Laying down our lives...

There is more to Homemaking than Housekeeping!

When I was growing up I had a wonderful godly mother who prepared my to be a good housekeeper and she also taught me that the duty and joys of the wife/mother in home life does not only center around keeping things tidy but also around the spiritual heart of the home. So today as I was reading Passionate Housewives Desperate for God I was so blessed to be exhorted to remember this all over again. I wanted to share some of what I was reading and a passage I was reading from the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:1-2
"I therefor a prisoner of the LORD, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love."

What is our calling? As women of all ages we are called by God to be homemakers and to holy, reverent, godly women who are full of good works and a heart and face of joy. Women who delight in serving God and others. Let us ask God to help us to walk worthy of our high calling. Let us purpose to pick each other up when we fall down or get tired.

Here are the words that so blessed me today as I read from Passionate Housewives Desperate For God:

Jenny Chancey says....

"You see, homemaking isn't about the house itself or the things that it contains, Being keepers at home is about focusing on the Lord in all the everydayness so that our homes become centers of hospitality, forgiveness, training, business, warfare, charity, shared morning and celebration , and -oh, yes-lots of tracked-in mud, crumbs under the chairs,and everything else that goes with human beings. We must not loose sight of the fact that our homes are God-given tools to bless others. They aren't the end goal; they are, simply, one of the means to the end. And what is the end? Dying to self, laying down our lives, serving others that Christ may grow His kingdom and transform the world and ourselves as we do things His way."

Seek the old paths and walk ye in them, for there you shall find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16

"At its heart homemaking is about accepting God's Word and laying down our lives for the brotheren. It is about keeping our eyes firmly fixed on Christ, Who call us to serve Him in the seemingly insifnificant tasks of evereyday living, training the next generation, reaching out to the needy, demonstrating hospitality to saints and stragers, and living for Christ's "well done" rather thant for the praise and recognition of others.

And that's the secret to a happy and blessed life. Die to live. Go last to be first. Give to receive. Make yourself least to be greatest. Homemakers? God created women to fulfil this uniquie role. That's all we need to know to rest in our callings. We can trust Him to conquer the world, one heart at a time, as we live sacrificially and rejoice in His narrow way."

Lets pray that God will help us to lay down our lives and open our hearts and home to others in need. We want our homes to be centers for Christ and places of spritual growth and rest and places of building up a biblical culture and places of feasting and celebreation, joy and laughter. Places of traing up the next generation to love and fear the Lord. Robby and I want our home to be a plcae where others can taste and see that God is good!

~ Joyful Wife