#185 - You are Valuable!

Good morning! Woke up hungry... so, guess what?! I put some cinnamon rolls in the oven! Yum! Not an every day or every week occurrence, but it sure is yummy to have a treat like that every once and awhile. :)  If you are not following me on twitter (@amyjmccart) or Facebook... you may not have the update from our appointment yesterday. We had a great ultrasound and enjoyed watching baby kick and move... drum roll please.... the news is, we are having a baby girl! :) Our Trin-Trin is on her way! Trinity Faith is her name. We are so excited to meet her. We've talked about her for so long, in many ways we feel like we already know her... along with her younger brother & sister (Timothy & Taylor). About 9 years ago, shortly after Tyler & I got married, for some reason we decided to begin praying for our "yet to be conceived" children. We began praying, and even went ahead and named them. Tyler Junior, Trinity Faith, Timothy Isaac-Josiah & Taylor Liberty. Over the last 9-10 years as we have prayed for them (and their spouses), it's as if we have gotten to know them, like their personalities & gifts have even taken shape...well, at least become known to us. The amazing thing is, they have always been, before we even prayed, they were. If you remember in Jeremiah 1:5, it says, "Before I formed you in your mothers womb, I knew you." Our children are already meant to be, God already has a plan for them, they were predestined to be on this earth. God said, before He even formed them, HE knew them! He already has put giftings inside them, He already has a plan & calling for their life, He has already placed a sense of humor or strong personality inside them. God already knows them and they have been created for GREATNESS! Anyways... we are excited to meet Trinity and excited to watch her blossom into an awesome woman of God. A long enough intro!?! :) Let's get into some Word!

Proverbs 31:10 (KJV) - Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

When I study the Bible, I have a parallel Bible. It reads the King James Version (KJV) in one column and the Amplified Bible in the other. In most devotions, I quote scripture out of the Amplified Bible. I feel like it typically gives a broader idea of the full context of the verse. It often puts in parenthesis meanings of words in their original Greek or Hebrew, and to me, it just gives me a fuller picture. I've read Proverbs 31:10 so many times in the amplified, that today I decided to just begin again reading down through the KJV.  One word caught my attention. Price. Price. Price. It is talking about a person here. It is talking about "HER" price. The "Price" of the Proverbs 31 woman. Her price! The word "price" just really caught my attention.

Have you ever had the opportunity to do some work, but the amount you were going to get paid did not seem worth your time? Maybe you had the opportunity to "make money" or spend time with your grandchildren, or spend time with your husband. Maybe it was even "make money" or take a nap! Sometimes a nap is something we could all use! "Price" jumped out at me because I just recently had that opportunity. I could do some work for "x" price. I'm always for a few extra dollars, and I wouldn't call me lazy.... but I must say, finding out the "price" made me look at my time and evaluate it. Is the "price" worth my "time?" What is my "price"? What am I worth?

Here in Proverbs 31:10, we see that the Proverbs 31 woman is valued HIGH above rubies. FAR above rubies! Her worth is much greater! In a world where material possessions are looked upon as "great value" and keeping up with the "Joneses" has been the motto for most people as they chase down success, I heard a story recently that put things more in perspective. A now successful business woman told of what it was like when she got started. Her business floundering, little success, but she continued in the pursuit. She would see a nice car, a BMW or Mercedes, and not wanting to be what she classified as "materialistic", she determined that she didn't want to own one of those. She would see a big, nice house, 4000-5000 square feet. She determined, it was too big, she did not want to be materialistic. She would see nice jewelry, and determine she didn't need it, she did not want to be materialistic. Only later to realize that all the while she was being materialistic. Here she would walk into a car dealership, and she would see her own self worth or value as LESSER than the value of that $50,000 car. She would see the nice house, and see herself as LESSER value than the house. She would see the jewelry, and see herself as LESSER value than the jewelry. It wasn't about being materialistic, it was about the small value she was placing on her own worth. Her "price" on herself was very small. She did not see herself as worth much, of great value.

Here, in Proverbs 31:10, we see that this Proverbs 31 woman, her VALUE, her PRICE is FAR above that of rubies! Her worth is FAR GREATER than those precious stones. I found some interesting information. The worlds largest ruby has been found weighing over 8.2 pounds and is 18, 696 carats. A little bigger than the traditional 1 carat "diamond" ring. No price has been put on this stone, but the highest "priced" ruby coming in at 302 carats has a price-tag attached of $500,000.* Look at our Proverbs 31 friend, her price is FAR ABOVE that of rubies! Her value is far greater!

