Thankful Homemaker: A Christian Homemaking Podcast

This discussion highlights the vital role of love in marriage, examining its Biblical importance and implications. It delves into the concept of agape love, emphasizing love as an action-driven commitment rather than just a feeling. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their relationships and pursue unconditional love, emphasizing the necessity of a strong relationship with God as a foundation. Practical strategies for embodying Christ-like love and overcoming challenges in marital bonds are also explored, reinforcing respect and safety.

The podcast dives into God's design for marriage, emphasizing the unique and equal roles of partners as outlined in Genesis. It redefines the term 'helper,' highlighting the supportive and integral role of women in a marriage. There’s a focus on intentional communication and the biblical concept of 'cleaving' for unity. The discussion also connects marriage to the profound relationship between Christ and the church, encouraging listeners to reflect their faith through their marital relationships.

On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about our cell phone use and discuss whether we master our cell phones or do they master us. This podcast was on my mind because of two recent posts at Tim Challies blog on the use of our phones. I recently read the book, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke and it was a challenging read.  I’m going to share with you some of what I took from that book to get us started, some thoughts on Tim Challies posting about him going back to a “dumb phone” and as we close today some questions for us to ponder from a quiz Tim Challies posted online called Are You Addicted to Your Phone? At the close, I share some ways I desire to make changes with the use of my phone in my life.  Also, I have an announcement that I’ll be taking a short hiatus from the podcast but will be back with the regular weekly podcast sometime in early July.I’m working on content currently for the next Homemaking Ministries Conference coming up this fall – it’s my favorite online conference, and I hope you’ll join us again if you have in the past and if you haven’t yet I hope you will. There will be more details to come on it this summer. I'm working on a series on marriage for the podcast in the future, and I hope to get my husband on the podcast with me so we can do a few together.I’d love you all to “meet” him. I love listening to him and learning from him. The Lord has given him much wisdom and truly being around him makes me want to be more like Jesus, so I’m thankful to get to have him share here with you all. You can find the show notes and resources mentioned at ThankfulHomemaker.com 

How many times does Sunday morning roll around and you find your heart in a state of chaos instead of calm to worship the Lord?  How many Sunday’s do you arrive at church and realize you haven’t taken the time all week to pray for your pastor or your church family? I want to share with you some simple steps we can take to prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for Sunday morning worship to the Lord. The hope today is to get you to understand the purpose and the mission of the local church and then to move on toward how we can proceed with some simple steps to prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for Sunday morning worship to the Lord. For the show notes and resources mentioned head to ThankfulHomemaker.com

On today’s episode, I’m sharing with you a message that I shared at our church's recent women’s retreat. Our time together at the retreat was spent learning about the attributes of God. I started the weekend off sharing about the Supremacy, Eternality, Self-Sufficiency, and Self-Existence of our most awesome God and I wanted to share what I learned with you all here today. It has been said that what comes into a person’s mind when he or she thinks about God is the most important thing about him or her. When we have a high view of God, it will lead to holy living, worship, evangelism, and service. I hope to spark within you today a heart’s desire to study more about this wonderful God we love and are known by. When we gain a better understanding of Who God is, we will be better equipped in our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Every area of our life and worldview is influenced by who we understand God to be. When we speak of God's attributes, we are talking about those characteristics that help us to understand who He truly is. We will never be able to fully grasp the depth of God’s character, but I hope we can get a bit more of a glimpse in our short time together today. For the show notes and resources mentioned head to ThankfulHomemaker.com

The need for self-control is clear in God’s Word. There is much said about it. We live in a world where we are tempted daily to overindulge and live outside our boundaries. We live in a world that is dominated by “self” – Self-centeredness, self-pity, selfishness, self-deception. Wayne Barber shared: What’s the middle letter of the word sin? What’s the middle letter? What’s the middle letter of the word pride? Now, you take those two things out—which by the way, the cross does—then you don’t even have a word. When you say yes to Him, you’ve just crucified the “I,” the flesh. Proverbs 25:28 says, "like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit." This proverb gives us a picture of a city with its walls broken down and is utterly defenseless as a picture of what happens when our wall of defense. Our self-control is gone, and we’re not able to battle the sinful desires that wage war against our soul. Self-control means to master our emotions instead of being mastered by them. It is the ability to control oneself and in particular our emotions and desires or the expression of them in our behavior – especially in difficult situations. For the show notes and resources mentioned in the podcast head to ThankfulHomemaker.com

