Thankful Homemaker: A Christian Homemaking Podcast

I’m sharing a message with you today that I gave at a sweet friend’s bridal shower. I had the privilege of watching this young woman as a teenager grow into a lovely, godly woman who as I’m now recording this just got married this weekend. I’m excited for the next season the Lord has for her, but I’m also excited for the season the Lord has us all in right now. I had such a problem titling this message, and I think you'll understand why when you listen in. The podcast today isn’t just for married women or soon to be married women, but I believe there will be much for all women. We’re going to be talking about our identity in Christ and what it looks like to love one another. I’m focusing on cherishing our husbands, but I think you will see much of this will pertain to all of us in our relationships with each other inside and outside the church too. You can find the show notes at www.thankfulhomemaker.com 

One of the most fundamental ways to manage our homes well is to take the time to plan. Planning is merely deciding in advance the what, why and how things will be done even cleaning. Ladies the time it takes to put together a plan for the care and upkeep of your home is well worth your time and energy. You know the saying that sorta goes like this - “Many women plan to fail because they fail to plan.” On the other side of that, we can do so much planning and never get to the action part. I love to sit and plan – cleaning would not be my favorite – I say that but it really is getting started, and once I get moving on it I enjoy it because of the instant results you see from it. I want to remind you here this is a method or methods – I’m sharing three that I use at various times and seasons in my life - that work well for me and my personality. I’m not a naturally organized person and actually can be quite messy. My friends would not say this about me because when they come over, they see a neat and tidy home. I have to work hard to go against the bent of my natural personality in this area. I have trained myself to become a tidy home keeper – not perfect but neat and orderly. I still have my certain drawers and areas that I need to continue to declutter and organize, but overall I have worked to make my home easy to clean and keep orderly. I desire my home to be a haven for my family. I also don’t want to spend all my time and energy just cleaning my house. I desire to give my family and other relationships my time, so I’ve learned to manage my home well, so it doesn’t control me and take up all my time. I also appreciate having a house ready to offer hospitality and fellowship to others at a moment’s notice. My point I’m trying to make here is that my cleaning method or methods may not work for you, but I want you as you listen to me today ponder what type of cleaning schedule – if you don’t have one already- would help you to care and manage your home. Visit www.thankfulhomemaker.com for the Show Notes.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ not one of us would desire to remain a babe in the faith.  We all desire to grow more in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Spiritual growth doesn’t happen by osmosis – you have to be disciplined in putting God’s truth in your mind.  Spending time with the Lord in His Word will transform our hearts and compel us to obey God’s Word. As we grow in our understanding of God’s Word we will develop convictions that will determine how we will live or how we hope to live.  God’s Word helps us to develop principles that we desire to live our lives by – this is the process of sanctification. “Sanctification is a process – the process of becoming more like Christ, of growing in holiness. This process begins the instant you are converted and will not end until you meet Jesus face-to-face. Sanctification is about our own choices and behavior. It involves work.  Empowered by God’s Spirit, we strive. We fight sin. We study Scripture and pray, even when we don’t feel like it. We flee temptation. We press on; we run hard in the pursuit of holiness. And as we become more and more sanctified, the power of the gospel conforms us more and more closely, with ever-increasing clarity, to the image of Jesus Christ.” ~C.J. Mahaney Growing spiritually is the most important step in our role as Christian wives and mothers.  I do not have true wisdom to offer my family because true wisdom comes from the Lord and knowledge of Him.   I know what you’re going to say – I barely have time to breath how am I going to fit in time with the Lord.   Stick with me here today because I’m hoping I have some tips that will motivate you or at least seem doable that you can work into your current season of life. Find the show notes and more information at the blog - www.thankfulhomemaker.com

We all have this vision of working in this perfectly organized home where there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place. We picture saving time and money and less stress in this place, but many times that’s as far as we get. It’s just a vision, and we never get there. I hope today we can see that it isn’t just a dream, but we can get there. There are many ways to declutter, and I’m going to share some methods that have worked for me and I hope will inspire you today to start working away at your clutter piece by piece with me. I love to work in an orderly workspace. I love order and beauty in my home.  Studies have proven that people think clearer and better in uncluttered environments. Clutter is a real enemy.  Clutter can keep us from enjoying our families and homes as it takes up our time, can rob us of our joy, can add stress to our lives and takes up our living space. I was going to initially share a podcast this week on cleaning schedules (that’s a future one coming soon), but as I started writing it, I realized this is an area that needs to be dealt with before we can start cleaning. Remember we can’t clean clutter. You can find the show notes at www.thankfulhomemaker.com

