While I realize that this video will not print up into this blog when I make it a book, I decided to share it here, regardless, for any that are following this blog. My husband and I watched this video last night and I was moved to tears and a very long discussion took place after it was over as we marveled about our own sin in these areas of ministry and our marriage. While we have not struggled with all of the things mentioned or to the extent that he describes some pastors and their wives struggling with, we were convicted as we looked back over our years of ministry and how ministry has it's way of silently creeping it's way into your life as an idol.
It's applicable to couples who are not in full time ministry as well. If we don't protect our families and prioritize correctly we will suffer the consequences. While convicted and even grieving over our past struggles I was also encouraged by all the things I realize now that we've done right. We haven't become a statistic and our marriage has stayed close and very intimate through it all despite poor management at times on our part. Praise God.
Every couple entering church planting or full time ministry should have to watch this before they commit to go into ministry. God help the church and the pastors who lead them.
Showing posts with label home management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home management. Show all posts
2.24.2011
2.08.2011
Idols in the Christian Home
Upon entering the home of an understandably tired young mother, she lamented that her house was not tidy. She also described how she had prayed to Jesus for the kids to be more organized and clean, but Jesus was of no help at all. As I looked around the house, it actually seemed quite clean and tidy for being occupied by young children. There were a few toys out on the floor, but that was about it. Later in our visit, she actually said, “Everything is perfect until the kids wreck it.”
Her home had become her idol. Whenever her children left a toy out or spilled their juice, they were not merely sinning or making a mistake. To her, they were ruining her life and vandalizing her perfect, heavenly home. Or, to say it another way, they were not worshiping her idol. So, she prayed to Jesus, asking him to turn her children into idol worshipers who never left anything out or made a mess. Her frustration with Jesus was that he did not respect her dominion in her home/kingdom and was refusing to submit to her rule and serve her idol.
Furthermore, she was making her own children miserable, with the exception of one daughter who labored to keep the house clean like her mom and berated her siblings; she was turning into a second-generation, self-righteous idol worshiper. Making matters worse, when dad got home from work, he would grab a beer, sit in his chair, watch his television, and tune out his wife and children, ignoring what was going on in the home. His idol was comfort, and his beer, chair, and flat-screen television were his functional saviors. Saviors he preferred worshiping over Jesus, who wanted him to apply the gospel to himself, his wife, and their children so they could each smash their idols and live as worshipers of God alone; waiting for the day when they get to enjoy the perfect home Jesus is preparing for us.
taken from Resurgence
10.22.2010
Young Mothering
Dear young mother,
It seems like everyone wants something from you. And you’re probably already giving way more than you ever thought you could give. But even with all your giving, you might struggle with guilt—lingering, joy-drenching, energy-sapping guilt—that you should be doing more, giving more, accomplishing more.
Don’t waste that guilt. Pay attention to it. Use it. Take it out of the shadows and examine it in light of Scripture. Is this a godly grief that leads to repentance or a worldly grief that produces death (2 Cor. 7:10)? Is it life-giving or life-depleting? Ask yourself, does this bring fresh joy and peace to those nearest me, or does it add unnecessary stress and strain to my home?
Don’t feel guilty over making your children your primary ministry investment in their early years. Your availability, sensitivity, affection, and unhurried attention are irreplaceable.
There are no neutral moments in a young child’s life. Someone is going to be influencing your children, inculcating values and imprinting standards on their impressionable young minds. Let it be you!
Accept your calling from God to serve your family. As a mother, you are helping to shape the souls of your children for Christ and ultimately influence the world. Your children are your gift to the future.
Does this mean you will never invest in others outside your family? Goodness, no. But if you are a young mother, stay on mission. Use your primary ministry of mothering to serve Christ now. Don’t let anything diminish your unique role as a wife and mother. It is not godly guilt that would call you away from a wholehearted investment in your little ones for his sake.This season in your life is just that—a season. And each season is a divine calling from our creator and king. Organizing a new event at church is important. Teaching your little boy to be kind to his sister is also important. But which one can best be done by you during this season? Serve God well by ministering to your children first. Very soon they will be grown and gone, and you will be unable to recapture the teachable moments you have now.
