Beautiful Hands with Guest Courtney Joseph
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In chapter two of the book I talk about biblical examples of hospitality: Abigail, Lydia, Dorcas, Boaz, Sarah and Abraham. They all used what God had given them to reach out to others.
What has he given you?
Hands.
We’ll hear about our hands from today’s guest, my friend Courtney Joseph.
Courtney blogs at WomenLivingWell.org on the topics of faith, marriage, parenting, and homemaking. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 14 years. She homeschools her son and daughter and is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute.
In November 2009, she was featured on the Rachael Ray show on the topic of marriage. Her passion to see “women live well” inspired her in 2010 to start a second blog called GoodMorningGirls.org. There women gather together to dig into their Bibles daily through tech accountability groups and on-line Bible studies.
From her heart:
P.S. Your Hands are Beautiful
The Proverbs 31 Woman has always dazzled me with her amazing ability to do it all! In the first few verses of Proverbs 31, we learn that this woman is a description of the type of woman King Lemuel’s mother would like her son to marry.
The Proverbs 31 woman rises early, works eagerly, shops wisely, is extremely productive and she uses her evenings to get work done too!
Then, in Proverbs 31:20, there is a feature of this beautiful woman pointed out for the first time – it’s “her hands”.
“She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.” Proverbs 31:20 NKJV
Previously in the chapter, her hands have been furiously working sewing, planting, cooking and shopping. And here they take center stage as she reaches out to those outside of her home with them.
Look down and examine your hands. Are they young or old? soft or calloused? sun spotted? Do your veins show? Do you think your hands are beautiful?
Often our hands are one of the first places to show our age – they have worked hard serving our husbands, children, and the needy. What a blessing it is to have two hands!
My sister Jennifer, once shared this story with me – (these are her words):
“P.S. Your Hands Are Beautiful.”
This was what my in-laws wrote inside my birthday card at the end of their very nice note to me.
A few weeks before my birthday, I was at a family get-together, and something came up about “hands”. I’m not sure how exactly the conversation went, but I know that I made the comment that the one place I have started to see my body aging is in my hands.
When I look down at them, which I realized is frequently during the day, they have begun to look different, older to me.
My mother-in-law said that the one thing she remembered about her own mother was her beautiful hands. I remembered her sharing about this before, and I believe that she meant more than just the outside beauty of beautiful skin with perfectly groomed nails.
Those who had the privilege of knowing her mother, know that her life was one of active service to our Lord and that she did have beautiful hands because they did beautiful things for His glory.
When I read my birthday card with the message, “P.S. Your hands are beautiful”, the full meaning of that small statement touched me.
It reminded me of what Paul said to the church at Thessalonica. I Thessalonians 4:11 says, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anyone.”
These verses should cause us to look at the work that we do as women and ask ourselves, am I working faithfully with my hands in my daily life?
Is my work winning the respect of outsiders?
Am I bringing glory to my Lord with the works of my hands?
Would God think that my hands are beautiful?”
Now……look down and examine your hands now a second time with a new perspective. Do not judge the beauty of your hands by the outside – but rather by lives they have touched.
Walk with the King!
Courtney
Ps. Your hands are beautiful!
(This post is an excerpt from Courtney’s FREE eBook titled “The Proverbs 31 Woman – One Virtue at a Time.”)
TODAY’S TWO GIVEAWAYS:
In this giveaway – everyone is a winner!
You are all welcome to go to Courtney’s website at www.WomenLivingWell.org and “Subscribe” (find this in the right sidebar)…you will receive a link to her FREE Proverbs 31 eBook at the bottom of the next article sent out via email.
AND:
One of you will receive this “Beautiful Hands” giveaway that includes:
~ Some Organic Olive Oil nail & hand salve
~ A bottle of pale, bubble-gum-pink nail polish for beautiful hands (or toes!)
~ A pair of bath gloves
~ A spring-y oven mitt
~ A Ghiradelli dark chocolate-raspberry bar
Now, to be entered in the random drawing for this giveaway, tell us something you could do with your hands in the near future to bless a family member, friend, co-worker, church member or stranger.
REMEMBER: We are also interacting over at Karen Ehman’s Book Studies on Facebook.Click here to “like” the page & join us. Starting this weekend there will be giveaways there too based on info from the book!
Thank you for such a beautiful reminder about hands.
My husband and I have been married for 3 years. My in-laws obviously didn’t get to see my children growing up, as they are now 24, 19 and 16. God prompted me a year ago to make a photo album/scrapbook for them and I’ve procrastinated. I started going through pics yesterday and am in the beginning steps of making a scrapbook to give to them
I plan to use my hands to prepare nutritious meals for the week ahead to make sure that my 3 kids who are all athletes have something wonderful to eat when they return home. Plus, I’ll give them a big hug with my hands!
I use my hands to care for my granddaughter. I thank the Lord that He has provided for us to enable me to take three years off to be her sitter. I use my hands to love, cuddle, play, guide, feed, teach, and yes even change diapers. My hands are most beautiful when holding that sweet little hand, teaching her something new.
