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Helloooo ladies! Welcome to week 2 of the Pursuit of Proverbs 31 study! What a blessing you all were sharing your heart in the comments last week! Today we’re looking at Chapter 2: The Real Woman of Proverbs 31
Amy’s thoughts for us this week are just AWESOME and I want to make sure you have a chance to hear what she has to say today, so find yourself a quite corner for about 15 minutes and hear her heart…
Click here to see video if you’re reading in email or a reader
I love the reminder that what comes from our mouths (and actions) comes from the overflow of our hearts (see Luke 6:45). Our hearts must be in Him–first, before anything else.
If you haven’t done the digging into the verses Amy laid out in her book yet, I want to encourage you to make the time to do that today. It is so important we get into His word and see what He has for us. And this relieves you of one excuse — you now know what to read. 
My pastor said last week that the best way to interpret Scripture is with Scripture. Find similar passages and read them in context. Look up root keywords and see what is similar or different in their meaning. Friends, this is such a rich and rewarding way to study God’s word. God promises it will not return void. If you have questions, feel free to ask.
Amy gives you some wonderful tools in this chapter to help you study the Bible without feeling totally overwhelmed.
If you have done some studying already, share some insights with us in the comments! We love to hear your thoughts.
In fact, we love hearing your thoughts so much that anyone who offers to share them by adding to the conversation in a rich way will be entered to win 1 of two $5 Amazon gift cards.
Here are some ideas to get the conversation going:
What do you struggle with most when it comes to studying God’s word?
What did you learn this week by using Amy’s tips to study the passages she chose?
What confuses you about the passages?
The Series
Week 1 - The Myths {of the Proverbs 31 Woman}
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Amy blogs at Cajun Joie de Vivre
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Thanks Amy…… Its great to hear the pointing out about how important it is to read Scripture for ourselves. To see what God has to say is so important not just someone’s interpretation of it…..
Sometimes its so easy to listen to ones interpretation and that can lead to trouble in many areas…..
This study is great… I look forward to what He is going to do in all of our lives!!
That’s exactly right, Chrissy. I’ve seen too many misunderstandings come from not reading the word for ourselves.
I appreciate you!
I am thankful for this chapter and Amy’s saying that we need to do it ourselves. I’ve grown frustrated with the number of resources that try to prescribe what scripture says for someone else… I had the excuse for many years that I simply didn’t have time to study like I felt like I should. That was a lie, and I began to pray that God would create margin in my life for studying. Lo and behold, He started waking me up every day at 4:30/5am. I’ve always been a morning person, but that was crazy, even for me! But I was obedient to start getting up and have been doing so for months now. I absolutely love this time with him and have grown so much!
That is so true, Mandy. I’ve read many books like that myself. I think of it kind of like when we were younger and someone comes to you and says, “so and so likes you!” Until you hear it from that person and develop a relationship with them then it isn’t real to us.
I really appreciate the videos. my mind is so scattered, I find I dont absorb what I read very well… but after watching the video and going back to read the chapter again, a couple ofe “light bulbs” turned on.
and i think what I struggle most with is time… I really do want that time where I am just sitting in my chair with my tea and reading the Word, but with a 5 month old and 2 year old it just doesn’t happen that way so often. Although they are both napping right now! I really appreciate the ideas for other ways to study the Bible, I will have to give that some thought.
Time is a big struggle. I miss my dedicated time too but in this season of our life babies need our attention. I’m just thankful that there are other ways to get His word inside of us without having to sit down and devote time to it.
Thank you again for your words. I love the scripture. I love just flipping through the pages and feeling the love that flows from it’s pages. The problem that I had when studying was that I was moving too fast. I wanted to get the quantity rather than the quality.I have a husband, 3 active kids, a home and a full time job that all need my attention. My “extra” time is very limited so I was missing out on a lot trying to fit the whole bible into my quiet time. I made myself stop and think, I wasn’t getting fed like I needed to be. Now I set aside an hour in the morning to not only read but to journal as I’m reading; verses that speak to my heart, my thoughts, prayers, whatever I feel like writing down. There are days when I dont get past the first verse because God is speaking to me so strongly through it, and thats ok. There are days when I dont get any quiet time in at all, and if I do I find myself falling asleep on it. I had to make myself sit down and take the time I needed because my lack of Tonya-God time was seriously hurting me and my family. On good days I’ll have a chance to read a bit on my lumch hour (like today) and I try to read or write something before bed. I learned the hard way that God gave us theonly tool we really need and that it was up to me to use it. Time is hard when we are being pulled in 20 different directions. Thank God for giving us so many ways to spend much needed time with Him, even when we feel the time isn’t there.
