Good Morning Girls!  We're up to Proverbs 31:16, are you all still with me?  Are you starting to see how we are in fact well on our way to being the women God intended us to be?  Good.  Let's keep moving.  She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.  To me, this simply says that she has good business sense.  She recognizes a good deal, and she takes advantage of the opportunity.  She also uses what she has purchased in a profitable manner.  Now, we can assume that this woman is wealthy.  We have already read that she has servant girls, and further down we will see that she dresses in fine linen and purple gowns; purple is typically a very rich color often worn by royalty, or people of influence.  Since she is rich she is able to buy land and plant a vineyard.  Just because we are not in the same economic status as she was, does not mean we cannot accomplish the same things she did.  We simply need to work with what we have.  I know many of you are doing all you can to help your family financially.  Some of you are in a position to work outside the home.  Many of you are not.  Whatever your situation is, I have watched many of you make sacrifices for your family.  I see you doing all you can to save money and make money.  You are selling things on e-bay and Craig's list.  You are buying things from thrift stores.  You are giving blood.  You are carpooling.  You are clipping coupons with a vengeance!  You are saying no to a lot of things you wouldn't have thought twice about buying in the past.  Though these may not seem like much, it shows that you have the same business sense as the woman described in this verse!  With her land she planted a vineyard.  She took this land and used it for something that will produce fruit for many years to come.  If you are feeling anxious about not being able to work more and provide income, please remember this: your family is your land right now.  You are planting seeds in those children of yours that will produce good fruit for the rest of their lives!  You are busy pulling out the weeds, watering, nurturing, and carefully protecting them.   They are your job.  If you continue to raise them up in the Lord, and trust in Him to take care of your needs, He will not fail you!  You will have plenty of years to work  and buy your own land! (and then you will probably daydream of when you got to stay home with the kids and wear sweatpants and jeans 7 days a week!)

Proverbs 31:16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

Love you-
Jen