Keepers of the Home

Are we truly being Keepers of the Home as instructed in Titus 2:5?

It is the woman's responsibility to be the keeper of the home. And what duties does that entail?

1. She is to keep an orderly, clean home. I am not talking Better Homes and Gardens, but we should give our very best efforts in keeping order in our homes.

2. She is to be a guard of the home. She should guard her home against ungodly influences from the world (ungodly TV, radio, music, books, gaming, internet, people, ideas, etc). And it is her duty to replace these with wholesome, Godly alternatives, such as wholesome TV, Godly or clean music, Godly friends, Biblical viewpoints, etc. Because, let's face it, our children are going to become what they think about, watch, and do.

3. She is to raise her children to be distinctly Christian. That means that she should first be a Godly example and mentor and secondly that she should teach them the Bible. Their education should be saturated with not seperated from God.

4. She is to be the help meet to her husband. Notice God never said that husbands were to be the help meets to the wives. We are to submit to our husbands headship; we are to be subject to him in all that we do; and we are to reverence our husband.

How are we to do these things? How are we to walk as children of the light of God's word? How are we to be the Godly keepers of our homes? By following the steps that He gives us in Ephesians 5:18-21:

• Be filled with the Spirit.
• Speak to yourself with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
• Sing these songs to make a melody in your heart.
• Give thanks to God in the name of Jesus for all things.
• Submit yourselves to others in the fear of God.

Again I ask, are we truly being the keepers of our homes according to Titus 2:5?

Each day as a Blessing

Recently, a lady I knew casually through our local 4-H club was killed in an auto accident. She left two sons and a husband behind. It was a complete shock. And yet several people I know have lost loved ones this past year in similar sudden accidents. It has made me think of choices I have made for myself and my family in a more revealing light. Am I providing my children with enough "Godly guidance", am I giving them a "Godly mom and wife role model", am I being the "Godly help meet" to my husband? Am I eternally focused or for the moment focused?

Unfortunately, I have to confess that I all to often am focusing on the present, on the problem, on the worldly obligations. So I have had to repent of my short sightedness. And I have spent much more time than usual over the past couple of months in my Bible and in prayer. I have been asking God to give me a focused vision for my household and myself. I want to know how I can be a better instrument in God's hands in the molding of my children, in the life of my husband, and in the world.

I read something this week that reminded me again of my duties as a wife, mother, and child of God. Always build up; don't hold anything back; and when in doubt, die to your ways and your ideas and your plans and rely on God's ways, God's ideas, and God's plans. AMEN!

Our Time and Our Busyness

I start every school year vowing to keep our schedule simple and clutter free. And yet by every November, everyday has somethings to do that requires me to leave my home. By February, I am tired and by March my kids are sick of the break neck pace to keep up with all we do.

Why do I do this to myself and my family??? Well, I want my kids to have opportunities, friendships, hobbies, field trips, special classes and lessons, etc. etc. etc... But what if the one thing my kids need the most-me-is too busy to really be available. Then to what good is everything else I have offered them?.?

So my goal for this summer is to really take stock of our goals as a family, my husband's goals, my goals personally, and goals for each of my kids. Then I plan to schedule the outside world around us and not the other way around. This may mean that we "miss" out on some opportunities and activities. But my kids will be out of the nest sooner that it seems possible and I want to make sure that their memories and lessons from the nest were profitable, lasting, loving, and Godly.

I love what Elizabeth George calls this dilema "good, better, best." Often times the good is the enemy of the best because we are too busy with the good and the better and do not plan for or leave time for the best. And that is how I am going to measure my time next school year. Am I doing the best with my time and energy and with the limited time I have with my kids? No more good at the expense of the best!!!

Book Review: Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John C. Maxwell

Have you ever felt that you were saying all of the right words, but you were not getting your point across? Or have you ever had difficulties relating to others in a new social situation? Or do you really want to connect better with those you are close to, but you you don't know where to start? Well, Mr. Maxwell has the answers for you. He takes communication and breaks it down into action steps for three types of communication: one-on-one, in a group, and with an audience. He shows you what successful communicators do and how you can do the same. The first half of the book is about connecting principles. It explains the basic principles of communication. And the second half of the book is about connecting practices, putting action to those principles.

I loved this book! I have read many others by Mr. Maxwell and have yet to be disappointed. His book is very easy to understand and his action steps are straight to the point. He takes you through communication and how it relates to our intellect, emotions, attitudes, and predispositions. And then he teaches you how to use each area to better communicate with others. You almost feel like Mr. Maxwell is personally coaching you to be your best and to bring out the best in those around you as with each chapter he reveals more about connecting through your communications.

The best thing I learned in this book is that being a great communicator is not just a matter of genetics. All great communicators were not all born with some special communicator gene. We can each become great communicators and this is the book to help us do it.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Thomas Nelson for this review.