Hugs. Lots and lots of hugs. They can share in grief, they can celebrate, they can encourage, they can even say hello or goodbye. A hug is a way we can use our hands and say more than our words can say sometimes.
One free thing that I do is use my hands to write messages to my children and family either by text or on their Facebook walls. It is easy for me to do, which I need because like everyone else, I stay very busy!
I am planting a garden with my sister-in-law who tragically lost her husband last fall.
I make coffee for my husband every morning and every night. I think I will start tomorrow morning putting it in his mug and taking it to him for his first round – morning and evening! I think that will bless him. Thank you again for this study! God is using it to bless me!
Be a helping hand for the homeless by devoting myself to provide meals in the city I attend college.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Thank you so much for this story. It helped me to realized what is really important in my life. I want to use my “hands” more to be an extensions of God’s loving “hands” to people God has placed in my life now and in the future.
I plan on using my hands this week to honor my girlfriend who just became a grandma for the 1st time. I am making her a basket full of goodies and sharing in her joy!!!!
I will use my hands to write a note to my friend who is in a very difficult pregnancy, and I will fold them in prayer on her behalf. Thank you for hostessing this! ~Lyn
We have just been helping friends of our who just had a baby cooking meals for her and her family
God has blessed me with the profession of music and the hobby of writing. I pray that he speaks through both as he chooses. It’s been amazing to see how he has used my music over the years.
I think part of it is always being willing to be used by God with our hands. I am offering up my willingness to do what God brings my way!
The simple strength and love that seems to be felt in a timely pat on the back or a gentle placing of the hand on a hurting or struggling one’s arm or shoulder – this is a practical beauty of hands.
God has givin me an opportunity to use my helping hands to support a co worker. It has been really great to be able to provide support and encouragement for those going through difficutl times. Othes have supported me, so God is using me to help others.
I will use my hands to finally declutter our house so that it will be a refuge from the outside world.
I have also noticed my hands have “aged” also. But, I will continue to serve my husband and my family with my hands in the daily routine of life.
i can (and will) touch my husband more – in the morning to say “good morning”, when he comes home at night, and to just hold his hand when we sit close.
Tickling,hugging,scratching backs,writing notes!!! Thank you and blessings!!! Barb Wall
I have been looking for days for a “devotional” I could share at my scrapbooking retreat this weekend. I have hosted them for 9 plus years ( twice a year) and have never done any “faith” time as I feel this is not my gift. I can point people to the Lord, but am not good at teaching. This time, God has laid it on my heart that I should offer a brief time of worship and prayer on Sun. morning for those who wish to join with me. This is perfect!!! I will have a hotel full of ladies who are using their hands all weekend long, to create treasures of memories to share with loved ones…………………….what is more perfect than to share this beautiful topic of beautiful hands! God is so good………….He knew He would provide ( through you) just what I needed. Thank you. My heart’s desire for these precious ladies who come to craft, is that He will make Himself known to them in special ways throughout the weekend. This will be one, I am sure. Blessings………………Linda
I have been at a kinship care/foster parent meeting tonight and appreciated the comment about preparing suitcases for children that are taken out of homes due to trauma. That is a wonderful idea. What a wonderful way to use your hands to bless children in difficult circumstances. I am often in contact with my local child services agency and will ask them if they would like something like this. Thanks for your idea.
I will be using my hands to play guitar at church in a few weeks doing “special music”. Even thought I work with the elderly as a very part-time gig, I enjoy helping them with anything they need at all. There are two ladies that have insulated water glasses that I like to fill without them even asking. I also enjoy painting the ladies nails because it makes them feel beautiful.
It’s amazing how just thinking about one’s hands bring up so many memories. My hands become more ugly as the years go by-they are large, the veins stick out, I don’t have nice nails because they are so soft and pliable. Someone made an odd comment about my hands once and I became even more self conscious of them. Now, my daughter’s hands look like they belong to a hand model, beautifully thin with long fingers, perfectly manicured nails, soft skin, smooth with no unsightly veins popping out. Mine look like Albrecht Durer’s “Praying Hands” sketch. My grandmother’s hands looked similar to mine yet I considered her hands beautiful. Her hands had a story of faith. When she was young she had her hands land on a hot woodstove. The physician had wanted to amputate. Her mother said “No, that God would heal her hands” and He did. My gram had scars on her palms and what looked like a hole in her palm. Those hands created many wonderful memories with the goodies she made from scratch, showing me how to make her special rhubarb marmalade, drawing, and the ability to fix electrical appliances. All done with those wonderful hands. I need to give myself a little grace and mercy and remember what my hands help accomplish. They are for comforting a friend whose beloved woof has passed and was her family, for petting my woof who is my family, for doing the two jobs at work instead of one, for hugging my little grandchildren, and the many other blessings we give-all with our hands. It truly does not matter how they look it’s what we do with them-learning to use them for blessing…
I use my hands to host playdates with purpose. We get together and assemble meals for those in need.