Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Wise Woman

"The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands." Proverbs 14:1

Woman are always working on their house. We are working in either one of two ways; either tearing it down or building it up. You are building up your house whether you are a new wife and mother or if you have been in your house long enough to see grandchildren come along. So how do we build up or tear down our houses?

With our words... Encourage your husband, children and all those under your roof to be the people God has called them to be. Exhort when appropriate. Rebuke if necessary. On the other hand, the tongue can cause such demolition; it should not be underestimated. Sometimes it is those words we said before we thought about it, or taking a moment to calm down. Sometimes it could also be that word that was needed, but not said. The difficult but wise word can be just as important as the word that remains appropriately unsaid.

With our actions... Physically we can make our house a home by making it comfortable and welcoming and beautiful to bless and nurture our families. I think that there is great worth in decorating, organizing and keeping our homes clean to the best of our abilities. God is perfect in beauty and order and holiness, so why should we not strive to be in our homes? Our actions are also those hugs we offer, a cup of tea and warm meal for a weary traveler or a kiss for the one we love.

With our attitudes... Our attitudes have the ability to speak louder than words and flavor a whole house. If we are joyful, content, trusting and thankful it is communicated throughout the home like an aroma. Of course if we are ungrateful, frustrated or selfish it floats through the house like something rotten.

So what are you doing with your hands in your house? Are you building it up or tearing it down? We have to be careful because one little thing can tear down all that we have worked so hard to build. Are we teaching our children to help build up our homes? Are our homes radiating fellowship and love to those who enter it and look in on us? Are we building up our homes to bless our families and others? What aroma is filling our houses? What kind of a woman are you?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Good Works

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
What a thought. We are God's workmanship! Not only are we His workmanship, but we were created for good works. Good works that God prepared for us beforehand so that we might walk in them. I think this is awesome! I love that God designed me for what He wanted me to be doing. Sometimes I don't know what those good works are going to be when I am trying to peer into the future, but I know the One who does! He will show me what my works are to be and lead me so that I might walk in them. How comforting! There are so many good works, and we are not called to do all of them, but there are some for us to do. Cleaning the house, taking meals to families who need support, encouraging another Christian woman, obeying and honoring our parents, supporting our husband's or father's vision, discipleship, music, laundry, prayer, hospitality, or even just giving a smile or a hug are all good works. Just because they are good doesn't mean that they will be easy, but God prepared our work for us and prepared us for our work. Walk on!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Patience With Joy

Colossians 1:11 "May you be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy."
What a wonderful verse! That is the prayer of my heart for all believers. Whether you are a woman working at home, or a man leading and providing, or a child learning to follow God, we all need to be strengthened so that we can endure. As a woman at home, I believe that patience with joy can be a special prayer for us. It is only going to be through His power and might that we not only endure but endure patiently with joy. Oh, that I would be patient with joy! Oh, that I might endure and be used by God to do His work here on this earth. Find strength in Him!

Lord~
If we endure, it is because of Your strength. If we are patient, it is because of Your might. Thank You! Thank you that true joy comes from You. May we always keep our eyes on You as we walk the path You have laid out for us and joyfully lead the life You have called us to. Thank You, Lord!

Snow

Proverbs 31:21 "She is not afraid of snow for her household..."
It is snowing this morning and that is why I thought of this verse in Proverbs.
I love winter! I love snow! I loving the fireplace and being under a warm quilt with some hot cocoa watching the snow come down. There is hardly anything better. I love winter because I am not afraid of it for my family. I know that we have enough wood to get us through and enough food to last us even if we do get stuck in the house by a major snow storm. Again I can laugh at the time to come. I have also started to pick out a pattern for a quilt that I want to make because winter seems like the perfect time to do that.
Are you looking forward to winter?

Sunday, October 25, 2009

One Heartbeat At A Time

'One Heartbeat At A Time' is a wonderful song by Steven Curtis Chapman. I thought for today I would post the lyrics to this song. Whether you are a mom or you have a mom (that should cover all of us) we need to be reminded of what a wonderful thing motherhood is and what a profound impact we as mothers have on our families and on the world around us. It is truly a high calling. Let us not let the world tell us that as wives and mothers we are of lesser value. There is nothing better than to be a wife and a mother. If you have a moment I encourage to you get on YouTube and listen to this song.

You're up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
Like the beautiful woman you are

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Oh, maybe you just don't know
Or maybe you've forgotten

You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

With every "I know you can do it"
Every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
They're just like the drops of rain over time
They become a river

And you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
How you're changing the world
You're changing the world

You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
Oh, I believe that you
You are changing the world
One little heartbeat
At a time

And you're changing the world!