Mothers, listen to Psalm 78:4-7: “We will . . . tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done . . . that the next generation might know . . . so that they should set their hope in God.”
taken from The Resurgence Blog
5.15.2010
Clothes Shopping Tip
I always ask at the store if I can keep the pinchy clip hangers that shorts, skirts, and pants come on because they are great to hang skirts on at home.
5.08.2010
take time
Life will always be busy (unless we eat the bread of idleness). I have found that if I wait for a "free moment" to have fun with my kids, to visit an elderly friend, to spend some quality time with my husband, or even to put my own feet up for a bit that it will never happen.
It might sound silly but actually scheduling some of those events onto my calendar can help make sure they happen. Cleaning my house can wait, the to-do list isn't going anywhere, and the laundry will eventually get done. I don't want to get to the end of my life and realize that I never got around to the important things because I was always too busy with housework, obligations, and to-do lists.
While keeping house, following through with obligations, and working hard to accomplish to-do lists are important in a different way, we have to find balance. Balance is the key to the busy woman's life. Balance is obtained with careful planning, conviction, maturity, prayer, and being relationship oriented instead of selfish.
In my efforts to be a hard working keeper of my home, faithful to my role as wife and mother, I can not forget to take time for other things. Schedule time, set aside time, plan out times, make those times happen. Sometimes it's a lot of work, like planning a family fun day that includes an outing but it's worth the work that goes into it. You won't regret the times you took to do those things.
Take time.
It might sound silly but actually scheduling some of those events onto my calendar can help make sure they happen. Cleaning my house can wait, the to-do list isn't going anywhere, and the laundry will eventually get done. I don't want to get to the end of my life and realize that I never got around to the important things because I was always too busy with housework, obligations, and to-do lists.
While keeping house, following through with obligations, and working hard to accomplish to-do lists are important in a different way, we have to find balance. Balance is the key to the busy woman's life. Balance is obtained with careful planning, conviction, maturity, prayer, and being relationship oriented instead of selfish.
In my efforts to be a hard working keeper of my home, faithful to my role as wife and mother, I can not forget to take time for other things. Schedule time, set aside time, plan out times, make those times happen. Sometimes it's a lot of work, like planning a family fun day that includes an outing but it's worth the work that goes into it. You won't regret the times you took to do those things.
Take time.
4.13.2010
go camping
As I'm setting up a make-shift and temporary home for our family this week I was reflecting on all my years of camping. What does camping have to do with a temporary home? Everything. My situation at the moment could be incredibly stressful had I not grown up camping.
When you camp you learn the tricks of setting up a make-shift home. You learn to make do with what you have and not complain about what you don't have. Organizing a temporary kitchen with less than ideal storage is challenging but the creativity and skill that camping has developed in me helped me meet these challenges with ease.
A shoe box suddenly becomes a pantry storage box.
An old bookshelf becomes a make-shift pantry.
A toy rack stores paper goods.
Bedrooms are arranged for practicality instead of aesthetics.
Kitchen tools and gadgets are reduced to a minimum and find themselves being used for multiple purposes.
Camping has many more benefits than just this...like family bonding, team work, exploration, experiencing creation, hard work, living simply, and much more. I never realized till now though, what a practical influence it would have on my life until I was setting up a make-shift home for us this week. I can't think of many more activities that help mold us into well rounded people for life.
When you camp you learn the tricks of setting up a make-shift home. You learn to make do with what you have and not complain about what you don't have. Organizing a temporary kitchen with less than ideal storage is challenging but the creativity and skill that camping has developed in me helped me meet these challenges with ease.
A shoe box suddenly becomes a pantry storage box.
An old bookshelf becomes a make-shift pantry.
A toy rack stores paper goods.
Bedrooms are arranged for practicality instead of aesthetics.
Kitchen tools and gadgets are reduced to a minimum and find themselves being used for multiple purposes.
Camping has many more benefits than just this...like family bonding, team work, exploration, experiencing creation, hard work, living simply, and much more. I never realized till now though, what a practical influence it would have on my life until I was setting up a make-shift home for us this week. I can't think of many more activities that help mold us into well rounded people for life.
