The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to and end...
Good morning Ladies!
I am such a sucker for a pretty apron. I could easily spend way too much time browsing for a new one, and for me one apron is just not enough.
My appreciation for aprons came a year or so after I married, at that time I realized how wearing an apron can save your clothes from countless stains while cooking. At that time I had just the one apron, a basic apron with no bells or whistles ;) Fast forward to about 5 years ago and when my husband asked what I wanted for Christmas I asked for a new apron, a pretty apron. There starts my minor obsession with aprons.
I titled this post "The Apron Experiment" for those who don't wear aprons on a regular basis and who don't know the power of an apron ;)
"She looketh well to the way of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."
Proverbs 31:27
I'm sure many of you have read that verse- maybe you even have it memorized. It's one of those verses that encourages me to get up and moving. God is really the one with the power to change a life, He can speak to your heart in ways you need. I give all glory and praise to the Lord when He changes my way of thinking,
or speaking,
or acting.
But can I tell you that there's also this funny thing that happens when you put on an apron, there's power in a pretty apron that can get you up and moving. Perhaps it's because it is hard to sit around and be lazy when you have a pretty apron on, you're not doing that apron justice by being idle.
But can I also tell you, before you can really appreciate the pretty apron, you really need to do two things ahead of time:
1. Start your day with the Lord. Like I said, God is the one with the power to change a life, we can't do it on our own, we need the Lord to give us strength each day to have a happy and sweet attitude. To work hard throughout the day we need God's grace. To get past our failures and weaknesses we need God's mercies. Remember they are New Every Morning! So we need to start each morning by spending time at the feet of Jesus, giving the Lord that time to change us and mold us to want He wants us to be. A pretty apron won't do anything for us if we skip our quiet time with the Lord.
"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3
"I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope." Psalm 16:8-9
2. A pretty apron also won't do anything for us if we don't put some effort into our appearance. I know the Lord looks at the heart of a person, but are we really giving our best to our husband, our kids, or God when we look shabby or like we just don't care? If you work outside the home you put effort into your appearance, well it should be the same if you stay at home. We should want to look our best for our family, shouldn't we? Now I'm not saying you need to wear your "Sunday Best", but perhaps take a few minutes to get dressed (in something other than sweatpants and a shabby t-shirt), do your hair, and put on some makeup. I know from experience, if I don't get dressed and ready for the day first thing in the morning, then I feel lazy and I end up being idle. Covering up our shabbiness with a pretty apron is just silly in my opinion.
"As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion." Proverbs 11:22
I know that verse is talking about something different, but honestly that's the way I feel when I try to pretty up my appearance with just an apron. Under that apron is hair that is messed up, a face that looks tired and without makeup, ratty clothes, etc. It's like that ring in the nose of a pig- kind of silly, isn't it?
So, who is tired of being idle? Who wants to change their lazy ways into something productive and worthwhile? Who is ready to give their family their best?
I don't find it ironic that the verse immediately following Proverbs 31:27 is this one:
"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." vs.28
When we put effort into our family and into our homemaking, then our family will bless us and praise us. Oh, they may not show their appreciation every single day but they will look back on their time at home with fondness, with a love for us, knowing that we gave them our best.
For the next 2 weeks I'd like to invite you to do this "apron experiment" along with me. I guarantee you that if you start your day with the Lord, get yourself ready for the day, then put on a pretty apron, that your day will go so much more smoothly. Starting your day with the Lord is the single most important thing you can do, but then getting dressed and putting yourself together will make you feel better about yourself. The cherry on top is that apron! You'll feel ready to give your family your best, you won't feel so much like sitting around and being lazy, you'll want to accomplish things in your day. It's an experiment, so give it a try!
Let me know how it goes, I'd love to hear how this apron experiment worked for you!
Hi there ladies! You may have noticed that I haven't been around for awhile? My absence has not been completely intentional, I've been a busy wife and mom lately. We welcomed baby #5 into our home and so my time has been spent taking care of my family and adjusting to life with another baby.
There was a time, before starting this blog, that I was writing a different blog and my priorities were completely messed up! I don't know that I wanted to be some famous blogist (probably not a real word but it sounded good), but I was so invested in it that it took up so very much of my time. I woke up thinking about how I needed to hurry up and get my quiet time with the Lord finished so that I could have a few moments of uninteruppted time to finish my blog post on having a meaningful quiet time. hmmmm.....
Then there were the times that I would get so frustrated with my kids when they wanted to play, but I was too busy writing a post about being the kind of mother God created you to be. hmmmm.......
Or the times I let my housework go so that I could blog about getting into a housework routine. Do you see the irony in all of this?
Praise goes to the Lord that He opened my eyes! What a fool I was.
So I had to stop blogging.
I had to just walk away.
It was difficult to walk away because I love to write, and blogging was my way to write.
But being a wife and mom was more important.
I did not want my children to remember me as a great blogger, I wanted them to remember me as a great mother.
So I deleted my old blog and walked away, it was the best decision for sure!
Fast forward to last year when I decided to take another whack at blogging, but this time a little differently. I was not going to let it consume me, I was not going to let it take time away from my family. I truly believe the Lord will not bless you if you allow that to happen. Don't get me wrong, I think there are great bloggers out there that don't sacrifice their family to do it- I'm just not one of them. So that is the reason that you may not see me around from time to time. Are there blog posts that I would love to write but may not get around to? sure. Will I ever have a huge blog following? probably not. But will I do what the Lord has created me to do by being a wife and mom first? yes. And will I be happy doing that? absolutely!
Thanks to those who have stuck around. And tell me- how do you blog in the midst of your life??
Raise your hand ladies if you enjoy Spring Cleaning! Hmmm.....not very many. :)
Would it be better if you could win something fabulous like a new GE Washer & Dryer set??
Keep reading and you'll find out how you can win.
Spring Cleaning may not be your favorite past time, but isn't the result worth it in the end? I love seeing my house cleaned and decluttered, but keeping it that way takes ongoing determination. You have to be determined to keep it clean after the crazy whirlwind of Spring Cleaning. Spring Cleaning is great to accomplish those jobs that don't get done on a regular basis: cleaning under the fridge, stove, washer and dryer; cleaning the cupboard shelves in the kitchen,; decluttering bathroom drawers and the cabinets under sinks; shampooing carpets and rugs; etc.
But how do you keep your house clean on a regular basis? Do you have a routine you go by? A cleaning schedule that works well for you? This is what works for me:
Mondays- Main Bedroom
Tuesdays- Kitchen and Dining Room
Wednesdays- Bathrooms
Thursdays- Living Room
Fridays- Laundry Room and Porch
Saturdays- Kids Bedrooms
So on each particular day I will go into that specific room and clean everything in it! I'll do the dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the windows, changing out sheets, scrubbing the floors, wiping down the surfaces, decluttering, etc. Whatever needs to be done in that room I'll do. That way I know when I leave that room it's completely cleaned- at least until next week. :)
This is what works for me, what works for you?
And by the way, I mentioned winning a free Washer and Dryer set, join the Spring Cleaning Challenge over at Tidymom.net and you can enter to win these or other fabulous prizes too.
