A Heart That Weaves a Tapestry of Beauty

Titus 2:4-5, "Admonish the young women . . . to be homemakers."

Beauty from Busyness

As God's women, you and I are blessed with the God-given assignment to weave a tapestry of beauty in our homes. However, I don't know about you, but I had an aversion to that word homemaker -- until I discovered what God had in mind. Before that, it sounded like dull labor and mundane chores!

What I discovered is that to be a homemaker means to be a stayer-at-home, to be domestically inclined, a good housekeeper, and a keeper at home. Another sources emphasized that a woman's primary sphere of activity and contribution is the home, and still another concluded that we are to be active in or busy with household duties. The commentary that most moved my heart said that I am simply to be a "home lover."

Any woman who carries in her mind and heart that thought "Home sweet home!" qualifies as a home lover. That term definitely portrays a fitting attitude in response to the call of Titus 2:4-5, but weaving a tapestry of beauty in our homes also calls for action.

Yes, But How?

How does a woman who wholeheartedly wants to weave a tapestry of beauty in her home begin?

1. Understand the beauty and blessings of God's will for you.  

God is teaching us His will when He calls us to be homemakers. And I figure that if God calls me to serve at home, to be on top of things, and to see that my good housekeeping chores get done, then I want to do just that.

2. Purpose to be home more often.  

Proverbs 17:24, "Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understand, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth." In other words, wisdom sees the thing straight in front of us, the thing between our own two feet -- and that is our home. The wise woman realizes the value of being home. But the foolish woman is always looking "out there" (in the mall, in the outlet stores, in a friend's home, etc.) for fulfillment, excitement, activity, and meaning.

3.  Organize your outings.

For instance, I learned that I just couldn't run to the cleaners. Instead, I understood that I needed to stop by the cleaners when I was running all my other errands.  

Heart Response

Now, dear fellow weaver, take God's teaching to heart. Do you cherish your home? Is it "home sweet home" to you? When you are away from it, do you yearn fo it? Is your heart truly centered in your home? Are the place and the people there more important to you than anyone or anything else?

The "I will's" of the Heart of the Homemaker:

• I will get up before my family in order to prepare myself spiritually and physically.
  
• I will prepare breakfast for my family and sit with them while they eat.
• I will work diligently to send every member of my family off in a good mood.
• I will consult my husband every day to see if there is anything special he wants me to do for him.
• I will keep a neat and orderly home.
• I will respond positively.
• I will put my husband before my children.
• I will be predictably happy.

Is yours the heart of a homemaker? For help, ask God for His transforming touch. As He empowers you to obey, He will give you joy at the task to which He calls you and enhance the beauty of the tapestry you are weaving.

A Heart That Creates Order from Chaos

Responsibility and Accountability

The following verse in the Bible addresses the subject of creating order out of chaos. 1 Timothy 5:14, "I desire that the younger [women] ... manage the house." Other versions of the Bible read "guide the house, or preside over a home, or be mistress of the house." Whichever way, the message was clear to the women of Timothy's day.

Furthermore, the why of this statement is clear. Here's the situation Timothy faced: The young widows of Timothy's church were "idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not" (I Timothy 5:13). Their loose, undisciplined behavior led those outside the church to think and speak poorly of Christianity. Obviously, having a home to manage would contribute positively to these women's lives by, at the very least, eliminating the opportunity for these negative behaviors.

To"guide a house" means to be the head of or to rule a family, to guide the home. The one who manages a house is the goodman of the house, the householder. Yet this management has built-in accountability, describing as it does the work of a steward or a servant. The woman who manages her house is not the head of the home (her husband is if she is married, and God is if she is not). Instead, she is the householder, the home manager.

Every day we are called to manage what God has given us, what He has provided through our husbands' efforts and our own. What a blessing it is to us when we serve Him well in this capacity. And what a blessing we are to our family when we properly manage the house.

Yes, But How?

How does a woman who wants what God wants, a woman who wants to know order instead of chaos, a woman after God's own heart, manage her home?  

