Stewarding our Home and Time

Last week our Stewarding series was continued with Stewarding our Health. This week we will continue the Stewardship series on managing our time and our home. As a woman who walks in His ways, we must learn to be better stewards of our time and managing our home. We cannot manage our home if we do not manage our time. So let’s begin this week’s two topics sister!

Stewarding our Time

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12

I remember hearing this verse a few years back and thinking, “Lord, what does this truly mean? What are you saying to me that I don’t understand?” I wasn’t quite sure what He was telling me in that time. Until He revealed to me more. My time, my days, how I was spending my “down time” or my schedule being too packed, or not getting things done that is a priority, it all was because of my time being used incorrectly. How I was using my days.

When this verse came to mind of what He was speaking to me on, it hit me… it dawned on me. If we are going to be women who walk in His ways, we are to be women who are better at managing our time.

Learning to schedule, learning to plan out our days. There was a lot of things I had to say no to so the Lord could help me restructure my days. And He was faithful enough to do so. I had to re-evaluate, go back and look at how I spent my days and down time. By the time I knew it, I saw how much I scrolled social media. Embarrassed to even admit and say, but my goodness it was a horrible feeling to see that I was “wasting time.”

In this era where social media has spiked with many looking down at their phones, He had showed me how it has stolen peace, relationships, even neglecting our time with Him. It has blocked callings, it has diverted our ways when it should be a tool used properly, not allowing it to control us. Which, I am sad to say, it has put many in emptiness places. It has placed people in places of losing their identity and who they are as they seek people, they seek approval, likes, always boasting of numbers of followers they have, seeking seeking seeking. Always trying to find the “next thing” to outdo someone and gain numbers. I see it all the time and the Lord showed me it too. It breaks His heart.

How do I know this? Because He showed me his heart.

Where social media was suppose to be a tool to be used, and can be, it has been wrecking families and relationships. Even our own self. So friend, I have learned to fast from it, I have learned to balance my time, I have learned to re-orchestrate and reorganize my day and time. Our time is important while we are here on earth breathing, living, waking up to. Each one of us has our days numbered, how are we living it?

The case isn’t always social media, it could also be extra curricular activities. It could be always saying yes to things without pausing and praying on them. God does want us to enjoy life, not be secluded and isolated from the world, BUT He wants us to have our priories in line first. Everyday is different and sometimes things come up. It’s life. But, if we can learn to better manage our time, be better stewards of our time, we can live a more intentional life God has called us to live. A lot of the times we walk around wearied. Heavy burdened. Overwhelmed. Saying things like, “I wish there was more time.” “We don’t have the time.” “24 Hours is not enough.” “I’m just too tired.”

Well, why is it that we say these things? Because our priorities are in the wrong place and we have said yes to things we probably should have said no to.

As a mom of 7, I was there. I said yes to everything without praying on it first, and this is where He showed me the reason behind me being too “tired,” because I said yes to something I should have said no to. I was overwhelmed with my home because I neglected boundaries and managing time. I was overwhelmed because I was not placing the right things in the right position. He had to show me what to let go of, what to say no to, and relearn how to live out my days for Him, my family, and making room for others.

This piece is not to condemn or have you feel guilty sister, but to convict areas in your life that God has already been speaking to you on to better steward your time and home for HIM. We are vessels called to live for HIM not the world or even our own selves.

But how can we live a good stewarding life if we cannot even manage the simple things? We can’t.

So let’s start to better manage our time. Here is this sections questions to help you get down to the bottom. But please, do be honest with them. We must evaluate our hearts and our schedule to better learn to manage and be better stewards of our time that God has so graciously given us.

reflection questions

Where do you see your time most spent? If you don’t know, look back at the past two weeks. If you feel your phone is the issue, search your time on your phone on what is taking up the time.
How much time do you spend on social media?
How much time do you spend with extra curricular activities?
How do you feel when it comes to cleaning your home?
Where do you want to be better at? Time with your children? In your marriage? Homeschool? Homesteading? Being present with others? Cleaning the home? Etc.

