Diligence At Home Brings Blessing

March 23, 2017March 22, 2017 RefreshHer1 Comment

6f15b-deskandlaundryroom012

A woman who is a homemaker can feel overwhelmed with the length of her tasks which might include:

Laundry
Errands
Meal prep
Laundry
Dishes to wash
Rooms to clean
Laundry
Groceries to buy
Calls to make
Preparations for things upcoming
Laundry

Those tasks are on repeat. They come each day and have to be repeated again and again. It’s easy to feel unimportant and overlooked. A woman can also feel overwhelmed with all that is on her shoulders.

So what’s a woman to do? A guiding biblical principle is obey right now what you know you to do. Being obedient will bring blessing from the Lord (Prov 8:34, 35). Stopping to read God’s Word might seem to others to be counter-intuitive, but the Lord will use His Word to direct you, give you guidance and peace.

Just this week on a very busy day, I had the churning feeling of wondering how it would all get done. God directed me to Proverbs 22:29

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean (obscure) men.

It was a reminder to me of a man like Joseph, in the book of Genesis, who worked so diligently that he was promoted more than once! He was noticed and appreciated. He was a real testimony to unbelievers, simply by his work ethic! Though we have no kings to stand before, it’s a reminder that our work is a testimony to our God. Who is the One who does the promoting, the noticing? It is our Heavenly Father.

If our business takes us to a job, that’s fine and good and we must give it our best. But it’s no less a calling to have your “business” at home as a wife and/or mom. That is a high and lofty calling. Do your business to your best ability! Don’t whittle away time doing useless, time-wasting things. Sometimes when a person feels overwhelmed, they just give up before they ever get started. Use your day carefully, going from one task to the next.

The blessing of being faithful may come from those you serve in your home, and it might not, but it will come ultimately from the One who gave you that place in which to serve. He sees you, even as He saw Joseph down in the prison cell. He notices. He promotes. Today you may just be the Queen of the Laundry, but be diligent in your business as you do it to the King of Kings. Your “Well Done!” from Him will make it worth it all!

Lovingly,

Denise Signature 150 px

children · Motherhood

Family Friday – Enjoy Today

March 17, 2017March 13, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

If you have children at home and are ready to pull your hair out, do yourself a favor and watch this video. It will remind you to slow down and enjoy today. Go get a Puff, you’ll need it.

Get God’s perspective on the time you have to pour into your children’s lives. James 4:14 reminds us:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Mom, you slow down and enjoy each moment, each child, today.

Denise Signature 150 px

Family life · home · Motherhood · Parenting

Family Friday – The Price of Sparing the Rod

March 10, 2017March 9, 2017 RefreshHerLeave a comment

bible and cup 1.jpg

When you bring a sweet little baby into your home, your last thoughts are about the time when you’ll need to correct them. I mean, they’re so adorable and innocent when they’re little! But those discipline days come sooner than you imagined, and you find yourself either taking up the rod and lovingly obeying Scripture, or you talk, reason, bribe and threaten until you’re sure someone will die in the process!

I can vividly remember one day with one of my daughters in which I learned a lesson the long, hard way. She had been a “stinker” all day. I had warned her and tried to use my words to correct her behavior (using words as rods is just cruel!). Late in the day I realized that I failed to obey God’s directives to take up the “rod,” and discipline her in love. I pulled her to my lap and told her that what she was doing was sin, and that because she’d continued to disobey after my warning, I was going to have to give her a spanking because I loved her and didn’t want her to continue in her sin. She bent over my lap and I administered the two or three swats with my little paddle. She cried. I cried. I held her in my arms and we prayed that the Lord would help her obey.

Tears were wiped away and she merrily skipped on her way to continue her play. She was so HAPPY! Her attitude was completely transformed, as was our day! It was as though she had been waiting for me to deal with her biblically to prove the amount of love I had for her.