I’m sharing today from a post I wrote quite awhile back called Where to Begin When You're Overwhelmed, and it was dealing with our home keeping. It’s been a very controversial post and people either have a love or hate relationship with it. I’m hoping you all are in the love camp today because I’m not a fan of being in the hate camp. Before we begin, I want to lay out a statement here that I want you to remember as we walk through this. What I’m sharing is going to look different in every home. I don’t know all the battles or circumstances in your home from health and illness difficulties or various trials you’re dealing with. This may not be the season of your life for you to listen to a podcast on this topic right now. I’m never talking about perfection or Stepford wives or making an idol out of your homekeeping or whatever your thinking because as soon as you write a post or share a podcast about this topic of homekeeping that’s where the conversation tends to go. This isn’t about having a Martha Stewart lifestyle in your homemaking. It is about the heart of a homemaker who loves the Lord and desires to love and care for her family well because of the God she serves.It is out of a heart of love and thankfulness because she has been redeemed. Thank you, Jesus! This also does not mean you don’t do anything outside your home or saying you can’t work outside the home or have any employment. I work for my husband’s business and have ever since my kiddos were young.  In my past - I’ve worked outside the home and inside the home and still work inside the home as a homemaker and for my husband’s business. This is not a SAHM vs. working mom podcast. This is for all Christian women in whatever season of life you’re in. I want to chat with you today as if I’m talking with my daughter – (Hello My Amberif you’re listening) and encouraging her in the role the Lord has called her to as laid out in Titus 2:3-5 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Getting some foundational understanding of why we are called keepers of our homes will be an encouragement in itself not to be overwhelmed in your homekeeping, but I hope to set your mind on things of the Lord and His ways today. For the show notes and resources mentioned please head to ThankfulHomemaker.com

We are discussing on today's podcast what God’s Word has to say about our anxiousness and worry. We’ve been working through the book of Matthew at church and have been in the Sermon on the Mount for quite a few months now. I’ve been utilizing D. Martin Lloyd Jones sermon series to read along with the scriptures as I prepare for Sunday mornings. It’s a great resource, and it’s called Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. One thing Pastor Ross shared about this text (Matthew 6:25-34) and what I want to begin with is an area that convicted me. When I am worried about a situation – I’m creating an idol. Worry reveals the idols of my heart, something I treasure more than Christ. My worry usually isn’t about physical things. It can be at times, but my worry and anxious thoughts usually come about with situations in my life that I have no control over. I tend to worry about the outcomes that I have no control over, pretty pointless. At that moment I forget Who is in control and my thoughts are self-centered and I believe at that moment that I know better than God. Ugh – that’s sin and my worry surely isn’t helping God in any way. At that moment – how Pastor Ross put it – I have forgotten that God is ruler – not me. The passage in (Matthew 6:25-34) reminds me what Jesus says to worriers like myself.  As we walk through this passage today my prayer is that the Lord would speak to my heart and yours and the hope is we will both be reminded that the Lord knows what we need and has already provided for it. For the show notes and resources listed head to ThankfulHomemaker.com

I have always been a planner oriented person. I love notebooks and pens and making lists. I love seeing items I have to-do written down. Planning has been a help to me in caring well for my home and family. It helps me to keep order and meet the needs of my family and others while still getting time to do some of the things I love to do too (like write on this blog here).  I'd like to walk through with you today how I use my planner to plan my days. It isn't meant to be copied buy to spark ideas on ways you can plan your days working with the way God has wired you.  The days and weeks I take the time to plan well are the ones that are my most productive and efficient. I hope you'll be encouraged today to grab a few nuggets that may work for you and your life.  For the Show Notes & Resources mentioned head to ThankfulHomemaker.com To get a copy, while supplies last of The Homemaker's Friend Daily Planner at half-price ($7.50) you can do that here.

When our families go through battles with illness we know, as the mom, there seem to be no sick days for us. We may have quieter and relaxing days as we battle through the illness, but the needs of the home seem to await us until we are feeling better. Times of difficult trials can also place stress on our homes. How can we keep the peace of our homes when we do not at the moment see closure to the situation the Lord is bringing us through? Are you a tired mom out there who feels like everything you work so hard to get done seems to get almost immediately undone? I remember those days with toddlers in the house. Communicating clearly and patiently and pointing our children to Christ in our conversations with them is hard. Nurturing the hearts of our children is hard work. Day in and day out the workday of a mom can be physically but sometimes even more so emotionally exhausting. There is one comfort I can always bring us back to: I can assure you there is One who knows what it is like to be exhausted. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ~ Hebrews 4:15 The hope today is to encourage you in these challenging times, give some practical help and point you back to God's Word. So listen in with me today. For the Show Notes and Resources mentioned head to ThankfulHomemaker.com