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Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 6
Good morning, ladies! It’s a new week! How was your weekend? The weather has cooled down here. We spent the weekend wearing sweaters! We are also enjoying our new chicks and baby rabbits. What have you been up to?
Download Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 6
If you have found this devotional to be helpful and would like to support our ministry at A Virtuous Woman, you can donate! As always your prayers and gifts are appreciated!
Suggested Donation: $8.95
Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 5
Good morning ladies! We have come to the end of the first week of our challenge. How are you doing? I hope you have been inspired to let God have the glory in your home! Remember, we meet back here Monday morning for another week!
Download Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 5
Today’s giveaway is:
A Vintage Apron and Pan Holder e-Pattern, available in our Proverbs 31 Bookstore!
About the e-Patterm: This sweet half apron with matching pan holder is from a vintage pattern in my collection. Just print the pattern, cut out the pieces and tape together. Then, just pin to your fabric, cut, and sew!
In order to be entered into the drawing, you must comment below. Let’s discuss the lesson!
If you have found this devotional to be helpful and would like to support our ministry at A Virtuous Woman, you can donate! As always your prayers and gifts are appreciated!
Suggested Donation: $8.95
Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 4
Photo Credit: Dovile Cizaite
Good morning ladies! How has your week progressed? Are you feeling inspired? Today we are going to look at our homes with an honest heart and list the problem areas we need to tackle! Don’t get overwhelmed!
Download Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 4
If you have found this devotional to be helpful and would like to support our ministry at A Virtuous Woman, you can donate! As always your prayers and gifts are appreciated!
Suggested Donation: $8.95
Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 3
Good morning ladies! How are you today? We are going to continue re-evaluating our lives today. It is a good thing to do periodically. That way, you don’t wake up one morning and look back on your life with regret! As we progress through this study, and after we complete the study, begin to diligently work on spring cleaning your home! Share your accomplishments with us!
Download Spring Clean for the Heart and Home: Day 3
Today’s giveaway is:
The Pretty Practical Notebook Dividers e-book,
available in our Proverbs 31 Bookstore, value $5.95!
About the book: Organize your Household Notebook/ Planner with these pretty, practical Dividers and Tabs! Just print onto cardstock, cut out, and insert into your notebook. Perfect for homeschooling moms! Included in this package are 26 Household Planner Dividers and over 50 Homeschool Planner Dividers!
In order to be entered into the drawing, you must comment below. Let’s discuss the lesson!
If you have found this devotional to be helpful and would like to support our ministry at A Virtuous Woman, you can donate! As always your prayers and gifts are appreciated!
Suggested Donation: $8.95
Or you can purchase Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home e-Book here.
Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 2
How are you ladies this morning? Did you complete yesterday’s workbook pages? What did you learn about yourself? Today we continue to look into our hearts. It’s time to re-evaluate our priorities!
Download Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 2
Today’s giveaway is:
Momma’s Saving Grace Daily Planner e-Book by Melissa Ringstaff,
available in our Proverbs 31 Bookstore, valued at $4.95!
About the Book: Get organized with this easy to use weekly planner!
- Momma’s Daily Schedule
- Birthdays and Anniversaries
- Housekeeping
- Weekly Planner
- The weekly planner includes a calendar for the week, weekly menu plan, and shopping list.
In order to be entered into the drawing, you must comment below. Let’s discuss the lesson!
If you have found this devotional to be helpful and would like to support our ministry at A Virtuous Woman, you can donate! As always your prayers and gifts are appreciated!
Suggested Donation: $8.95
4th Annual Spring Clean Challenge
Get ready for this year’s 4th Annual Spring Clean Challenge.
It begins April 2, 2012!
There will be print outs and homework and heartwork… So plan ahead!
We will have discussion here on Weekdays (Monday – Friday). You can report your progress, discuss questions you have, or share insights you have discovered.
Plus! We will be giving away some great FREE PRIZES!! To enter to win, just comment on your progress and discuss the daily devotions each day!
Wired.
Or not.
We decided a week ago to cut off the internet in our house.
That’s right. Despite the fact that I run an online ministry from home, we cut off the internet.
Photo Credit: Alfred Borchard
There were a number of reasons. After only a week, I can already tell a huge difference in how I feel and I have noticed a difference in my children.
A few weeks ago, I was on facebook and noticed a “status” on a friend’s page that went something like this:
Family time: Mom’s on iphone, daughter’s on iphone, son’s on ipad, Dad’s on laptop.
That one little quip really bothered me. It sounded funny. But not really. It’s the sign of a disconnected family. Everyone off in their own little cyber space world. It’s what’s wrong with America today. It bothers me. I don’t want to be that family.
