Resolved To Be Diligent - Dinner #43

     “I could NEVER stay at home with the kids, all day!  I’d be bored out of my mind!” Did you know that, in all reality, a “stay-at-home-mom” CHOOSES to be either the most idle or the most hardworking person on earth?  Everyone does SOMETHING with their 7 days a week – some watch more television than others, some share the Gospel more than others, some impart wisdom to their children more than others . . . The choice is entirely up to YOU!

     Proverbs 10:4-5 tells us that, “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”  Would your family be earning very much money if your husband decided to work at his job with the same amount of diligence as you manage things at home?  If you are a “keeper at home” , then that is your JOB!  That is the task given to you by GOD! 

     If someone were to ask me, “What was YOUR New Year’s resolution?”, I would have to say, “To be a more diligent housewife than ever before.”  My original “Weekly To-Do” list included the usual - vacuuming, dusting, laundry, etc. - but I found that there were several NEW things I wanted to add.  In 2012, I want to make more time for things like preparing homemade baby food, reading books, sharing Bible stories with Brooklyn, writing love letters to my husband, and so on.  If I just make it a general goal to “be a better housewife” for the year, I probably won’t really change anything.  If I add several things to my “Weekly To-Do” list, however, I’m forced to see my goals and be reminded of them as I go through EVERY WEEK.  Maybe I won’t be able to check-off all 3 boxes for exercising, EVERY week, but that is, at least, the GOAL!  Maybe I won’t be able to do “Music Time” with Brooklyn as many times as I’d like to EVERY week, but it is at least something to strive toward! 

     Remember “The Proverbs 31 Woman”?  We find so many verbs, or “action words”, used to describe her, in that passage of Scripture!  “Seeketh” . . . “Worketh” . . . “Bringeth” . . . “Riseth” . . . “Giveth” . . . “Considereth” . . . “Girdeth” . . . “Strengtheneth” . . . She is constantly DOING!  She is GUIDING her household!  I Timothy 5:14 “I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”  In Proverbs 19:14-15, Solomon tells his son that, “ . . . a prudent wife is from the LORD. Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”  If you are an idle wife you may eventually find yourself “hungry” for a great many things – wisdom, knowledge, or even the respect of your husband and children.

     Should we allow ourselves to be so “busy” that we neglect what is TRULY important? No, of course not!  As we go throughout our week, we discover that our time here on earth is REALLY all about asking God what HE wants us to do with each new day and doing it “with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).  I may not get to everything on "the list” – that may not be God’s plan for me this particular week – but having something to go by, helps me to be DILIGENT.  How easy it is to let day after day, month after month, go by, sitting around doing NOTHING.  NOT growing in the Lord!  NOT improving our own minds!  NOT teaching our children ANYTHING!  In Ephesians 5:16, we are encouraged to be “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Move forward with your life!

     Proverbs 6:6-8 says, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,  Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest . . .”  Is your husband always at home to see how you spend your time? No.  But God is!  Are you doing the best you can do, to take care of your husband and your children?  Are you doing the best you can do, to be a BLESSING to your household?  How will you choose to guide your home in 2012? With diligence?

  

A New Year Upon Us - Dinner #42

     Another year with new uncertainties . . . 2012 is a year in which my husband and I find ourselves  needing direction and guidance for our little family more than ever before.  Are we meant to stay where we are, and continue to further our education?  Should Brandon try to find a second job, in order to start saving money for missionary deputation? Would God have us move back to Virginia or to Georgia, to serve in one of our home churches for a season? 

     Proverbs 27:1 warns us, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”  The truth of the matter is, anything may change in an instant for ANY ONE of us, and only God knows the outcome.  In Proverbs 3, Solomon tells his son to, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” God says it is better to trust in the Lord WITH all your heart, then to follow the leading OF your own heart!  Psalm 37:5 declares, “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”  Let GOD be in control of your path! Let HIM guide your footsteps! 

     This New Year’s Eve, as I began to question and wonder what lies ahead for us, the Lord lovingly reminded me of Isaiah 41:10 - a verse I once claimed as my “life verse”.  In it, the Lord declares, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”  Joshua 1:9, a similar verse, tells us to, “ . . . Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  It doesn’t matter where we are in 2012 – it doesn’t matter what city, or what state, or what COUNTRY even!  God has promised to be with us WHEREVER we are!  He has promised to strengthen us and to hold us up with His loving hand! 

     In Isaiah 41:9, God says, “. . . Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.”  Despite what I may think or feel at any given moment, God has a special plan for me!  A plan that does not change!  Proverbs 4:26-27 “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”  God says to walk with PURPOSE and walk with BLINDERS ON.  Don’t be distracted by the things of this world!  Do what God has called you to do!

     Do you remember the parable of the soils?  In Matthew 13:22, Jesus explains to His disciples, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”  When we are trying to find the right path for our lives, worries and cares, and what the world has to offer, can “choke” what God desires to show us from His Word. We may not even be able to receive His direction for our lives, if the soil of our heart has become too thorny!  In Psalm 119:105, David says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  The path ahead may seem a bit fuzzy, as we stand on the brink of a brand new year, and yet God’s Word is always clear.  Is the soil of your heart soft enough to receive it?

     Have you stepped off the right path, in 2011? Have you strayed a little from God’s plan for your life?  Paul declares in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Have you made mistakes innumerable, just as I have? Forget them and PRESS FORWARD!  This is a brand new year for brand new beginnings in Christ Jesus!  Listen to God’s voice, know what HE wants you to do, and “do it with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)!  God Bless & Happy New Year 2012!!