Pearls of Wisdom From a Dentist

Since Robbie started school last August, I have honestly had more time on my hands than I know what to do with. It was a really big switch from before we moved up here because I had been working full time for two years (and before that I was working and going to school). We feel really appreciative of the fact that I am able to have this time as a stay-at-home wife before I become a stay-at-home mom. With all this time, however, I'm needing to learn to have discipline about time management.

One of our mentors back home (who happens to be a dentist) has a passion for the book of Proverbs that is contagious. If you haven't read it or it's been awhile, I highly recommend taking a look. It's all about what wisdom looks like and how to get it and why it's useful. I have fallen in love with the concrete, applicable advice found in Proverbs and it has helped me not only in making huge decisions about life (ie. who should I marry, what is my purpose in life, and how should I relate to God) but also in the day to day living (ie. how should I respond when someone hurts my feelings, how should I manage my time, how should I handle my money).   

When I was in college, this mentor was the leader of my Bible study and something he liked to do was share "Pearls of Wisdom" from scripture with us. He even came up with acrostics using different types of seats to help us remember them. An example is the C.H.A.I.R. acrostic.

C- Companion: You become like the people you hang around (Proverbs 13:20)
H- Hearing is transformation: You haven't really heard unless you've obeyed (Jeremiah 11:6-7)
A- Authority of God: At the end of time, no one will question God's supreme authority (Philippians 2:10-11)
I- Idolatry: Idolatry is any time we worship by putting our trust in or deriving our fulfillment from someone/something other than God (Matthew 4:10)
R- Rebuke: If you are wise, you will receive rebuke with joy and approach God with it to see how he wants to change you (Proverbs 17:10)


The reason I bring all this up is because I found another "Pearl of Wisdom" today while thinking about what to do with all this spare time I have. The pearl is about diligence. Diligence is defined as "having or showing care or conscientiousness in one's work or duties." The opposite of a diligent person is a sluggard and the verse that keeps sticking out to me is Proverbs 20:4.

"Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look and find nothing." -Proverbs 20:4

Right now, I have the option of using this season to grow or to be lazy, to be diligent or to be a sluggard. At the end of this season, I want to look back and see that I did not let it go to waste.