Lesson 11 - A Taste of Success / The How-To’s of Beauty "Now some tips on determining your personal Proverbs 31 Project. 1. Listen to others—Are you getting compliments for something you do? We usually take our gifts for granted. We tend to think, “Oh, everyone can do this! It’s so easy!” and we fail to notice that no one else is doing it—or doing it with the same excellence, flair, or boldness. Sometimes we may even think, “Oh, that’s not so great! Others do a better job!” instead of thanking God for the abilities He’s given us and trying to use those abilities in a broader way. 2. Move forward—Did you goof? Did the recipe fail, the paints run? Were you unable to find the exact words for your writing (I can relate!) or the right notes for your music composition? Did you over-fertilize your prize roses? Move forward from these experiences with the attitude of inventor Thomas Edison who failed thousands of times before he invented the light bulb: “Don’t call it a mistake. Call it an education!” 3. Develop your skills—To be successful in your Proverbs 31 Project, you need to continue to develop your skills and techniques. My daughter Courtney enrolled in a culinary school to further develop her wonderful cooking skills. She has an ability and the desire to do more in the kitchen, and she has “tasted” enough success to dare to dream of future enterprises involving food preparation. Whatever it takes to develop your skills, commit yourself to it. You’ll not only develop skills but confidence as well. 4. Redeem your time—Buy back time from less important activities and use it for your Proverbs 31 Project, for personal creative efforts, for your “merchandising.” As I focused my mind and energy on my writing and speaking, I noticed that a few once-regular activities completely disappeared. I no longer spend hours watching television, shopping, attending luncheons, going on outings, or talking on the telephone. One of the few activities I make extended time for now is my “work,” and I willingly extend it far into the night! (It’s 10:30 P.M. right now!) 5. Take risks—Be creative. Try new things. Express yourself. Adopt my friend Julie’s attitude toward her flower arranging—“Be bold!” in whatever enterprise you are exploring. 6. Do your best—“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” That’s the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 9:10. God’s beautiful woman certainly works with all her might and all her heart. All she does, she does with excellence. As a result, her merchandise is good! 7. Do your projects unto the Lord—In both the Old Testament and the New, in Proverbs 16:3 and Colossians 3:23 respectively, we are told to commit our work to the Lord and to do our work as unto the Lord. With Him as the reason for your work, with Him as your Boss, with His glory as your goal, you’ll experience the blessing of His strength and His guidance. With Him as your stay, you’ll also find staying power for staying up! 8. Manage for profit—As we see in this profile of God’s beautiful woman, profit can be gained in several ways. We can strengthen our family’s financial situation by money saved, by money earned, and by money invested. 9. Know what you’re doing is important—In Psalm 34:8, David calls us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The meaning of see is “convinced”—and usually the hardest person to convince about the value of your efforts is you! Remember that this chapter is about the confidence of God’s beautiful woman—her confidence in her God, her God-given talents and abilities, and her use of those gifts for the good of her family and other people. 10. Family first—Jesus teaches that if the tree is good, the fruit will be, too (Matthew 7:15–20). For God’s beautiful woman, her family comes first. All that she does, she does for them. Because her family’s good is the desire of her heart and the focus of her actions, the fruit of her efforts is good. She isn’t motivated by greed, but only by her concern for her dear family. That motivation prompts her to do her best, and God uses her to bless her family and others (Proverbs 31:20,24) in a variety of ways, including financially. So take a second to check your motives. Are your efforts fueled by the right motives? As my wise pastor exhorts, “You take care of the depth and let God take care of the breadth.” In the case of becoming beautiful in God’s eyes, you take care of your family and let God take care of how He chooses to bless and expand any business efforts."
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 23:05:41 +0000
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