Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Virtuous Wife

Proverbs 31 gives us an example of the Virtuous Wife.  The wife that ALL women should be striving and learning to be like.  I want to be this woman, and I'd like to share her with you all...

Proverbs 31:10-31
10 - Who can find a virtuous wife?  For her worth is far above rubies.
11 - The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.
12 - She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13 - She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
14 - She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.
15 - She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 - She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 - She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.
18 - She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 - She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
20 - She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 - She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 - She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 - Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 - She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 - Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 - She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 - She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 - "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all."
30 - Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing.  But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 - Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Oh, to be this woman... who is a hard worker, who works for her family happily, and happily cares for their house.  She works to bring in money for the house.  She supports her husband and they are both well respected in the community... She is well dressed, as is all her family.  but above all, she fears the Lord.  What a resume.  
Our first Wedding Anniversay

It's hard to be a woman I've decided.  The Bible tells us that we are to be pleasing to our husbands, I would assume that means in looks too, but we are also not to tempt any other man.  So are we supposed to be covered from head to toe except for when we are with our hubbys?!  Should we be wearing burkas?!  I don't think so, but I do think that modesty must be part of our routine.  To have the "important" parts covered, so as not to make another man lust after us.  My husband thinks I'm half crazy, but there are days when I'm out running errands and I look AWFUL.  I don't have on makeup, my hair is barely brushed, goodness only knows what clothes I've thrown on, but it's because he isn't with me.  I'm not trying to please anyone with the way I look.  But when I'm out with him, I want him to be proud to have me on his arm.  I'll do my hair, and my make up... and look halfway presentable.  It's so hard to draw the line... I don't want to always look like a ragamuffin when I'm not with the hubby, but I feel sometimes as though if I look like a bum, fewer people will notice me, and therefore I will not turn any eyes but his.  I guess all this is just to say... I want to be that woman.  I want to provide for my family both in the home and in our community, I want to please my hubby and my children.  I want to be the example for someone else to follow.  I want to be the virtuous wife that is such an amazing example of how a woman should be.

Our Family Businesses :-)

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Baby Girl is growing up

Baby girl missed her sister yesterday... and decided that since she could not be next to her... watching her hang the diapers to dry was almost as good...  What a good big sister...
Baby Girl was also very sad last night to not have but just one tooth... but she did not let it stop her from assaulting her watermelon!!!


Monday, May 20, 2013

Busy Weekends

Faith.... Nothing like hearing it from the pulpit about Godly women doing practical things in the LOCAL church....  Thank you Lord for guiding us in everything we do.  Got it.

Family...
My family is just about worn out... We had a busy weekend together doing fun family things, with friends!!  Friday we watched the HS football team scrimmage...


Before we headed out to hear hubby as an auctioneer... 
Saturday we went out to breakfast... hit the flea market... took in a storage auction... 
, enjoyed a birthday party and then game night at our house with friends... 
Sunday was church, family lunch with my parents, little brother, and other brother and his wife... and game time!  Monday... will be forevermore our day of rest... lol.

Monday is also my day plugging away at trying to make some sales and help support my family.  Essential oils have been used as medical treatment for thousands of years, and if it was good enough for ancient Egyptians and treated their ailments without extra man-made chemicals and medications... it's good enough for me and my family!  You can do your own research, and find Certified Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils at My doTERRA Store.  And well, I might like to treat my family and our bodies with as few chemicals as possible, BUT there's something to be said for looking better and therefore feeling better.  I know I have some crazy skin reactions to certain makeups, but I've never had a reaction to Avon products.  I like to look good for my hubby and my makeup helps me do that.  At My AVON Store you can shop for anything Avon that you so desire, and order it to have it shipped directly to your house, OR you can let me know what you want and I can order it for you and arrange to drop it off to you... :-)  Happy shopping!!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Summer Time

Summer Time is coming!!  Yay!!  I'm so ready for Summer break... and making plans and schedules fun stuff for the summer just makes it all the more real!  Maybe we'll put the pool to use this year... The babiest of the babies seems to think we should...
We really do stay busy all summer long, so I wouldn't necessarily call it a break, especially with hubby working summer school... but hey.  It wouldn't be school without summer break, right?!