3.24.2010
Love to Cook, Hate to Cook
Women today have decided that if they don't enjoy domestic work, have never learned, or don't know how that they should not be expected to do it. In an age where laziness is rampant, self-focus is encouraged, excuses are accepted, and the idea that I can make the world cater to me instead of me serving the world, believing-women have brought this thinking into their own homes. I know more and more women who "don't cook" and "don't clean" because (and I've heard it all) "I don't know how to cook," "I'm too tired," "I'd rather eat out," "it's too much work," "I can't possibly get it done so I need a maid," "I have better things to spend my time on," "I'm working a full time job," and the worst I've heard, "I don't like to cook."
Our great-grandmothers would be appalled at the excuses given and the attitudes behind them. I truly believe that. I'm sure they would wonder how so much was lost in just two generations. Is it our American wealth, or maybe the American slogan of the day that speaks of self, self, self, or maybe just laziness. The crazy thing is that we have so many more tools, products, resources, cookbooks, internet, appliances, and so forth that our great-grandmothers did NOT have. I'm sure we have never come close to working as hard as they had in one week's time just in caring for their family's basic needs.
My point, dear daughter, and dear grand-daughters of my future, is that there are plenty of days that I don't "like" to cook. I don't only cook because I like to cook. I do love to cook in general but there have been plenty of times that I wasn't in the mood or loving the experience of cooking. I cook because it is the best thing for my family. By cooking I provide my family with healthier foods, I spend my husband's paycheck with frugality, and I facilitate the training, habits, and bonding that are created at the dinner table which will be carried down for generations (the stuff that doesn't happen in a fast food joint). It may come as a shock to some but sometimes we have to do work that we don't like to do because we need to do it.
As a young pastor's wife another young pastor's wife told me that she had heard a man speak at a pastor's conference about how pastor's wives should have (are entitled to) a housekeeper. His reasoning was that the strains of ministry were so much that she would not possibly be able to care for a home and tend to the ministry. The workload would be too much and so she needs a housekeeper to take over the home so that she can be busy with ministry. I was so deeply struck by this comment. My mind wrestled with it for years.
As we began our lives in ministry I did feel overwhelmed. Yet, I took on more and more responsibility with church and my home suffered for it. My flesh kept wanting to cry out "I deserve a housekeeper!" knowing that we could not possibly afford one I began to grow bitter. Bitter at the man who had said I deserved one and bitter that the church wasn't paying my husband enough for us to have one. But there was another side to my thinking that kept nagging me. It was the side that said "no, my family and home comes first. That's my job. It belongs to no one else."
And so I wrestled with it some more...my flesh selfishly tugging me one way and the voice of reason and conviction trying to convince me that it was my job. Then I was super overwhelmed trying to take on both because it was too much. I could not do it all and something had to give. The day finally came when I realized that if I couldn't take care of my home then I had to cut back on ministry. I'm sure that seems pretty obvious but believe me it took years to figure that out. I had to learn that it was okay to not take on every ministry need just because I was the pastor's wife...that's a topic for a whole book....
My home and caring for it should be my joy. I should take pride and refuge in the job God has given me. It's a safe place to be....God's will is always a safe place to be. Cooking meals for my family is hard work and I don't always love it, but I do love being in God's will. I know it's God's will for me to serve my family, to work hard, to be frugal, to consider my family's best health, and to not be lazy. This has to do a lot with work ethic. If you believe that hard work is something to roll up your sleeves and tackle till it's done and you have no fear of hard work, this will come easy for you. If you are lazy and believe that you deserve to lay around, sit on the computer for long hours, neglect your laundry, cleaning, and cooking all the while lying to yourself that you have too much to do, that you are too tired, or that it's acceptable to say "but I don't like to do it"or "I'm no good at it" then this will be difficult for you.
If you are not good at it, then practice and get better. If you don't know how then find someone who does and ask them to teach you. If you don't like to cook then I pity you but you should still do it. I don't like grocery shopping but I do it. Think of the consequences if I just decided one day not to grocery shop any longer. Think of the consequences of a wife and mother that decides she doesn't feel like cooking very much. The majority of today's families in American are living that nightmare right now. They are oblivious to the consequences, the waste, the health crisis, and the attitude that they are passing on to the next generation.
