120. Redefining the Proverbs 31 Woman: A Fresh Perspective with Brandie Thomas

Ever wrestled with the expectations the world sets versus the ones etched in your faith? Brandie Thomas joins me for a riveting conversation that peels back the layers of the Proverbs 31 woman, challenging the stereotypes and revealing her as a paragon of balance and empowerment. We're tearing down the walls of misconception, showing that this biblical figure is not about unattainable perfection but a source of practical wisdom you can apply to both your business endeavors and personal growth. Brandie infuses the discussion with thirteen transformative principles derived from this scripture, promising to recalibrate your view on spirituality and success.

The myths surrounding the Proverbs 31 woman are as persistent as they are misleading, but our dialogue is set to dismantle them one by one. We address the falsehoods that insist on solo struggle, sidelining self-care, and pursuing an impossible ideal of flawlessness. Instead, we spotlight the essence of delegation, the necessity of self-rejuvenation, and the pursuit of God's specific calling for each of us. Brandie and I also delve into the positive relationship between faith and finance, advocating for community upliftment through resourceful abundance. The conversation doesn't stop there; it extends an invitation to build a robust network of support, so you can navigate life's multifaceted roles with poise and effectiveness.

As we wrap up, we leave you with a heartening insight into how the Proverbs 31 woman's virtues—wisdom, family strength, community service—paint a picture of an abundant, favored, and blessed life that does not shy away from wealth but embraces it in service to God and others. We explore how a deep reverence for God shapes her actions, reinforcing the idea that living in God's abundance isn't at odds with a faithful life. Brandie and I encourage you to foster a relationship with God that fills you to the brim, empowering you to serve from a place of fullness and walk in life with confidence, fearlessness, and dignity. Join us on this journey of discovery, where faith and practicality converge to guide you toward a life of entrepreneurial and personal fulfillment.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I am so excited to have this conversation with my friend, brandi Thomas, about the Proverbs 31 woman and just some revelations that she has had. I have never heard anybody talk about the Proverbs 31 woman this way, so get excited for this conversation, my friend. Hey friend, welcome to Milk and Honey with Lemon. The Bible says in Numbers 14, 8, and if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. On this podcast we talk about stepping into that overflow that God has for us by becoming those ultimate Proverbs 31 women. Hey, I'm Lemon. I am just like you, sister, friend. I knew God had something more in store for me, but I couldn't see a way out of the laundry piles and, frankly, I resented that. Proverbs 31 woman. How was I going to live up to the hype? That is until I found out how to really step into becoming this Proverbs 31 woman through leadership development. In this podcast you're going to find financial freedom, leadership, growth and motivation so you'll be able to do all the things God has called you to do with ease and really step into that land of milk and honey.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Welcome back to the Milk and Honey Podcast. I'm your host, lemon Price, and I'm so excited to have my friend, brandi Thomas on here. Brandi's a wife, a mother. She's a multi-passionate entrepreneur with over 12 years of experience. She's the co-founder of Victorious Entrepreneurs Rising, an ICF-certified radiant leader and life coach through Girl Power Alliance. She is the co-creator of the Rise to your Purpose devotional podcast and signature program, and I am so excited because we're going to talk about the Proverbs 31 woman, which you know is my jam. So thank you for being here, brandy.

Speaker 2: 1:49

Thanks for having me, lemon. Yes, I am a Proverbs 31 girl and girl, and I'm so excited to have a conversation with this other because I have a lot to say.

Speaker 1: 2:00

Okay, because I feel like you have differing opinions over the last, like months, years, on the Proverbs 31 woman. Can you like give a little like insight to your journey, my friend? Yeah?

