Monday, August 2, 2010

Using God's ORDER to Bring Order in the Home

Have you ever felt like you were going around in circles with caring for the house? Does it seem like the more you do, the more you’re digging a deeper hole for yourself? Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling for a while. I consider myself to be pretty organized especially with having five little busy bees in our home. But it seemed as if I was no longer a woman who was organized!

I shared my frustration with my husband one morning. Then later on that day, he shared Proverbs 14:1 with me and it blessed me so much. It was truly a word given from the Lord. The verse reads:

“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.”

Whenever I looked at this verse before, I only paid attention to the latter part. But, this time, the Lord directed me to notice the first part: “the wise woman BUILDS her house.” The Lord used my husband to encourage me that I am daily building our house. But I just need to make sure I’m taking care of the most important things first, not other things that SEEM to be important and/or to need to be done.

So, I took what he said and the Lord gave me this to work with. He reminded me of His order of things. Here’s what I came up with:

God
Husband
Wife (me)
Children
Home
Community


When I first put this list together, I began to doubt putting myself before the kids. But the Lord affirmed me because He showed me that I NEED to make sure that I’m taken care of in order for me to better care for the kids. You’ll see what I mean when you see my examples.

Looking at this order helps me know the major things that I need to do daily in our home. And once those things are done, other things can fall in place. Here are some examples of major things based on my list:

God
- Worship
- Fellowship
- Studying the scriptures
- Evangelizing

Husband
- Sexual needs met
- Clothes ironed
- Lunch made
- Honey Do’s done

Wife (Myself)
- Bible study, meditating, memorizing, and applying the Word
- Exercising
- Eating healthy
- Resting and regrouping

Children
- Loving them
- Discipling them
- Meeting other basic needs

Home
- Daily house chores

Community
- Reaching out to my neighbors
- Calling, emailing, or sending encouraging letters to friends and family

Now that I’ve put this list together, it’s been really helpful. Even with this list, I still need to remember James 4:15 (paraphrased): “If the Lord wills.” So, as you’re trying to get things in order in your home, consider God’s order and then add your daily things based upon this list.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help us as women learn how to better care for our homes. Please give us the wisdom and daily strength to do this in accordance with Your Word. In Your name, Amen.
*
Challenge:
Go out for cup of coffee with your husband and seek his guidance on ideas to get your priorities in order. Keep your heart set on hearing the wisdom that the Lord has given your husband for you, not taking his input as criticism. Begin to implement the ideas and take note of how the atmosphere of your home changes.
Zinnada H. 2010

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