Pursuit of Proverbs 31 Backwards Blog Tour – Don’t Compare Yourself
I have a special treat today! Amy Bayliss stopped by on her month-long blog tour celebrating her new ebook: The Pursuit of Proverbs 31: A timeless, biblical study of the modern Christian woman.
Comparing ourselves to others is really a dangerous place to be. We never consider the things of God when we do this. The fact that we have different circumstances, experiences, gifts and talents all play a large role in the lives of us and others. We cannot waste precious time and energy comparing.
Many of us are fascinated with, and at the same time terrified of, the
woman in Proverbs 31. This woman was a wife, mother, manufacturer,
importer, merchant, manager, realtor, farmer, seamstress, upholsterer, and
the list goes on and on. She is intimidating to say the least. I’ll admit I’ve
snarked at her under my breath on more than one occasion.
We still try to be like her though, don’t we? And when we fall short we
don’t want to face it. Instead, we try to hide behind strength and facades of
perfection. But, there is always the One who can see right through us. He
sees our hearts and our intentions. He knows what the neighbors would
have never guessed; we don’t have it all together.
I, too, thought I was conquering this short snippet of time called life. At
one point, I worked my fingers raw cleaning my home and crafting items
I had no interest in. I memorized Scripture so that I could quote it at the
next Bible study. I kept my hair in a trendy, but easy to manage, style and I
spent lots of money on fashionable clothing so I could look nice at church
functions. I smiled and laughed even on some of the worst days of my life.
I didn’t allow myself to be vulnerable or to break. I was more than superwoman.
I was super Christian woman. I can do all things, right?
Yet, even in the midst of wearing the superwoman cape I echoed the questions
that have plagued the hearts and minds of so many:
- Why can’t I get it right?
- How can I find more time to get it all done?
- Why isn’t God helping me?
Aren’t those the kind of thoughts and emotions we go through? Life brings
us obstacles and we make it our responsibility to conquer them.
This is the result of comparing oneself to the Proverbs 31 woman.
If you’ve ever wanted to tear the 31st chapter of Proverbs out of your bible this book is for you. She is a wife, mom, business owner, seamstress, she serves the needy, speaks life and wisdom, and seems to be quite the major overachiever, perfectionist type. Except that…she’s not. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gyFB3I7ud4&w=560&h=315] Come along and journey with Amy and take a look at the real woman of Proverbs 31. She isn’t as perfect as she seems. In fact, I think she is a lot like you and me. If you want the Kindle version, get it here: Pursuit of Proverbs 31
Amy Bayliss
Amy is a small town Cajun girl living life in the big city. She and her husband Ryan have four children, all boys, ranging in age from toddler to teen! Amy is a full-time blogger and WP designer at My Southern Media. You can visit her at her personal blog, Cajun Joie de Vivre or you can follow her ramblings on Twitter and keep up with her mischief on Facebook.