Speaker 2: 2:12

so let's see, let's think about my timeline for a minute. So I was, so I was raised in the church and a lot of church camp was baptized in middle school. So I grew up up with the Bible, I grew up being informed, but I didn't necessarily have my own relationship necessarily with Jesus until probably the later 20s, 30s, like on a different level, like I started diving deeper Because I got to this point in my life where I had a foot in the kingdom and a foot in the world and I was like, yes, I believe in Jesus, but he was compartmentalized in different areas of my life so it really wasn't a part of my business journey in my 20s. And he was you go to church, you be a good person, you be a perfect Christian girl, you do all of these things and then you're like you're in. I found myself really unfulfilled, continuously to strive for things, being a people pleaser, being a perfectionist, and literally finding myself dead inside and burnout and frustrated, and I was just like, okay, god, who am I, who are you? We need to reevaluate this relationship because what I've been doing, what I was taught to do, just isn't really working for me anymore.

Speaker 2: 3:30

I went on this journey with God and I was like first I had to be like okay, god, who are you? Because I can't trust you to give me any information about who I am until I actually know you and your character. I started diving into the word and I would write down like any scripture that talked about his character when he fulfilled a promises, his faithfulness, so getting to know who God is as my father, as my mentor, as my friend, and really just understanding him. So then, once I started to pull that gap of trust, I could be like all right, god, I trust that you're a good father, I trust that you created me fearfully and wonderfully made and you want good things for me. But I'm stuck trying to meet all of these expectations of the world and I'm never enough. I'm never worthy enough, I'm never good enough. Every time I achieve a goal there's always another expectation, or I didn't meet the timeline, I was always falling short and it's exhausting to live in the world in that way. And I was like God, who am I? Because the identity the world was trying to put on me just was like too much to carry. And so he pointed me into the Proverbs 31 woman for a lot of just pointing out my identity and he revealed this woman. He'd like, brought her to life for me, and especially like coming into.

Speaker 2: 4:48

When I read the bible, I read it from an entrepreneurial lens as well, and I'm always seeking like different principles and strategies that I can use for myself but then also go and coach and train my clients that I work with, and he just brought this conversational woman to life and showed me like all of the things that you've heard about her that mainly men have taught you are not. That's not who she is. She is not somebody to be compared to. She's not somebody to strive for perfection is that's not her point. That's not why I put her in here, but there are.

Speaker 2: 5:21

So like first overcoming the myth which we can talk through, some of the myths that at least I had been taught about her, but then also diving into what are the principles that and the strategies that we can learn from. I literally wrote down 13 different principles and I have six different things that like to over half. I was like preparing for this last night, because it's good a minute since I dug into I literally teach a workshop on the prophecy. What a woman. But I was like, okay, we're going to be talking about this. Get my thoughts in order. That brought me up to here, to where we are today, to why there's things that I hear people say. She burns the candle at both ends and she's working all the time and I'm just like that's not.

Speaker 1: 6:09

At least that's not. At least that's not what God revealed to me when I started researching her. So I'd love to have a conversation with you. Whether we agree or not, I will share my opinions. I love it.

Speaker 1: 6:12

No, go into some of these myths, because, yeah, I think the Proverbs 31 woman, especially in culturally, and I love that. You said we've mostly been taught about this from a male perspective when that comes, with whatever biases and preconceived notions on culture, and I could spend a whole lot of time talking about culture and women and culture, especially in a religious subtext, but it always felt like something to lord over women. So you're constantly falling short, so you never feel good enough, so you're burnt out, all of these things. And then when I approached it again, like recently that's, the whole podcast is based on this proper 31 woman and when I approached it from an entrepreneurial lens, when I approached it from the place I'm in with life now I have a very different outlook on her, and so I would love to hear just some of these preconceived notions or myths and things and where you're at now.

Speaker 2: 7:07

Where I'm at now is like when I read this, there's freedom. I have so much excitement and joy and freedom. So, like she gets me yes, god, she gets me and he gave this to me to show me I'm not the only one who feels this way and does this thing. So I feel like there's three myths that I wrote down. Last night it was like I had to do all the things and I have to burn my candle at both ends. I think that is a huge misconception and a huge lie from the enemy. Because she doesn't do all the things. She has servants, she has employees and helpers, she's a delegator and overseer of the affairs of her household. So that was like a huge one, like a huge release and freedom. Like ask for help. We're supposed to do life and business in community and we that. She provides for her family and she provides for her servants. She gives them portions, but she's not doing all the things. So it's not like the lays over that bar where she has servants and she's a watchful. She watches over the affairs of her household Another myth that I felt like you have to sacrifice your self-care in serving one else.