When you are tired, rest, but then roll up your sleeves and press on.
Our great-grandmothers would be appalled at the excuses given and the attitudes behind them. I truly believe that. I'm sure they would wonder how so much was lost in just two generations. Is it our American wealth, or maybe the American slogan of the day that speaks of self, self, self, or maybe just laziness. The crazy thing is that we have so many more tools, products, resources, cookbooks, internet, appliances, and so forth that our great-grandmothers did NOT have. I'm sure we have never come close to working as hard as they had in one week's time just in caring for their family's basic needs.
My point, dear daughter, and dear grand-daughters of my future, is that there are plenty of days that I don't "like" to cook. I don't only cook because I like to cook. I do love to cook in general but there have been plenty of times that I wasn't in the mood or loving the experience of cooking. I cook because it is the best thing for my family. By cooking I provide my family with healthier foods, I spend my husband's paycheck with frugality, and I facilitate the training, habits, and bonding that are created at the dinner table which will be carried down for generations (the stuff that doesn't happen in a fast food joint). It may come as a shock to some but sometimes we have to do work that we don't like to do because we need to do it.
As a young pastor's wife another young pastor's wife told me that she had heard a man speak at a pastor's conference about how pastor's wives should have (are entitled to) a housekeeper. His reasoning was that the strains of ministry were so much that she would not possibly be able to care for a home and tend to the ministry. The workload would be too much and so she needs a housekeeper to take over the home so that she can be busy with ministry. I was so deeply struck by this comment. My mind wrestled with it for years.
As we began our lives in ministry I did feel overwhelmed. Yet, I took on more and more responsibility with church and my home suffered for it. My flesh kept wanting to cry out "I deserve a housekeeper!" knowing that we could not possibly afford one I began to grow bitter. Bitter at the man who had said I deserved one and bitter that the church wasn't paying my husband enough for us to have one. But there was another side to my thinking that kept nagging me. It was the side that said "no, my family and home comes first. That's my job. It belongs to no one else."
And so I wrestled with it some more...my flesh selfishly tugging me one way and the voice of reason and conviction trying to convince me that it was my job. Then I was super overwhelmed trying to take on both because it was too much. I could not do it all and something had to give. The day finally came when I realized that if I couldn't take care of my home then I had to cut back on ministry. I'm sure that seems pretty obvious but believe me it took years to figure that out. I had to learn that it was okay to not take on every ministry need just because I was the pastor's wife...that's a topic for a whole book....
My home and caring for it should be my joy. I should take pride and refuge in the job God has given me. It's a safe place to be....God's will is always a safe place to be. Cooking meals for my family is hard work and I don't always love it, but I do love being in God's will. I know it's God's will for me to serve my family, to work hard, to be frugal, to consider my family's best health, and to not be lazy. This has to do a lot with work ethic. If you believe that hard work is something to roll up your sleeves and tackle till it's done and you have no fear of hard work, this will come easy for you. If you are lazy and believe that you deserve to lay around, sit on the computer for long hours, neglect your laundry, cleaning, and cooking all the while lying to yourself that you have too much to do, that you are too tired, or that it's acceptable to say "but I don't like to do it"or "I'm no good at it" then this will be difficult for you.
If you are not good at it, then practice and get better. If you don't know how then find someone who does and ask them to teach you. If you don't like to cook then I pity you but you should still do it. I don't like grocery shopping but I do it. Think of the consequences if I just decided one day not to grocery shop any longer. Think of the consequences of a wife and mother that decides she doesn't feel like cooking very much. The majority of today's families in American are living that nightmare right now. They are oblivious to the consequences, the waste, the health crisis, and the attitude that they are passing on to the next generation.
When you are tired, rest, but then roll up your sleeves and press on.
1.15.2010
Homemaking Internship
"But the truth is that homemaking involves so much more than just cleaning a house. The commands in Scripture to love, follow, and help a husband; to raise children for the glory of God; and to manage a home encompass a vast responsibility. Homemaking requires an extremely diverse array of skills—everything from management abilities, to knowledge of health and nutrition, to interior decorating capabilities, to childhood development expertise. If you are to become an effective homemaker, then you must study these subjects and many more.Read the whole article here. I'm printing it for my daughter.
