Godzgear Blog: Vintage

Christian Living

Daughter of the King

21:35

I have often heard Proverbs 31 read and applied to how wives

can be such a great blessing to their

husbands and families.

I however as a single woman asked the

Lord one day to help me see how I can

live out this chapter in my

life and therefore be a

great blessing to my father and family.

This article is the product of that

desire to be a

faithful Daughter of my King, Christ Jesus.

An excellent and Virtuous Daughter lives each day according to God's laws.

She seeks after righteousness and her worth is far above precious jewels.

Her father trusts in her, she honours and enriches him and by her hands her family is blessed. She brings them good and not harm all the days of her life, she busily works with her hands in delight.

Like a merchant ship she brings food from afar, she makes profit from what she buys and sells. She insures good for her household.

She prepares herself spiritually and physically for each new day and is well planned for the new days tasks, not only for herself but also for those under her authority.

She makes her decisions based upon wisdom and with wisdom she will see opportunity, from opportunity she works good. Carefully she inspects each opportunity for it's worth. She builds upon opportunity to create another and she lets no profit be wasted.

She prepares herself to be strong and she works hard making her arms strong.

She ensures her dealings are good and her lamp burns into the night.

Her outstretched hands serve her family yet she is ready to help the poor and reaches out to the needy. She has no worry for what may come for she has prepared well.

She is a woman who 'can do'. She dresses as a woman of great worth, her appearance brings honour to both her earthly father and her heavenly Father. You can see she is a daughter of the King.

Her father is well know by the elders and is held in high regard by his community. He is a leader who seeks after justice and righteousness. He is all this for he has his household in order.

Virtuous is clothed with strength and dignity.

She smiles at the future, rejoicing in what may come for she is ready.

She opens her mouth and shares wisdom from what she has learnt. She teaches others with kindness for she knows how far she has come.

She teaches others to be Godly, to serve in His way.

She watches over her household to make sure it is Godly. Laziness is not what she is known by, but for diligence and discipline.

One day her own children will bless her and her husband with praise her, "There are many virtuous and capable women, but you surpass them all".

She does not seek attention or attraction through her charms because it can deceive nor by beauty because it does not last.

She trusts and leans on her Saviour Jesus Christ to

create in her a true beauty of Godly

character and servant hood.

For a daughter who serves and fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Give her the produce of her hands and her diligence and let her works praise her in her home and community.

Written By Miss Anita

www.godzgear.blogspot.com.au

Hope Chests

The Hope Chest Part One - History

23:51

Hope chests. What are they? Where do they come from? Why were they invented in the first place? Why a chest?

Hope chests have been around since as early as the 15th century. Originally, they were a form of marriage payment. The groom and/or the groom’s father would provide the ‘bride price’, money, oxen, promised labour, etc, as well as providing a home for the bride. The bride’s family, in return, was responsible for filling the new home. As a result, in anticipation of a daughter’s future marriage, a family would begin collecting items for the future home from the time the girl was born, with friends and relatives also contributing. For ease of storage and portability, these items were collected in a box or chest. As this was in hope of the future marriage, these boxes became known as hope chests.

Later, hope chests became more of a display of wealth among rich families than an actual marriage payment. In Italy especially, the chests themselves were very elaborate and often worth far more than their contents. In more recent history, hope chests again became something for the common people. These chests would often be handmade by the family and would house not only lovingly made clothing and linen, as well as other faithfully collected treasures, but also a lifetime of hopes and dreams. This idea of 'hopes and dreams' gives a second reason for the name ‘hope’ chest. Each country developed its own variation of the tradition. Americans, for instance, decorated their hope chests with folk art, while the British dropped the chest idea and used their bottom drawers instead.

Traditional Fillers

A traditional hope chest would be filled with items that would make the new bride’s house into a home or would help her be a better homemaker.

Seeds

The seeds of family flowers would help a daughter remember her family and feel less homesick, particularly if her marriage meant that she would need to move far away. Vegetable seeds would also be collected, so that the young homemaker could grow and supply her and supply her home with ample food throughout the year.

Linens

Beautiful quilts, embroidered tablecloths and crocheted doilies were all lovely additions to a new home that could rarely be bought and almost never afforded. To acquire these treasures, a young woman would spend hours faithfully crafting with thread, yarn, needle and hook. Because of the time and energy put in to create these pieces, they often became family heirlooms, passed down from mother to daughter, generation to generation.

Sewing Supplies

Depending on the resources that would be available to the new bride when she moved to her new house, sewing supplies could mean many things. If fabric and thread could be easily obtained, it might be more likely to include only such things as needles, pins, thimbles, pincushions and special patterns. If getting hold of material and thread was difficult, one might also include cloth making equipment such as a loom and tools for making thread.

Dinnerware

In times gone by, a full, attractive dinner set was a great and luxurious expense. Often dishware was handed down from mother to daughter.

Other items such as candlesticks and special clothing eg. wedding dresses, were also often added to these chests. Though these were all common items, the contents of each chest was a unique and varied as the girls who packed them.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief look into the history of hope chests and found it intriguing, stay tuned for next week's post 'The Hope Chest Part Two - Things to Put in a Modern Hope Chest'.