So this weekend was a little CRAZY and I've been thinking a lot about JOY. Sometimes I forget that it is my job to CREATE it in the chaos of everyday living. I was looking through A Joyful Mother of Children by Linda Eyre and this stood out to me:
"He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord." Psalms
"...to keep house means more than working with Windex and Pledge. To me it means building an atmosphere at home where husband and kids want to be, where they like bringing their friends, where memories are made, and where they can be inspired to fulfill their dreams. The word barren in the dictionary has an enormous list of synonyms including deficient, depleted, bleak, empty, exhausted, harsh, hopeless, simple, unproductive, vain, without and wanting..." So,
"He maketh the barren (depleted, exhausted) woman to keep house (create a nourishing place for a family to live and love) and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord."
(Thanks for the picture Kasey :-)
So, maybe this week when the cleaning and organizing has to be done, I will think of keeping house, creating joy, building an atmosphere and inspiring my husband and children! (We'll see how it goes?? :-)
7 comments:
Gosh I need to get better at keeping my house clean it is such a mess especially Mine and the kids rooms. I did wake up friday in the middle of the night before or open dive and have a little panic attack and feeling cluastriphobic(sp?) Thiniking I was stuck down there but Brendan assured me we wouldn't be going to deep where I feel like it takes my free agency to go back to the top without killing myself :)
I also struggle with my obsession of having a clean and organized house. I am really bad. For instance I clean my washer and dryer. Everyone thinks I am crazy when I say that, but hey....they get dirty too! I've had people tell me that I am focusing to much on the home and not the family. But, I think it is important and I am much better at the balancing act. One of your points hit my feelings right on the bullseye. I think having a clean home makes everyone more comfortable and they want to be there. Also, I can focus on my family and not the mess. Plus my husband and boys are really good about thanking me for taking the time to make sure they have a clean and comfortable home. Thanks for this post! I loved it as you can see!
I so needed that! I need to prioritize and not spend all my energy on the house, rather than my home and family members! Good thoughts.
I think a clean and organized house helps keep harmony and less chaos but everything needs balance. I only have one kid and I feel like I could be cleaning all day and it would never end. I have a quote on my fridge that Sister Sherwood gave me when jake was born basically about babies growing up and housework always being there.. so true!! Thanks for sharing!!
Another good one that I used to have on my fridge was "Boring women have immaculate houses" That one helped me to remember my priorities :-) Balance & moderation!
See, I'm so opposite. I always worry that my house is never clean enough. Many times I don't care though, but I'm more irratated with my kids when it is chaos. So, I try to atleast keep it a little picked up so I can function without being irritated at my kids but not my whole day cleaning. Warning. If you ever just drop by you can't say I didn't warn you. Does that make sense to you? My goal is though to pick up before I go to bed because there's nothing worse than waking up to an unkept house. Then the kids can run and play and mess make, but atleast my day started right. =)
Thanks for the great quote. Made me remember why I love being a woman...our role is so extensive and yet it is also defined and it's nice to hear the definition once in awhile. I agree that having a clean house brings peace and order, and also that there are times when helping a child or spouse feel loved comes as a much higher priority than doing my dishes. There is definitely no perfect way to keep house because it isn't just about cleaning...thanks for that reminder!
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