As I’m sharing this with you today, I don’t know what you my listeners are coming to this podcast with.  I don’t know the hurts in your lives.  Hurtful words, betrayal from a friend, disappointments, and even much darker areas of abuse to unspeakable offenses that many of us could not even fathom. Many times we can just go on trying to live in a state of normalcy all the while these past hurts are building resentment and bitterness in our hearts. Our God does not want us to be stuck there.  In Christ, we have the freedom to be set free.   Forgiveness is a choice.  It is not a denial that whatever hurt has been done against you isn’t real, but it does mean you need to face it and be reminded that not forgiving that sin against you is a sin in itself. For the links and show notes visit www.thankfulhomemaker.com

Who doesn’t want to save money, time, their sanity, reduce stress, eat healthy and avoid the dreaded question "What’s for dinner?" It sounds great right, and we’d all love to do it but how do we get there? Menu planning is the answer to all those questions above. We have a jam-packed episode today filled with tons of tips, examples, and ideas so stick with me, and I know there will be something that will appeal to each of you in some way. I hope to get you in the habit of menu planning if you’re not already and if you already are but find yourself in a rut, then I hope this episode will give you some encouragement to keep going. If you’re already a die-hard habitual menu planner, maybe you’ll gain some new ideas to jazz up your weekly menu plan. Come check out the show notes and all the links mentioned in the podcast at www.ThankfulHomemaker.com

We are already nearing Christmas Eve and plans that I had to bake or buy or clean haven’t all been finished.  There are gifts I wanted to purchase or send that didn’t happen.  There are cookies I wanted to bake that I didn’t get too and areas I wanted to tidy at home that I didn’t even get close to doing. But I want to share with you today reminders that I’m talking to myself about what I am choosing. I’m hoping to help us keep our focus on the main thing this Christmas season. You can read the full podcast here, but my hope is you will sit with me for just a few minutes of your day and listen in to the podcast and let me pour into you a bit.  Thank you for spending your time with me today - I am blessed by each one of you. Thank you for your prayers, for your sweet notes of encouragement to me and for supporting this little ministry here at Thankful Homemaker by listening in to this podcast. I’ll be taking a break for the next week to enjoy family time. I will see you all next year back here at the blog and podcast. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my dear friends. Find the full show notes for this episode at ThankfulHomemaker.com Follow ThankfulHomemaker on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Favorite App Subscribe to ThankfulHomemaker.com

I am a calendar and planner lover. I love lists and making goals and seeking to make the most of my days. I’m also aware of how easy it is to become overwhelmed, miserable, and exhausted when I don’t have a good plan in place to make the most of my days. I want to share today a system I’ve used for years on planning my spiritual priorities for the year. It has helped me to focus and build my choices in light of biblical priorities. It comes from a great little resource called Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed by Carolyn Mahaney. This resource crossed my path several years ago and challenged me in the area of spiritual goals for the New Year. I realized if I didn’t plan and spend time in prayer of how I was going to grow spiritually not much growth would take place. For several years now I have spent time planning areas of my spiritual life where I would like to see growth. Spiritual Priorities PDF Planning Guide For more information and the show, notes visit www.thankfulhomemaker.com

As the busy Christmas season is upon us we can find ourselves all wrapped up (literally wrapping too) in planning, cooking, cleaning, shopping, decorating, ministry activities and a multitude of other tasks that seem to come about during the Christmas season in addition to just the normal activities of life that we are dealing with. I personally can lose focus and need to continue to pray to the Lord to remind me to have the heart of Mary and not get caught up with the attitude of Martha in all that needs to be done. I’m a very task focused person, and it’s how my mind works so I need to be intentional and prayerful to not miss the wonder of the Christmas season. The Christmas season can be a time – a reminder to us to refocus - to again to think deeply about the realities of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. For more information and the show notes visit www.thankfulhomemaker.com

I'm going to cross into a sensitive area but I'm hoping you will hang in here with me today and ponder some of what I'm sharing. This is an area that has been on my heart to talk about partly because I'm convicted by it when I see this sin in my life but also because I know the damage it can to in our churches and amidst our relationships with other Christians. I'm addressing today when we have a critical or judgmental spirit against others. What is the spirit of the Pharisees that we want to avoid? It is that of a self-righteous spirit. It's when we look down on others whether inwardly or express it outwardly. We may despise them or look at them with contempt or annoyance. It is being a fault finder.  We're going to be working through the text of Matthew 7:1-5 open your Bibles and join in with me today as we ask the Lord to help us do battle with our critical, sinful spirits.  You can find resources and complete show notes at www.thankfulhomemaker.com