If you ask the temperatures outside, it's already summertime, which means that once again I'm going to try to challenge myself and not turn on the dryer.  I think I can do it this year... I keep reminding myself that not using the dryer will offset the power used by the freezer...




Enjoy your cookies
:-)  and planning your summer!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Shop my AVON store!

Shop my AVON store!: Here's a sneak peak at some of the latest products available at Avon. Be sure to click

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

$$ Money $$

So many things happening at our house right now... and most of them centered around money.  Not sure how well I like that, but it's ways to save us money and for us to make a little money without me having to go to work, and without hubby having to work more.  So... the money making opportunities in our house...

1.  Selling homemade laundry soap.  Who knew?  Well, hubby knew.  He seems to always know.  This week alone I've sold 8 gallons of laundry detergent!  It's very exciting that I can help people out by providing them a detergent with no added dyes or smells and with fewer chemicals and ridiculousness!  Coming soon, laundry detergents with essential oils...



2.  Essential oils!  I've begun selling Certified Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils through doTERRA.  Check it out :-)  Why wouldn't you want to treat your family and your home with science that has been around for thousands of years... My Doterra Website

3.  And... Avon. Yup, also just became an Avon representative.  I'm a firm believer that if you look better, you feel better.  So while you're treating yourself and feeling better on the inside with doTERRA products, why not look better on the outside too!  Avon now has online ordering with direct shipping, so you can order from me, even if you live in Timbuktu! or Kalamazoo for that matter!  Check out the newest products and sales at My Avon Website.

Friday, May 10, 2013

My new job

You're looking at one of the newest, if not THE newest seller of essential oils through doTERRA. 

Contact me for more information, or place your order at www.mydoterra.com/raelburch

Happy shopping :-)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ACK!!!

I cannot believe that it has been more than a week since I wrote...
So much has been going on... I might have been a little busy!
 
So... updates...
 
Faith.
We're busy working on planning for and promoting Vacation Bible School!!  Still!!  VBS will be over June 14th, and like every year, I love VBS, but I still look forward to it being over.... Just like everything that requires large amounts of work and planning!  I'm super excited this year because it's just me and the hubby working together in a class... not sharing it with my dad... Love you dad.  It's just that it's kinda like I'm still growing up... little milestones like teaching my own VBS class are a big thing!!
 
 
Family.
Big changes at our house... mostly in hair!! 
The hubby keeps saying how he wished he knew me when I was blonde... So... I did it!  I went blonde again! 
Before...After...
 Ok... with a little blue thrown in for good measure!  We're greatly enjoying having more family time with Spring football ending.  Hubby still has practice out at the High School, but the rest of us aren't there watching, and he's still home in time for family dinner, some family time and bedtime!  Just last night we had a Wii Rockband2 tournament and had a blast!!!
 
Oh, and I'm starting to look at selling some stuffs out of my house to bring in extra money - only things that I would/will actually use myself!  Any ideas?  My first thought I posted on Facebook yesterday and already sold 3 gallons of homemade laundry soap!!  Anyone else want some?!
 
Also, it's amazing the deals you can find when you look!!!  This is the little girls learning how to sale shop at the grocery store!! 
 
 
Football.
Spring football season has ended!!!  Yay!! and :-(  all at the same time!  I still can't believe we did it!  What started as just a random conversation between myself and hubby and then us including a few other people in the thought, became a group of us all working together and getting it done!  It's still kinda shocking that it went so well, though I don't know why I ever doubted any of us.  But here it is... the three bigger kiddos on the last day of spring football!!
We don't start official practices again until July!!  Although, the plan is to take the boy, and maybe some of his friends, and keep them working out for the next few months... Focusing mostly on strength, speed and agility. 
 
And as for Cheer... well, there is currently no desire to continue cheering in our house!  So, for now... we'll just be really really loud cheering from the sidelines!