Finally, back to you, daughters. Let me encourage each of you to embrace your mother’s domestic teaching. Allow her to probe your heart and direct your affections toward the home. And take it one step further. Appoint yourself as your mom’s homemaking assistant. In addition to your assigned chores, be on the lookout for practical ways you can shoulder more of her homemaking responsibilities. In so doing, you will not only receive vital training for your future mission, but you will honor God by expressing your femininity today. In conclusion, let me leave you with these words from John Angell James:
My young friends, let it be
your constant aim, and at
the same time your earnest
prayer, that you may first of all
thoroughly understand your
mission, and then diligently
prepare for it, and hereafter
as successfully fulfill it."
Carolyn Mahaney
12.18.2009
Shut the World Out
Sometimes as a mom, we have to shut the world out. Life can get hectic and stressful when there are too many people taking from us at once. It can be as complicated as over committing yourself to things and demanding relationships outside the walls of your home to as simple as the phone ringing too many times in one day. Moms know when those moments are because signs of stress start to overcome us. The baby is crying, the laundry needs to be switched to the dryer, your inbox is full of emails to reply to, the phone is ringing, you never ran the errand your husband asked you to do this morning, the toddler just spilled something, dinner is burning on the stove, and the doorbell just rang. I won't even describe the day where this all happens and you are supposed to be at the dentist in 15 min.
No matter how organized we try to be and no matter how well we master managing our time, Mama said there would be days like this. These are the days when shutting out the world to just focus on what goes on inside the walls of your home is necessary.
Let the phone ring
Ignore the email (in fact don't turn the computer on)
Close the front curtains so no one knows you are home
Reschedule appointments
Stay home (unless it's of course to run that errand for your adoring husband)
So many times I've wanted to run from the house screaming and pulling my hair out when what I really needed to do was stay in the house and shut the world out. It's a protective mode to protect the sanity of what is on the inside of our house...our family. It's like calling a huddle and getting the team to regroup. Sometimes this shut-out lasts just for the afternoon but other times it has lasted for days! Instead of freaking out, stressing out, having a break down, just shut out the world until order has been regained.
It's not always easy to shut out the world when we've over committed ourselves. That's when some serious pruning of our schedules may need to be done. I've had to prune and re-prune, and re-prune again when it comes to my always evolving schedule.
But remember that our first priority is our family; our husband, our children, our home. Everything else has to come after the first most precious things are cared for. Shut out the world if you have to. It's worth it from time to time.
No matter how organized we try to be and no matter how well we master managing our time, Mama said there would be days like this. These are the days when shutting out the world to just focus on what goes on inside the walls of your home is necessary.
Let the phone ring
Ignore the email (in fact don't turn the computer on)
Close the front curtains so no one knows you are home
Reschedule appointments
Stay home (unless it's of course to run that errand for your adoring husband)
So many times I've wanted to run from the house screaming and pulling my hair out when what I really needed to do was stay in the house and shut the world out. It's a protective mode to protect the sanity of what is on the inside of our house...our family. It's like calling a huddle and getting the team to regroup. Sometimes this shut-out lasts just for the afternoon but other times it has lasted for days! Instead of freaking out, stressing out, having a break down, just shut out the world until order has been regained.
It's not always easy to shut out the world when we've over committed ourselves. That's when some serious pruning of our schedules may need to be done. I've had to prune and re-prune, and re-prune again when it comes to my always evolving schedule.
But remember that our first priority is our family; our husband, our children, our home. Everything else has to come after the first most precious things are cared for. Shut out the world if you have to. It's worth it from time to time.
12.13.2009
Be home
It took me a while to learn that when my children were little I needed to be home as much as possible. I liked being out and about most days as it was my nature and habit but I soon realized that little children (infants included) thrive on being home. They need routine and the security of home. Dragging my children out of the house every day from place to place only created chaos. Babies and children need the habit of good naps in the same place every day to establish healthy sleep habits. Taking them out of the house every day is over stimulating for their little bodies and minds. Once I learned that being home was best life became more peaceful and my children became much happier. I purposed to only leave the house twice a week if I had to which included my grocery shopping, errands, and play dates. Only 2 times during the work week was my rule. As a family, on the weekends there was already church on Sunday, errands to run as a family or other commitments to attend so we were out plenty as it was each week.
