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!
I like to use my hands by sending handwritten notes of encouragement, thinking of you, just because and thank you’s to people. I enjoy putting notes in my kids lunchboxes.
I love having my daughters’ hands in my own. We have begun a nightly walk with the beautiful weather of spring coming to us and walking with them, hand-in-hand, is wonderful. We have a chance to enjoy the beauty of spring and talk. I love the feel of their little hands within mine. A treasure to remember always!!!
I am cleaning out my kitchen cabinets. I will be taking extra food to the food kitchen my church works with this week. I do this once a month. You would be amazed how many extras I have in just a month I am blessed, and enjoy sharing.
Love to all
njh
I will use my hands to help my mom as she recovers from surgery.
MY hands have been used in many ways, God has given me the gift of baking and cooking which comes in handy for family and friends. God also prompts me often to send cards with notes of encouragement.
Use my hands to hold my children and husband.
I am heading upstairs to place my hand upon each of my sleeping children and bless them and thank God for my 3 precious girls and then use my hands to help my husband pack his suitcase for his business trip to CA. Thanks for inspiring me to look at my hands in a new way!
A gently touch to someone’s arm as they share a prayer request or concern with you is comforting I think. That is how I felt anyway when someone did that for me. I also think making a meal with your hands is a great way to show love.
Today with my hands I wiped away tears for my kindergarten son who is nervous for his Farm Program at school tonight, I placed my hands on my kids as I blessed them before school, I made my daughter cry as I brushed her tangled hair, I undid the knots in my childrens’ shoelaces, I used my hands to de-clutter and clean the downstairs, I swatted away a bug in a friends’ car as we chatted after school, and now I’m going to use my hands to take pictures and wave at my son at his school program. I’ll also give my husband’s shoulder a squeeze for making pizza tonight while I get everyone ready for a long evening. Before I wrote this I didn’t realize how an “ordinary” day like this is such a blessing!
I will give that much needed back scratch to my husband tonite. He works very hard for us and he hints around that is back itches and that is way of telling me that he needs my attention, which I am glad to do for him.
hug a friend that just found out her husband has cancer
What a blessing my hands truly are…I have never really looked at them in this light before. As I sit here typing this, I am looking at my hands and what they do each day…they make meals for my family, they give hugs to those in need, they help my little preschool friends show the love of Jesus to others. I also use my hands right now to make meals for a family who is going thru a difficult battle of cancer in their family….I am also using my hands to beautify our planet by planting flowers and a garden to grow food.
One of my most favorite things is just before my hubby and I go to sleep we hold each others hands to pray to God and thank Him for all blessings He has bestowed upon us.
Smiles and Blessings to all,
Robin :)
Play the piano at the next church service :) Thank you for the giveaway.
I have become very intentional about cooking evening meals because it shows my husband that I love and care for him. Lord, give me the strength in this weakened body to prepare meals for my family. Give me the energy to follow through. Bless your name!!
I use my hands to care for my granddaughter while her parents teach in elementary school. These hands guide, praise, discipline, change diapers, and love my sweet little girl. I thank God that He has provided for us so I can be the one she spends her time with and teach her of God’s love and mercy. My hands are most beautiful when I’m holding her little hand.
I can send an e-mail to my friend who uas the flu. She
has lost most of her hearing due to an inherited condition
and relies on texts and e-mails for communication.
At least once a week when I cook, I make extra and deliver to my parents. Since they live very close by we call it Meals on Heels, instead of Meals on Wheels! With all the years they cooked for me, it seems only fair to return the favor, especially since I enjoy cooking.
I too have notice my hands are beginning to look different. I remember my grandma’s hands, with large arthritis bumps on her knuckles, crocheting many aghans for those she loved. I see my mom’s hands, she’ll be 93 on Monday, they too have large arthritis bumps on her knuckles. For years she made beautiful hand embroidery items as gifts for friends and family and sewed many outfits for me, my sister, my neice, and herself. Because of the arthritis and a surgery on her right hand, she can no longer embroider. I know she misses it. My mom taught me to embroider. I so wanted to learn to crochet. Unfortunately my grandmother passed away while I was still very young. I took lessons at a local yarn shop. I now make hand embroidered linens and crochet afghans, scarves, hats and shawls for friends and family. I love using my hands to make others feel warm and loved. There have been so many babies born in our little town recently and more to come, that I have been really busy with crochet hook and yarn!! I love it!
My hands are not very pretty, but you have given me a new perspective on how God wants me to use my hands to glorify Him. I can use my hands today to help a family member who is struggling with a health problem.
Thank you for your post today. It was so moving for me.
Prepare food – give hugs-hold hands
A friend of mine just lost her 82 year old father. She is literally sick from the stess of losing her dad. I know she hasn’t talked to her close neighbors, she is a very quiet person. I ordinarily will not talk to others about someones personal issues, but I felt she needs to have constant support from those around her. So, I am letting others, that I know love her, know about her situation. We can all give her comfort and support and not have her endure this sorrow by her self.
First, your post was absolutely beautiful and heartfelt! My hands make it a point to touch each one of my loved ones on the head when I give tell them goodnight. There’s something special about hands and heads to me. I guess it started when I became a mother and my hands held up that beautiful little head of my firstborn as her little neck muscles developed. There’s a special bond with hands and I am deeply thankful for every heads God had allowed me to hold or gently caress.
I could help poor with out Sunday night college meal by doing the dishes-something no one likes :)
I could help poor with pour Sunday night meal by doing the dishes-something no one likes :)
Tomorrow not only my hands, but the hands of many women will be coming together at our church to decorate and put together a shower for one of our new first time moms! These hands will be settting tables, decorating the room, preparing food and so much more to be a blessing to this new mom, who has just recently begun her life as a wife and now mommy. She already follows her moms footsteps of being a sweet wife, homemaker, gardener, and artist. She blesses others already with her beautiful hands. She also happens to be my best friends daughter and we feel so blessed to watch our children carry on for the Lord!
“There is no greater joy than to know my children walk in truth” :)