Refuge hosts Painting Class

On a Saturday afternoon on May 27, mothers and their daughters came to the Refuge and participated in a painting class led by Jill Paschal from 3 Dots & 1 Dash. With 19 people in attendance, it was a fun event with some sweet desserts, painting, raffle prizes and mother daughter bonding. The theme for the painting class was Proverbs 31. Among having a day for mothers and daughters to enjoy a couple of hours painting together, it was also a day filled with encouragement for women in whatever stage of life they are currently in.

With social media, movies and tv shows influencing how people view others and themselves, it is important to come back to God’s truth and learn who he created us to be. Among all of the great verses in Proverbs 31:10-31, the focus was on verse 30, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” All other verses flow out of this verse. When we fear the Lord, we are in awe of Him, we admire Him, and revere Him. We want to know Him more.

And in order to know Him, we read His word, the Bible. We pray and talk to Him. We gather around like-minded people to encourage each other. And when we start to know God and build a relationship with Him we begin to bear fruit. Proverbs 31 describes many characteristics that reflect the fruit we bear. During the painting class, the women learned about these characteristics and were hopefully encouraged to become women who obey God’s word, women who show love to God and love to others, women who are good stewards of what they have, women who know who they are and that they are a child of the King, and to become women who plan and prepare for what is to come and are not idle.

These characteristics come from fearing God and building a relationship with Him. Most women tend to have a morning routine to get ready for the day. We may have coffee, do our makeup, pick out what clothes we wear and make sure our hair looks nice. But for a Proverbs 31 woman, it’s not about outward appearances, but inward beauty. Yes we want to appear put together on the outside and look nice, but 1 Peter 3:3-4 states that, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

So as mothers and daughters spent time with one another painting, I hope that they enjoyed the day they had together, and that each woman, no matter what age, was motivated to strive to become a Proverbs 31 woman.