Prepare Yourselves

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."

--Benjamin Franklin

I like this quote for many reasons, I love preparing and planning in advance. Around our home my daughters are already making Christmas gifts from scratch and I am browsing through a load of fall magazines to get inspired for the upcoming change of season. I love when there is 'change' in the air.

It is so important as a homemaker to plan our days. If we do not do this simple thing we squander away precious time the Lord has given us and fail at being good stewards in this arena. I am not promoting a rigid schedule that allows no room for fun and relaxation but I am promoting orderliness. With an orderly life comes an orderly mind and you will enable yourself to function at peak performance to live life to the fullest.

For those of you who are not married yet, I encourage you to learn this discipline early on. It is a shame to have to struggle through it all unnecessarily. Even if you did not have a mother to teach you such things there are so many valuable resources today that you can teach yourself anything--from sewing to organizing. It is a blessing to not only know what womanly arts are but to be practiced and skilled in them. When I only had one child I taught myself to sew several things through a book I found at my local library. My mother had taught me how to mend holes in socks but I took it a step further and advanced those skills. I learned how to make curtains, dresses, coats, fabric books, hats, etc. You can do this too. Now that I have eight children I can teach them these skills and pass on this valuable knowledge in which they will use often in their own blessed homes.


But ultimately, I think it is so important to gain a vision for homemaking. If you do not know what your purpose is or end result might look like you can easily end up just feeling like you are mindlessly doing 'work' all day and you will end up losing heart. You have to see the bigger picture. You have to see just how you are influencing generations you might never get to meet and how because of your encouragement, praise, faithfulness and steadfastness you have a hand in changing the future. Here is a peek:

"A haven for the weary, a hospital for those in need of nursing. Open
arms to those without family. A place of comfort, blessing and peace.
Every need is met here, whether it be a meal, a smile, or a prayer. A
place that reflects Christs heart. A warm loving environment that
cannot be found anywhere else. A place people are drawn to knowing
their souls will be refreshed. Does this sound like our homes? Can we
create this type of environment while we are on the go? God has shown
me all the ministry that can be poured out of my own home and that it
can be overflowing!...

A rich home is what we desire. Hearts turned to one another. Family
members being the best of friends and peace, love and joy flourishing
in the face of the world outside its doors. Children being raised in
the fear and the admonition of our glorious Father. You can't do that
on the run."

View the entire post here.

I also highly recommend this book to help gain that vision. It changed the whole way I looked at the sacred home and blessed married life. You can read it online here. I know it will bless you just as it blessed me.