Now, honestly, we aren’t that bad. I’ve never considered computer time, family time. I monitor the kids usage daily, their devices are passworded and only I know the password. They have to have permission to get on. I’ve never believed it was healthy to have your head in “the box” for hours on end on a daily basis. But at the same time, I felt like we were missing something as a family. In our house, as busy as we are, we have a basic routine to our days. The kids do their school work then get their chores done so they can have “free time.” More often than not, as soon as their chores were done the request would come in, “Mom, can I get on my computer (or kindle, ipod, etc.)?” I realized that free time was no longer about discovering new interests, working on a hobby, learning a new skill, having quiet down time, or taking a walk. It was more and more about being wired to facebook or Messenger.
For myself, I realized that my desire to write a new article or share a new recipe often came before my desire to get other important things done. I also realized that being “wired in” 24/7 meant that I felt an obligation to provide daily material for my readers to enjoy so that my google rank stayed high. But then, it was also very easy to become distracted by a favorite blog, Pintrest, or a search for new recipes to try.
I have felt, for a long time, robbed of my time. But who was really stealing it? ME. The internet, with all of its fabulous ideas and inspiring articles draw us in, telling us that we need it. When the idea of disconnecting the internet first came up, I battled with it. I said things like, “I don’t know, I use it for homeschooling all the time. I use it for recipes, and so many things! I have a ministry and a blog! How can I give that up?”
But then, I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart, whispering to me and I knew I needed to let it go. For our family. And then I felt peace. More peace than I have felt in a really, really long time.
I’ve noticed several things since disconnecting:
- I have more time. My days feel longer. I use to complain all the time that I just didn’t have enough time. I felt stressed an awful lot. I have my life back.
- When I do go to the library to get on and post to A Virtuous Woman, I have a list of things that need to get done and I do them. No distractions. No wasted time. And as a bonus, we get our library things done for school while we are there. And on nice days, we walk – fresh mountain air and healthy exercise.
- I have re-discovered my cookbooks. I love it.
- I’ve been able to get some projects done that have been on the back burner for, sadly, years.
- My teens, who were bored out of their minds the first couple of days, are discovering a world outside the internet. Thank you, Lord. A true blessing indeed.
- I just feel happier. Who knew?
I can’t count the times I would read someone’s blog, thinking their life sounded so perfect, wishing mine was, and then telling myself – “Instead of dreaming about the perfect life, get up and live it.” I have always had a pretty good life. No, a really good life. A wonderful life. But now… it seems all the more so.
The simple life… is the good life.
Fabulous Valentine’s Day Finds
I love to make Valentine’s Day special for my family. I have found so many wonderful freebies this year! In fact, I have found so many great ideas I’m having a difficult time trying to decide which ones to use! How about Valentine’s month? Sounds like a good idea!
Here are a few of my favorite finds – the some of the ones I’ll be using this year:
Host a Gingerbread Party for Kids
Looking for ways to make this year’s Christmas celebration memorable for your kids? Why not host a gingerbread party? I bet this would be fun for moms, too! HGTV has some great ideas. Check them out! Not to mention the adorable invitations and recipe cards you can print for free! Plus! More printables: a red and green banner, gingerbread party circles, fancy food labels, and more!
A Schedule Check-Up
From Chaos to Calm: Day Forty-Four
A Schedule Check-up
Scripture Memory: “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11
Photo Credit: John Nyberg
Download the .pdf version of this article.
By now you should have your kitchens clean. If you have not had time to finish the kitchen, which was a huge job (I know!) I want to encourage you to set a day this week and complete the project before continuing.
Today, I want you to get out your schedule again and let’s look at it. What is working? What isn’t working? What do you think is hindering you the most?
When I look back at my own struggles with working out a schedule and sticking to it… I realize that for me, it was often hard to keep a schedule for more than one reason.
Reason #1 – A Lack of Self-discipline. For those of you who are not naturally inclined to being organized or who are prone to laziness, this will be your greatest challenge. As you tweak your schedule, don’t overdo the details. You will only frustrate yourself if you try to be detailed in your planning. Begin by setting aside chunks of time for certain tasks, but do not plan in 15 minute intervals. As you make your loose schedule a habit, you can incorporate more details one at a time.
Reason #2 – Too Much to Do. This is a hard one. I recently found myself in this position. Actually, I often find myself in this position. As a homeschooling mom, a pastor’s wife, writer, and Director of A Virtuous Woman, it is easy to get overwhelmed by everything I need to accomplish on any given day. My solution is to schedule only the basics and do what I can to work the rest in. I keep my children on a schedule and work around them. When I follow my schedule, I often find myself with small bits of free time to sit and relax during the day!
Evaluate your schedule and make changes as needed. You can sit down and do this any time you feel that your schedule is not working well. It is not set in stone. As your life changes, so you will your schedule!
If you feel like you’ll never get it right, trust that God will pull you through. If you struggle, if you fall off track, if things go wrong one day or many – just keep picking up where you left off and start over. As we continue to clean the house, make it your priority each day to keep the areas we have covered clean before you go to bed. The kitchen should be your priority. If you are only able to keep the kitchen clean for now, don’t sweat it! Feel proud of yourself as you go to bed each night with that clean kitchen. Thank God for His power that is working in you to create the home of peace and calm you have always wanted.
