Obedience Rewarded

I had an exam last monday. Because my university professor is going to a conference next weeks and university itself is closed at the moment, I had to take the exam at his house. I can be very curious from time to time, so I found it fun to see in what kind of house he lived.

Anyway, the exam was a literature exam and the problem with these exams is that you never know how to study and what to study. I had prepared properly, I thought...

There was a round table, which had a disorderly pile of cards on it, all the same markings on the back. I took one and the professor said I could sit down at the table, where there was also a stack on writing paper, and that I could prepare for 15 minutes. The professor then went downstairs and left me alone.

I looked at the card, my heart sunk into my shoes, there was no way I could answer that question. I had to explain how George Eliot, used the theories of Darwin, Feuerbach and Comte in Middlemarch. I knew who Darwin was ofcourse, but the other names didn't ring a bell. When we saw this in class I thought this was secondary information.. But here I was, 1 question and I couldn't answer it.

The other cards shined brightly at me, the professor wasn't there, I could easily reach out and put my card back and take a new one. Oh in what inner turmoil I was! I don't approve of cheating, but this temptation was so close, it was so easy. I wanted to cry, because I didn't want to cheat, but I didn't want to fail the exam.

I can't cheat I told myself, so I forced myself to start writing on my paper. I could at least put on my sheet of paper what theory Darwin proposed. "dear God, please help me, I don't want to cheat... I read my class notes, I should remember how she incorporates Darwin's theory in her novel" My thoughts became clearer and I wrote down what I deemed right.

Then all of a sudden I remembered something that our professor had said about when he read Feuerbach as a young guy, and suddenly it all flashed back. Great, I started writing and while I was working on it I also remembered who Comte was.

The professor came back up and I gave my answer, he told me that it was a good answer and asked me some extra questions, which I could all answer.

Praise God. I was tempted, but decided to do the right thing and while He is in no way obligated to reward behaviour that is supposed to be normal, He did :) Oh How I love my Lord!

Thoughts on the Proverbs 31 Wife: part 2

In my previous post on the Proverbs 31 Wife, I concluded that she is of great profit to her husband and the next verse in this passage confirms that.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. Pro 31:11

Now I'm sure most people reading this, do understand this verse. But I didn't at first, English isn't my mothertongue you see, so "no need of spoil" was a bit obscure for me. After looking up the word shalal, I noticed that spoil here doesn't come from "to spoil", but means plunder, booty, prey. So it means he has no lack of riches. Because this man can trust his wife, he trusts her and is rewarded for that because she profits him.

While reading this another scripture was brought to my mind, the parable of the servants with the talents. Now ofcourse, Jesus used this parable as a parable for something spiritual. But I do feel as if this parable can also teach us something about bringing profit to our households.
Husbands bring money to the household and usually give a part or all of this money to the wife to spend. We could spend it all on ourselves, that would be wrong, it would bring no profit. We could be very worried about spending our husbands money and hardly spend anything of it, that seems very frugal to do... but not if that means that the household doesn't profit from the money. What good is it that we save plenty of money, but don't feed the people in our household or don't clothe them properly. We should be frugal indeed, but also make investments. I don't mean we should invest in risky business ventures, investing can mean investing in the health of the family, the education of the family, activities that bring the family together... Ofcourse a wife can also, given the fact that this brings profit to the family and doesn't cause harm, start a small business of her own and actually invest the money and receive more from it. Nevertheless, I do believe that a wise woman enlarges the number of talents she has been given, these investments might be financially, but needn't be. She just make more of what she receives.

Another thing that strikes me about this verse is that I don't know wether the fact that her husband trusts her is needed for him to have no lack of spoil. Some bible translation, use "and" between the two sentences, others use "so".
It could be that the verse implies that it is needed for the husband to trust his wife. But that should never be an excuse for us ladies to not do what we are called to do. We should try and make "the most" out of every situation.
And when we, with God's help ofcourse, make the most out of every situation, we can "earn" that trust. (Mind: I hesitantly use the word "earn" here, because as humans we don't really earn anything by our own merits, everything we receive comed from the beautiful grace of God. I mean that when our behavious becomes trustworthy it is more natural that we are trusted, than when our behaviour isn't trustworthy.) When someone doesn't trust in us and we use that as an excuse not to work hard on whatever it is we want to be trusted in, we are not proving that we can be trusted.

