Thankful Homemaker: A Christian Homemaking Podcast

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

My quick cleaning method I'm going to share with you has been serving me well for many years. I appreciate being able to make my family feel comfy and well cared for along with those we shoe hospitaltity to so I use this list for an occasional quick clean up for my family and company too. Listen in as I share today my top ten cleaning tips in preparing for company. 

Self-discipline is essential to spiritual growth and it is useful in our lives in so many ways. Living lives that are disciplined means saying, "yes" to God in every area of our lives. Jesus is our ultimate example of what it looks like to live a disciplined life. He chose both dependence and obedience to His Father. As Christians we too are called to dependence and obedience to our Father. Self-discipline is primary to our spiritual growth. In 1 Timothy 4:7 we are called to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness. It means to exercise control over one's self. It's the ability to keep ourselves under control.