Friend, YOU are also worth FAR greater than rubies & precious gems! Do you realize that YOU are God's most prized possession!?! YOU! That you are greater than the value of ANY gem, stone, diamond. Your value is GREATER than the largest house or castle. Your value is greater than the BMW or the Mercedes AMG that you see driving down the road. YOU! YOUR VALUE is much greater than ANY of those things! YOU are worth MORE than ALL of those things combined! YOU, wherever you are sitting right now are such a great investment to God, He sees such great potential in you that He was willing to give up His most precious gift for YOU! He gave up that which was closest to Him so that YOU would have a chance at life. So that YOU would be able to pursue your dreams. YOU would be able to have children & laugh with them. Watch them ride a bike or be silly at the dinner table. He wanted YOU to have a chance to pursue those things which make you happy, see you succeed as a seamstress or business owner,  teacher, actor, model, writer, cook, inventor, public speaker. He sees so much in YOU that He gave up everything so that you would have a chance to live. Your value is so great! Your value, like the Proverbs 31 woman, exceeds that of rubies. Your value is priceless.

Today, know that a love runs deep for you. Today, pursue those dreams you have knowing that YOUR VALUE is greater than all the possessions available. See yourself in the house or car. You are of greater value than it! The house on the river with the quiet trickling sound, the big kitchen, the large family room to entertain, it's value is not greater than YOU. Dream again! Let your dreams come back alive! Dream again! God is no respecter of persons. It's His desire to bless you and see you succeed. You are Valuable!

* Gem info

#184 - Walk Away PROFITABLE Every Time!

Buenos dias! Well, today is an exciting day! We go to have an ultrasound and "officially" find out that we are having a girl! We've always believed that our "Trinity" would be #2, so it will be fun to get to see her and hear the "official" word from the Doctor today! Yippee! So dad, Junior & I will have an exciting appointment! Tyler Junior is going to be a big brother! How fun!

Well how about it? Let's get started in some Word.

Proverbs 16:3 - Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed. 

Proverbs 31:16 (NLT) - She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.

Isn't the Word awesome?! This morning I was just really reminded of how much of an entrepreneur our Proverbs 31 friend is. We know that she is the "Complete Package", and included in that, she is a "Business Woman!" Isn't that interesting. She is smart.

The New Living Translation tells us that our Proverbs 31 friend is "profitable" in her dealings. Those exploits that she pursues, she is making money, she is progressing, she is moving forward. When we look back to Proverbs 16:3, we can see how one can be successful in any endeavor, let's take another look.

1. Roll your works on the Lord - The first part of our assignment as we pursue a new endeavor or a business venture, an idea, is to roll that idea, roll that business venture, roll that thought onto the Lord. What does that mean? How are we to do that? The amplified version gives us a bit more insight on exactly that, it tells us to "COMMIT" that idea and "TRUST" that idea wholly to the Lord. "Wholly" in the dictionary is defined: entirely, altogether, totally, completely, without exception, exclusively. The "works" or "ideas" that we have, the "pursuits" that we want to chase, the "business concept" that we want to launch out into must FIRST and FOREMOST be committed to the Lord. Once it is committed and entrusted to the Lord, take a look what happens to it! Take a look what HE does with that idea, business venture, thought...
2. He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will - So, as we commit the thought or idea to the Lord, He begins to change things. The idea goes forth, we daily commit and remind Him of our trust in Him with the idea, we expect Him to further clarify and fine-tune the idea.... and look what He does! He not only clarifies and fine-tunes the thought, the idea, the business venture He does something even BETTER! He makes OUR THOUGHTS in regards to this idea, our thoughts in regards to the business venture, He makes OUR THOUGHTS to come into agreement with His will. Areas that we may have had things a little bit off or wrong, they get tweaked. Our thoughts are changed and perfected to be like HIS thoughts! The good news? His thoughts are PERFECT and His thoughts and His plans always succeed! So? What happens next? 
3. Our plans are established & succeed - Wha-la! Like a perfect batch of cookies coming out of the oven, our plans are successful! Like the Proverbs 31 woman, "our dealings are profitable!" Tell me this, WHO doesn't start a business but to be profitable?! That is the goal! People don't start a business to fail. People don't start a business to loose money. People start a business to succeed, to be profitable. The missing link in most failed business'? I would bet you could guess. The LACK of rolling the business or idea onto the Lord. The LACK of allowing our thoughts about the business to come into line with the Lord's thoughts for it.