Speaker 2: 8:09

This woman was strong for the task she was working out, she had strong arms, she had vigor, she was eager to do her work. So she had energy. She was definitely taking time to be equipped and empowered to go out and do the things that she was called to do. She had linen like purple linen, she had nice things. So let's not think that she wasn't taking time for herself, but because she was actually taking time for herself and she had this strong relationship with God, she was able to go out and do the things, the God thing, and not just good things. So I think that's a whole other conversation too that we could go down, where I think she was doing only God things and not doing good things. And because she was focused on doing God things, she had the vigor and the eager and she was equipped and empowered and she was strong for the task at hand because she was actually doing the work she was called to do. And then the third one I wrote down is you have to be perfect. I just she's not perfect, but I do believe she has qualities and characteristics because she's she fears the Lord, her husband's confident in her and knocks nothing on. All of you, her children call her blessed and I think because she's obedient to God, she's wise, she does the things that she's called to do. She has the favor. And a fourth one that I didn't write down.

Speaker 2: 9:34

My one talk about is like wealth, which that could be a whole podcast in itself. But this woman was not afraid to be a wealthy Christian and I use the word Christian kind of loosely because not the Old Testament, so Christ wasn't even like the word Christian, wasn't even there yet. But like she was a God follower and she was wealthy. And she sees, her trading is profitable and her lamp does not go out at night. Her lamp does not go out at night does not mean that she was burning the candle at both ends. It means her trading was profitable. Comma her lamp does not go out at night. She had an abundant of oil that she could keep her oil going all night.

Speaker 2: 10:17

And then it talks about how she was able to go out and serve her community. She served from her overflow, she served from her abundance, she served from her place of profitability because she stewarded her resources, her wealth, her talents responsibly. She had favor, she had abundance, she had profit, she was bearing good fruit and from that good fruit she was able to provide for her family with nice things. She had good linens purple purple linen, which signifies she was wealth, and then she went out and served the poor and the needy and created impact in her kingdom. So that's a whole nother. I'm like getting fired up talking about this.

Speaker 1: 11:00

I know I love that you're like I'm gonna like fire brandy up before she goes to her next meeting on this, but I love there's so many things that you said that I resonate with is, I think, especially as women in our modern culture, because women in the Old Testament women even 50, 60 years ago they were more communal than they are now and I think that's 100% alive. The enemy is that we have to do everything by ourselves. I think that's why he keeps women so busy too, so you feel like you have to do everything by yourself. The Proverbs 31 woman had help and wasn't afraid to delegate, and I think that I think is really freeing for women right now is we see these women on Instagram and Pinterest and they've got this very aesthetic look and it looks like they're doing everything by themselves and like this de-influencing culture where women are like, yeah, that looked really pretty for the Instagram photo, but look at the mess that it was an hour beforehand.

Speaker 1: 11:58

And so I think it's beautiful and it's freeing to say like you had help, like you can have outsource cleaning your house, outsource your laundry, whatever it is that you need to do to give yourself like some time freedom back. I think it's huge. And then I love that you said like she had money, like she had to employ these people first and foremost, and she had an abundance. Right, she's out serving the needy. And I love what you said about her lamp, right, I think yeah, I've heard this so many times oh, she's up working all night. That is not feasible. It means that she had money to keep her oil going.

Speaker 2: 12:38

Yeah, and I was actually researching more about oil and like what oil like lamps and what that signifies, and it goes back to a whole another level which I'm learning more about. But, like, when we hear about keeping your oil burning, it's like waiting for Jesus to return, like waiting for the bridegroom to come back and like the people who didn't have their lamp, they weren't ready, they weren't being a light to the world. So there's a couple different ways we can, I think, look into the oil lamp and like its meaning. But I don't think it has anything to do with burning your oil or your lamp on both ends, your candle on both ends. I think it has to do with like abundance. I think it has to do with being a beacon of light and waiting on Jesus to return and being that light until he returns and using the resources that you have for his glory. But again, that could be a whole other podcast. We could have five podcasts after this.

