Saturday, July 23, 2011

Are You Gracious?


~A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.  Proverbs 11:16~

I was reading in a book and it covered being gracious.  Things that I thought I would share with you that I gleaned from the book.

If you are a gracious woman, you would not make thoughtless observations about a person's physical appearance or say hurtful things or forget things in other people's lives.  You also wouldn't get upset if you did all the work on a project, and someone else got the credit.  Some characteristics of a gracious woman is that she is genuinely caring, gentle, pleasant and as precious as she is rare.  A gracious woman's beauty is not merely outside; her beauty radiates from spending time in the Bible and in prayer daily.  Moses had a so called "shine" about his face after spending time alone with God on Mt. Sinai.  So as Moses, so should a Christian lady that spends time with the Lord have a shine to her countenance, and not only that, but also a tender, compassionate manner about her.




The book gave a Gracious Woman Checklist.  See how you do with this checklist.


1.  A gracious woman is kind.  Are you understanding and friendly?  Understanding and friendliness are attributes which make up a kind and gracious woman.


2.  A gracious woman is considerate.  Do you consider the feelings of others before you speak?  A gracious woman would take into consideration the feelings of others before she says a word.  She thinks of how her words and/or actions might be perceived by the person she is talking to.  She is extra careful when handling a difficult situation.  Are you thoughtful?  Do you remember birthdays and other special events to other people?  A gracious woman remembers.


3.  A gracious woman is pleasant.  Are you enjoyable to be around or are you obnoxious and disagreeable? Nothing every pleases you, little things bother you.  Quick to anger. The gracious woman is enjoyable to be around, not obnoxious or disagreeable.  A gracious woman works hard at 'ruling her spirit'  She can remain consistently calm when in the midst of strife.  One of the pleasing trade marks of a gracious woman is her even temper.


~He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.  Proverbs 16:32  ~

~He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.  Proverbs 25:28~

4.  A gracious woman is valuable.    In your life is it all about you?  When others come to you to talk of a problem, do you listen to it or turn it around to be about you?  Can you listen to others and be of assistance to them in whatever capacity?  The gracious woman understands that life isn't all about her, but that it is about being of assistance to others.  In our homes, ministries, and workplaces, almost all facets in our life benefit from the presence of the gracious woman.

A gracious woman is the type of woman who is of great worth, and the reason being is that she is in short supply.  Why she is of great worth?  It is because of her selflessness, she is a woman that is often honored and appreciated.  There are many woman who view life as a race to win only for themselves; however, a gracious woman goes through her life earning the trust of many people because she has a beloved nature and a desire to benefit others.



We all can paint on a face that isn't our wake-up one......we are all good at "faking it."   However, we can't paint on a gracious Christian womanhood.  Comes down to it, either you are gracious or you are not.


Time in the Word of God is one of the easiest things to skip.  Especially for Moms, we always seem to have "other things" pulling at us.  I read in another book that a mother would rise a little more early in the morning, go into the bathroom shut the door and have her quiet time.  Her little son would come to the door and lay on the floor and slide his little hand underneath the door, he knew his Mom was in there having her alone time with the Lord.  Make sure you have a daily time with the Lord.  Desirable qualities of a woman that is gracious is developed by spending time in the Bible.  When we skip our daily time with the Lord, it is the result in shallow Christian living.  When we are tempted to put off our reading of the Bible day after day, we are depriving ourselves of the knowledge of how to live.  We cannot achieve godly gracious womanhood without the know how, and those directions come from God.  


Another aspect of the gracious woman's life that is indispensable is prayer.  None of us can't ask help for the need to walk in a way that would best glorify God without praying.  We need to speak to God not only on a day to day basis, but throughout the day.  We need Him!  Have you been frustrated over your daily issues, has your prayer life been slacking??  Did you ask God about your struggle and to help you with it?


The last thing about a gracious woman is that she is polished by hearing the Word of God preached.  How does she graduate from being a "hearer to doer?"  She soaks up the preaching of God's Word and then she applies it to her life.  For the gracious woman, church ISN'T an option!


In this book they talk about a church in Alabama that honors a godly woman each year.   They select a lady that would rather not be put "on a pedestal" in such a way, but this type of person is all the same. They invite her to the platform during this particular conference to where she will receive gifts and much praise.  We call these the unsung heroes, these are gracious ladies in action.  They are being honored for who they are in Christ and what they do.  God is truly magnified by their quiet yet steadfast testimonies.  Can it be possible for us to be wonderful instruments of grace and not get any recognition at all??  Are you a godly gracious woman?  If  you are, then your life will glorify the Lord in ways in which you could never imagine.  So why would you settle for fleeting praise when you can have lasting honor? 


Like I said earlier, just some information I gleaned from a book I read & thought you might enjoy!  












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