How can we assure our success? Follow the above steps. I once heard a minister say that he NEVER has lost any money in ANY business investment! WOW! Outside of his ministry, he is a millionaire. Why? Because He allowed the LORD to be his counselor. In an economic downturn, his bankers advised him to do certain things with his financial portfolio. He took in what they said and told them, "Let me pray about it, I will get back with you." He left, He prayed about it. He brought it before the Lord and came back to meet with his bankers. In turn he told them, "No, I don't want to do what you are recommending... this, this and this. I would like you to do this ________." He had them move money into certain areas that made no sense to them. They were recommending their other high profile clients to do things completely different. Well... do you know what? Not long after, those very bankers came back to him and said, "Sir, do you realize out of ALL of our clients and ALL of our portfolios, everyone lost money but you! You were the only one who gained and increased during this economic time. Maybe we should have taken advice from you on what to do with everyone's money."

Praise the Lord! Everything about the Lord is about making us increase and prosper! He is not a God of lack. He is not a God of subtraction and division. He is a God of addition and multiplication. When we really COMMIT & TRUST our ways and plans to Him, when we really seek Him and allow Him to fine-tune our thinking, HE WILL! He will give us exactly the information to succeed & like the Proverbs 31 woman to walk away profitable!

#165 - A Winner GETS BACK UP!

Good morning! We were surprised yesterday evening... I got a phone call and "Maamaa & Paapaa" wanted to see if "the boy" could come over and spend the night. :) HELLO! OF COURSE! :) "Maamaa & Paapaa" watch Tyler Junior once a week and are like grandparents to him. They love him and he loves them! What a blessing! SO... I sit here in a quiet, empty home. Just me, my typing and chirps from the birds outside.

Let's get going...

Proverbs 8:10,14,17,18,21 - Receive my instruction in preference to [striving for] silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold... ¹⁴I have counsel and sound knowledge, I have understanding, I have might and power. ¹⁷I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. ¹⁸ Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness ... ²¹That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries.

Let's quick jump into some Hebrew as a foundation of what we are going to read...

• Riches (Proverbs 8:18) - wealth & riches
• Honor (Proverbs 8:18) - abundance, riches, honor, reverence, dignity, glory, splendour, reputation
• Inherit (Proverbs 8:21) - to get as a possession, to TAKE possession, to acquire, to be allotted
• Fill (Proverbs 8:21) - fullness, abundance, to be full, to be accomplished, to be satisfied, complete, to be filled
• Treasuries (Proverbs 8:21) - treasure, storehouse, store, supplies of food & drink, magazine of weapons, treasure-house

Wow! That really gives us a good foundation of what is in store! Sometimes in life we go through comfortable stages... all is well, all is easy. No ruffling of feathers. Each day, fairly a walk through the park. Still things we may be believing for, but for all intensive purposes, we are relaxed and not really in the battle... not really in a fight.

I have heard the statement before, "If a winner gets pushed in a corner, they will come out fighting." As I was reading this morning, that was a statement that kept coming to mind. A winner doesn't stay down, they come out fighting! Each time the winner gets up, the courage of the opponent is weakened. "He keeps getting back up! Why doesn't he just stay down?!" But as that winner keeps getting back up, the enemy realizes that his tactics are not working. His punches are not holding, they aren't strong enough. He's not fast enough, or he just isn't powerful enough. The winner keeps getting back up! Praise the Lord! Is anyone else out there with me a WINNER??!?!?! It's like I can see hands raised from winners all over who are reading this! A winner gets back up! A winner keeps getting back up! Another verse in Proverbs talks about, I may fall 7 times, but will rise again! As believers, since we have the Holy Spirit on the INSIDE of us, we can't help but be a winner! Even when we are tired, even when we feel knocked down or defeated, the Holy Spirit already knows the end of the story, HE IS the Greater One on the inside of us! He has created ALL THINGS, and knows that WE HAVE VICTORY! In our flesh, when we feel weak, that Inner Voice RISES UP, "YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR! GET UP!" GET UP! GET UP! And we drag ourselves back to our feet and get up yet again, yet another time! 