Speaker 1: 13:30

I know this is what I love so much about scripture is that it is so simplistic, right that my 10-year-old he gets it right. He can regurgitate. He's like really good at pulling out some principles, but then it is so complex. You could spend your entire life just studying this passage and still not get everything out of it that God wants you to get out of it, which I think is really beautiful, that there's just so many layers to what God's doing. And I know there's a story in the Bible about people waiting for the bridegroom and all these things, and people didn't have their lamps ready and so they missed it. They missed it because they didn't steward, they didn't have the provision, like they didn't have their lamps ready, and so they missed it. They missed it because they didn't steward, they didn't have the provision, like they didn't have these things, and so they missed their opportunity.

Speaker 2: 14:16

Yes, yeah, there's so much and I love. One thing God's been revealing to me is the more I'm seeking is more of him, and there's always more of him. Like I'm never arriving in my relationship with God there's always excitement or something new to learn, and it's like my relationship with God never gets boring because there's always another layer that he's willing to reveal when I'm ready to. I almost foresee it too. He's very kind and gentle with that and our relationship. I'm going to blow your mind here. Let's sit on that for a minute and then, when you're ready to have your mind blown again, I'll refill more of me. Um, but yeah, just even looking back over last night, going back through the scripture, I can dive into more of some principles if you want, okay.

Speaker 2: 15:02

So I was just going through all the scriptures last night and I was just like, okay, we know she has divine identity and authority. I think that's just a given. I know it talks about that at the end where she's she fears the lord. But I think, even talking from the first like, she has this, like an identity and authority that is just divine and she's confident in who she is and she's like sure who she is, that her, her husband, is also confident and he lacks nothing of value because she is. She's just firm in who she is, and so I thought that was really cool too, especially as, like my husband and I, our marriage is like coming into a new season where we were on completely different shifts for the entirety of our marriage. Like we're going to celebrate 11 years in April and this is our first year he's been on day shift and just seeing him like step into leadership in a different role here, and just like the way we partnered together, I'm just like, yes, I want to step. I want my husband to be so confident in me that he lacks nothing of value, and I believe that value comes from just me being strong in my divine identity and authority. I don't need my husband to complete me. I'm a complete person without him. With him and Jesus and me, we're complete. And so I think, having that foundation, he's able to be confident as well and he lacks nothing of value. And she brings him good, not harm, so that marriage podcast could be another. Seriously, like you said, like we have literally spent five years just uncovering each verse, but I love that part where she's bringing him good, not harm. They have a solid marriage foundation and she has her house in order first before she does business, before she serves her family foundation and she has her house in order first Before she does business, before she serves her family, before she serves her community. The marriage that unit is like, so important and that foundation is strong.

Speaker 2: 17:05

And then it goes into how she is eager and she's an eager worker and she's resourceful and she provides for her family and employees or servants, depending on what translation you read and she's wise, that's right. She's wise. She's not just jumping into the next opportunity, she's not getting shiny object syndrome, she considers before she acts. And I think that goes back to what I was talking to. Are you doing good things? Are you actually doing God things? And when you do God things, there's freedom, there's favor, there's fruits, there's flow and ease, even if they're hard. There's like a Holy Spirit, like supernatural flow to them, even if it's a hard task or something hard that you're called to do. And so I, being wise, that if you get nothing else out of this like that is a key principle and strategy that you need to like have discernment, consider things, get with God, sit with him and then go act, be obedient in your actions.

Speaker 2: 18:02

I love how she also was. She reinvests and then is able to have multiple earnings and multiple streams of income. So she considers, considers her field, then buys it and out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. So she is reinvesting, she's adding multiple streams of income and she's creating. She's an entrepreneur, my entrepreneur spirit.

