Wise-Hearted Women

Ex 26:1-2

Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.

Exodus 35:25 -26
And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair

I am the thankful owner of a brand new Sewing Machine! It was my Christmas gift from Mom and Dad. I have never had the privilege to sew the first stitch on any sewing machine, although "sew" many of my close friends and relatives sewed my whole life. I don't if anyone really trusted clumsy me with sewing! I can remember being warned against getting my fingers sewed together! It's no wonder I never gave sewing a try until now. To be honest, I'm still a little nervous about my first sewing project. I'm afraid that I won't know how to sew. There is a lot of complicated terminology in sewing. Selvage, wrong sides together, etc. Why, oh why didn't I take Home EC. in College?

It is because of my lack of know-how that my mom came over and stitched the cutest pair of curtains for my kitchen window. I helped her cut the fabric and measure the window, but that is as far as I assisted. Since, I was pretty busy with the rest of the kitchen remodel, mom created a pair of curtains for under $4.00. They look Amazing.

I was reminded of our recent sewing project while reading in Exodus this week. Wow, think of all those curtains that God ordered for the Tabernacle of the Wilderness. He was so specific in just the way they should be pieced together and exactly what fabric and color each should be. What a privileged it must have been to weave and sew those curtains. Can you imagine sewing a straight stitch on a seam that was as tall as a building? And all without a sewing machine. I don't believe the fabrics would have been very easy to work with textures ranging from fine-twined linen to goats skin! I don't think I would have been chosen to work on that special project!









I watched mom sew my little kitchen curtains and she had to stop and think, measure and remeasure just to make both panels match. It took "sew" much thought and brain power. Sewing these very important curtains in the Tabernacle required a team of extra dedicated workers. This team had to follow God's pattern down to the exact last stitch. I am excited to read that God used women! The Bible says that Women who were "Wise Hearted" worked on possibly the most beautiful drapes that have ever been.

I may not be on the sewing squad, but I want to be one of those wise-hearted women that is always available for any project where God could use me!

Diligent Hands

Diligent

1. Prosecuted with careful attention and effort; careful; painstaking; not careless or negligent.
And the judges shall make diligent inquisition:--Deut. xix:18


2. Interestedly and perseveringly attentive; steady and earnest in application to a subject or pursuit; assiduous; industrious.
Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings. --Prov. xxii. 29.

Syn: Active; assiduous; sedulous; laborious; persevering; attentive; industrious.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. Cite This Source







Pr 10:4 ¶ He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

The children and I read this verse recently, it must of been the 10th of January since the chapter is the 10th of Proverbs. We discussed diligence. We understood that we should work as hard as we can and finish the jobs that we are assigned. We even sang a little of Patch the Pirate's, "Finish the Job". Somehow the story of the ant and the grasshopper worked it's way into our discussion. The ant worked hard and had food in the winter. The grasshopper loafed and played in the Summer and had no food come winter. (I was tempted to teach a lesson in socialism here, but I refrained from getting too philosophical, LOL) We chanted our Hearn family Work cheer that day, where we stack our hands in a pile and shout, "Team in the huddle...we're gonna W-O-R and -K , We're gonna work today! GOOOO HEARNS!!!!" I think we accomplished much that day.

I was reminded of this verse again this morning as I read about Joseph and his servant hood in Potipher's house. His diligence is clear throughout his captivity in Egypt. Although he was falsely accused and victim of Potipher's lack of diligence (see above verse from Deut. in the definition), God would not forget his promise He made in Pr 22:29, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings;". Joseph is the main character in the original story of the ant. He stands before Pharoah, and oversees the all the work of every Egyptian hand in the rescue of their country from starvation. His diligence was rewarded above and beyond even what God promised. "Many hands make light work, but one set of hands should never make light of work." Be diligent.

Making Marriage Work

In studying the word "work" in the Bible, I came first across the LORD's work in Creation, Adam's family work after the fall and of course Noah's work building the ark. After the Tower of Babel we come to the First Family of Israel- Abraham and Sarah. They are a great examples in "Making a Marriage Work" or "Making Marriage WORK !"
It seems for the first 50 years or so of Abraham and Sarah's marriage they really made it work. They followed the Lord's leading and Sarah obeyed her husband. They started to do a work on their marriage, however, when they went down to Egypt and lied to Pharaoh about their relationship. They took on some extra weights down in Egypt, a certain handmaid to be exact, and made work for all generations to follow.

Genesis 16:1 ¶ Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 ¶ And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. 6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

Abraham and Sarah worked together in the previous story but their work was out of God's will and it had a messed up chain of command with Sarah giving out orders. It is good to see their work in the next passage. It shows that the Lord can make even messed up marriages to work again.

Genesis 18:1 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. 9 ¶ And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son...

I love the way this old couple made their marriage work in the end. Abraham was giving the orders and Sarah laughing. There was joy in the home again, and the son God gave them, TOGETHER, had a name that meant laughter. See, work can be fun!

God blessed this Abraham and Sarah's son, Isaac, with a "working" marriage much like their own. Rebekah was discovered as an answer to an old man's prayer because she was busy working.


Genesis 24:15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

God knew exactly the kind of wife Isaac would need to be his help meet. Rebekah's main chore growing up was drawing water from the well and who did she marry but the president of Canaan's Well-Diggers, Inc., Isaac! I imagine they had a lot of fun working together digging all those wells. Of course, we know that Rebekah kind of dug herself into some trouble but that is a "hole" other story.

'Lord, please help our marriage to work and not be extra work on our family. Help me to help my working man in every way I can. Amen"

A Four Letter Word - Work

What comes to mind when you hear the word "work". To some it is a dirty word! To some it is a lifestyle. To some it is unattainable in times of unemployment. To some it is a blessing. To me, it's my word of the year. "Work" is the word that I will use to treasure hunt in my devotions daily to see if I see the word "work" or see the idea or action of "work" transpiring. I remembered my momma having a devotional word of the year when I was a child. I think there may have been one year where she looked for the word "love" for example as she read through the Bible. When she would happen upon the word, she would circle it with a heart. I really liked that idea and I have been trying it for a few years. Having a key word in your Bible reading allows you to stay alert and focused on the scripture you are reading, because you don't want to miss a word!
I actually ask the Lord to show me the word he would have me study each year. It is quite difficult to decide on a specific word and I haven't always chosen an easy word to find. My favorite word study was in 2005, and it was on the word morning. What an opportunity the Lord gives us each morning to start the work day fresh.

An enjoyable aspect of my theme word is finding an icon that I can mark in my Bible when I find the word. It has to be as simple as a check mark to make. When "morning" was the key word, this passage, Ps 139:9-10 "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.", was the inspiration for the little flying bird I marked next to the verse where the word "morning" was written. One year the word was "mind", so the icon was a question mark...and so on. Now, I must admit, I haven't any ideas on what to mark with the word, "work". If any of you can think of one, let me know.

I hope to post as many of the passages about "work" that I can on the blog. Meanwhile, I better practice what I preach and get to WORK!!!