Proverbs 8:17 is one way that we come out fighting! When things look tough, we dig in, we fight, we go deeper! Verse 17 says, I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. When our strength is weak, when our flesh is tired, when we don't have the answers and what we SEE with our natural eye does not look good we DIG INTO THE WORD! We DILIGENTLY seek the ONE with ALL the answers! We do what a FIGHTER would do, we do what may be UNCOMFORTABLE! That may mean, waking up EARLY to fight! Waking up EARLY to prepare! Waking up EARLY to SEEK out the answers! Rising up EARLY to press in! Our diligence in our FIGHT is the PREREQUISITE of our Victory! 

Check this out! It says, when we DO that very thing, SEEK our Father early & diligently, WE WILL FIND HIM! WE WILL! And as we continue to read in Proverbs, it goes on to say those things He will bring with Him. RICHES. HONOR. ENDURING WEALTH. DIGNITY. REPUTATION. ABUNDANCE. WE WILL BE SATISFIED. 

WE ARE FILLED WITH GOOD THINGS! We are BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING! Take Heart! Have PEACE! WALK OUT YOUR VICTORY! 

GET AGGRESSIVE WITH YOUR COVENANT, CHILD OF GOD! 

SATAN! YOU ARE DEFEATED! THE BLESSING OF THE LORD, THEY OVERTAKE ME! I AM A WINNER! YOU ARE DEFEATED! I AM A TITHER, THEREFORE ACCORDING TO MALACHI 3, I HAVE THE TITHERS RIGHTS! THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN ARE OPEN OVER ME, THE DEVOURER HAS BEEN REBUKED FOR MY SAKE!!! SATAN, SINCE I AM A TITHER, THE WORD SAYS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN REBUKED! YOU ARE DONE! I CLAIM MY VICTORY! I GET BACK UP! I'M NOT STAYING DOWN! I'M A FIGHTER AND I CLAIM MY VICTORY! JESUS HAS ALREADY DEFEATED YOU AND SO HAVE I! NATIONS ARE CALLING ME BLESSED! 

Take what is yours, VICTORY!

___________________

Malachi 3:10-12 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.¹¹And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. 

#89 - Be Diligent in Your Work

Good morning! It's almost good afternoon! It is a beautiful fall day and it's FRIDAY!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! I even look forward to Friday's because that means DAD is off for the weekend to play with us!! Yippee!! :) 


Well, let's get started. This wasn't the direction that I was planning on going today, but God is God and I am just Amy. So, we're going to choose to go with what GOD had for today. :-) As I do my best to do during every devotion. His Word stands forever and YOU & I only need ONE WORD from Him to change our lives! So... easy decision to go with what He had. :) Let's roll....

Proverbs 22:29 - Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Psalm 52:7-9a - ...the man who made not God his strength but trusted in and confidently relied on the abundance of his riches, seeking refuge and security for himself through his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in and confidently rely on the loving-kindness and the mercy of God ... I will thank You and confide in You forever, because You have done it.

Psalm 112:1b,3 - Blessed is the man who fears the LORD...Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 

Proverbs 31:24 - She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].

Wow! So much to be said from the verses above! And to think, they were ALL in today's reading!! It's amazing how God does things! WOW! Sometimes He just overwhelms me with how amazing He is! 


Diligent & skillful in business! Do you own your own business? Do you have a job? Well, I know we know the word diligent, and use it frequently...but let me just remind you of it's meaning in the dictionary. It was quite eye opening really to see it's original meaning: constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything. 


Diligent. Constant in effort to accomplish something. Whatever your business is or job is, being in the constant pursuit to ACCOMPLISH. Not to just "go with the flow", punch a time clock and 'do your time', but to ACCOMPLISH. Do progress forward. The dictionary also called diligent as having 'Persevering Attention.' Wow! It makes you think differently about your job or business, doesn't it! I mean, wow! Do you or I put 'Persevering Attention' towards it? If it is where God has placed us, it is our calling and we are called to do it with diligence. With a constant pursuit to accomplish and to apply persevering attention to our business! 


