31 Days to Clean- day one...and two

Here I am again trying to blog consistently. We'll see how that goes. More importantly is I'm trying to really seek out what God has to say about being a wife, mother and homemaker. I am crazy about organizational tips and books. I enjoy finding ways to make life run more smoothly. Yet I never really thought about why I wanted to do that.
What was my motivation, to have the appearance of a clean house, to keep order, to make people conform. No, as I thought about it the realization hit that it is to bring order and peace. When things are where they need to be there is no longer the stress of trying to find them, there is no longer the need to try and figure out what we will have for dinner or if the right supplies are in the house. There is also less of a financial burden as things aren't bought until they are truly needed. So my over all motivation is to keep things running smoothly. I'm also motivated not to make everyone crazy while I do that.
Day One HW-

My 'why' list:
peaceful feeling, health, less chaos, shows I care about my family, desire to be a Proverbs 31 women able to take care of many things.

My Motivation:
Biblically it seems that we are called to be responsibly for the home. To create an environment of safety, peace and love. We are also called to work cheerfully as unto the Lord. (dishes and packing lunches do not make me very cheerful!)

My Mission Statement:
My mission is to run my household as though working for God. It is to do the best I can at any task, enlisting my family members to come along side and work with me. It is to establish a peaceful, healthy environment where everyone feels welcome. It is to establish routines that will allow this to happen more easily so that we can spend quality time together.


Day 2 Created to give life. Wow! I never really thought about the fact that the way I run my house also fuels life. I know being peaceful is important, but do my kids and husband see me working cheerfully even if it is doing something like packing lunches (which I can't stand). Or do they see my working cheerfully only at tasks I enjoy like reorganizing something? How can I teach my son and daughter to work cheerfully at things if I grumble and complain. I'm not saying I'm going to start acting like the 7 Dwarfs and happily go about everything, but with a different attitude and my mind set on serving my family by taking care of them the grumbling should become less.

Questions for the day:
Am I cultivating the seeds of life for my husband and children, or am I bringing death? Am I actively seeking to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, or am I gratifying the desires of the flesh?

Profound that when it comes to running a house these questions do fall into play. I think so often I think these things are in my attitude towards my family members. Am I building up, am I supporting them. Yet they are also in the way I clean, and bring life to the home by taking care of it. Am I practicing peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, love, joy and self control today as I care for my family? The fruits of the spirit are not just about how we treat others, needs to be about how I treat my home as well, and how I am in my life 100% of the time, not just in one little compartment. I AM NOT PERFECT! Yet, my goal should be to improve.