My Tribute to Mom:
Adelle Minnie Boone
THIS IS WHAT GODLY WOMEN DO…
PROVERBS 31:
WIFE
WWho can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
She does exist… SHE’S HARD TO FIND…
…BUT WE DIDN’T HAVE TO LOOK HARD TO FIND HER…
…I WAS THE FIRST OF THREE THAT WERE BORN INTO HER FAMILY
VIRTUOUS?
PROV 12:4 AN EXCELLENT WIFE IS THE CROWN OF HER HUSBAND
ii. RUTH 3:11 …NAOMI CHARACTERIZES RUTH AS A WOMAN WHOM ALL THE TOWNS PEOPLE KNOW AS “VIRTUOUS”
iii. …BOAZ WAS KNOWN AS A MAN OF VALOR…SAME WORD…MAKING RUTH AND BOAZ THE PERFECTLY MATCHED COUPLE…MUCH LIKE MOM AND DAD.
iv. THE WORD VIRTUOUS in GREEK WORD IS ARETE = ALL AROUND EXCELLENCE…NOT A SPECIALISTS IN ONE AREA.
v.THIS IS THE EPITOME OF A GODLY WOMAN.
vi. SO HOW DID MOM DEMONSTRATE THIS EXCELLENCE?
MOM HAD TWO FOCUES: 1) JESUS & 2) OTHERS.
CLEARLY DAD WAS HER FOCUS AFTER JESUS,
..KIDS CAME RIGHT AFTER THAT;
…EVERYONE WHO TOUCHED HER FAMILY CAME NEXT.
MOM NEVER FOCUSED ON HERSELF…SO NOW IT’S TIME FOR US TO FOCUS ON HER…
IT IS EASY FOR THIS CHILD TO RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED…
HARDWORKER:
a. MOM ALWAYS HAD AT LEAST THREE THINGS GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME:
i. SOMETHING COOKING…
ii. SOMETHING IN THE SEWING MACHINE…
iii. SOME ROOM BEING CLEANED…
iv. ..BESIDES WRITING A LETTER & TALKING ON THE PHONE.
v. …AND DOING ALL THIS W/O MAKING ME FEEL LEFT OUT.
b. WHY DID SHE DO THIS? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT A HARDWORKING GODLY WOMAN DOES.
ENERGETIC
c. “HER LAMP DOES NOT GO OUT BY NIGHT”
d. “SHE ALSO RISES WHILE IT IS YET NIGHT, AND PROVIDES FOOD FOR HER HOUSEHOLD.”
e. MOM STARTED HER DAY BEFORE THE REST OF THE FAMILY
f. …AND CONTINUED IT FULL TILT TILL HER FAMILY WAS TUCKED AWAY IN BED
g. THE FAMILY DAY STARTED WITH A GOOD BREAKFAST..not a quick bowl of cereal BUT A REAL BREAKFAST….EGGS & BACON; OATMEAL; FRENCH TOAST; WAFFELS … VARIETY EVERY DAY…
h. WE WOULD ALWAYS EAT DINNER TOGETHER.
i. …AND SHE KEPT THIS PACE EVEN AFTER SHE BEGAN WORKING AT FUSD…
j. …SHE WOULD CONTINUE AFTER DINNER WORKING AWAY AT HER THREE THINGS…UNTIL WE WERE ALL IN TUCKED IN BED…
k. WHY WOULD SHE RISE EARLY AND STAY UP LATE TO MAKE SURE HER FAMILY WAS TAKEN CARE OF? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT ENERGETIC GODLY WOMEN DO.
ALERT:
l. PROV 31: She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness
m. NOTHING GOT PAST MOM
n. SHE HAD ANTENNAS PICKING UP ALLKINDS OF INFORMATION, SOME FROM OTHERS, SOME FROM HER SIXTH SENSE.
o. WHY WAS SHE SO CONCERNED ABOUT WATCHING OVER THE WAYS OF HER HOUSEHOLD? WHY DID SHE NOT EAT THE BREAD OF IDLENESS?
p. …BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT ALERT GODLY WOMEN DO.