Speaker 2: 18:24

I get so excited reading that part and again it talks about her. She works vigorously and she is strong, her arms are strong for the task. So that points out to me that she does do self-care, she works out, she takes care of her body and I believe she's able to work with eager and and she's vigorous because she is working as an act of worship and she is doing God things and so it's exciting. I don't know about you when I'm doing a God thing versus a good thing, like like there's a different joy, there's like just a different posture to it and I've had to learn to prioritize and say no to things that are good things because they're not God things and I just like work so much more vigorously and I'm more eager to do that task and even like dirtying my home, like I love stewarding my home, I love doing the dishes and cooking meals for my family and I love cleaning and I think it's part of it has come because that is. I know I'm called to be a wife and a mom and this is one of my calling. One of my appointments here on earth is to steward my home, but I also have a heart for entrepreneurship, so I love she like. This is an example where I see a woman who has joy and she's eager to serve her family, but she's also working vigorously for her streams of income because she's called to the work at places. I just resonate so much with her and then, yeah, she sees her trading is profitable and she lives with abundance.

Speaker 2: 19:56

And I think that's such a huge lie that the enemy has twisted around abundance and being a cross Christ follower, like we're here. Jesus was not poor, he was not a hobo on the side of the road. He had so much money in his treasury that Judas was stealing from it. And yeah, he didn't have a home necessarily because he was in the mission field, he was spreading the gospel. He could always probably go. He went home to Mama's house, right. He went to Mary's house. He had a place to lay his head, but he was always provided for every step of the journey and he was like his home in heaven streets paved with gold, one pearl gate right, there's abundance. He came from abundance.

Speaker 2: 20:45

So this thought that Christians aren't supposed to be abundant, just again, like I feel like that was a myth that was busted by diving into this. Because she was abundant and out of her abundance and her stewardship of the abundance, she was able to take care of the poor and the needy and impact her community and she had no fear for the future, she wasn't living in lack and she was able to laugh at the days ahead and she was able to provide for her family. So I think also that myth of, oh, if I give my family good things, I'm a bad christian or I'm not following god, no, god gives good gifts. He's not going to give you a snake right that scripture which I'm totally paraphrasing but he's a good father who gives good gifts. And so if you're creating a profitable stream of business and you buy yourself a purple linen and have egyptian cotton sheets like good for you and but she's also, she's not.

Speaker 2: 21:43

That's not her identity, she's just. That's just the blessing of being the daughter of an abundant king and I love that. She's multi-passionate too and she has those multiple streams of income. But at the end of the day she fears the lord and because of that she's honored and she's blessed. So those are like 13 fun facts about the proper city, one woman, and then the reason I love that. If you want me to, I can give my six things, oh my gosh.

Speaker 1: 22:11

Yes, do it, do it, my gosh.

Speaker 2: 22:15

You're so funny you do it over. So six things if you want to just put all of the promissory woman in a nice little box. Right, she was wise, she made wise choices, so she thinks before she acts and because she did that, her actions turn into abundance and profits and has favor. She delegated, so she watches over the affair. She has helped.

Speaker 2: 22:36

And we see god delegating, like genesis, like he created people or he created the earth and all the things that men created people and he's like I'm gonna rest, you guys go and tend to the animals, name them, do all. So right, like we have god delegating, we see see Moses delegating. So delegation is definitely a biblical principle and strategy. She takes care of herself. So we have this one body that the Holy Spirit lives in. It's our temple. So we are called to take care of herself and take care of herself as an act of worship. And when you do that, like, you are strong, you have eager, you will be vigorous.

Speaker 2: 23:13

The fourth thing like she had a healthy marriage and family unit and family is so important to God, like he, literally everything is based around her family unit, if you look at it. And her husband was confident in her and her children called her blessed. And so, if you're going to strive to be something, strive to be a woman who seeks God so that you are so confident in your divinity and authority that your husband's able to be confident in you because he knows you are a woman of God, and a woman of God is not going to go out on me and do things to bring me harm and hurt my family. And then, because you're that strong woman of God, your children are going to call you blessed because you are also leading them and stewarding them into the ways of God, and those ways we know when we're obedient to God are going to bring favor and they're going to bring good fruits. And yes, there's that spiritual warfare happening, but at the end of the day, if you read the rest of Proverbs, it literally tells you how to have favor, how to have profits, how to have a long life, how to have a healthy life, and so I believe she is that steward of her marriage and her family and that's why her husband can be confident in her and lack nothing of value, and her children can call her less.