Your turn

Now grab you a paper out and draw a line splitting the paper in half.
On the left you will write the things that are important to you and what your day consist of.

Then pray and ask the Father what needs to go or be less time on. Then write it on the right side of the paper what needs to go.

Once this has been done, it’s time to put it to work. Daily practice.

Let us pray

Father, show us what needs to stay, what needs to go, and what needs your attention in our day to day living. Show us how to have the best use of time with our marriage, children, ministries and all that you have called us to do. Help us to prioritize correctly and giving us the boldness to say no to what needs no and yes to what you tell us to say yes too. Help us to be women who manage, who stewards our time well throughout our day by loosening the grip of “extra” things to live a more fruitful life that represents you Lord. In Jesus name, amen.

Stewarding our Home

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,”
Colossians 3:23

Have you felt heavily burdened by cleaning your home? Have you felt heavily distracted when trying to prep meals? Have you felt lazy about getting groceries for the home? Or maybe you just have felt wanting to buy all the new things to have your home look appealing to others?

Stewarding our home is not to live a worldly living or have it reflect the world but to reflect Jesus. It’s to have a tidy home, a welcoming home, a peace-filled home, a home free from clutter and overgrown mess that accumulates over time. Stewarding our home is helping us to better manage our home from cleaning, organizing, but most importantly, tending to the duties and viewing it as if we are working for the Lord, not a job or duty that brings burdens.

I was becoming heavily burdened caring for my home. I complained about the cleaning, about the prepping, about getting organized. It felt all too much. Until the Lord had me “clean out the clutter” with Him. When He showed me what needed to go, how to better organize, what to keep, my mind and heart began to feel more free. As I began to declutter it brought something spiritual in it. It was placing my house in order both spiritually and physically. He was prepping my mind and heart for His peace to overflow in my home.

I went through toys to throw broken ones, keep good ones, donate doubled toys we had, or ones that weren’t being used. I did the same in my closet. I stood there looking at what to get rid of and I felt the Lord telling me to get rid of this… get rid of that… and I held tight to them not wanting to. But as I began to obey, again, I felt more of His peace and my mind clearing more.

It was wonderful.

Then I began to fit in my schedule of “cleaning days.”

Everyday I try my best to keep our home tidy. To deep clean with dusting, restrooms, etc, I had to first learn to manage our time (in which we did above), so that I could fit it in my schedule and not neglect my home. God placed us in this home to be good stewards of it. Not to neglect it.

Our home reflects our hearts and if our homes look trendy, our hearts are trendy. Our home reflects our hearts towards Christ, and it should always be peace-filled, joy-filled, love-filled and Spirit-filled.

Now I ask you, sister in Christ, what burdens you the most in your home? Is it the clutter? Is it the division? Is it the complaining and grumbling? Is it the duties?

Let’s dig further.

Our duties within our home is to always be served as if we are serving the Lord. Whether it’s feeding our family meals, even meal planning to get “ahead” for the week. Cleaning the restroom, doing the laundry, dusting, disinfecting occasionally to help fight off germs, all these are to be done unto the Lord. We are serving our spouse and our children in such a manner. When we begin to lose sight of that, losing sight of us serving them with a wholehearted heart as if we are serving Christ, we begin to complain and eventually say, “i’m not your maid.”

I found myself in this place. Not wanting to pick up after everyone, not wanting to serve anyone, not wanting to clean, it felt such a heavy burden that I complained more often than me being grateful to have a home. To have a family.

It was when the Lord showed me my days are numbered and if I were to lose my children, I would miss cleaning up after them. I would miss the dirty messes and the spills, the dirty clothes, even the Cheeto hands on my clothes. Later that night I had a nightmare. And when I woke up, I was radically changed. It took a nightmare to stop my grumbling heart and instead to see it as an honor to serve the Lord in both my home and family.