ORGANIZED
q. MOM was incredibly organized. Her house was not stiff but it WAS organized and clean. But you never felt like you were interrupting her by injecting a spontaneous event
r. …she was FLEXIBLE in the middle of her organization…
s. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT FLEXIBLE ORGANIZED GODLY WOMEN DO.
CHEERFUL:
t. I don’t remember Mom ever being moody or biting back at anyone.
u. She was always upbeat, positive, encouraging
v. WHY? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT CHEERFUL GODLY WOMEN DO.
GOOD NURSE WHEN SICK
w. NO ONE HAD A MORE CARING AND COMPASSIONATE NURSE THAN MOM WHEN YOU WERE SICK.
x. YOU ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE BEING TAKEN CARE OF WELL.
y. SHE’D BE THERE TO RUB YOUR BACK; BRING YOU A BOWL OF SOUP; ADJUST YOUR PILLOWS SO YOU WERE COMFORTABLE; AND CONSTANTLY GIVE ATTENTION TO YOUR NEEDS…
z. …BUT I DON’T EVER REMEMBER HER BEING SICK UNTIL THESE LAST DAYS AND WEEKS BEFORE HER PASSING…SO IT WAS HARD TO RETURN HER FAVORS.
aa. SO WHY WAS SHE SO CONCERNED ABOUT TAKING CARE OF YOU?
bb. …BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT CARING COMPASSIONATE GODLY MOTHERS DO.
STRONG
cc. PROV 31: “STRENGTH AND HONOR ARE HER CLOTHING; SHE SHALL REJOICE IN TIME TO COME.”
dd. MOM WOULDN’T MIND YOU COMPLAINING…ALTHOUGH SHE MIGHT CHIDE YOU WITH A VERSE….
ee. …BUT SHE NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT HER PAIN UNTIL THE VERY END WHEN SHE WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH HER SHOES BECAUSE OF A GENETIC DEFECT WITH HER FEET…
ff. MOM WAS NOT A WINER….SHE NEVER SOUGHT SYMPATHY FOR ANYTHING
gg. WHY? YOU MAY SAY THAT’S JUST THE GERMAN IN HER…MAYBE…BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS MORE DO TO THAT BEING WHAT STRONG GODLY WOMEN DO.
GOOD SPORT
hh. Mom was always a good sport … willing to try anything…I remember the time I took her and Dad to
ii. WHY? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GODLY WOMENWHO ARE GOOD SPORTS DO.
jj. BUT I REMEMBER AT ONE OF OUR FINKE FAMILY REUNIONS THE FINKE GIRLS WANTING TO TAKE PICTURES IN THEIR SWIMMING SUITS AND MAKE A FINKE CALENDAR WITH FINKE PIN UP GIRLS … AND ALL PARTICIPATED EXCEPT MOM … THAT WENT BEYOND PROPRIETY…
kk. … BECAUSE GODLY WOMEN WHO ARE GOOD SPORTS ALSO HAVE PROPRIETY.
GOOD COOK:
ll. ANYONE WHOSE EATEN HER COOKING OR COFFEE CAKES KNOWS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.
mm. prov: he also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household…
nn. Dad was up and gone to work most of my life before I got up. Mom was always up with him fixing him breakfast…always. She would pack him a lunch, then fix
oo. Mom always had food cooking. We could always bring friends over without notice and she would always make them feel at home and give them something to eat…
pp. Mom liked to cook so much she even prepared virtually all the food for their 50th wedding anniversary…enough food for several hundred people…
qq. At Christmas Mom would take after Grandma Finke and make her Pheffernesse, Anise cookies, and other German cookies that could be made into gift plates to be given to scores of people…and of course us.
rr. I don’t remember a Sunday when Mom wasn’t up early preparing a roast with potatoes, veggies, applesauce (for me) and rolls before church…so when we came home from church, there was always the smell of a roast ready to eat…and we would often bring home an unexpected guest from church or someone who happened to come across our paths…and there was always enough food for them and it was never a burden for Mom to do…
ss. Only time we ever went out to eat was when Grandpa Finke came to town then we had a special treat…we would go to a Chineese restaurant near the train station…and we could order dinners enough for everyone and have food left over…that was a real treat in eating out…
tt. .… BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HOSPITABLE GODLY WOMEN, FOR WHOM COOKING IS A LABOR OF LOVE, NOT A BURDEN.
