Dear Darlene,
I am a reader of Courtney over at Women Living Well, and I noticed she mentioned you one day, so since that day have been a reader of your blog as well!
First, I wanted to say thank you for your Home Maintenance Schedule! Being a new wife (been married to my wonderful husband for 19 months), and young mom, (my adorable, sweet boy is 6 months old), I’m still working on figuring out the best way to take care of the house, AND take care of my son, AND get everything else I need to done in a day! I trust that if I’m faithful to practice my house-keeping routine now and get a good handle on it, then, Lord willing, when we have more children, juggling all of my responsibilities will be easier.
I’ve been following your schedule–with a switch in a day or two–for about three weeks, and it’s working out great! I really appreciate all of the tips and the way that you have incorporated daily tasks, weekly tasks and even de-junking! It’s been helpful to have it as a guide and goal for each day. Again, thank you for sharing it!
I also wanted to say a big thank you for standing up for the truth of God’s Word, and for encouraging us readers to be faithful to God’s design for us as women, wives and mothers. As I previously mentioned, I’m a new wife so I’m still learning submission and how to take judgmental or even angry thoughts captive and instead love my husband regardless of his words, attitudes or actions.
I really didn’t ever think that I’d have a problem with any of this, but man, does marriage show me just how sinful I am! I praise the Lord that He is sanctifying me in this area in the beginning of our marriage, and I thank Him for using some of your posts (particularly “Regaining Sight of His Character“) to help point my mind toward right thinking.
Keep up the good work, Sister, and thank you for your words of wisdom. You are an encouragement and example to me.
Blessings,
Sophia
Dear Sophia,
Thank you so much for your letter. I’m humbled and blessed by your kind words. I’m glad that you have made use of the house-keeping chart, and that the system is working for you. My hope is that I’ll continually find things to add to the “Home Maintenance Schedule” so that it will be a complete guide to keeping our homes.
Thank you also for your thoughts on marriage. I was inspired when you said, “take judgmental or even angry thoughts captive, and instead love my husband regardless of his words, attitudes, or actions.” I think that’s a lesson that we should all practice, BEFORE angry words are spoken or negative action is taken.
Our bodies are animated by our thoughts. Words and actions spring forth from our heart so that in essence we become what we think.
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. ~ Luke 6:43-45, (NIV)
If we’re not patient women, then we’re not going to somehow pull patience out of a hat in the heat of an argument. In the same way, if we don’t love our husband from the core of our heart we’ll be walking on thin ice when the going gets tough. Therefore it’s important that we are continually taking these thoughts captive and bringing them into obedience (2 Cor. 10:5).
There’s a popular saying that goes, “If you want to wear a different pair of pants, you have to live differently.” The same principle applies to our marriage. If we want a good marriage, we have to do the leg work it takes in making it happen.
I’m excited to see women like you who are taking steps to building a strong marriage. As I’ve said in a previous post, so much thought and effort is given to planning a wedding, but sadly most of us aren’t willing to put the same effort toward planning our marriage.
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene
For comments or questions, contact me at:
darlene[at]darleneschacht.net