It's getting lighter!

I was always find January quite a difficult time mentally, so I am glad that I've gotten through this past January feeling much more upbeat.
I know there is much to be said about taking refuge in one's faith when things are difficult. Easier said than done (!), but I have definitely appreciated the activities of which I'm part of at church & my husband's college - this fellowship has all been light in my life.

And to top it all, the days are drawing out, the days are getting lighter.
Amen.
X

Shopping Around

Today's focus for Proverbs 31 is verse 13:

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands (NIV)

Or as translated in these other versions:

• She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing. (The Message)

• She finds wool and flax and busily spins it.(NLT)

• She looks for wool and flax and likes to work with her hands.(NCV) 

• She seeks out wool and flax and works with willing hands [to develop it]. (Amplified Bible)

• She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. (King James Version)

What a sensible person. She may have compared several market stalls for prices, or even compared prices between towns? I still find myself doing that on occasion if the particular product is stocked in independent stores. However, we have our trusty web browser to help us 'go-compare', along with also bidding on auction sites. (One of my fave's to check out regularly is http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ Martin and his team give top advice.)

Well however we shop now, we can take example from the Truly Good Woman for planning ahead and being eager to accomplish her tasks. 

I have struggled to keep the steady character, described from 'Never Spiteful', on one occasion this week when I was annoyed with the Hubba. But from it I have remembered the importance of "communicate, communicate, communicate!" The Hubba and I always do better when we talk about how things are going or how something makes us feel.

Hope you're all well, Liz xxx

Giveaway WINNER!

This is fun isn't it - I love blog-land!

So this lucky person is one step closer to crunching their abs:

No. 4 - Betty of Mrs Yappy Dog Please email me your mailing address to trulygoodwoman@gmail.com

Chosen by Random Number Generator.

I've tried showing the list of 10 entrants - but my post doesn't like the encrypting stuff. 

Big love to you all - thanks for playing. xxx

Never Spiteful

Often we take it for granted that the bible has been translated into English, we take it as something old and completed. However, translating from Hebrew (for the Old Testament) and Greek (for the New Testament) into English, does give translators predicaments in losing emphasis. For instance, chair in the old Greek has about 10 different words, whereas in English it is always chair, but choosing one Greek 'chair' over another could change its meaning.
Therefore, when looking at the Woman of Proverbs 31 I have found it useful to look at the different translations through http://www.biblegateway.com/ This has enabled me to grasp the meaning more fully.
In addition to this I am using the commentary from Grace Communion International for help.

Our Proverbs 31 focus today is:

Her husband trusts her without reserve, 

   and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously 

   all her life long.

Here is a man who has been blessed with a wife who gets on with things, who works hard to organise things, who knows how to find the best bargain and who is aware and conscientious about her family's needs.

What stands out to me is that she is 'Never spiteful', and that 'she treats him generously'.

I am not in favour of pigeon holing people to set roles, and even though I love the woman of Proverbs 31, I don't even think she is about being the perceived 'perfect' 1950s housewife. When looking at this sentence, I see a woman who is confident and comfortable with what she is doing in her home and work. She does what she considers needs doing and without reserve. There is no "I am only doing such and such, because that is all they would have done/would do".

She uses her 'know-how' for the job in hand, and sees it through to the end. There is no expectation of praise or reward, but instead a humble gratification that the best has been sought, and he has been helped or cared for.

For the coming days I am going to focus my attention to 'Never being spiteful, but treating him generously.'  

When looking for a picture I just couldn't resist this hard working fellow...

Three days left for the GIVEAWAY! Please see Truly Good Woman Reviews.

Who is the Woman of Proverbs 31?

Read Proverbs 31: 10-31 

She sounds amazing doesn't she.
I aspire to be such a talented woman who keeps God in the centre, and her family so well cared for.
I look to the example she gives and yet I know that I fall drastically short. For as much as I'm loving my job I can't say that I'm eager to get started - apparently I function much better after 11am...not much chance of a start like that in teaching hey!
And, I had set out with this blog hoping to share God moments and for it to be an encouragement in how we can all be truly good woman - yet looking over my posts I see that they are 90% about food! Whereas the truly good woman is not overly preoccupied with fancy foods:

She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast 

for her family and organizing her day.