ALWAYS INCLUDING OTHERS IN HER PLANS:
uu. She extends her hand to the poor; yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy
vv. Mom always reached out to others…
i. she would be a friend when someone needed a friend,
ii. she would encourage when someone needed encouragement,
iii. she would praise when someone did something good;
iv. she would brag on others;
v. and our house always had an open door. No one was ever a stranger at our home…
ww. Mom always wanted to take someone along for anything she was doing…she never excluded anyone from coming into her circle…
i. …that is, anyone that was going to be good for her brood…
xx. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GODLY WOMEN WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS’ COMMAND TO MAKE DISCIPLES DO.
WISE & THRIFTY WITH MONEY:
yy. She considers a field and buys it; from her profits
zz. Mom was very wise with money.
i. She grew up in the Depression and learned the hard lessons of how to keep a family going with meager income.
ii. She worked at Grandpas real estate office when she was in high school so she could help her Mom and Dad stay aflot.
iii. She clipped coupons.
iv. She would take weeds and prepare them into nice bouquets and send us around the neighborhood to seel them.
v. She took my Dad’s modest income and stretched it beyond what any of us could imagine today … and when she had saved some money…that got turned around into gifts to her family or others…or she would figure a way to buy back one of the houses Dad build around their home…and turn that into a rental..
vi. I remember her saying, “If you watch the pennies, the $ will take care of themselves.”
aaa. WHY? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GODLY WOMEN DO WHO ARE WISE AND THRIFTY WITH THEIR MONEY.
EAGER TO LEARN NEW THINGS
bbb. I remember the time in later years when Dad had fallen and broke his leg and was in a
ccc. WHY? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GODLY WOMEN DO WHO ARE NOT TOO PROUD TO HAVE FUN TRYING SOMETHING NEW.
GOOD SEAMSTRESS:
ddd. SHE STRETCHES OUT HER HANDS TO THE DISTAFF, AND HER HAND HOLDS THE SPINDLE.
eee. MOM WAS ALWAYS SEWING SOMETHING
i. EITHER MAKING SOMETHING NEW
ii. OR REPAIRING SOMETHING TO KEEP IT GOING A LITTLE LONGER
iii. PILES OF PATTERNS FILED HER SEWING ROOM…AND THESE WERE NOT JUST A PIPE DREAM FOR HER…SHE REALLY USED THEM.
fff. SHE IS NOT AFRAID OF SNOW FOR HER HOUSEHOLD, FOR ALL HER HOUSEHOLD IS CLOTHED WITH SCARLET.
i. WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER, WE DIDN’T APPRECIATE WHAT WE DO NOW.
ii. I REMEMBE WHEN SHE SENT ME TO SCHOOL WITH BRAND NEW SLACKS SHE HAD MADE FOR ME…JUNIOR HIGH…I WAS EMBARASSED BECAUSE ALL THE OTHER KIDS WERE WEARING JEANS
iii. ...BUT I DIDN’T REALIZE UNTIL LATER IN LIFE WHAT A VALUABLE TREASURE WE HAD IN MOM…THAT WE DIDN’T REALIZE.
iv. SHE ALWAYS HAD A PROJECT OR REPAIR GOING ON AT THE SEWING MACHINE
v. THERE WAS NO END TO THE BABY BLANKETS SHE KNIT FOR FRIENDS AND GRANDKIDS
vi. TREVOR HAD A BLANKET SHE MADE WHICH HE CARRIED AROUND LIKE LINUS FOR YEARS BEYOND ITS TIME.
ggg. SHE PERCEIVES THAT HER MERCHANDISE IS GOOD
i. MOM WOULD MAKE SPECIAL FOODS AND CRAFTS AND ENTER THEM IN THE FAIR…OFTEN GETTING VERY GOOD AWARDS…
hhh. SHE MAKES TAPESTRY FOR HERSELF; HER CLOTHING IS FINE LINEN AND PURPLE.
i. MOM HAD MODEST TASTS.
ii. IT WAS RARE SHE WOULD DO SOMETHING FOR HERSELF WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE FIRST
iii. WHY? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GODLY WOMEN DO WHO ARE TRULY KEEPERS OF their HOMES AND WILLING TO ‘STRETCH THEIR HANDS TO THE DISTAFF AND HOLD THE SPINDLE’.
