A Little Blueprint for Homemaking God’s Way

It’s a joy to have my close blogging buddy Kira Bridges share words this week. As I wrestle with morning sickness and work on my next Bible study, she was gracious enough to offer these exhortations from Proverbs that help reset our perspective. Her advice soothes my soul and I hope yours too as it reminds us to seek God’s wisdom above all, even when things look less than perfect. 🙂

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“Hi Mommy!” my daughter exclaims as she bounds past me in the hallway. Before turning to follow her, I peek into the room she just came bursting out of and my heart sinks.

Less than an hour ago, we spent 20 minutes cleaning her room, and now toys are everywhere. And when I say we, I really mean I, because let’s be honest, a two-year-old isn’t much help when it comes to putting toys away.

I hesitate outside her door, struggling with the urge to put the room back together. But as I turn and follow my daughter down the stairs, peace fills my soul.

The process is slow, but I am learning to be like Mary instead of Martha—to dedicate my life to God, instead of stressing over a clean house.

For Scripture tells us: “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV)

These two verses have become my homemaking lifeline. Meditating on them renews my mind whenever I start believing achievement builds my house, cleanliness establishes it, and cute, Pinterest worthy décor should fill the rooms.

Today I want to share my lifeline with all the other Marthas out there, so you too can choose what is better.

Think of wisdom like the firm foundation of your house. You need the foundation first. And whether your house stands or falls depends on the foundation.

Jesus makes this correlations for us in Matthew 7:24. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (ESV)

Building your house by wisdom starts with God.

Proverbs 9:10a puts it another way; “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Fearing God means being in awe of Him—of having a high and exalted view of Him. When we fear God—when we put Him first—wisdom follows and creates a firm foundation for our family.

Establish your house with understanding.

Wisdom is a good place to start, but we also need understanding (the ability to discern the wisdom given to us by God).

Proverbs 9:10 goes on to say, “And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (NKJV) Understanding comes from knowing God. We must choose, like Mary, to make spending time with God a priority.

As we develop a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, the walls of our home are strengthened and our roof is fortified.

Fill your rooms with the riches of knowledge.

So often we fill our rooms with earthly “riches” (like those toys my daughter had strewn around her room). But Proverbs tells us to focus on filling our rooms with knowledge; “by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24:4 NKJV).

Knowledge in this context means the practical application of wisdom. We apply God’s word to our lives, and allow Him to direct our ways. We let our lives be a testimony to the work of the Spirit within us and teach our children to do the same.

Homemaking God’s way doesn’t mean we never do the dishes or vacuum the living room. But sometimes we chose to live with a little mess. We focus on building our homes with wisdom, establishing them with understanding and filling our rooms with the precious and pleasant riches of our Heavenly Father.

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Kira Bridges is pursuing joy by living a life fully dedicated to God.

She writes at Joy Pursued, sharing lessons learned and resources to help women draw close to God and experience His joy. Living in Oregon with her husband, daughter, and two dogs; Kira believes the joyful life is a journey and would love for you to join her. You can hang out with her on Facebook, and Instagram.