to read today. It is so easily to get caught up in the whole SAHM thing- easy to feel as though our jobs are meanial and unimportant. It is easy to feel as though we are "missing out" on the world but our job is just as important as those mothers whom are out in the world doing theirs. We all need to learn to take joy in the job that has been laid out before us- whether it be working as an accountant, teacher, or as a full time mom. We have had these things placed in our path of life and instead of always complaining and living with "the grass is always greener on the other side" mentality, we need to learn to enjoy and make the best out of our profession.
Here is the article (Bible study snippet), and I hope it will encourage any other SAHMs as it did to me. I know life can be frustrating, but if you continue to wallow in the negative, you will be too blinded to see the blessings that are given each and every day.
JOYFUL DUTIES
by Nancy Wilson
One night as I was washing the dishes (which was the last hurdle before tucking in the little ones), my mind wandered off in that direction. Shouldn't I be leading Bible studies? Shouldn't I be involved in more active evangelism? Couldn't I "disciple" someone? Didn't God want me to do something for Him."
Immediately I realized what He wanted me to do. He would say that He wanted me to do the dishes.
But isn't there something else He would want me to do? And I realized that yes, there was something else. He would want me to do them cheerfully.
As I reflected on this, I realized what I had known all along. God had called me to be a wife, mother, homemaker. Because of this, all the mundane things I did were sanctified, holy, purposeful, and honoring to God, and I should offer them all to Him. I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Rom. 12:1). Not only that, I should find contentment and satisfaction in knowing I was doing these things unto the Lord.
When Christian homemakers view their work in this way it makes all the difference. Work, hard work, no matter how humble the task, is our service to God. If this is true of digging ditches, or washing dishes, certainly it is so when it comes to rearing our children. I had a congregation of three right in my home -- a Bible school with three
students enrolled!
When we view managing our home as drudgery it becomes just that -- drudgery. But if we view it as our duty to God, it becomes a joy and delight. I remember my mother telling me that she never begrudged being busy at home because she saw it as her duty.
If your home is disorganized and untidy, or downright dirty, you are not honoring God in your responsible duties as a wife and mother. We are to learn to manage our households (1 Tim. 5:14). It is our duty before the Lord, and as such, we must do it well.
One time, when my children were still very young, a woman stopped by for a visit. "How do you keep your house so clean?" she asked. I thought for a moment, and I remember answering, "I work really hard -- all the time." What a mystery! What a secret!
Being committed to a clean home and clean children rules out many other activities. It can mean little time for novel-reading, not too many long phone calls, and not much socializing. The home and the children are the first priority. Bathing the children, keeping their clothes clean,
feeding them, and teaching them are all part of a full-time job that requires planning, stamina, and a heart that is committed to work.
Hard work is good for us. It strengthens us and builds character. Idleness is an evil that is destructive. It is also an evil that is accompanied by many other sins. It tears down our families and is dishonoring to God. When you are working hard at home you don't have
time to watch degrading TV shows, you don't have time to spend your money recklessly, and you don't have time to fritter on the phone. Your hands are too full of your duties. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are
busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good (2 Thess. 3:11-13).
Hard work always bears fruit over time. Children who are loved and fed and washed, and taught to love God, grow up to become productive saints in the household of God.
Certainly I do not mean by this that work excludes all recreational reading and visiting. Anything can be taken too far. The children are more important than your particular cleaning schedule, and we all need rest. Mothers must be able to know when to lay the work aside. But just as our work is "unto the Lord," so our rest should also be unto Him. This principle helps to establish guidelines for both work and rest. He must bless my rest for me really to enjoy it. He must bless my work for it to be truly fruitful.
Here is the article (Bible study snippet), and I hope it will encourage any other SAHMs as it did to me. I know life can be frustrating, but if you continue to wallow in the negative, you will be too blinded to see the blessings that are given each and every day.
JOYFUL DUTIES
by Nancy Wilson
One night as I was washing the dishes (which was the last hurdle before tucking in the little ones), my mind wandered off in that direction. Shouldn't I be leading Bible studies? Shouldn't I be involved in more active evangelism? Couldn't I "disciple" someone? Didn't God want me to do something for Him."
Immediately I realized what He wanted me to do. He would say that He wanted me to do the dishes.
But isn't there something else He would want me to do? And I realized that yes, there was something else. He would want me to do them cheerfully.
As I reflected on this, I realized what I had known all along. God had called me to be a wife, mother, homemaker. Because of this, all the mundane things I did were sanctified, holy, purposeful, and honoring to God, and I should offer them all to Him. I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Rom. 12:1). Not only that, I should find contentment and satisfaction in knowing I was doing these things unto the Lord.
When Christian homemakers view their work in this way it makes all the difference. Work, hard work, no matter how humble the task, is our service to God. If this is true of digging ditches, or washing dishes, certainly it is so when it comes to rearing our children. I had a congregation of three right in my home -- a Bible school with three
students enrolled!
When we view managing our home as drudgery it becomes just that -- drudgery. But if we view it as our duty to God, it becomes a joy and delight. I remember my mother telling me that she never begrudged being busy at home because she saw it as her duty.
If your home is disorganized and untidy, or downright dirty, you are not honoring God in your responsible duties as a wife and mother. We are to learn to manage our households (1 Tim. 5:14). It is our duty before the Lord, and as such, we must do it well.
One time, when my children were still very young, a woman stopped by for a visit. "How do you keep your house so clean?" she asked. I thought for a moment, and I remember answering, "I work really hard -- all the time." What a mystery! What a secret!
Being committed to a clean home and clean children rules out many other activities. It can mean little time for novel-reading, not too many long phone calls, and not much socializing. The home and the children are the first priority. Bathing the children, keeping their clothes clean,
feeding them, and teaching them are all part of a full-time job that requires planning, stamina, and a heart that is committed to work.
Hard work is good for us. It strengthens us and builds character. Idleness is an evil that is destructive. It is also an evil that is accompanied by many other sins. It tears down our families and is dishonoring to God. When you are working hard at home you don't have
time to watch degrading TV shows, you don't have time to spend your money recklessly, and you don't have time to fritter on the phone. Your hands are too full of your duties. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are
busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good (2 Thess. 3:11-13).
Hard work always bears fruit over time. Children who are loved and fed and washed, and taught to love God, grow up to become productive saints in the household of God.
Certainly I do not mean by this that work excludes all recreational reading and visiting. Anything can be taken too far. The children are more important than your particular cleaning schedule, and we all need rest. Mothers must be able to know when to lay the work aside. But just as our work is "unto the Lord," so our rest should also be unto Him. This principle helps to establish guidelines for both work and rest. He must bless my rest for me really to enjoy it. He must bless my work for it to be truly fruitful.
