The Simple Life at Home

So it seems that I've fallen into a little bit of a pattern here of posting videos on Sundays. Something that makes you think about your faith, or which inspires worship, or brings praise to God. I think it's a good way to mark the Lord's day.

Today's video is one that was shown in our church about a month ago and really spoke to me. I'm in the midst of struggling with a lot of homesickness - so minor in the scope of life, but painful for me.

Whatever you might be struggling with today, I hope that this blesses you.

I'm struggling so hard right now to be the wife and mother that God intended me
to be but I feel like a total failure. My world is so out of control that the
idea of getting back on track overwhelms me. I don't know where to start.

This is part of a comment I received on my post about being a fulfilled homemaker. The comment's author struggles with being both a working mother and still trying to find time to make her home a place of beauty and refuge for her family.

I think we all struggle with that time issue. Whether you work outside the home or not, we all feel the pressure of too little time and too much to do. Of course, it's much more prounounced when you have a job outside the home.

So today I want to offer just a little bit of advice that I found helpful. This comes from Linda Dillow's book, Creative Counterpart. I did a study on this book several years ago with a group of women from my church back in Miami and really got a lot out of it.

The most helpful tip I found in the book is to make a list of your priorities and then set a goal for each week for each priority. For instance, maybe your priorities look like this:

• God
• Husband
• Children
• Job
• Home
• Self
• Church
• Friends

It doesn't even matter the order at this point - just jot down the things which are important to you and place demands on your time and which you want to work on. Then you would set a mini-goal for the week for each catagory like this:

• God - Finish reading the book of James
• Husband - plan a nice date
• Children - have a movie and popcorn night
• Job - finish the Johnson project
• Home - paint Suzie's room
• Self - give myself a manicure
• Church - volunteer in the nursery
• Friends - catch up on my email backlog

Then take a weekly calendar and sit down and figure out when you can squeeze these things in. Write them on your calendar. I suggest doing this every week. Soon enough you will begin to see the fruits of your labor. Since you have broken your goals into things that you can accomplish in a week, it doesn't seem overwhelming.

I think too often we as women see the big picture...and get intimidated by it. Our homes become one big mass of clutter, our relationships tend to fall by the wayside, we don't take care of ourselves. It seems as though there is just too much to do, so we don't do anything because we don't know where to start.

If we break things down into manageble goals, it becomes easier, we find a sense of accomplishment and we get back on track to being the wife, mother, homemaker and woman that we want to be.

* * * * * * * *

(I've been thinking of doing an online study of the book Creative Counterpart. Would anyone be interested in doing it with me? We could do a chapter a week. Let me know.)

Being a homemaker is hard.



It's often a thankless job. There is no paycheck, no promotion, no end of year party.



It's a job that involves performing the same tasks over and over again, knowing that you'll just have to do it all again tomorrow.



It's a job that "the world" often looks down upon. After all, you could hire a maid and put the children in daycare. Many people believe that women waste their time, education, talents and energy staying home to care full-time for the needs of their family.



But not God.



Titus 2 tells us that it is God's plan for us to place our home life first. Here is the Phillips translation:






Did you see that phrase "home-lovers?" A lot of translations say, "workers at home" or "homemakers" but I love this one.



Do you love your home? That is, I believe, the key to finding contentment and joy as a homemaker.



Do you realize that your home is the conduit through which you can provide love, comfort, support, nourishment and peace to those in your world? This includes not just your immediate family, but those around you - neighbors, extended family, church friends, everyone.



Have you ever walked in a door and just immediately felt warm and welcomed? Even more noticeably, have you ever walked in a door and felt cold and isolated? Both of these feelings are a direct result of the choices the woman of the home has made.



If you are as I used to be (and still feel like sometimes), you will love to get out of the house, in order to avoid what needs to be done at home, to run away. You will spend your time in shopping or visiting or unnecessary errands. Perhaps you will pick up a job even though you don't need the money. It's just "something to do." I've provided a list at the end of this message of things that can and should occupy your time as you seek to make your home a more beautiful place for yourself and your family.



