A Time for Intentional Homemaking
Welcome to my new series. Each Wednesday I’ll be exploring what God’s Word has to say to me on the topic of managing my time as a wife and mother.
Ah, keeping house! If only it were this easy (sans rats and roaches):
The first Scripture I thought of on this topic was Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, the famous “a time for everything” passage.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die,
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…
a time to break down, and a time to build up…” (vv. 1-2, 3)
What impressed on my heart is that there is also a time for everything I do as a homemaker. God has given me 24 hours a day, and this is enough time for everything He has called me to do!
Is there time for everything I want to do? No. Do I have time to waste? No.
But the Lord, who is sovereign over time, has given me a time to work (I am to be “working at home” [Titus 2:5]), time to rest, time to spend with Him, time to spend with my husband, time to spend with Christian, time to evangelize, time to disciple and be discipled, time to serve, and time for recreation. I even believe He has given me a time to blog. 
So my job must be to arrange my life around the Lord’s calling for me… around His kingdom, not mine… in a pattern of self-denial, not self-indulgence, for “she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (1 Timothy 5:8).
What a highly intimidating calling! I must admit that I fail at this on a regular basis, which was my motivation for starting this series.
Today’s application for myself is to be intentional. I’m not just talking about schedules and to-do lists, although those things help. But they won’t create self-denial in my heart if I’m only focused on me. The Lord’s agenda for me is what I need to be seeking! And that is going to take thought, prayer, and purposefulness so that I don’t waste my life away in the everyday minutiae of homemaking… instead of living a God-glorifying life in the minutiae!
I want to hear from you! How are you intentional with your time, whether you’re a homemaker or not? How do you seek the Lord’s agenda in your life?
Thank you for sharing, Rebecca! That’s very humble of you to admit. I have often found myself in the same place!
Anna,
I’ve heard of you! : -) Thanks so much for commenting on my blog! I look forward to reading yours, as well. Congratulations on your marriage and baby! The Lord has certainly been good to both of us!
Amber
Anna, I also have been struggling with my time. I often find myself laying in bed wondering what happened to my day. I am a wife and mother of 2, so I have a lot to keep me busy. But yet, I am so behind with my stuff. I have tried doing lists, planning, everything I can think of. But nothing works…. where am I going wrong? 
Hi Debbie… you’re my cousin Debbie, right?! Thanks for commenting! I am hardly one to give specific advice because I am just starting out. I have some things that work for me and I think that is the most important – having a routine and priorities that work for you. I am going to write a quick post with practical links about this that have really helped me!
Anna, Yes I am your cousin Debbie. 
I will make sure I take a look at that. I really want to have ‘completed’ days where everything I need to get done, gets done. Thank you for the links!
I really like the idea of arranging my life around God’s kingdom, not mine. There isn’t time to do everything “I” want to do with my life. That becomes a lot less frustrating if I remember that self-denial rather than self-indulgence is to be an identifying feature of my life – because it’s about Him, not ME!
The idea of “intentially” using my time is challenging – thank you for that too!
It’s definitely something to rock your world, isn’t it? It sure is for me!
The verse that has convicted me on time management is Ephesians 5:15-16 which reads, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” I just recently got married and quit my job to be a full time homemaker. We are still in the process of unpacking and setting up our house so I don’t have a schedule or a lot of insight on the subject but I look forward to learning how to best use my time to bless my family and Glorify God!!
This is actually something I need to get better at – thank you for this post! It was definitely an encouragement to me to “be intentional” as you say.
[...] back to my series on homemaking. (Catch up by reading part 1, part 2, and part [...]
[...] back to my series on homemaking. (Catch up by reading part 1, part 2, part 3, and part [...]
[...] back to my series on homemaking. (Catch up by reading part 1 and part 2.) Each Wednesday I’ll be exploring what God’s Word has to say to me on the topic of [...]
For a while, I was really struggling with my internet time, too. At night, as I lay in bed, I would be reviewing my day and how I failed. I was constantly confessing that I had wasted my time on the computer. I have recently found, though, that continually recognizing that this was a sinful stronghold in my life and repeatedly confessing helped. I was so discouraged that it was a daily sin.
Soon, without realizing it, I was spending *less* time on the Internet. It was like God totally took the desire away.
I also got a new phone where I can access my emails on the phone. That helped SO much. I really didn’t have anything to do with getting the phone; my Dad just bought my Mom and I new ones. However, I believe that even if I didn’t get a new phone, the Lord would still have helped me overcome this downfall.
At least you want to improve your time managing skills.
If there’s no desire to improve, there’s a problem!