Being disciplined in this area (as much of an adjustment as it was for me to be home almost every day) came in handy when it was time to do potty training. I realized that I needed to be home as much as possible when we potty trained as well. It also became a beneficial discipline when I began homeschooling.
Being home more actually brought myself more freedom. At first it felt restricting because I was not a homebody and I thrived on social contact. But over time I adjusted and benefited from the peace that being home brought. Suddenly there were other benefits that I didn't realize. Like how much better in control of my house I was....the house stayed cleaner, I was more organized, meals were prepared on time more often, my husband came home to happy well rested children, a clean and welcoming home, a hot meal ready, and a happy wife who was also more rested and organized. I was free to enjoy doing what I was called to do....I was free to care for my children, free to keep my house clean, free to prepare healthy meals, free to play with and enjoy my children, free to rest, free to stay home and enjoy being a wife and mom. By allowing me to be a stay-at-home mom, my husband gave me the greatest gift which is to enjoy fulfilling my role as wife and mother in a Biblical fashion. Enjoying it to the fullest and disciplining myself in my role became my joy and peace.
Being home provides the opportunity to be organized and disciplined with caring for my home and my children. I still have the choice to be home and be lazy or be home and be disciplined. Being home merely provides the means.
Now, I am a homebody. I love being home and truly hate when I have to leave for the day to run errands or grocery shop. The best spent day for me is a day spent home soaking up my children's youth, preparing my home daily for my family and making a home that welcomes my husband back each day from the strains of life.
Being disciplined in this area (as much of an adjustment as it was for me to be home almost every day) came in handy when it was time to do potty training. I realized that I needed to be home as much as possible when we potty trained as well. It also became a beneficial discipline when I began homeschooling.
Being home more actually brought myself more freedom. At first it felt restricting because I was not a homebody and I thrived on social contact. But over time I adjusted and benefited from the peace that being home brought. Suddenly there were other benefits that I didn't realize. Like how much better in control of my house I was....the house stayed cleaner, I was more organized, meals were prepared on time more often, my husband came home to happy well rested children, a clean and welcoming home, a hot meal ready, and a happy wife who was also more rested and organized. I was free to enjoy doing what I was called to do....I was free to care for my children, free to keep my house clean, free to prepare healthy meals, free to play with and enjoy my children, free to rest, free to stay home and enjoy being a wife and mom. By allowing me to be a stay-at-home mom, my husband gave me the greatest gift which is to enjoy fulfilling my role as wife and mother in a Biblical fashion. Enjoying it to the fullest and disciplining myself in my role became my joy and peace.
Being home provides the opportunity to be organized and disciplined with caring for my home and my children. I still have the choice to be home and be lazy or be home and be disciplined. Being home merely provides the means.
Now, I am a homebody. I love being home and truly hate when I have to leave for the day to run errands or grocery shop. The best spent day for me is a day spent home soaking up my children's youth, preparing my home daily for my family and making a home that welcomes my husband back each day from the strains of life.
12.06.2009
Home Management Folder
I love my home management binder. It's just a 3 ring binder with dividers and page covers. It's the brain of my home (since my brain is mostly gone). Anything and everything I could possibly need is in there. It keeps me on schedule, it keeps me organized, it keeps me in contact, which all keeps me happy.
What I use to make it:
- a three ring binder
- page dividers
- page protectors (great for holding receipts, coupons, cards, and such.)
- a three ring binder whole punch (unless you put all your pages in page protectors.)
- post it notes (are a must for me so I keep a little stack in the front pocket
- a pen (you'll use this often and not want to search for one.)
Here's what is currently in my home management folder divided by the bold categories:
Meal Planning-
- calendar month of meal plan
- printed recipes that I use almost every week (ie. bread, snacks, etc.)
