Practical Proverbs

By Kathryn C. Lang

Get eight traits from Proverbs and practical tips to apply those traits to your life today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kathryn C. Lang
• Release date: Jul 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465885289

Kathryn C. Lang

#Hope builder. #Dream inspirer. Master of “it’s all about #relationships.” Aficionado of inappropriate laughter, Kathryn Lang has been helping others find the time to make their dreams come true. She shares with people that are trying to walk the tightrope of family, work, and faith – and keep them all in the right balance. She has a sense of humor, enjoys a little snark now and then, and references movies and songs in her every day speech. As an award winning author, master multi-tasker, and encourager extraordinaire Kathryn encourages you to laugh because laughter helps make this journey worthwhile.

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Practical Proverbs

By Kathryn C. Lang

Published by Peculiar Productions at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Kathryn C. Lang

Acknowledgements

Every word I write today has been fed to me over my life time. The words have been nourished and fed with regular attention. And finally, these words are beginning to open up and blossom.

Thank you to my dad for pushing me to go beyond the ordinary and expected. Thank you to my mom for showing me how to break glass ceilings. Thank you to my husband for always loving me beyond anything I could imagine. Thank you to my children for reminding me that I have to be willing to grow, let go, and expect the unexpected. Thank you to Mrs. Baker for planting the seed to write. Thank you to Smokey for believing that my words were for more than a notebook. Thank you to all of the teachers, friends, and temporary angels that have passed through my life and provided the motivation and inspiration to continue looking for the peace and hope that lies in the rainbows.

Practical Proverbs

Discover 8 traits from Proverbs and practical tips to help make them part of your life today.

Kathryn C. Lang

Contents

Introduction - Practical Proverbs

Chapter One - A Proverbs Life is Encouraged

Chapter Two - A Proverbs Life is Fruitful

Chapter Three - A Proverbs Life is Attractive

Chapter Four - A Proverbs Life Grows Wisdom

Chapter Five - A Proverbs Life is Organized

Chapter Six - A Proverbs Life is Rested

Chapter Seven - A Proverbs Life is Giving

Chapter Eight - A Proverbs Life is Dedicated

Practical Proverbs

This is not what I expected. Sometimes I do not even like being around you. My husband took the commercial break to drop these words on me. The show came back on and he was back in that box oblivious to the utter shock he had sent through my entire being.

The few months leading up to that moment on the couch had been devastating enough for me. My third pregnancy ended after a catastrophic reaction to medication only nine weeks into the pregnancy. While I had been sick with my pregnancy, my great aunt (whom I had developed a close relationship with) had also been sick fighting cancer and died shortly after – I missed spending any time with her in the end. On top of her death, there was a major family crisis that fell on my shoulders. The regular issues with finances and daily living seemed to fall into the cracks of the major disasters I had covering over me.

But I had survived! God knew what storms were heading my way, and the Bible studies and sermons that I had been hearing before the events had prepared my heart and my mind to face the struggles.

Then there was my husband – unhappy and not even liking me. His comment was that infamous straw for me. My gut reaction was to hit him in the head and I believe that I could have proven justification particularly if the judge was a wife. The energy released into all of the problems and issues that had been swirling around me at that moment in my life had left me with nothing. I chose to not say a word – quite a feat for someone often referred to as a born talker. That one choice began my journey to a peace that I never expected to experience.

I found myself with the opportunity to look around a Christian book store later that week. I was not sure what I wanted – maybe a marriage book, maybe a book about peace. The last few months taught me that no matter what I might face, the answer could be found in the same place. I was looking for MY answer.

The book that I discovered pushed me along my path to better understand and even appreciate the Proverbs 31 woman. Many people that hear me talk about the Proverbs 31 woman deeply dislike her. I used to wonder who had edited out the Proverbs 32 man. It seemed that in this area Scripture was a bit lop-sided.

I dug in deeper to the Proverbs 31 woman and her life. She seemed to have it all and to live it all without any trials or tribulations. Anyone that has spent any time living knows that problems have a way of coming even if they have to hunt you down to get to you. I soon discovered that her calm façade did not come from the LACK of problems but from the overflow of peace that stemmed from a heart of encouragement. The secrets between a life of joy and a life of turmoil could be found in Proverbs 31 and in the ideals that preceded her in the book of Proverbs.

Living and giving encouragement – Simple changes in my attitude and my actions began to provide me with the foundation I needed to begin living a life of encouragement and also to develop the tools that would make it possible for me to share that encouragement with others that I encounter each day.

Bearing fruit in all and through all – Insuring a good harvest for my actions, investments and life requires effort. The more I am willing to put in, the more I will find coming out. Good fruit comes from soil that is well prepared, seeds that are properly planted and cared for and a harvest that is brought in at the proper time.

Developing an attractive life – Each individual call on a life requires a certain physical condition. Climbing a mountain will not be possible if I am unable to walk up the steps at church without losing my breath. An attractive life comes from a temple that remains at its peak – not based on what they think might be right, but centered on the heart and the spirit. Creating an attractive life means investing the consistency to walk in the calling and being willing to sacrifice self for what is right for the temple.

