to pass on to me,so why would I ignore God??

Since leaving church I have spent a lot of time figuring out who God is outside of all the religious stuff.To me,God is an awesome powerful being,a being who loved me so much that he gave up his son for me so that essentially I could spend eternity with Him.He is a God who knows me better then I know myself,He is a God who loves unconditionally and beyond my understanding.So why wouldnt I listen to His wisdom?I listen to my Mum and Nan,I listen to my husband,and they all love me unconditionally,so I am dang straight going to listen to God!Not that I think Im wise,but I think thats a pretty smart thing to try and do!

Proverbs 8

"for wisdom is more precious than rubies,and nothing you desire can compare with her" verse 11.
"blessed is the man who listens to me,watching daily at my doors,waiting at my doorway.For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord" verses 34-35

Ive said this before,but for a few years now,I haven't picked up my bible,I haven't spent time studying it,listening to it,nothing.And here I am now,amazed at how much wisdom there is in this book!Bit silly huh?!I know this chapter is 'wisdom talking',and Im not quite sure what I can get out of this for me.As in,I question,is that God talking in this chapter?For me I had so often in the past heard the word preached and it be twisted into what some 'man' thought about (women too btw) it all,that I now question,was this God talking to Solomon and Solomon writing it down and saying it was 'wisdom's voice' ?Silly things like that.Either way,I know the God I serve is wise,and I know I should listen to Him far more than I do.Maybe if I listened a little more,life would get a little easier?
Lesson-listen to God more!I dont think life will ever be easy,but maybe if I listened a bit more,the way I handle things would be a bit easier?