January - A Woman of Valor

Rachel Held Even's* wrote about Valour this month. 'A wife of noble character, who can find?'- Prov 31:10. She argues that Proverbs 31 was not written to instruct all women in how to be good wives, but to highlighy and draw attention to 'the often over-looked glory of the everyday'.

Her tasks this week included:
- Getting up before dawn ('She gets up while it is still dark -Prov 31:15)
- Practicing contemplative prayer ('A woman who fears the Lord should be praised' Prov 31:30)
- Work out her arms ('She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong' Prov 31:17)
- Making every meal and keeping the house clean ('She provides food for her family Prov 31:15 and 'She watches over the affairs on the home' Prov 31:27).
- Doing something nice for her husband ('She does him good and not evil' Prov 31:12)
-Avoiding Facebook, Twitter and TV ('She does not eat the bread of idleness' Prov 31:27)
- Keeping working until 9pm ('Her lamp does not go out at night' Prov 31:18)

At first glance these task seem to be VERY loosely related to the actual bible verses and a lot of interpretation needed to get the link between them. However I like the principle of keeping busy around the home and not gossiping or doing 'unproductive things' (like read the dailymail website, continually look at Next baby clothes online, stare into space). I don't find it challenging to believe that women should cook and clean and look after the home and their man. However, I also live in a household where my husband earns significantly more than me, and he really is the one keeping us afloat financially. If this was different perhaps I'd question these roles. Should the person earning less money run the household, or the woman????

She also set herself an LARGE amount of sewing and craft tasks (9 things to be made) which she then had to get her friend over to help her make as she did not have time. I really like making things, and find I have nowhere near enough time to actually do any of the things I want to do. Currently half made in my house are:
- 3 t-shirts
- a rag doll
- some letters to spell out Starbuck's name
- a dress to be made from Xss' old shirt for Starbucks
- 2 pairs of fairy wings
- a half painted canvas (it will eventually be a painting of an old tree with rope swing?)
- 9 flying hearts (these are actually 'complete' but need to be attached to string somehow so that they can be hung up
- a pair of PJ bottoms for Xss.

And this is with me trying to show restraint and not making new things without finishing something else beforehand. I need a sewing machine for some of these projects and don't know if I should buy one. So this months tasks got me to wondering, 'I believe in the bible, maybe I need to sew'. Maybe its innate. Maybe I'm doing the wrong job, perhaps I need to start my own business selling organic homemade crayons, or not make money at all but spend all day everyday making all my families clothes and gifts, and cooking and cleaning. In someways this sounds idyllic, but because most of my art projects actually end up in the bin, I would definitely fail. And who would I talk to when I was at home in my small holding in the country knitting away? the chickens. I'd be a mad woman. Geeks need company.

After struggling to sew all her projects, cook everyday and avoid TV Rachel got some good advice from a Jewish lady on what the meaning of valour is:

'Christians seem to think that because the bible is inspired, all of it should be taken literally. Jews don't do this. Even though we take the torah literally (all 613 commandments!), the rest is seen differently, as a way of understanding our Creator, rather than direct commands. Take Proverbs 3, for example. I get called an 'Eshet chayil' (a valourous woman) all the time. Make your own challah instead of buying? Eshet chayil! Work to earn some extra money for the family? Eshet chayil! Make balloon animals for the kids at Shul? Eshet chayil! Every week at the Shabbat table, my husband sings the proverbs 31 poem to me. It's special because I know that no matter what I do or don't do, he praises me for blessing the family with my energy and creativity. All women can do that in their own way. I bet you do as well.'

So 'Eshet chayil' is an original way of saying 'Girl Power'. Wouldn't it be nice if this came back and rather than high fiving over getting a date with the hottest guy around or having a boob job, girls were offering kudos for managing to win in the constant battle with bath mould, or preventing anyone from hopping around with a hurt town by putting away the Lego every night. Girl Power!

In this way we should focus on the 'smaller' accomplishments in our everyday lives. And those in-tune with our personality. We should praise each other (well our men should especially) for doing what we do well. We all have talents and we should be proud of these and our own achievements, not striving to be somebody else. Great. Now to work out what my own talents are........ I like shoes with big tongues, is that a talent?

Seriously though Debs, your blog got me thinking. We ARE experts in parenting difficult children. Perhaps we need to set up our own brat camp in Canada. or our own supernanny for teenagers company??? You in?

30/52 Happy? That I have my own unique talents, despite not really knowing what they are.

A day well spent

Playing with Starbucks' new toys.

29/52 Happy? Getting to play with all the things you wish you had of had as a child.