"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work..." (Exodus 20:8-9). These words struck me as the answer to my ongoing busy-ness as a wife and mother. Being busy is understandable, but getting it all done seemed like a near impossible task each week leaving me with the temptation to be lazy or to fret. While retreating to my back yard with a cup of coffee on a weekday morning, I would observe the order around me as birds tended to their nests, ants traveled in line, and bees buzzed from flower to flower. That is their purpose designed by God to do what they were created to do everyday. My purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Isn't this how we sometimes feel on a Monday morning? I don't have to feel overwhelmed if I get my mind in gear on how my week is going to be. A friend wisely advised me with the phrase, "first things first." I begin with a plan doing all the necessary tasks first and work everything else out through Saturday. Yes, Saturday is a work day friends. Sunday is our day of worship and rest. Get your household plan in order and you will be thankful.
"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise" (Proverbs 6:6). Here's another one of those rib-sticking, heart-hitting verses that I treasure. Me? A sluggard? Well, if I am placing a priority on my personal entertainment and pleasure over my God-given responsibilities then no matter how hard I work on tasks I could still be a sluggard in my heart. Eek! I can tell you that I am thankful for people who hold me accountable to stay on task (including my kids) and seeing my jobs through. It is so satisfying at the end of a work week to enjoy all that was accomplished.
Gardens don't grow overnight and neither do we. When a friend asked me to write about prepping for Sundays, she blushed, confessing that she still didn't have it all down. My reply was, "Umm, how many years do you think it has taken me?" We should encourage one another to keep moving forward. If you have never picked up a dust rag or organized your week before now is the time to start. Just start.
What I do is write my schedule out for the week, highlighting any appointments or outings on a small marker board and lay out a sketch of our weekly menu. I pick a day for food shopping. I start the laundry on Monday and keep it going each day as needed. The children know their daily chores. My husband knows my week and I know his. Our schedule is posted in the kitchen as we go from day to day. We do not have a super detailed schedule, just a sketch so we can be flexible. People get sick, plans change, and our door twirls with ministry life. There needs to be room to groove. Plan that your week is moving with the concept of work before pleasure. But at the same time, we sketch in a family movie night, trip to the library or an outing for ice cream to keep us motivated and moving forward.
Habits form over time and pretty soon your schedule is a habit and you are flourishing. You will roll as a family with much less stress this way. You will see in your children who needs to focus better on tasks, who has a good work ethic, who helps others without being asked and who is grateful for what they have by how they care for things and you will instruct or delegate accordingly.
Our job here is to keep the laundry, cooking, dishes, food shopping, dusting, vacuuming, bathrooms, cat care, bills, trash, recycling, ironing, bed making, clutter control, windexing, plants and garden care, sweeping, mopping, weeding, banking, along with all that comes with helping a church plant each week started on Monday and finished by Saturday evening. We have six days to divide it all up. Some jobs are daily and some are all day. Some are once and done for the week. It is your job to plot it out, delegate and see it through. If you don't plan accordingly, you will be left finishing it all by Saturday. This lesson is one that you learn the hard way. You can begin another week on the right foot and move in the right direction. Your reward? Rest.
Sunday is our day of rest. We are given one day in seven for worship, food, fellowship and rest, a whole day, morning through evening. Some people are called to works of necessity on that day and they, like my husband, designate a day off to rest during the week. We are to prepare for the Sabbath day. We clean, prep and gather accordingly so that we enjoy the blessings of this one day in seven.
One of the habits we have formed as a family is not to stay up late on Saturday evening being busy with other activities. We remind the children that we are preparing for the Lord's Day and plan accordingly. We want to give everyone time to be clean and prepared with clean ironed clothes for the next day. We prepare food and have our kitchen cleaned up ready for breakfast on Sunday morning.
We love holidays. We plan and prepare for a time of celebration. The Lord's Day is every Sunday. We should anticipate and prepare to make this day a delight for our family. It is a special day. This should be pressed in our hearts and made our purpose for why we accomplish what we do throughout the week. We should look forward to hearing the Word preached, praying with and for one another, delighting in fellowship with one another and resting from our daily tasks.
Take time to focus on what your week should look like. Try not to roll one lazy day into the next. Be honest but not overwhelmed by the tasks before you. With some elbow grease, a sincere heart, and a willing spirit you can slowly form your home into a beautiful place that honors the Lord in all you do. Our homes reflect our hearts. Make yours one that honors the Lord's Day and you will be blessed.
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:4-5).