I recently bought an ESV Study Bible. The last time I used a study Bible in my devotional times was about 18 years ago when I was at university! I love that it makes my study time richer and more profitable. Also, the coloured pencil idea is a great one. I have different colours for different topics or themes that I’m interested in (like ‘Fruit of the Spirit”, “My role as a wife and mother” or just “Key verses I should try to memorise”) and I really look forward to reading through the passages now with fresh eyes. Thanks for the reminder to keep trying to ‘get the Word into you’ during the day, and not just in my designated ‘quiet time’ in the morning. Do you have any recommendations for audio Bible resources?
Catherine– youversion.com has a great audio reading available in many Bible versions. Check it out, it is free!
What I struggle with the most in studying God’s Word is to actually apply it to my life when I’m in the situation. I know I need to be in prayer more! Thanks for this study.
My biggest struggles is finding other scripture to either reinforce what I just learned or to strengthen the lesson I’m trying to learn. I also do not come from a devout family, so studying and reading the bible or even going to church regularly was common place. So this is a completely NEW experience for me.
For me, I get confused because there is SO much content in such a small number of verses. So when I read a whole chapter for context, I lose the meaning of the verse. But when I read ONLY the verse, I don’t get the contextual meaning. I think part of this is because all of this IS so new, so it will hopefully get easier over time.
The BlueLetterBible.org has been a wonderfully enriching tool for this study. I am thankful Amy suggested it in the book because it has helped tremendously. I also get more out of journaling as I am reading the Bible. I also like to add prayer requests and praise reports along with my scriptures and revelations. And on days that I need extra encouragement, I will read the prayer requests from months past and see how God has moved and answered them in His timing and His special way.
I loved this Amy!!! After I had my first son I thought the only way to spend time with God was to sit and just be alone reading and praying. Goodness, I did it for so long before I was married and after that I thought it really was the only way. I let the devil beat me up about it for a year and I felt so bad. I finally realized that I was wrong and there were other ways to spend with the Lord when I could not sit quietly reading or praying. I had to do it differently for almost 4 years and now I do have time to sit in the mornings (well most LOL) before the boys get up. It is so hard trying to find peace and quiet during the days,but I keep books in my bathroom and a Bible LOL I know why my Mama always went to the bathroom and stayed in there longer than I thought she should. Oh my it’s fun being a Mom,but very hard at times.
I struggle with studying the Word. I just read it and let the Spirit speak to me or do Bible studies like this or Beth Moore studies that help you out. Thanks for your tips. I never thought about cross referencing the scriptures like you mentioned. I am so glad to be able to connect online with women that I would otherwise never meet.
Amy, I so, so, so love the way you encourage us, the readers, to study His Word for ourselves. The Word of God is what washes us and makes us clean and pure. Also love how you talked about getting the Word in us in creative ways. My perrsonal favorite is to put on a teaching tape or audio Bible while I clean my house. I feel so effective, getting 2 things done at the same time
Allison, I feel you. I have a 4 year old,2 year old,and an 8 month old. Try some audio Bible on cd and you can even go to http://www.biblegateway.com and you can listen to it there. It is hard to absorb it with small children crying or needing your attention. I have just recently been able to sit quietly in the mornings by myself. It will get easier to find sometime for that quietness you long for. Hang in there! It was almost 3 years for me,but it will come. Try printing off some chapters and hang them in your house. I picked out verses when we got married and typed them up and printed them out. I have some at the sink,in the bathroom,and in the vanity area where I get all dolled up (LOL when there is time). Put them in your children’s room or wherever you are most. Hope that helps! – Heather
Oh and if you have a smartphone you can find Bible apps. I have one and I can play it aloud when I get the chance. I rarely get on the computer,so I have devotionals sent to my email and subscribe to blogs,such as these. I keep my phone on me and just read when I get a chance.
And how do I post a comment through my blog? I have one,but it only lets me do it with goggle or the other options. I have a blog through blogger. - Heather
My biggest struggle has been setting apart time to read the Bible everyday. I have recently started doing my Bible study before I start my morning chores, and that’s working well for me.
When my triplets were smaller, I remember being able to study only about 2 verses a day. I hardly had any time to refer a concordance, but I would look up the verses cross-referenced in the margin of my Bible. I now look back at the notes I’ve jotted in my Bible and I’m amazed at the depth of what God has revealed to me through His Word.
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