A parent who loves their child will discipline them as God disciplines us. Over and out. I had selfishly kept back from the training she needed. But now, here she was, singing, playing, and happy after the loving rebuke. She knew I loved her, and I had learned the lesson to give the correction when it was needed so we could both enjoy the child/parent relationship as God intended!

Do you find yourself frustrated as the parent of a young child? Have you obeyed God’s Word and lovingly administered discipline? It’s God’s way, and if used lovingly and consistently, will produce the results of leading a child to recognize their sin, and their need to repent – both to God and their parents. Stop the frustration, and obey so your child can do the same!

Don’t lose heart; train your children with love and your relationship will be refreshed in unbelievable ways!

I read this article this week that was excellent. I pray it will encourage you as a parent!

Lovingly,

Denise Signature 150 px

Christian Life · Encouragement · Family life · Godly Character Traits · Motherhood · Parenting

How To Be the Greatest Blessing to Your Children

November 3, 2016November 2, 2016 RefreshHer4 Comments

As parents, don’t we all long to be a blessing to our children? There’s so much you could do, and it can sometimes be overwhelming, can’t it? I mean we could…send them to a private school, homeschool them, give them private music lessons, take them to every service at church, feed them the best organic foods, make sure their immunizations are up to date, or bake them your famous chocolate chip cookies. But is all this enough? Too much?

I love how God’s Word breaks down Truth for us in a way that simplifies what we tend to complicate. I read in Proverbs 20:7 yesterday –

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.

The “just” person is a woman who has trusted Christ as her Savior and now has a standing before God. She is “justified” and God sees her through Christ as having never sinned. Amazing, isn’t that?! After that amazing transformation, she walks in integrity, and in so doing, is a blessing to her children.

What does it look like for a woman to “walk in integrity?”

She is steady. She’s not waffling all over the place – hot and cold, back and forth, up and down. She has her heart towards her Savior and her face towards heaven.
She is sold-out. Her life belongs completely to God. Therefore, she is in His Word daily, in His house regularly and on her knees consistently.
She is sparkling. This doesn’t mean she never sins, but she is not involved in things that would cause someone to question her integrity. Relationships are guarded, her heart is pure and her eyes are shielded against the things that would distract her from her spiritual goals.

Did you notice that none of those marks are things you do for your children? It’s nothing you buy for them or cook up in the kitchen. It’s all about who we are in our heart that makes us a blessing to anyone. As we live out a faithful life for Christ, we are a blessing to those that we rub shoulders with, and who do you rub shoulders with more than those in your own home?!

So, what are you doing today that reveals your integrity? Stay steady, sold out and sparkling, and you will be a great blessing to your children and grandchildren! Oh, but go ahead and bake them some chocolate chip cookies! A little sweet treat never hurt any mom’s reputation!

With love,

home · Motherhood

Don’t Wander

June 23, 2016June 22, 2016 RefreshHerLeave a comment

Look what I found in a bedroom window one spring…

I’m referring only to the nest. The empty egg was found in the backyard. This nest was abandoned. Never did I see the momma that build it. There are all kinds of interesting things in this nest – mud, twigs, even a piece of scotch tape! The builder of this nest did some work to gather items to build a home for her little family. I wonder what happened to her and her babies?

A read a verse in Proverbs 27:8 that the Lord spoke to my heart about yesterday. It said,

As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a (wo)man that wandereth from his (her) place.

A bird that flies off and hops from bough to bough is exposed and unsafe. A person who consistently wanders instead of staying home is also leaving their nest unprotected. Matthew Henry said about this verse:

Those that love to be abroad leave their work at home undone. Let every man therefore, in the calling wherein he is called, therein abide, therein abide with God.

What about your little nest? Are the eggs (your children) under your watchful eye, your listening ear, your teaching tongue? They will do best that have their momma there to love and care for them, rather than frequently flying to be somewhere else. Even if you have your children with you, if you’re constantly on the run, it makes teaching much more difficult.

A nest is a secure place in which to consistently gather your brood. Don’t abandon the nest; it’s God’s gift. It’s a thought to ponder.

With love,