Well, this week Mary has helped me confront and work on some of my bad habits! : )
I read this chapter last week and a few of my bad habits were brought to light.
Mary points out that:
"Home is far more than a place of
residence with a requisite set of domestic duties. One's home is her
inner private sanctum. It's the "place" physically and spiritually where
the most important stuff in life happens. Home is crucial. If a woman's
surroundings are neglected out of order clutter and chaotic, chances
are her inner private life shares the same fate. And, her habitual
pattern of neglect affects far more than just her. It affects her
husband, her marriage, her children, and ultimately her own capacity to
live a godly, fruitful, productive life and to make a difference in the
world."
This passage stopped me in my tracks...I know when my home is out
of order I am on edge but also, after doing some further thinking and
observing I have a lot to do to truly make my home a "sanctuary". I must
confess that I am okay with keeping my house clean on the surface but
that I am lazy when it comes to deep cleaning and keeping things truly
clutter free and organized......This also made me realize that I am the
same way mentally a lot of the time.......I deal with things on the
surface, but find it hard to face the root of an issue.....oh
boy.......Then, I realized I am like this spiritually as well....I like
making time for God.....but, I find it hard to really let go and let God
in and let Him take over.
This past week I have been working on getting things
better organized in my little home that seems to get cluttered so fast!
I have cleaned some closets, sorted through clothes that I didn't
realize I had and I have gone through my filing cabinet and a 1 yr stack
of paid bills that we had saved for some reason or another.....I have
much more to do but I'm energized to get things done so my home can
truly be a sanctuary, as it will improve not only my daily life but that
of my husband as well!
There were many more areas of this chapter
that spoke to me, and another one I will mention is where Mary says
"Looking at what you routinely do reveals what your priorities are.....
if you routinely sleep in instead of getting up to read your Bible, then
sleep is a higher priority to you than Bible reading. There's not sense
trying to pretend otherwise." I must say that this describes me
perfectly. The hardest part of my day is getting out of bed. I have a
horrible habit of pressing snooze. I have been reading the Bible in the
morning but I was reading it in bed on the Kindle and falling back to
sleep and sometimes even falling asleep while i was reading instead of
truly making and effort to listen to God.
So, Mary challenged me here and this week I have been actually
getting out of bed so I am awake and reading my bible out loud as well a
reflection on the reading and makding time to just pray and be quiet
with him.....and I will say making more of an effort and making time for
the Big Man totally makes a difference in my whole day!
Of course I have other bad habits as I have "fleshy
desires" and a "sinful pull toward self-indulgence" but Mary is once
again so encouraging and assures us that on our own we cannot do
anything but that the Lord gives us all I need. "The Lord gives me His
Spirit to help me in my weakness. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
power, of love and self-discipline." (2 Tim 1:7)
Lord help me to keep my life orderly and disciplined and help me to always put first things first!
Blessings on you both as we continue to grow! : )
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