What about money? What about the subject of money? Income? Profit? Yikes! This can be such a touchy subject in so many arena's, and for some reason Christian arena's. Psalm 52 today mentioned the man who trusted in his OWN abundant riches, acquiring them through his wickedness. There in lies the key. Trusting in yourself for riches. Putting faith or reliance on your 'riches' versus on God. Elevating the "Almighty Dollar Bill" instead of the "Almighty GOD" who is the maker of it all! It is all about keeping GOD where He rightfully belongs, on the THRONE. Elevated. Father. Jehovah. Almighty One. King of Kings! Savior! Ruler over heaven & earth! Savior! Lord! It is about keeping God the Lord of our lives, and in regards to finances, keeping HIM as OUR SOURCE. Not relying upon our business, our job, our sales, our efforts or our works as our source. The moment we begin to rely on our own efforts instead of keeping our faith and reliance upon God is the beginning of where the trouble starts. For example... I just put on an information class on a 12 week program we are starting here in Columbia, "New Way to a New You." I asked the Holy Spirit what materials/products, if any, I should have with me at the class. I was willing to invest in whatever I needed to invest in, but I wanted to invest in the RIGHT things. Well, the Holy Spirit said, "Buy 10 books, that's all." OK. That's easy enough. So, I pre-purchased the 10 books to re-sell (we will be using throughout the 12 week class as a guide.) Out of those 10 books guess how many I sold? LOL. I laugh at how amazing God is when we listen. I sold 10. If I would've had 9, I would've been 1 short. If I would've had 11, I would've had 1 extra. The Holy Spirit knew EXACTLY how many I needed. He is even concerned in the little things! Isn't that amazing!


Wealth & Riches? Expect them! Do you fear the Lord? Do you honor and respect our Mighty God? Well, then Psalm 112 is talking about YOU! This is a verse Tyler and I confess DAILY over our lives and our family. DAILY! Outloud! 


Sales!? What about sales? In the world, often 'sales people' are seen maybe with a bad light. The whole "used-car salesmen" feeling. No one wants to be "SOLD". When you are "sold", you are being convinced into something you do not want to do. When you "buy", you are buying something you need or saw value in. And even the WOMAN WHO EXCELS them ALL was a SALES PERSON!!! Can you believe it?! Take a look in Proverbs 31:24! She makes fine linen garments and leads others to buy them; she delivers to the merchants girdles [or sashes that free one up for service].!!!


A couple things to keep in mind... she wasn't selling junk. She obviously believed in what she was selling. It was a FINE product made of FINE material. She was meeting a need in the marketplace. A product that freed people up for serving. 


Do you believe in your product? Do you believe in your service? Lead others to buy it! Those people that NEED it will see it's value and have no remorse in purchasing from you. They will also often be your greatest source of referrals too! Add value to others and you can not go wrong. 

#12 - The Unfair Advantage

Good Morning.... jacked about my morning coffee....as usual. Sitting on the porch again enjoying a nice morning. Sometimes it is hard to believe how quickly this time goes in the morning....it's like the time just flies! One thing that I have really been excited about is my desire to get up. If you know me well at all.... in the past I have never been much of a morning person. I typically have been the person that can sleep any time, anywhere & for LONG lengths! I actually woke up this morning before my alarm clock. But you know what? I think that as we draw into a closer and more intimate relationship with the Lord, we will crave that time to get up. The more you get of HIM, the more you will desire it! That your time in the Word will become a time like Christmas mornings! :) How exciting.....and me being a gifts person... I LOVE GIFTS.... it's exciting to have each morning being like Christmas morning! Where you wake up and you are just excited to hear what the Holy Spirit is going to reveal to you this morning?? Where is He taking you? Where is He leading? And what is He going to tell you this morning? You know, He does speak to us still IF we are willing to listen. Listening is developed.... so, If you have never really feel like you have been led directly by the Holy Spirit.... do not grow weary.... that leading is developed with a relationship. The more you get in the Word, the more you spend time, the more you focus on meditating and really ask questions.... the answers will be revealed. And when you get to that point, the point where you hear His Voice, where you can call on Him and He will answer, now that is a sweet place to be! So, let's get you there!!


This morning was JAM PACKED! So much that I definitely won't be able to go into depth about it all.... but very interesting.... and like normal.... new!

Proverbs 8:17 - I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. 

Proverbs 31:26 - She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].

The Face of Wisdom.... we are going to search out who Wisdom really is, how to attain her & what value she brings. We see that Wisdom originated from the beginning, before the "7 Days of Creation", wisdom was. As you read through Proverbs, wisdom is referred to as "she."  


