I have recently seen different posts pop up on facebook commenting on two different blog posts-
www.biblicalwoman.com called Decorating for Real Life, and one from
www.powerofmoms.com entitled, Your Children Want you. I found that it was interesting how they kind of contradicted eachother on the subject of Pinterest. Whereas neither was really about Pinterest, they both made mention of it and it made me think about the way we spend out time as women.
The article on decorating said that the Proverbs 31 woman would have certainly been a fan of Pinterest, however I kind of feel like she would have thought Pinterest was a waste of her time. I am in no means criticizing Pinterest, in fact I really don't know much about it, but I have seen comments about it being addicting and more time being spent looking at other people's projects than actually doing them yourself.
I think that the Power of Moms article really hinted more at the true Proverbs 31 woman. It is a common temptation among women to compare ourselves with other women in many facets of our live: decorating, cooking, fun activities we plan for our kids, creativity, how much we saved on groceries, fashion... and sites like Pinterest, facebook, blogs, tend to add fuel to this fire if we are not careful. But God has not called me to be any other woman than the woman he has made me to be. He has given me certain gifting, talents, skills, interests... and he wants me to use those to the best of my ability to be the best wife, mom, friend, and witness for Him that I can be. While sometimes we need a little help with a creative idea and we can learn from eachother, ultimately a lot of that stuff is just fluff. True hospitality is not how nicely decorated your house is, how well you can set the table, or even how good your food tastes, and the best mother is not the one with the most fun ideas or cutest dressed children. As a wife, mother, hostess, friend, witness, I must love the Lord my God with all that I am and use the love and gifts that he gives me to love those around me.
As a personal confession, I don't feel much like a good Proverbs 31 woman. Thinking about these articles has really made me think about the way I spend my time- being a good steward of the time that God gives me during the day to spend time with my precious son- teaching him to love God and all those other things he needs to learn. God also gives me time to love and honor my husband, to serve him, to help him accomplish all that God has called him to do. And God gives me time to be a neighbor, to be a servant.
I have a long list of projects in my head that I want to do to get my new house looking HGTV ready and to help Silas learn about the world around him and how to read... and I think God wants me to do those projects because he has given me creativity and I enjoy them, but I must remember that my first priority is God and then the people he has put in my life. If these projects draw me away from those things, then they are just not that important.