But there is more to being a homemaker than just creating a place of beauty. You are charged with taking precious little lives and shaping them into productive, godly adults. There is no more valuable and important job. No captain of industry, no famous author, no movie star will ever have more of an impact than that of a godly parent.



Just knowing how important the job you are doing isn't often enough. We need to determine to be the best homemaker that we can be. Only through pursuing excellence can we find satisfaction in our work.



I have spent many of my years as a homemaker doing a lackluster job. There are still seasons of my life when I struggle with this. Doing the bare minimum, I do just enough to keep my husband from asking the dreaded question, "What did you do all day?" And let me tell you, when I fall into that kind of funk, I find no joy at all in what I do. It all becomes drudgery, pure and simple.



But when I keep my focus on the fact that I am serving my family and even more importantly, serving God, every thing I do is an act of love. I go through the days motivated and happy, rather than depressed and resentful. I get my work done and have time left over to go the extra mile to do things beyond mere maintenance. This is the best part - when I can really get my creative juices flowing and work to improve, not just maintain.



So my Works For Me Wednesday tip for you this week is to tell you that by keeping your perspective in the right place (off yourself), you will see how you actually become happier and more satisfied in your role as a wife and mother. For more great ideas, be sure to visit Shannon. Oh, and don't forget to check out my list of things to keep you occupied in the home that I've listed below.






(This list is from "A Day in the Life Of..." by Hadias. I hope that she doesn't mind me sharing it with you. She's got lots more fascinating things over at her place and I encourage you to check her out. This list was compiled as a way to see if one had extra time to look for an outside job. I just look at it as a way to keep myself motivated and busy. Remember, these are not "must-do's" but rather opportunities to enhance your home.)

1. Do you have a morning routine in the house?


2. Are your dishes washed and put away?


3. Is your countertop clear?


4. Is your table clear, when not dining, and do you have a centerpiece?


5. Have you cleaned your cabinets, drawers and refrigerator in the last 3 months?


6. Is your porch clean and the entry way cheerful for visitors?


7. Are your rugs clean?


8. Is your floor clean?


9. Is your living room ready for company?


10. Is your laundry washed, folded, ironed and put away?


11. Is your mending and button-replacement caught up?


12. Do you bake bread?


13. Is your bathroom shining clean and does it smell nice?


14. Does your whole house smell nice?


15. Have you re-decorated or re-arranged in the last 3 years?


16. Are your beds made? Are your sheets and bedding fresh?


17. Do you grow a garden, or even a tomato in a pot?


18. Are your photos organized?


19. Are your computer files organized?


20. Does your husband ever has to ask for an ironed shirt?


21. Are your books organized?


22. Do you go through your things regularly for garage sales?


23. Are your windows clean?


24. Do you cook regular meals from basic ingredients?


25. Have you had anyone over for a visit in the last month?


26. Have you read at least one good book or learned a new skill in the last year?

I've mentioned before that we have found Emily a piano teacher over here. She's very nice and Emily has made a lot of improvement with her.

• 6 chicken breasts halves


• 1/4 cup milk


• 1 egg, beaten


• bread crumbs, enough for coating the chicken


• 3 T. cooking oil


• 1 jar spaghetti sauce


• 2 cups parmesan cheese, shredded (not the kind in a can!)

Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thickness. Mix together the milk and beaten egg. Dip the chicken into the milk and egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs. Coat well, making sure the crumbs get into every nook and cranny.

Heat oil in a frying pan over med-high heat. Saute the chicken, approximately 7 minutes per side. Try not to turn it more than once as this will break up the coating.

Lay the chicken in a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over top (I like a lot of sauce, some people like less). Top each chicken breast with a good amount of the Parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Remove foil for the last 5-10 minutes to brown up the cheese a little. The chicken will come out tender and delicious!

Enjoy!!

I know that many of you may have already seen this moving video, but for those of you who haven't, you will be blessed by it. This couple's amazing faith in a God who give and who also takes away will be a reminder to all of us that we can truly give thanks in all circumstances.