I might manage breakfast myself if the thought of it doesn't make me feel sick (it never used to, what is this?) but the most I do for the Hubba is make him his morning cup of tea, although come to think of it I do feed the cats...
Anyhow, I'm not about to beat myself up but rather look with you over the coming weeks, at the example she gives and what this might look like in our 21st century.

To help me on my way I will use the commentry of Proverbs 31 from Grace Communion International 

Who is your inspiration for a Truly Good Woman, I'd love to hear from you.
Liz xxx

p.s. don't forget the GIVEAWAY! On Truly Good Woman Reviews.

Sneak Peak of the GIVEAWAY!

So my January GIVEAWAY is Karen Voight's 'Voight: Precision training for body and mind'. As posted on Monday on Truly Good Woman Reviews, this isn't a new book but it is great at targeting those problem areas. Now although, I wouldn't necessarily want to look as muscular as Voight, her exercises do develop a more honed, svelte figure whatever your shape. 

Here's a sneak peak:  

To enter you can do any of or each of the following, but the more you do the more chance you have of winning:

• comment on http://www.trulygoodwoman.blogspot.com/ about your New Years Resolution;
• Add yourself as a follower if you are not yet one;
• Show http://www.trulygoodwoman.blogspot.com/ as a blog you read on your own blog page.

Please add a comment to say if you have either added yourself as a follower or shown TGW in the blogs you read. Closing date is Saturday 15th January 2011.

Happy playing! xxx

Truly Good Food & a Giveaway!

So although I've been busy preparing for Christmas with home-made preserves since October, I don't tire of Christmas when January comes. We still seem to have so many different cheeses and pickles, I won't take down the decorations until the 6th January and I'm not tiring of playing board games. This is of course probably my way of denying that it is going to be work as usual.

Here is one of the recipes that we and some friends enjoyed on New Years Day.
Spiced Gammon in Cider
This is delicious hot and scrumptious cold with the Spiced Christmas Pears

• 2.25kg   unsmoked gammon
• 2 onions quartered
• Zest of one orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 whole cloves, plus extra for the outside of the gammon
• 2 ltr dry cider
• 3tbs dark muscovado sugar

1. Place the gammon in a large pan (I prefer to do mine in the slow cooker as it makes the meat succulent) with all the ingredients, except for the sugar. Make sure the gammon is completely covered, add water if necessary.
2. Bring to the boil over a high heat , then lower to a gentle simmer for 1 hour if in a pan, or if cooking in the slow cooker do so on the high setting for 3 to 4 hours. Then let the gammon sit in the pan for 30min.
3. Remove from the pan and, before it cools too much, peel off the skin leaving the white fat on the meat. Using a sharp knife, mark the gammon's fat with a crisscross pattern.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas 6. Place the gammon in a large roasting tin, lined with foil. Stir 1 tbsp of the gammon's cooking liquid into the muscovado sugar to make a thick paste and smother the paste evenly all over the gammon. Spike each diamond in  the crisscross pattern on the gammon with a clove.
5. Put the spiced gammon in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 min.  Serve warm or cold.

So far most of my blog has been about food, my intention for 2011 is to be much more varied and rounded as a Truly Good Woman. 

Not only would I be missing out on so many things that a TGW is, the Hubba and I could be dangerously close to being found rolling to the shops in need of bigger clothes. 

So, as with many a New Year the Hubba and I have resolved to do more exercise, please see Truly Good Woman Reviews for an exercise book recommendation and GIVEAWAY!

Other resolutions include posting a weekly Bible study/reflection on here, being more punctual for work, going to bed earlier (eeek look the the time!) and making sure the Hubba and I find regular quality time together. 

Please comment about your New Year Resolutions to be in with a chance to win the 'Voight: precision training for body and mind'. 

Liz xxx