Confessions of a Proverbs 31 Woman

The pastor of my church, Experience Life, is going through a new series entitled Confessions of a Pastor.  The messages can be heard at experiencelifenow.com.  The first message on Easter was very moving.  And so now I’ve decided to follow his lead and do the same.  I don’t ever want to come across as someone who is perfect.  I am not.  Only Jesus is that.  And if Jesus can save me and give me hope and help in living this life, and particularly living life as a wife and a mom, then he can help anyone.

The first message was subtitled “I struggle with the same sins over and over again.”  The pastor talked about four sins that he battles with.  Then three other of our pastors did the same.  As they talked, a cross was built behind them, and they each nailed their sins to the cross.  The congregation was then encouraged to do the same at crosses placed throughout the skating rink that we meet in.

My list went on and on.  Here I will only share four sins that I struggle with over and over that specifically relate to being a godly wife and mom.  The hope is that you will relate to me in my struggles and be able to find the pursuit of a Proverbs 31 Woman as being practical and relevant.

1. I struggle over and over with speaking to my husband disrespectfully.

2. I struggle over and over with blaming my husband when things go wrong.

3. I struggle over and over with impatience with my children that is expressed in an unloving tone of voice.  

4. I struggle over and over with not taking time to strengthen myself, i.e. exercise.

In Romans chapters 6-8, Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, writes about his struggle with sin and how to overcome it by surrender to Jesus Christ.  If you have not read it, you can read it here http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rom&c=6&v=1&t=NLT#top.

I am surrendering these areas of my life to Christ and trusting Him to help me to overcome. 

I encourage you to do the same.

Rom7:15	I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate.
Rom 7:16	I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good.
Rom 7:17	But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.
Rom 7:18	I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t.
Rom 7:19	When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway.
Rom 7:20	But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.
Rom 7:21	It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.
Rom 7:22	I love God’s law with all my heart.
Rom 7:23	But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
Rom 7:24	Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?[fn3]
Rom 7:25	Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Rom 8:1	So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Rom 8:2	For the power[fn1] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[fn2] through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.

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