Proverbs 31 Study--Day 8

Okay, I've been writing like a feind today (10 articles! That might be a record for me! And I still fed and bathed my boys, played outside with them, did 1.5 loads of laundry, and went to church tonight! Amazing!) so this will have to be brief.

Day 8 S. O. A. P.:

• Scripture: Proverbs 31:11, 11:28, & 28:26

• Observation(s): One of the areas in which I know of many women who aren't trustworthy is in the area of finances, so it's interesting that the proverb about how foolish it is to trust in money is included in today's reading.

• Application(s): For a brief hiccup of time, I was a Mary Kay "beauty consultant," and I'll never forget how appalled I was when the director in my area discussed what she called "the husband unawareness plan," which was a payment method we were encouraged to promote. Basically, women could pay part of their beauty bill in cash, part with a credit card, and part with a check. Pretty sneaky, huh?
  
  I'm glad my hubby and I have joint finances, and we track all our expenditures in a budget form, so I'm not even tempted to try to do such things! At the same time, I'm thankful that our budget allows for some "mad money," because we all need to splurge on chocolate or a manicure now and then, right? :)
• For some reason, I've always thought about the "idea of trusting in riches" as something like trusting in them for the future or basic needs, but some life experiences have encouraged me to think of what my deceptive heart lures me to sometimes do--trust in them for happiness, security. "If I could just have XYZ, I'd be content." Yeah, right. The Devil is such a liar! And if I trust God instead of putting my faith in material things for my happiness, I'll be less likely to even entertain materialistic yearnings that could prompt me to go against my husband's wishes with my spending.

• Prayer: Lord, help me not to believe Satan's lie that my security is wrapped up in finances, and help that knowledge to keep me from even being tempted or longing to be anything but upfront about my spending, so my husband can feel secure in allowing me to make wise choices of which he approves.