Growing a life of wisdom – Wisdom comes from the practical application of knowledge on a daily basis. Experiences can provide wisdom for specific events. Study grows wisdom in unexpected places. Searching for wisdom and knowledge persistently develops a heart that is led by the Spirit and not by the limitations of the flesh.

Creating a life of organization – An organized life offers more. It creates more space. Organization opens up time and finances. The right organization can even make it possible for me to understand what is important in my life. Getting to a place of organization may not be easy for everyone, but it is necessary to reach a life extraordinary.

Becoming rested – A rested life means contentment and not a lack of action. Finding the right balance for my life requires understanding my own journey and learning to enjoy that journey no matter where I find myself on the path.

Giving it away – Giving requires more than relinquishing possessions. The art of giving comes from ears that listen, eyes that choose to see and a heart centered outside of self.

Finding the Right focus – a life completely focused on God can change the world. The creation of a focused life starts by developing a habit of choosing better. Time only comes around once and then is gone forever. The focus for using time today will determine what tomorrow brings.

The more I grow in my walk the more I understand that Proverbs 31 reality. She was because of WHOSE she was. I can be the mom, daughter, wife, homemaker, finance maker, friend, teacher, and any other label the world throws at me because I have the CREATOR and MAKER living in me. My limits are only limited to His – and to my understanding and grasp of that possibility.

All of my days may not run as smoothly as I want. As I write this introduction the kitchen sink taunts me with an overflow of dirty dishes. Life continues to move along. Time and events will shift as it moves. Stuff will happen.

The Proverbs life starts with a relationship and builds from that relationship to a place of settled peace. The key lies in that relationship. Without it the answer will continue to look like a mirage in a desert – dancing just out of reach and crushing the hopes of the dying man in search of just one drink of water.

My journey continues and each step brings me closer. Just the other day my husband introduced me to a group where I was speaking. He quoted Proverbs 31 Scripture. That day my husband was praising me at the city gates. I hold tight to that moment understanding that the steps I am taking today will continue to provide those moments in my life. Along the way I get the blessing of lifting up and supporting the people in my life, around my life and through my life.

Will you join me in the journey to find a life settled in peace and joy?

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Chapter One

A Proverbs Life is Encouraged

"She comforts and encourages as long as there is life within her"

From Proverbs 31:12

"People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be."

Unknown

Things in my life had not been going well. The hours spent on my knees were negated almost as soon as I stood up by the words being spoken around me. Each day I felt as though I was climbing up a sand mountain (ironic since I live at the base of Sand Mountain) and all the progress I would make in my climb would be lost when the sand gave way under my feet.

I was tired and I wanted to quit. It seems that in my life when things are as bad as they can get, something else will happen just to show it CAN get worse. That afternoon I locked the keys in the car. Now I was forced to walk all the way back through the crowd at the ball field to get the extra set of keys from my husband.

Hey, there! My mind had not noticed the lady from our church until I almost passed her. Great, I thought. More time wasted. I was not in the mood to chat, but I smiled and stopped to see how she was doing. I am a southerner after all.

How are you doing? I asked her politely while ranting in my mind at all of my bad luck.

Better. I just wanted to stop you and let you know what a blessing you are in my life. Each Sunday I see you worshiping there on the front row and it is a blessing for me.

Wow! That had come out of left field – literally! I thought problems were forcing me to do things I did not have time to do and all along God had an appointment to encourage me. Her few words were just what I needed to find the courage to continue pushing forward.

Hint: Stress can be the one opening necessary for the negatives to creep into your life.

Courage makes it possible to continue on when others or the flesh say it is time to give up. Having courage makes it possible to face down fears and troubles with the faith that the sun does shine strong even behind the clouds. Courage comes from the motivation, inspiration and encouragement that are fed into the heart and mind on a consistent and persistent basis.

Natural encouragers live life in the minority. They can even be a bit annoying to those that tend to view life from the darker side of the clouds. Finding the enthusiasm and inner shine to light up rooms and lift up people can be exhausting. The easier path lies in a focus on self, problems and complaining.

Learning to be an encourager and finding a way to continually offer personal encouragement starts with a change. The changes in attitude and actions will begin to build a foundation of encouragement that will allow you to weather the storms that hit. That same foundation will also grow to become a beacon for others that are struggling.

Not everyone comes with a natural ability to encourage. Change opens up the ability to begin to discover the silver lining. Learning to live a life that focuses on the good, the positive and the uplifting will help unlock the ability to live a life that is encouraged and make it possible to pour out that encouragement on everyone that comes around.

5 Steps for Growing Encouragement

Learning encouragement requires action that will change the mind and the spirit. These changes allow for a new flow of attitudes from both.

Learn to Look for Encouragement

Discover Enjoyment

Speak Words that Bring Life

Develop a Heart of Comfort

Build Motivation

Someone once told me that there are two types of people in the world. Optimists see the glass as half full and pessimists see the glass as half empty. My journey has revealed other types of people. The cynic wants to know who took the rest of the drink and the realist only thinks about the fact that now there is another glass to wash.

Each person can choose to see the positive, choose to see the negative, choose to blame others or simply choose to worry about the mess. In the end, it all comes back around to the choice.

Step One to an Encouraged Life: