Hello Everyone!
It has been a BUSY and hectic time at my house.
I feel like I'm in God's Boot Camp and failing miserably! Let me explain.
We have three house guests who have been living with us since Thanksgiving. My best friend is sadly in the midst of a divorce. She and her two adult daughters moved to Florida and have been looking for a home. So there are extra mouths to feed and and others to clean up after. I welcome their presence because it reminds me that this is God's house and not mine. Thankfully, they have found a home and will be moving in April but, like any change, there has been stress involved. It has taught me to lean heavily on my Savior. Heavily as in - daily.
All the time.
Also, my husband has been refinishing our floors from a horrid tile to gorgeous hard wood. It is breathtaking and our home has literally been transformed. When he had the boards out of the box, I came up with the idea to write Bible verses on the back of them that were meaningful to our family. Thus, we are now literally standing on the Word of God! :)
This one is is in the kitchen: :)
These below are in the great room, among others:
I won't get into technical details but our home is two stories - bottom story is garage/storage...living area on the second floor. The previous owners put tile on the second floor over plywood (!). Thus my husband had to hand-remove all the tiles up and couldn't utilize a sander on wood - thus - all hand done! What a guy!
This fine dust was covering EVERYTHING: walls, plant shelves, furniture, paintings...everything.
It was a mess. Ugh.
In the midst of this upheaval, God taught me a valuable lesson. Being the sinful woman I am, I was grumbling, complaining and upset about the mess, the commotion, the stress, et al. After all - this was my first month coming home! I was grumpy. I wanted to say to Heaven, "Hello?!? I'm brand new at this homemaker business! I have enough trouble planning dinners and now this?"
The Lord kindly and benevolently didn't abruptly remind me that I had ASKED FOR and PRAYED to be a homemaker.
He simply explained to me gently,
"Child.... I am teaching you the most important lesson in being a homemaker. Homemaking isn't just about a perfectly clean house, home cooked meals and being a calm, happy helpmeet. Making a home involves your attitude. Your attitude affects your entire family. Anyone can clean. Anyone can cook. You need to learn how to be a homemaker in a mess like this as well as when all the chores are done. Your family looks to you. It isn't so much about your competence as much as your attitude and your willingness to work for Me."
Oh.
Now I wish I can say that it touched me so much that I no longer murmured after this revelation. For it was a shock to me. I never realized that in coming home, I have a new Boss. I have someone who is going to work on me....not just me working on our house. In my career, I was too busy and exhausted to hardly pray or do a devotion. Unfortunately, I have succumbed to grumbling since then however, I stop and remember what my Daddy said. I remember that I am making a home....not the home making me.
My husband is nearing the end of doing our greatroom. Things still must be put away and placed however, I'll give you a preview of how gorgeous it looks:
This flooring will be through our entire house and I cannot express how much better it looks. I'll post more photos when it is done.
Here I've been fussing about organization, schedules, meal plans, money, etc. I've been Martha...
big time Martha and not enough Mary.
I only need to get my marching orders from Him and have Him remind me what this is
really all about. It isn't so I can post pretty pictures on my blog for pride/vanity's sake. Nor is it to keep a perfectly clean home or cook delicious meals; not that those things are wrong. Hopefully, He will help me attain those skills as well.
Homemaking is so He can bless my husband and my family
through me.
Ohhhhhhhh. Okay.