Saturday, April 17, 2010

Maidens of Virtue

Once a month our family attends a group called Maidens of Virtue. I love this group for many reasons, but probably the greatest is that I can attend this along side my three precious daughters. There we are encouraged to learn God's Word and study in depth what a godly woman is. They are currently going through the book Polished Cornerstones by Pam Forster. They meet in a home where we have beautifully set tables of lace, fresh flower centerpieces, 'dainties' are served on overflowing platters (each mom brings something from home, usually homemade bread, biscotti, muffins, fruit or something their daughters have created). They have singing, praying and sharing/demonstrations of domestic skills or crafts. They also host tea parties with speakers, one at Christmas and one in the spring. Often the mothers and daughters will teach as a team, with mom teaching the lesson and daughter reading the verses.

Here is a sampling of the singing before the lesson, they usually start off with prayer and then a hymn:



(Sandi Grutzius graciously teaches mothers and daughters how to sing hymn in 2 part harmony)


Here are more pictures:



(Lovely table set for Maidens of Virtue meeting)




(Moms getting seated with their daughters)



(Children seated waiting for group to begin)

(This past meeting was creating a gift for dad for Fathers day. Here are my daughters working on decorating gift bags for their gifts. I can't tell what the actual gifts were because my husband might read this!)

Another thing that is great about the group is that while the mothers and daughters are gathered together learning about feminine godliness, the fathers and sons meet at the same time at a house/location nearby in a group called Men of Valor. They do exciting things such as work with power tools, community/church service, potato cannon shoots, pancake breakfasts with speakers, etc., all tied in with a biblical theme! The last meeting they used the book Created for Work by Bob Shultz and made wood project presents for Mother's day. It is not every day that fathers and sons can get together to do 'manly' things together and still learn the word of God. It is invaluable the time they are getting to spend together in this fast paced world that doesn't seem to allow anytime for relationships to become fostered. The next event they will be doing target practice with pistols and rifles in the woods---my boys are in heaven just thinking about it!

Many groups today divide up the family. Moms are in their own groups, dads have their mens groups, teen have youth groups--they hardly have time together after work and school. What I love about the focus of these meetings is growing strong relationships between the parent and children giving them something meaningful to do as they learn about godliness in nurturing setting. My children will forever remember the time they got to spend with us in these settings and will cherish them one day.

What's nice is that there are other groups being birthed out of this group. There seems to be a high interest in what they do since these kinds of groups are rare. Since I have attended there have been two groups birthed out of this group called 'Daughters of Destiny' and 'Young Maidens Society'--the latter group started with my sister-in-law who attended a Maidens of Virtue group only once!!! We are also praying about perhaps starting one around here...:)

Many of you have written and inquired about this group showing great interest in attending however, it was out of your local area. I highly encourage you, if you have the means, time and blessing from God and husband to maybe start your own group in your area if this interests you and there isn't one available to you.

 It doesn't have to be anything fancy and can be just a small group of people, it's a great means of fellowship too. Maybe you already lead a group with your husband and can incorporate some of the ideas here with your ministry that you have already, if you have any questions about it, I'd be happy to answer them. Whatever the case-- be sure to spend time with your daughters and sons and grow closer at nurturing those special relationships with them. You're time with them is short and all of the things you could invest your time in, you will never regret the time invested in your children.






22 comments:

Kelsye Cassell said...

The singing is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

Michelle said...

Hello. I'm new to your blog, (just joined yesterday) and your Maidens of Virtue posts just about had me in tears. So beautiful!

I would love to do something similar but my husband pastors a little church in a pioneering area where even most surrounding Christians would not be interested in such a thing! That includes homeschoolers as well!

I will be seeking the Lord's guidance though because I know with Christ all things are possible!

Thank you for this inspiring blog and have a blessed weekend!

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful idea, thank you for sharing!

I loved the singing.

Candice said...

I love this idea! What a fun and formative time for moms and their girls.

Lindsey said...

A lovely idea! Thank you for sharing this! :-)

Mrs. M :o) said...

Hello June. We have a Keepers of the Faith group that meets at our home twice a month. Our last meeting for the year will be this Monday. Then we will be having a family banquet celebration event to show our handiwork, recite our verses and sing. We would sure like to have you visit if you can but if not you can visit our blog at www.ourkeepersclub.blogspot.com
missed you all last month; we didn't know it was the last meeting. Blessings, it was a wonderful! post. :o)
www.homeschoolblogger.com/lovinthosebunnies4Him

Camie said...

This is wonderful! How lovely and the singing was so nice!

Blessings!

Camie

Becca said...

Just lovely. I agree about the separation of the family in the church. It's so sad that many churches have succumbed to worldly attitudes in that area.

Leslie and James said...

What a sweet time and great ministry! And beautiful singing:)

Valencia Jones-Edwards said...

What a wonderful idea!! I wish we had something like this in my area. Since we don't I'll go ahead and start one. Even if only my daughters are there, it would truly be a blessing. If you have any ideas please respond. I know my daughters and many others would love this locally.

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Gail,

We missed you too! Hope you had fun at the event you went to. I sent you a message on FB....

Valencia,

I would love to talk more. I am going to hop over to your blog right now and leave you a message.

Many blessings...

Bambi said...

The singing was beautiful and what a blessing ot be part of a group that is encouraging Godly Maidenhood! We had a group that met throughout last summer and used the book Raising Maidens of Virtue. Even though it was a diverse group of girls and moms, we all grew closer to the Lord and within our families too. Thanks for sharing this :)
B. Moore
www.nurseryofthenation.blogspot.com

Mrs. E said...

How beautiful...
what a wonderful ministry indeed!

Blessings~ Miss Jen

~Proverbs 31:30~

Missy said...

We have recently started a group using the Raising Maidens of Virtue book. My girls look so forward to it. It is a small group but I'm so glad we can all learn from each other! Love reading your blog< Missy in TN

Anonymous said...

This is simply lovely. We truly need groups like this in order to promote Christian harmony between family members. I also agree that separation of family members within the church can be destructive to the family unit.

However, what about women who are married but don't have daughters, or maybe God hasn't blessed them with children yet? How could they blend-in with a lovely group such as this one? Surely, they could benefit from this type of fellowship too. What are your thoughts on this matter? :)

~Mrs. Lady Sofia~

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Dear Lady Sofia,

I believe single women or married women without daughters would be a wonderful addition to such a group. They could share their skills and knowledge and support/encourage the moms and daughters that do attend. I think it would be wonderful if they attended because they would also be preparing themselves one day if they did have daughters and also simultaneously learning a wealth of wisdom themselves.

Many blessings...

Far Above Rubies said...

June, I do this with my own daughters. For fun we decided to give ourselves a name, my girls came up with. The Feminina Club. :)))

We have monthly challenges, we have read through the Elsie books, and we wear certain jewelry throughout the month to remind us of a particular theme. For example this week it has been pearls to remind us to get into the Word of God.

I would love to start a group as sadly there is that constant separation of the children and parents at every church I visit.

Could you give me some tips on how to begin one when noone in my area seems interested in being with their children?

Thank you so much. xox

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Hi Jasmine,

I would love to chat with you and will send you a message on Facebook.

Many blessings...

Everyday Oils with Kim said...

I am a friend of Jasmine's as well & would love to start a group here in Oklahoma. This past year, my 9 yr old daughter & I were in a group called, "Keepers of the Faith", but I was disappointed. I will look for you on facebook as well.
Thank you for sharing!

Footnut said...

This is awesome. What a great idea.

Michelle said...

I looked into this, but didn't see any of these church's in my area, and don't know anyone that does home church. It seems wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

thank you


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