As mentioned previously, in The Plan, one of the things that I am working towards this year in our home is finding ways that we can have a more peaceful environment. Because one of the Fruits of the Spirit is peace, when our home is filled with people who are indwelt by the Spirit of God, peace ought to be a natural byproduct in our home. One would think that would be the case, but I ought to be honest with you here and tell you that, unfortunately, too many times I find myself not walking in the Spirit but rather walking in the works of the flesh. Galatians 5 would teach us that the flesh wars against the Spirit and they are contrary to one another, so that when I am in the flesh, I am not doing the things that I want to be doing. Things come out of me that I recognize as works of the flesh that I hate, such as outbursts of wrath, jealousies, contentions, etc... They are so ugly and NOT what God wants from me, and certainly not promoting peace in my home!
I know the answer - it's so obvious! But yet, when I fail so miserably, how am I to be training my little ones to walk in the Spirit? I am so thankful that the Lord loves my children more than my husband and I could even begin to, and that He is doing a work in their lives that goes far beyond me! By God's grace, we pray that the Lord would allow our children to see us changed more for His glory, and that they will go so much farther than we will go!
Romans 8:6 says that, "to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." (as opposed to setting the mind on carnal things) So, my first step in trying to create a more peaceful environment in our home is to find things to help my family (myself included) set their minds on the Spirit. I am thinking of specifically targeting 2 of the senses here - hearing and sight! I am completely just beginning this journey, and am wide open to suggestions that you may have for me to help in these areas (like I have said before, I'm not exactly a creative person, but I like to take your good ideas and run with them =0] ).
Hearing -
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:7 / Be conscious to constantly be talking about the Lord - His commandments, His mercies, His love and care - seek to see His hand in everything and every day life
Keeping music in the home that will lift our hearts to worship
Consistent reading aloud of the Word of God
Sight -
Scripture verses around the home
Visual reminders of God's goodness in our lives
3 comments:
Do you use pandora? They have a channel called "Hymns 4 Worship" and I LOVE it! Pandora recently stopped putting a max on the amount of free listening you can have per month, so I play it a lot.
We also have the Bible on mp3 and, since my kids are really little and spend a lot of time playing with legos, we are able to listen to it each morning and that is peaceful too :)
A peaceful home was a focus last year and some of the other things I found helpful:
- scented candles {makes the house smell good, even if it doesn't look good!}
- china tea cups and a constant supply of tea to enjoy with the boys {I finally decided to just use my collection, but they're cheap at thrift stores! Using something pretty, that is ok if it breaks, is really special, which in a round about way I think makes things peaceful :)}
- {totally still in the process!} but decluttering and giving everything a home... SO not there yet, but every step towards it is nice :)
- filling my home with pictures of places and things we love - I know it's not for everyone, but I love having pictures on the walls and it's just US! I think it promotes peacefulness having all the visual reminders of things we're thankful for on the walls :)
Lynn, I have loved these recent posts of yours. Thank you for sharing what you're learning!
I too have been praying about and brainstorming ways to make our home more peaceful - where everyone feels loved and safe. I've noticed there are certain times the peace slips away - after school, when I need to get dinner on the table and everyone needs something from me and we have places to be, and also on the weekends, for the same reason. I remembered some advice that a friend of mine gave me about an older mom she knew. She said that she made it her goal to have everything done by 3:30 - laundry, dinner, EVERYTHING, so that when kids come home, you can welcome them and be available to them. It is making such a difference in our home recently.
I've been appreciating your posts greatly since having peace in our home would be a blessing. I'm not sure that I have much to advise since I have such little ones and much clutter, but something my husband said recently . . . he told me he would rather be late, not get something done, have a messy home, than have me stressed out trying to accomplish those tasks. My attitude has much to do with whether my home is peaceful - whether or not I get everything done.
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