Monday, October 8, 2012

As for Me and My House- Week 1

 
 
     Yay! I am so excited to begin my first ever homemaking series. I'll admit, at first I thought to myself, "Am I even qualified to begin such a series? After all, I have not always been the best at keeping house and goodness knows I still have so much to learn." Then I thought if I felt this way, there must be others who feel the same way...so I thought we could just learn and grow together :) I am so glad you are joining me here, and look forward to the next three weeks of discussing all things home.
 
     To me, home is a place where you love, grow, laugh, cry, and learn together. It is a place that you want to be and know that when you are there...you are safe. Home is more than just beautiful, expensive decorations and a place to "show off" to other people. It's about the love, trust, and faith that is built fully upon God. Which brings me to my first topic of this series...building your home on the strong foundation of Christ.
 
     As a Christian, and a striving Proverbs 31 woman, this is of utmost importance to me. So, how can you build a home that is full of faith and Christ's love? One of the easiest and most effective ways is to pray together. There is power in prayer, y'all. Not only can prayer strengthen your home, but it will most definitely strengthen your family. Prayer allows us to see the heart of others, and what is worrying them, or filling them with complete joy.  A few years ago, my Bible study group would do what we called, High-Low. The goal was that everyone would say one high (good) thing, and one low (not so good) thing that happened that day. After everyone shared we would all thank God for the highs in our life and pray that He would help us with the low points in our life. A good time for your family to pray together may be at the dinner table. For others it may be bedtime, or first thing in the morning. It really doesn't matter when you pray together just as long as you do pray together.
 
      Another way to have a faith filled home is to do daily devotions together. For those of you who are running low on time, there are some really great one minute devotional books out there, such as Jesus Calling, Jesus Today, and Jesus Lives. (All by Sarah Young) There is no better place to be than in His Word together as a family. The bond that this can build is unexplainable. I can't explain it from a human perspective, but I can say from experience that when Jeff and I are in God's Word together on a regular basis, our love is stronger, the laughter harder, and the peace undeniable.
 
 
      Lastly, a way to build a faithful home is to literally fill your home with Christian decor. This is a great way to display your faith and a way to witness when guests are over. Here are a few pieces of decor that we have received and purchased over the years...
 
 

 
(Please excuse the glare. I took like 10 pictures and this was the best one.) This is the picture that overlooks our living room, and one of the first items we received when we moved in. (Thanks Mom and Dad :) In case you can't tell, this verse is from Rev. 1:8.
 
 
This is a small collage of pictures that adorns our dining room wall.
 
 
 An adorable canvas print that describes a Christian marriage. (Once again, thanks Mom and Dad!)
 
 
A cute plate holder as you walk into our living room. In case you can't tell, the plates read, Kneel in Faith, Stand in Courage, Walk in God's Love.
 
 
     My challenge for this week is to take time to pray together as a family, (don't forget those Highs and Lows :) spend time in His Word, and add at least one piece of Christian decor to your home. Let's strive to be homemakers who fully rely on God and seek out His strength daily. Our job as the woman in the home is not easy, and if we are not looking to Jesus for wisdom and strength, then we will fall. We daily need His perfect and gentle guidance to be able to guide and love our own families well. Without Him we will be like the man who built his home on sand, instead of the true Firm Foundation. Seek after Him this week, friends, as we all strive to create spiritually healthy homes. 
 
 
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. -Joshua 24:15
 
 


16 comments:

  1. We sometimes forget to what extent our decor reflects ourselves. Ultimately, we surround ourselves with the things and people we love...

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  2. Great post, thank you so much for sharing and linking up! Your blog wallpaper is so cute:) Love it.

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  3. Thanks for sharing. Love the plate holder decor. And, I love that song by John Waller! Thanks for linking up today.

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  4. Love how your home decor is a testimony to all who enter your home!

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  5. I happened upon your blog through a link-up! This is a great post!!! I saw that marriage canvas in a store last year and loved it so much! Love your Christian decor!

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  6. We're neighbors at SDG---- love the peek into your home. And I agree, there's nothing that fills your house with faith quite like opening the Word together. I love the way The Message says, "Let the Word of God have the run of the house..." Nice to meet you here.

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  7. When I was first married (36 years ago!) I had someone tell me that most people could enter our homes and never know we were Christians. Religious art was hard to find in those days. I love that it's so prevalent today. I enjoy your thoughts and look forward to the rest of the series.

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  8. Hi Ashley! I am right there with you! I love decorating, but I'm horrible at it! I love your ideas and all that you've done!

    I found you through Women Living Well and I'm your newest follower! I look forward to getting to know you!

    Christie
    http://satisfactionthroughchrist.blogspot.com

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  9. Agreed about the Christian decor. I want more so it's soooo obvious that I live for God.

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  10. I'm so decoratively challenged. It's fun to see what others do and the choices they make. Thanks for linking this up this week.

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  11. I'm so glad I found your site! Becoming that Proverbs 31 Woman has been a goal of mine for a long, long time. I'm no where near where I'd like to be, but you just inspired me to keep pressing on! Have a blessed evening! And thanks for the lovely post! <3

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  12. Very nice decor! I love the plates and that red wall!!

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  13. I loved your post and completely agree about building a foundation on Christ and the power of prayer!! I loved your decorations :) Stopping by from Friday Favorites at Finding Joy. Have a beautiful day!!

    http://chaosandcoffee-amanda.blogspot.com/

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  14. This was a beautiful post. Thanks for sharing it. And I have to agree you have a lot to share. You Blessed me. Have a great Saturday

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  15. Thank you all so much for your kind comments. They are dear to my heart. Blessings!

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