Everything we do, grocery shopping, meal prepping, picking up toys, dusting and deep cleaning, it’s all to be done unto the Lord. We don’t neglect our home cleaning or tidying up. Rather, we are to schedule our days to help better manage our time and days. Doing so helps ease the “overwhelmed” feeling off our shoulders of needing to “catch up.”

I include my children. Giving them tasks of their appropriate age, although some want to do more, the Lord has shown me, “let them.” With proper supervision of course and guidance. But including everyone in the home helps ease the burdens off our shoulders and the pressures of thinking, “I need to do it all.”

Block out time for homeschooling, block out time for cleaning up, block out time for one day out of the week to do the deep cleaning. Schedule in a day to get groceries. Meal plan ahead of time. This helps very much within the home.

And when your husband walks through the door with a tidy home that smells lovely and clean, he feels “welcomed.” Husbands love coming home from a long day of work to a home that’s tidy (not perfect) with a beautiful smell and a home cooked fresh warm meal.
Don’t we all?

View this… this home.. and everyone in it, as if you are serving the Lord. Just as Jesus who came not to be served but to serve others, this is how we ought to be.

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28

The ones in our home are the ones we disciple the most. How are we impacting and living out the Kingdom of God in our home? Are we making room and time for the ones present in our home? Are we serving them with a whole heart, cheerful and giving? Are we grumbling in our meal planning, cleaning, duties within our home? Try being cheerful. Try cleaning and reciting verses. Try playing worship music on while tending to the home. Try praying while cooking and doing dishes. All these things are an act of worship unto the Lord and inviting the Holy Spirit within our home.

Reflection Questions

What kind of woman do you want to be?
How do you want your family (the ones in your home) to view you as?
What have you complained (or grumbled) on the most?
How can you incorporate your home to come together and help one another? (start with small tasks if this is your first time having your children do this)

your turn

As a homeschool mom of 7 and a wife, I had to learn to adjust the schedule to be around God, my family, and then my ministry. Before I placed my ministry before my children and husband… then I began to see everything falling. The Lord showed me how I needed my days to be restructured and reorganized. Replanned. And He helped me do this. Now, with a new season of added therapy for our boys, I still have to restructure my days. But I have found joy and peace doing this when it’s done with the Lord. Blocking out days for homeschool, for library and zoo days, for therapy times, for ministry writings, for meal plannings and gatherings, etc.

Now that you did the above exercise, let us begin this exercise. Plan out one day to meal plan for the week, or the next two weeks (whichever is easier for you). Ask your children what meal they would like and then ask your husband what meal he would like. Incorporate their meals too, this has them feel included.
Then plan a day to deep clean the home.
Create a “chore” chart on a piece of paper for your children to do with age appropriate tasks. Include them in the home. This helps ease the pressure and burdens off of you while also teaching them to care for the home, and when they get older, they will remember all you’ve taught them.
Every day find a way to tidy up. It doesn’t have to be perfect but tidy. Mess accumulates over time with being neglected. Let’s be women who care for the home with our hearts reflecting Jesus as we do.

let us pray

Father, help us to be women who include our families to care for the home. Let us not be prideful in asking but humbly asking our children and husband to help where help is needed. Lord, as we care for our home, give us eyes to see it as a humbly act of worship unto our Savior. As we serve our children, serve our spouse, let us not become weary in doing good to our family or home, let us not grow cold or bitter but rather, gentle and caring for the ones you entrusted us with. As we serve the ones we love in our home, caring for our home, overflow in us and our home with the peace of You Lord, having it flow in and through touching every member in our home. Help me to not see it as a burden to care for our home, cleaning, getting groceries, but rather, a gift you’ve given that I must enjoy in. If I complain Lord, bring to remembrance of You and how I am to do such things as if I am working for You Lord, not man. Teach me how to navigate my home and better prep. May my heart explode with joy when doing such things within our home in Jesus name, amen.