In the next verse we find that she always does him good, affirming that even if he should not trust her, that is no excuse for her.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Pro 31:12

She will do him good and not evil. Notice that it doesn't just say "not evil", but it also says we are to be good. Often I tell myself "I'm a good daughter and a good homemaker, I didn't do this evil thing today and didn't do that evil thing." But did I do good that day? Ahh... Now that's the question, isn't it.

a prayer

Lord, help me work hard and invest wisely the things I receive from my husband(/father/...), so that he has no need of spoil. Help me make wise decisions and give me strength, so I can make the most out of what I receive, for Your Glory. Convict of the evil I do and help me turn my back on it, but also convict me of the good I need to do, so that my husband(/father/...) may be blessed at all times.

What a glorious day!

I have been busy preparing some posts I want to make here, but I have been awfully busy.

I did decide to post today, because I have the best news ever: yesterday my beloved repented from his sinful life, thanked Jesus for dying for his sins and asked God to take his life from it and guide him into His will.

There are no words to express how happy I am. Knowing that now I can certainly accept a marriage proposal ( I hope our parents wil give their consent soon ) and knowing that he too will see Heaven.

My three rules for great baking!

One of the things I like best about homemaking is baking. Every saturday I make some time to bake after we have done our weekly shopping. I bake bread for eating during the week, but I also like to make pie, brownies, scones or something else that's yummy.

There's something so satisfying about making 'patisserie', the smells are divine, the taste is always better than storebought and people are always so very impressed. Cooking is seen as normal, making your own bread as rather special, but making pies and scones is regarded as something only a supercook can do.

That isn't true ofcourse, being a good baker seems to consist out of 3 important things.

1- Following the recipe exactly when baking something for the first time.
2- Trial and error.
3- Cleverly renaming stuff that didn't turn out the way it should be.

The first rule is important because baking is much more dependent on exact quantities than cooking is. With cooking, amounts of salt, spices and lemon juice for instance matter for the taste, but with baking some chemical processes that happen during the baking really depend on the amount of something or on the order in which certain ingredients are added.With baking bread for instance, putting your salt directly on your yeast can kill it!
Once you've got the knack of a certain recipe, you can ofcourse vary the recipe yourself, adding a bit more of this or changing one ingredient with something else. It's helpful if you only make one recipe adjustment at a time, so you really notice what influences what.

This brings me to my second rule, trial and error. The more we do something, the more we learn about it and even mistakes (though embarassing sometimes) can be awfully helpful in discovering what makes a recipe work and what doesn't. Persides, numerous women have made mistakes before you and these mistakes mostly turn into funny stories.
Mistakes are great because they add knowledge. I'm a person who feels very easily bad about herself: when I make a mistake I add to it by sinning and calling myself stupid. My beloved always corrects me by telling me that I wasn't stupid in the first place and that the mistake has added to my knowledge, so that I'm even less stupid now. This is true and something we should all reminds ourselves of.

My final rules if the most fun and creative rule in baking. When something goes wrong, just rename it. When your chocolate cake hasn't risen and is a sticky, tough on the stomach mess, you could make some green kind of frosting, add it on top, maybe get some sugared flowers orso to put on top of it and call it "soil cake".
I had some delightfully little breads that tasted awesome, but hadn't risen the way they should have, they tasted great, smelled great but looked rather silly being superflat. I promptly called them flatbreads and everyone enjoyed them.

These are the three things that really help me bake and make it a joyful pastime for me. Now I'm off, because my oven timer just informed me that the muffins I made should be finished by now.

Thoughts on the Proverbs 31 Wife: part 1

The description of the virtuous woman is a bible passage I love to read over and over. When I'm feeling tired and overwhelmed by the household work, I read it to get inspired and encouraged, when I'm feeling enthusiastic and happy about my tasks, I read it to discover something new I could do to bless my household. Once I get my printer working properly, I'll ask my beloved whether I can print it with some decoration, frame it and hang it somewhere in the house where I can see it frequently as a constant reminder of my tasks.

I have decided to write down some of my thoughts upon this passage, please do note however that God's Word is perfect, but I am not. I might misread a passage or draw wrong conclusions. Above all I think noone should take what I say for total truth, but should study the Bible on their own guided by the Holy Spirit. I just hope I can inspire myself to try harder by reflecting upon this passage and maybe if it is God's will inspire others likewise.

