Keeping a home includes those mundane tasks we all dislike. It includes sweeping, mopping, washing, mending, ironing, and ever picking up! But keeping a home is much more than that. It also includes loving, caring, nurturing and lots of humor! Without these important virtues, our homes are no better than the local hotel. There is definitely more to keeping a home than cooking and cleaning!
The American Heritage Dictionary has among it's definitions of home the following: An environment offering security and happiness.
Now, I know that for some, that is the last thing that the thought of home brings to mind. Perhaps your childhood home wasn't anything near that definition. Well, you can't change the past but you can make your current home like this! Wouldn't it be nice if our children referred to their childhood home as an environment offering security and happiness? Of course! And this can happen. How? By allowing God to enter our homes.
"Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it." Psalm 127:1
We must begin by asking Him into our hearts. How do we do that? Click Here to find out!
Ok, you say, I've asked Christ into my heart and life! What then? Well, we only need to go to our bibles to discover what God says about including Him in our homes!
"but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"
Joshua 24:15
What does it mean to serve the Lord? We are told to do the work of the Lord. "Therefore, my beloved brethern, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Cor.15:58
And then, what does that have to do with keeping homes? Keeping our homes and raising our children in the ways and words of the Lord is the work of the Lord!
"And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
"She looks well to the ways of her houssehold, and does not eat the bread of idleness" Proverbs 31:27
So, is homekeeping something that we can do for the Lord? Of course it is! It is a vitally important ingredient in raising Christian children and fostering a Godly atmosphere for husbands and ourselves. You can be sure that you are not just a housekeeper but that you are doing vital work for God!
Just remember to have the right attitude! "Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3. You are doing work to the Lord! There is nothing more important! :o)
Clutterbuddies
A Clean House
Housewife Magazine
Organize Tips
An Organized Home
Messies Home On The Web
New Homemaker
Organizing Links at Sweet Petits
Good Housekeeping
Get Organized Now!
~ For shiny appliances, wax with car wax once a month. Makes clean-up easier too!
~ To clean a grungy shower curtain, wash in the washer with 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup laundry soap, and a towel in cold water! Hang back up to dry!
~ Keep a small basket on the end table in your living room to hold those remotes! No more lost remotes!
~ Set a schedule with yourself! Clean using routines!
~ Allow 1/2 hour every evening for the whole family to pick up.
It's love of course! How do you express your love within your home?
~ Handmade decorations are almost always a sign of love!
~ Have decorations and plaques that show that you love God!
~ Candlelight softens a home and makes it nice and cozy.
~ Have some potpourri simmering when guests arrive for a warm feeling.
~ Use lots of soft fabrics and lace to make your home welcoming!
~ Even old sofas can be updated with a great fabric throw placed on them.
Home Is Where The Heart Is
Creative Homemaking
That Home Site
Homefires Hearth
The Homemaking Cottage
Heart and Home Search Directory
Tightwad Times
1 orange, quartered or 1 orange peel
1 lemon, quartered
3 cinnamon sticks
8 cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bay leaf
Place all ingredients in a pan and simmer. Your house will smell wonderful!!