- dinner ideas list
- lunch ideas list
- azure standard schedule
- azure standard order receipts
- recipes I want to try
- the basic recipes I use almost every week
Homeschool-
- school year calendar
- kid's Bible reading chart
- kid's individual weekly curriculum plan
- kid's course of study and scope
- kid's weekly lesson plans
- reading list for library books
Coupons-
- sorted in page protectors by expiration date
Communication-
- important information I don't want to forget! Especially with coming up events
- next month's cards for birthdays and other events
- church directory, neighborhood directory, family directories
- list of new neighbor's names (so that I don't forget them!)
- medical results, doctor appointments, current research I'm doing of any sort
- a list of questions to as your kids to connect with them spiritually
- things I need to respond to or follow up on (ie. wedding invites, letters, orders, etc.)
Finances-
- monthly cash flow plan
- budget
- receipts to keep
- other financial notes (ie. goals, etc.)
At different times my folder has also included categories such as:
Home Decorating-
- I save paint chips
- magazine pages of things I like
- list of items to keep my eye out for at garage sales
- etc.
Christmas-
- Christmas gift ideas
- list of gifts bought previously
- menu plan
- Christmas card list and check list
- postage
- etc.
Cleaning-
- daily cleaning schedule
- weekly cleaning schedule
- monthly cleaning schedule
Marriage-
- date ideas
- baby sitter contact list
- spontaneous ways to show love ideas
- plans for anniversary
- plans for valentines
- gift ideas
- etc.
My current binder had a window pocket design on the front. So, I wrote Home Management on a piece of paper and slid it in the pocket. I found it at Walmart. Yes, it can get a little messy at times since life is busy but at least it's all there and I know where it is!
11.09.2009
Hair Ties
11.07.2009
Decorating 101
My first rule of home decorating is:
1. Don't collect things that you do not use unless it plays a significant role in your decor. Usefulness gives value to items we choose to use in our home. Collections of things like spoons, plates, and bells can be fun to collect but they often do not lend to the decor nor do they usually get "used". Consider carefully what you choose to "collect" if anything at all. Collecting lends itself to materialism and collecting cobwebs. When it comes to china, be sure and use it. Don't let it sit unused in a china hutch. Use all the things in your china hutch or get rid of them. By using them you create memories to them. Your children will not cherish the china plate or the tea pot that has no memories attached to them. Use them. It's worth even the risk of breaking them which is what most people are afraid of.
Ideas for using china:
~ have a formal night once a week/month where the table is set with fine china. Use the opportunity to train your children how to properly set a table. You can also use the evening to work on manners and proper table etiquette.
~use the fine china for special occasions like birthday dinners, anniversaries, other life celebrations, or special guests.
~always use the fine china for holidays!
1. Don't collect things that you do not use unless it plays a significant role in your decor. Usefulness gives value to items we choose to use in our home. Collections of things like spoons, plates, and bells can be fun to collect but they often do not lend to the decor nor do they usually get "used". Consider carefully what you choose to "collect" if anything at all. Collecting lends itself to materialism and collecting cobwebs. When it comes to china, be sure and use it. Don't let it sit unused in a china hutch. Use all the things in your china hutch or get rid of them. By using them you create memories to them. Your children will not cherish the china plate or the tea pot that has no memories attached to them. Use them. It's worth even the risk of breaking them which is what most people are afraid of.
Ideas for using china:
~ have a formal night once a week/month where the table is set with fine china. Use the opportunity to train your children how to properly set a table. You can also use the evening to work on manners and proper table etiquette.
~use the fine china for special occasions like birthday dinners, anniversaries, other life celebrations, or special guests.
~always use the fine china for holidays!
11.02.2009
I hold the tone in my own hands....
The longer I'm a wife and mother, I realize just how much I hold the happiness of our home in my power. How I act and speak always sets the tone for our home. My attitude can either bring destruction and everyone else down (tears down her home with her own hands) or it can be the joy, the positiveness, and build everyone up. I choose each day if I will discourage my family and make my home a difficult place to grow and thrive in or if I will create an atmosphere of love, acceptance, nurture, wisdom, rejuvenation, spiritual focus, and rest. This is crucial not only to the little souls that are being molded in my home, and my husband who daily comes back to home from toiling in the world to find refreshment and rest for his body, mind, and soul, but also the guest or stranger who comes to be ministered to in my home. Everything about my home (order, decor, comforts, etc.) has a part in this outcome but it starts with my own personal outlook and behavior. It starts with the smile on my face and the peace in my own heart.