The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. Pro 31:1

I would have loved to meet with Lemuel's mother, I imagine she would have been the kind of woman Paul described in Titus 2. I imagine she also instructed younger women in how to conduct themselves in a fitting way. So, while I personally don't know many Titus 2 ladies, I rejoice because God has given me a Titus 2 lady in the Scriptures.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price [is] far above rubies. Pro 31:10

What strikes me everytime I read this verse is that this virtuous woman is rare. Her price is far above rubies and it seems as if she isn't found easily. Oh, how true this is, but how sad this is! Imagine if all women were like this, our world would be a much better place.
When talking about this verse some women tell me it is an unattainable standard, something we can never achieve. I think an attitude like this is what keeps us from even trying to be like the virtuous woman. Yes, the standard put up here does seem impossible to attain, but I think we ought to remember some crucial bible verses about what's possible and what not.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth. Mar 9:23

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Mar 10:27

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phl 4:13

We shouldn't give up because we think it isn't possible. I believe we should ask God to help us in our prayers and just try to do it. We can trust that with God all things are possible.

Another thing that intrigues me is the meaning of virtuous. The word in Hebrew, chayil not only means virtue and integrity, it also means strength, ability, efficiency, wealth and even army. Now ofcourse the translation of virtuous is proper here, I do think the other meanings add to the dimension of what this woman is.

She is strong, not weak. Strength is often thought of as a male characteristic, but this doesn't mean I as a woman should be weak. Physically, I think I must train my mucles so I can carry large bags, open jars and do other household activities without needing to bother other people to help me. Emotionally I should be strong by not crying and pouting over every problem that meets my way, but act in an appropriate manner. Spiritually I should be strong by wearing spiritual armour and praying without ceasing.
She is able, she is efficient, she can do the household and she does it in an efficient way.
She is like wealth to her husband, it profits him financially to have her as his wife, because she spends wisely and tries to earn extra.
She is like an army, in the sense that she protects her household against all kinds of harm. She dresses them so they don't get ill, she feeds then nutritious meals that strenghten them, she fights the good fight spiritually to protect her household from Satan's influence.

She is worth more than rubies. When I think of rubies I think of beauty. She is more beautiful than exquisite jewels. When I think of this another bible passage pops into my mind which explains, at least so I think, wherein this beauty lies.

In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 1 Ti 2:9-10

She is also worth more than rubies financially, a wise woman can save her husband a lot of money by being thrifty. Later on we shall see how she does this.

Overall, in this verse we can see women not being portrayed as useless or as lesser creatures, but instead we see the importance of a woman's character: there is great profit when she is virtuous.

Who is Lady Lenore?

Welcome to my blog, I am Lady Lenore.

God sure put my world upside down one year ago when he showed me His love and splendour and saved me for eternity.

Although I already wanted to become a homemaker and homeschooling mom, being meek and quiet and humble wasn't on my todo-list. Most people knew me as fun, but loud, bossy and manipulative. No, my character wasn't the ideal for a Christian girl.

I also didn't understand the situation I was put in. I live in a European country where protestant Christians are scarce. I study at a university where atheism seems to be the norm. I had already made a promise to stay together forever with my unbelieving beloved. I have parents whom I dearly love, but who do not know Jesus and who make decisions for me that I don't always agree with.

That put me in the following position: living together before marriage with an unsaved person, surrounded by unsaved friends and family. That seems like a recipe for disaster right?

Yet Glory to Our Highest God, Who takes care of us in all situations. He has given me the strength to develop my character towards His divine standard by providing me with Christian friends online, by encouraging me in my reading of the Bible. He has protected me against slander at university. He has blessed me by reaching out to my beloved and working on his heart, so that now my beloved joins me in going to church, prays with me before breakfast and dinner and occasionally reads the bible with me. My darling didn't even bat an eyelid, when I told him after I had converted that I didn't want to have sex anymore. This isn't easy for a young man to accept, but God's blessing are plentiful. I think it won't be long now before the angels can rejoice over a new once-lost-now-saved sheep, since he has expressed an interest in studying the bible together with me.


I fill my days with homemaking and studying for my bachelor's degree. Afterwards my parents want me to get my master's degree. But I hope I can leave my studies behind me one day and become the fulltime homemaker I desire to be. I hope God will bless me with children to raise, with a home with a garden so I can try and learn how to grow my own fruit and vegetables and in the nearer future for my beloved to proclaim Christ as his Lord and Saviour and for our parents to give us consent to marry.

I hope I can use this blog as a place where I can gather my thoughts about God, about homemaking, I pray I can use this place to chronicle my learning to be a homemaker and maybe even inspire other people.

Love and blessings to all who read this,
Lady Lenore