For as long as I can remember, I have not been a fan of cleaning and doing housework. I remember my mom making me clean up my room when company was coming over and actually saying to her that when I was older, had my own house, and had company come over, I would not clean up!
When I got married, I knew Blake's expectation was for me to keep a clean, neat, and organized home. I was afraid, very afraid! I am not organized. I am not a cleaner. I am an unorganized, cluttered, LAZY mess. I know my role as a wife and mother is to take care of my home and manage it well. However, my sinful heart has trouble embracing this. God has been so gracious to convict me from His word concerning this area. My constant prayer request to the girls in my small group is that I would be productive, use my time wisely, and keep my home well. But, I often feel defeated and don't see victory over this area in my life.
My friend Dana (I've mentioned her before, she is just such a wonderful blessing to me!) has a recent post on her blog that the Lord really used in my life. She talks about being thankful for things that she doesn't have, one thing being lots of freetime. She says,
"Free time or moments of boredom... well, If I did have these they would end up being more of a curse than a blessing because knowing my wayward heart I would be idle." You can read the rest of her post here (and I recommend checking it out!).
After I read that line, it was like a knife cutting into me. That's me, my heart is prone to being idle. Plain and simple. That's a huge reason why I don't like to clean and do housework, it's work! But, clearly from God's word this is not how I am to be. Proverbs 31:27 says, "She looks well to the ways of her household; she does not eat the bread of idleness." I not only like to eat the bread of idleness, I feast on it and crave more! I am so convicted by this verse and I want to change. I know that God can change me! I want to look well to the ways of my household and not eat the bread of idleness!
The next bit of blogging is going to be me sharing how my fight against being idle is going. I want to share practical tips of what's working for me, what's not working for me, and just overall how things are going. I am anxious that God is wanting to do something, and I think it's going to be quite a challenge. Would you pray for me!
2 comments:
Hey Heather, I found you through Bethany's blog. You have a beautiful family. I'm actually a home organizer. www.hope4thehome.com
A great book is "Desperate Households." In this book Kathy Peel gives advice on being a family manager. http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Households-Restore-Order-Harmony/dp/1414316186
Oh Heather, how well I understand your struggles! I will look forward to reading about what helps you. I know having a baby has been somewhat of a help for me because there are only relatively short spans of time when she is sleeping that I can be really productive- have you found this to be true?
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