LOVED KIDS:
jjj. MOM LOVED KIDS
kkk. THEY WERE NEVER A BOTHER TO HER
lll. THEY WERE HER LIFE
mmm. WHEN SHE STARTED WORK AT SCHOOL, AT ONE TIME SHE BEGAN KEEPING A LOG OF ALL THE EXCUSES KIDS WOULD COME UP WITH…AND THEN CIRCULATE THEM AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
nnn. WE ALWAYS GOT GOOD BELLY LAUGHS READING THE LIST she WOULD PUT TOGETHER.
ooo. … BUT THAT IS WHAT GODLY MOTHERS DO WHO HAVE LEARNED TO REALLY LOVE their CHILDREN…AND REALIZE THE
GOOD TALKER:
ppp. SHE OPENS HER MOUTH WITH WISDOM, AND ON HER TONGUE IS THE LAW OF KINDNESS
qqq. MOM CAME FROM THE FINKE LINE OF WOMEN, WHO…AS ANYONE KNOWS…LOVE TO TALK…DON’T KNOW WHO IS LISTENING…BUT THEY ALL TALK.
rrr. SHE WOULD BE WALKING OUT THE DOOR…AND THE PHONE WOULD RING…AND SHE WOULD TURN AROUND, GO BACK AND ANSWER IT…AND THEN BE LATE FOR WHERE SHE WAS GOING…
sss. THIS GOT HER INTO TROUBLE ONE MORNING…ON WAY TO SCHOOL…ROOSEVELT…TAKING SIDE STREETS…GOT HIT BROADSIDE WITH GRANDMA IN CAR…i SAW THEM GOING PAST IN AMBULANCE WHILE ON MY BIKE..
ttt. IN ALL HER TALKING, THERE WAS ALWAYS A TOUCH OF:
i. KINDNESS
ii. SHE WOULD LISTEN BETWEEN TALKING,
iii. GIVE ADVICE,
iv. SUGGESTIONS
v. SHE ALWAYS HAD SOME BIBLE VERSE SHE WOULD THINK OF THAT APPLIED TO THE SITUATION
uuu. WHY? BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GODLY WOMEN DO WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT COMES OUT OF THEIR SPEECH.
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord she shall be praised.
By many accounts, Mom was probably a rather plain person.
She wore her hair in a grandma style,
her dresses were pretty though plain.
People have criticized her décor colors and styles in the home.
She never had a fancy wardrobe.
She didn’t paint her fingernails or toenails…
yes she was rather plain
….BUT YOU KNOW NONE OF THAT MATTERS BECAUSE She was clothed with Good Works.
Her positive attitude,
encouraging words,
and supportive spirit
LOVE FOR THE LORD
LOVE FOR DAD AND US AND OUR FRIENDS..
…are eternal and that is what really counts in the long run.
People who came to our house
…from neighbors
to our friends
to people from church,
to you name it
…they felt WELCOME AND comfortable in our home…
what stood out was Mom’s personal touch, food, and caring spirit.
Mom was a person who got more beautiful as she aged because she had her priorities right from the beginning…
God was clearly number one.
She put Dad on a pedestal…
worked hard for him and beside him.
She was like a mother hen protecting her family…
money can’t buy that kind of woman
Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.
….MOM YOU WERE TRULY A PRICELSS GEM…
YOU WERE A LIVING ILLUSTRATION WE COULD SEE OF THE GODLY PROV 31 WOMAN WAS IN THE FLESH…
THANK YOU…I DEEPLY APPRECIATED YOU…