1. Understand that home management is God's best for us.

God isn't asking His women to like being a home manager (although that comes with time as we reap the multitude of blessing that result from better home management). And God isn't asking us to feel like managing our home. He is simply calling us to do it. Home management is His plan, His way. It's His good and acceptable and perfect will for us (Romans 12:2).

2. Decide to take home management seriously.  

God uses the management of the home as a training ground for our usefulness in the church. How well you and maintain our personal relationship with God, how devotedly we love our husbands and our children, and how effectively we manage the home indicates how well we would manager a ministry. It's true that what we are at home is what we are!

3. Live as though you will be accountable for the condition of your home and the use of your time ... because you will!

When our husbands (or anyone else) walk in the door and look around the house, we have just revealed what we've been doing in response to God's call to us to manage the home.

Tips for Time Management

• Plan in detail. Have a planner and write everything down in it.
  
• Deal with today. All God asks of you and me is to handle and manage today, only today.
• Value each minute. Know how long it will take you to complete each task in your home.
• Keep moving. Remember the principle of momentum: "A body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion."
• Develop a routine. Try doing the same thing at the same time each day.
• Exercise and diet. Studies show that exercise increases metabolism, creates energy, causes you to sleep better and produces pleasure hormones that contribute to positive attitudes.

Heart Response

Before we leave the subject of order in the home, let's take a look at the heart of the home -- which is your heart! What is your attitude toward your home and your housework? Is your heart in tune with God's? Are you desiring what He desires for the management and guidance of your home? Ask God to help you move toward better management -- and don't worry: Slowly but surely counts!

Chapter 14 - A Heart That Watches Over the Home

Proverbs 31:27, "She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness."

To Watch

"To watch" means "to hedge about" as with thorns, much like a mother bird or animal might do to protect her young. The verb expresses the active guarding, protecting, saving, and attending to something precious. This kind of watching involves observation and preservation.

To better understand the significance of the word watch, consider its use in Psalm 5:3 -- My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up."

"To look up" is the same Hebrew word as watch. The psalmist carefully prays to God in the morning and then becomes a lookout, keeping watch, being on the lookout, expecting his prayer to be answered.

To Work

As we head into this section, let's realize that we're not addressing working outside the home at a job. No, this has to do with work you do inside the house, at home, the work that turns your house into a home.

We're going to be doing our own study into the Scripture, consulting it to learn what God teaches us about work. Of course we'll want to look at some wonderful proverbs!

Proverbs 10:4, "He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich."

Proverbs 12:11, "He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding."

Proverbs 14:23, "In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty."

Proverbs, 20:13, "Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty, open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread."

Proverbs 31:13, "She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands."

What a blessing you can be to your family as you watch, as you keep lookout over the various functions of the home. And what a great way to be a helper for your husband as you anticipate, perceive, and act on needs (work) in the home. Before your husband even thinks of something, you have taken care of it!

Yes, But How?

How can we place ourselves before God so He can grown in us hearts that effectively watch over our precious homes?

1. Understand that his role as helper and guard is God's plan for you.

A woman after God's own heart - married or not - watches over the ways of her household and refuses to eat the bread of idleness. When we realize that these instructions are from God -- and not from our mother, or husband, or Bible teacher -- we must allow the Truth of God's Word to penetrate into our hearts.

2. Begin watching over your home.

It's time to make some real -- and difficult -- decisions about watching (the positive) and about not eating the bread of idleness (the negative).

3. Eliminate idleness.

Identify the following time robbers in your daily life, and then purpose to buy back the time for watching and working in your precious home.

• Procrastination

• Inadequate personal planning and scheduling

• Interruptions by people without appointments (This includes interruptions by way of the telephone. And please note, your children are not interruptions -- they are your greatest work and the best investment of your time.)

• Failure to delegate

• Poor use of telephone or computer

• Reading junk mail or e-mail

• Lack of concern for good time management

• Unclear priorities
  

Ladies, we must pray for eyes to see the vision God has for our precious home and for hearts to understand how important what happens in our home is to Him. May our goal be that our houses be made into homes that show forth God's desires for the beauty and purpose of those structures.