The hardest times to choose joy is when I'm under personal grief, stress, or turmoil. And yet, I find that those seem to be the most important times for wife and mother to stand firm with a smile. I can either panic and grieve, OR I can be a vessel reflecting the truth from God, that we have nothing to fear, for we are in God's hands. All is at peace and rest.
The hardest times to choose joy is when I'm under personal grief, stress, or turmoil. And yet, I find that those seem to be the most important times for wife and mother to stand firm with a smile. I can either panic and grieve, OR I can be a vessel reflecting the truth from God, that we have nothing to fear, for we are in God's hands. All is at peace and rest.
10.27.2009
Home Management
Create an atmosphere for growth spiritually and physically
Build a refuge (make your home a place of refuge and relaxation)
Avoiding the negatives (create the atmosphere with your attitude-avoid negative attitudes)
Understand that the role as helper, guard, worker and watcher is God's plan for me.
Watch over your home (difficult to do if you are rarely there)
Eliminate idleness (telephone, tv, computer, reading, sleeping)
Manage the home well (cleaning, cooking, laundry, decor, schedule, etc)
-Plan in detail
-Deal with today
-Value each minute
-Keep moving
-Develop a routine
-Exercise and healthy diet
-Use a timer
-Do the worst job first
-Read up on time management
-Say "No" to yourself and others if it's not part of Plan A for the day. Change to Plan B only if that is what God is calling you to do.
-Begin the night before
Tidy up before bed
Prep laundry
Run dishwasher
Layout everyone's clothes
Prepare for meals
10.25.2009
Thoughts on homemanagement
How would the Lord, my husband and my kids rate my service, my meals, the accommodations and my management?
Once I have shown myself to be a faithful manager at home, I am free to run out the door and do the work of ministry outside my home. First things first.
If I neglect those closest to me to serve others I will look back with regret.
What do people see when they enter my house? Do they find calm or chaos? Peace or panic? Palace or pigpen? Evidence of preparation or procrastination? Diligence or laziness? Care or apathy?
Live as though you will be held accountable for the condition of your home and the use of your time because you will.
Once I have shown myself to be a faithful manager at home, I am free to run out the door and do the work of ministry outside my home. First things first.
If I neglect those closest to me to serve others I will look back with regret.
What do people see when they enter my house? Do they find calm or chaos? Peace or panic? Palace or pigpen? Evidence of preparation or procrastination? Diligence or laziness? Care or apathy?
Live as though you will be held accountable for the condition of your home and the use of your time because you will.
Homemaking
"Few women realize what great service they are doing for mankind and for the kingdom of Christ when they pour their energies into maintaining a shelter for the family and nurturing their children--the foundation on which all else is built...No professional pursuit so uniquely combines the most menial tasks with the most meaningful opportunities."
Dorothy Patterson
Dorothy Patterson
Homekeeper
"The job of keeping a home is an honorable one.There is a difference between a housekeeper and a homekeeper. A hired housekeeper will keep the home clean and do the duties as expected of her employer, but a homekeeper does the duties in her home from her heart. She does it out of love for her family. She looks upon her duties as the most important job in all the world. It takes a lot of patience, skill, commitment and love to be a keeper of your home. Be faithful; in due time, your family will rise up and call you blessed. I am honored to be the keeper of my home."
Martha Greene
Martha Greene
Homemaking
Homemaking — being a full-time wife and mother — is not a destructive drought of uselessness but an overflowing oasis of opportunity; it is not a dreary cell to contain your talents and skills but a brilliant catalyst to channel creativity and energies into meaningful work ... it is neither limitation of gifts available nor stinginess in distributing the benefits of those gifts, but rather the multiplication of a mother's legacy to the generations to come and the generous bestowal of all God meant a mother to give to those He entrusted to her care.
Dorothy Patterson
Dorothy Patterson
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