Speaker 2: 24:32

And then, number five, she's able to provide for her family and community from her abundance and overflow, and I think that is the key to she is serving others from her abundance and overflow. And when, if you go back to psalm 23, your cup runn right and if we can get to the point in our relationship with God where he is our source for all the things and he's filling us up so much that we're overflowing and, instead of pouring out, people can come and drink from our saucer. So if you think of a little teacup and saucer, right, let God be your source to be provided for you so that you're just overflowing with so much abundance in every sense of the word, not just financially that, like people, are you're able to serve from your abundance and overflow. And then the sixth thing is like fears. She fears the lord, she's confident, she laughs at the days to come. She was wise, she was strong and she's dignified.

Speaker 2: 25:29

And I think that number six is really like the whole package right. She fears the Lord, first and foremost because she has that relationship with God. She's confident, she's not anxious, she's not worrying, like Jesus said, like he's come to me and your burden is easy and your yoke is light. She makes wise decisions. So then she has good things happen because she's not doing hasty things. She's not doing just good things, she's actually doing god things and she is dignified and she is strong for those tasks. Man, lemon, I could keep going on, but those are like my notes that I took from last night to fit into a 30 minute podcast. I'm with you.

Speaker 1: 26:10

No, it's so hard to do in 30. I feel like after this conversation I've been thinking about a summer series. I think I'm going to do a deep dive on the Proverbs 31 woman this summer. I'm actually I was thinking about this.

Speaker 1: 26:23

Now I'm like yeah, maybe we'll bring Brandy back and have this a deep conversation, because there's so much that we can pull from this, and I just love this conversation. I feel like we could spend years on just this one passage and all of the things God can reveal about himself and our identity and the things we're called to do, from just one very intense, beautiful passage, and so I just want to thank you for being here and sharing what it is God is revealing to you, and I just want to thank you for being here and sharing what it is God is revealing to you, and I just am grateful that you're again pouring out from this overflow of this place where God's poured it out to me, and so now let me share it with you. So I just appreciate you doing that?

Speaker 2: 27:03

friend, I would love to nerd out with you on Proverbs 31, if you actually do that series, so don't forget about me.

Speaker 1: 27:10

I will never forget about you. I never forget you. So where can everybody go to connect with you and just have a deeper conversation with you, friend?

Speaker 2: 27:19

So you can always find me at my website, victoriasentrepreneurphorazinecom, and right now I have a free pop-up for our Be the Change workshop and you'll actually get to see Lemon on there.

Speaker 2: 27:29

I do a series on how to build your life and business in synergy around your core values so that you can operate from a place of rest, and we talk about also being a radiant leader in all areas of your life. But then on social media, I'm on Facebook just as Brandy Thomas and it's Brandy with an I-E, and then on Instagram, outlive Victorious. Definitely hit me up, though, because I'm hit or miss on social media, because God is calling me to focus more on other ways and just lay down social media. I'm in all the messenger things, but as far as posting, right now I'm on a little hiatus. So definitely get into my email and my text with that pop-up. Definitely get into my email and my text with that pop-up. That's where you can literally text me one-on-one, and it's been really cool to actually share with my audience on a little deeper level through email and texting right now.

Speaker 1: 28:21

I love that Guys go connect with Brandy. She is one of my closest friends and so you would be blessed to be in her orbit. So thank you for being here, friend. I deeply appreciate you. Hey friend, I deeply appreciate you. Hey friend, what a joy it has been to share today's journey with you. If you found a spark of inspiration or a nugget of wisdom that resonated, would you bless someone else by sharing this episode with them? It could be the encouragement they need to step into their purpose and calling. Also, if you could spare a moment to leave a review, it would mean the world to me. I really appreciate your feedback and it really helps our community grow. Remember, the road to discovering God's call for you isn't one you have to walk alone. So join me again next Monday for another episode where we'll continue to explore the depths of leadership and the heights of our heavenly calling. Until then, keep seeking, keep growing and keep trusting in His plan. God bless you and I'll catch you on the flip side. Bye, friend.