1) Where has she been? - She has been: formed and brought forth by the Lord from the beginning (Proverbs 8:22). We see in Proverbs 8:23-30 that wisdom saw and was the helping "master & director" of Creation, the 7 days of creation, she has seen it all! She has seen everything take place. She has knowledge of how everything has happened since before "time" even existed. So, if you want to really learn & know from ACTUAL experience. Wisdom has seen it ALL. She has seen the pitfalls of man, she has seen wealth & riches acquired, she has watched successful marriages form, she has seen the answer to every question. She knows it all. She has been with God before "time" even existed. Wisdom would be the best companion to have with you since wisdom has seen all, been everywhere & knows all things. 
2) Where does she stand? - For you... where is she? It says in verse 2 of chapter 8 that she stands on the heights, where the 2 paths meet, wisdom is there? What 2 paths?? YOUR TWO PATHS! YOUR TWO PATHS OF DECISION! The road that leads the way you SHOULD NOT GO and the road that leads to where you SHOULD GO! Wisdom is there! Verse 1 says that she RAISES HER VOICE, she CRIES OUT! So basically, if you are listening when you get to that path, if you SEEK the Lord's direction....I envision at the top of a hill, two roads, on one side we see HER.... we see a real person of God.... and she is like a coach or umpire standing on the path that leads to where YOU, where I am suppose to go. She is standing there yelling, "COME THIS WAY! THIS IS YOUR PATH! COME THIS WAY!! OVER HERE! DON'T EVEN LOOK down that other road! That road, that path leads to bad things....even though right here at the fork, both paths initially look the same, THEY ARE NOT! Come THIS WAY, travel THIS ROAD!" So, wisdom is at your point of decision. Listen for her and it says she is crying out, she is raising her voice. The way of wisdom is not a mystery IF you are listening. TAKE OUT THE EAR PLUGS! 
3) What does she bring of value? - When you say "BRING IT".... you put up your hands to a friend in jest or fun, you motion for them to come.... "BRING IT!" Well, wisdom BRINGS IT BABY!!! SHE BRINGS IT! What value does she bring? She brings it all. Verse 14, she brings counsel, knowledge, understanding, might & power. You need strength? Mental? Physical - you need big muscles for your profession? - Wisdom has it! Spiritual Strength? - She is bringing that too! Verse 18 & 21 talk about wisdom bringing riches, honor, wealth, righteousness, it talks about her "filling the treasuries of those who love her". In these verses when it is talking about wealth & riches, we are not talking about the cliche or spiritual, "Oh...she gives me riches of happiness, of goodness, of love..." Though "wisdom" may actually bring all this, in these verses the actual Hebrew translation is talking about the BLING! It is talking about the money! Like the old movie with Tom Cruise when he is dancing around saying, "Show me the Money! Show me the Money!" - Well, in this case, wisdom is bring it! She is showing the money to those who love her! In verse 12 (KJV) it talks about wisdom bringing forth "witty inventions". Do you think if you, sought out wisdom and got this brilliant idea for an invention, it could bring you financial prosperity? Of course it could & would & will IF you seek it out. Wisdom is bringing the whole package here!   
4) What does she love? - Call her a romantic, call her conceded (for desiring & wanting your time) or call her "love language"  that of "Quality Time"... but wisdom loves those who love her! Wisdom loves those who seek her out early. Whose priority right when they wake up is to seek her out. Those who seek her out diligently, with fervor. I apologize to those of you who aren't morning people. I found no way around the meaning of early. When I read it in the Hebrew, I found no way around it meaning early in the morning. The first part of your day. The first priority above other things. Early. First. Most important. (Proverbs 8:17)
5) How do you find her? - You find wisdom by seeking. No way around it. You have got to look for her. You have got to search her out. You have got to seek. I heard a great quote the other day, "The finding is left for those who do the searching." 

• The Ultimate reward? - Along with everything else that wisdom will provide to you, in verse 35, whoever finds wisdom will also receive FAVOR from the Lord!

Ladies, (really men too! Men, you realize if you are single, this should be the woman you are looking for! This Proverbs 31 woman! Have you studied her? Do you even know what she looks like? Does she possess these qualities found in Proverbs 31:10-31?)....what does this mean to you? Our Proverbs 31 woman has ATTAINED wisdom. She is friends of and with wisdom. She has done all the things above. She is using the experience of the one who has seen everything since before creation. Now that seems like an unfair advantage! :) To have the one who has seen it all? Talk about an advantage over those walking in the world, or those who do not seek! The unfair advantage is for you! Seek out wisdom! Our Proverbs 31 woman has done this!


Today, give yourself an unfair advantage. Begin to seek out wisdom! Get in the Word. 

"The finding is left for those who do the searching."