9.“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.” Proverbs 31:17

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:37

This is one of the two commands Jesus gave. He stated this and, "Love your, neighbor as yourself and you fulfill the whole law."

I believe "heart" refers to what we would call passions or desires.

Soul is our personality, that that makes us uniquely who we are.

Mind is of course, our intellect.

Strength refers to our physical body and energy.

How do you love the Lord with your strength? We can't physically touch Him to express love. (Can you imagine giving God a foot rub?) When we put our all into something for God- or someone else for God's sake- we are loving Him with our strength. Jesus said,

“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40



So when we give a child a drink of water it is counted to us as if we are giving it to Christ. This puts a whole new meaning to changing diapers, teaching reading and science, and cooking dinner, even rubbing our husband's feet after a hard day at work! This life of servitude, so despised by many modern women, (in fact by most of the world) is the most rewarding life available. Consider, Jesus also said,

“...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

He commanded us to love each other as we love ourselves. He said if we do for each other it is like doing for God Himself. He moved Paul to tell us to put the interests of others before our own (Philippians 2:3-4), and then said He gives life more abundantly. I take this to be a road map to Abundant Life. In fact, I strive to follow these commands as much as is within my strength to do and have discovered that I do indeed have an abundant life. Far more abundant than many of my "successful," (as the world measures it), peers. Hmmmmmm! Do you suppose God knew what He was talking about? How does the old song go?

"You can't out give the Lord. No matter what you do."

Or, as one wealthy Christian said,

"I keep shoveling it out the front door and God keeps shoveling it in the back door, and He's got a bigger shovel."

Here is a simple cause-and-effect; God will bless us for choosing an attitude of service. Maybe not in the way we expect, but in the way He knows we will most appreciate.

This woman girded her loins with strength and strengthened her arms. Apparently she actively sought to increase her strength. The stronger we are, in endurance, muscle, even emotions and intellect, the more we are capable of doing. It is important for us to be as strong as we can be in all of these areas.

We all know that if we eat healthfully we will be healthier. 

If we are healthier we can do more for God and others. I don't know about you but I can't accomplish a lot for anyone when I don't feel good. So I try to eat as healthfully as I can, (a very difficult thing to do in this society).

My philosophy here is that God knew what He was doing when He made natural foods and man doesn't necessarily know what he is doing when he starts messing with things.

In the 1800's, for example, man discovered how to make white bread. Shortly thereafter our nation saw an epidemic of malnutrition (especially goiter- thyroid disease). It seems the nutrients that are contained in the whole wheat, and are removed to make white bread, are essential to the human body. Manufacturers had to begin adding vitamins to the white flour to counteract the removal of the God-made wheat germ. And they can only add in the vitamins they know about.

So if I stick as close as I can to what God has made the way He made it I am more likely to get what I need for my body and less likely to harm it.

Exercise is also essential to strength. 

Where muscles are concerned, you use it or lose it. We modern Americans have a distinct disadvantage here.

Our ancestors (excepting the very rich) got plenty of exercise just trying to survive. Think of how much exercise you would get doing all your laundry in a big tub in the back yard or even in the river. Then you have to hang it all on the line to dry, carry it into the house to iron, fold and put it away.

Kneading bread, weeding the garden, walking anywhere you go within a couple of miles of your front door, sweeping all your floors every day (no vacuums), plus helping your dear husband in the field.

No, they didn't need gyms or Jane Fonda tapes. That is not to say they all had bodies shaped like models. There were a great variety of shapes around from big to little. But I do believe they were physically stronger. How could they not be?

To strengthen ourselves we need to find a method of exercise that we enjoy enough to do it every day. Many find walking fits the bill. A medium pace (where you can still talk) twenty minutes a day will vastly increase your cardiac strength. Biking, swimming, gardening, there are many things we can do to increase our physical activity. Even just parking at the far end of the store parking lot can be a good start.

I am afraid I have not found enough exercise for my health yet. I would like to take up horseback riding, but I think God knows I would spend more time with my horse than with people, so He has not provided me a horse for riding.

Our intellectual strength is also important. 

God gave us good brains and I think He is pleased when we strengthen them: when we seek to increase our knowledge and understanding. In fact King Solomon says,

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7

“How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver!” Proverbs 16:16

What are you doing to exercise your head muscle?

This doesn't mean enrolling in college classes necessarily. Especially with the Internet available, that is actually an inefficient way to learn. Very efficient way to teach, but not to learn.

What is more efficient for both is Youtube and other online methods to learn. They are available when baby happens to take his nap and you can simply replay the video or reread the article until you understand. 

And don't forget Kindle (many, many books for free and the app is free for computers and iPhones), and your local library.

One of the biggest benefits of homeschooling is, in fact, that Mamma gets to learn all the neat things she missed in school.

We should care for our mental health also. 

First of all, God made us to be in His natural world. Sunshine increases the chemicals in our bodies that combat depression. Most of the exercises I mentioned earlier would also take you into the sunshine, and exercise itself produces endorphins that boost mental health.

The biggest thing, I believe, we can do for our mental strength, is to draw closer to God. Seek some SONshine, if you will. One Christian counselor I spoke with said, "The closer you get to God the saner you become." Paul said,

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 
2 Timothy 1:7


To be truly strong, mentally, you need Bible reading, prayer, praise and Christian fellowship on a regular basis, daily if at all possible. Drawing closer to God and knowing Him better will strengthen your mental muscles, in turn making you more able to care for others, resulting in your receiving that more abundant life.

So, consider what you can do to begin strengthening yourself today.