The Time To Come

Proverbs 26:20 "For lack of wood the fire goes out..."

That seems like a no brainer, doesn't it. But it is the plain, hard truth, without wood the fire goes out. I conclude two principles from this verse. Not only do we need to collect wood to start a fire we need to have enough foresight to collect enough wood to keep it going. Discipline and wisdom. Those are the two principles I find in this verse. Proverbs 31:10-31 is constantly speaking of a woman of great worth and how she is constantly preparing for the future. I especially love verse 25 where it says "... she laughs at the time to come." She laughs not because she is foolish or immature or unprepared, but because she is ready for the time to come for her and her family. What a great example for us all. What can we be doing now that will prepare us for the future so that we will be ready and can laugh along with the Proverbs 31 woman? What are we preparing for? What needs to be prepared? For me, I can take Proverbs 26 very literally because I love to chop wood and we need to do so that we can be warm for the winter. I also think that there is a preparedness that each and every one of us need to have and that is with our hearts and our homes. Our homes to minister to our families (husbands, children, mothers, fathers, siblings) as well as those who enter our homes. Our homes can be a very powerful place for a godly witness. Also, our hearts for the work ahead of us. To tackle our tasks with patience and grace and joy. Are we preparing for the time to come?

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Stains

Because we were talking about washing clothes yesterday I thought I would post some helpful ideas for getting out stains. These are just a few I found.

Can't tell what that stain is? Still want to remove it? Try this sure-fire remover: Mix a teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a little cream of tartar or a dab of non-gel toothpaste. Rub the paste on the stain with a soft cloth. Rinse. The stain, whatever it was, should be gone.

Try a little tenderness to remove protein-based stains like milk, chocolate, and blood from clothes. For fresh wet stains, sprinkle on enough meat tenderizer to cover the area and let it sit for an hour. Then brush off the dried tenderizer and launder as usual. For stains that are already set, mix water and meat tenderizer to make a paste and rub it into the stain. Wait an hour before laundering as usual.

Older, set-in stains will often come out in the wash after being pretreated with a solution of 3 tablespoons white vinegar and 2 tablespoons liquid detergent in 1 quart (1 liter) warm water. Rub the solution into the stain, then blot it dry before washing.

If anyone has other stain removing techniques I would love to hear about them.


1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Washing Clothes

"Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes." Leviticus 14:47
I think that passage is a very clear command to do our laundry. Maybe even for everyone to do their own laundry (haha, that would be a miracle). If we sleep or eat in a house, it is ours to do the laundry and if there is eating and sleeping there is going to be laundry. Now this probably isn't an encouraging and uplifting sort of passage, but it's there. Sometimes laundry is one of those chores that I become very weary of. It is never-ending. I mostly hate it when I can't get a stain out of my new favorite shirt. There are some dirt stains that we will never be able to get out. For example, our own sin. We will never be able to cleanse ourselves from our iniquity. Fortunately, God has already seen our need to be cleansed and washed. Thankfully we do not have to wash ourselves, because it would not be possible. Christ came and cleansed us from all our sin and dirt. Thank you LORD! Also, just as with laundry, our sanctification is a life-long process. It seems like I get close to being "done" or sanctified, but then I turn around and there is a new lesson for me to learn. A new area in which I need to trust the Lord. An old sin that pops up. But praise the Lord He is sanctifying us and is changing us more and more into the likeness of His Son.

"Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11

Friday, October 23, 2009

Working heartily

I have been contemplating working at home. We wash dishes, vacuum, scrub toilets, fold clothes, cook meals, make beds, clean windows and as soon as we think we have everything done on our list a new day starts and with that new day we start back at the top of the list again. We could easily become overwhelmed and discouraged with the monotony of it all, but as women of the Lord we get to learn to walk in strength and patience. We get to learn to work skillfully and heartily. We get to put aside laziness and idleness. Of course, none of us can do that alone. We all need to seek the Lord and find our strength in Him. Then, and only then will we be the women, godly workers at home, that we desire to be and most importantly that God desires us to be.

"Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord..." Colossians 3:23

"She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

"The Lord is my strength..." Psalm 118:14

"In the beginning..."

The purpose of this blog is to incorporate Bible verses into daily housework. Hopefully it will be encouraging and entertaining as we go about our daily tasks and chores. Till the next post...

"... working at home..." Titus 2:5