Welcome to Day 17 of our series, From Chaos to Calm: 15 Weeks to a Happy Home. Today we’re talking about a tough-love subject – self-discipline. Most women work really hard but sometimes our habits make life harder!
From Chaos to Calm: Day Seventeen
Self Discipline
Scripture Memory: “He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.” Proverbs 5:23
Have you ever known a woman who seemed to have it all together. You know, the woman who gets up early each morning and has her chores done by 8 a.m., the children are well-behaved, her house is company ready all the time, she manages to cook good meals for her family, and still has time to do her hair and wear make-up.
One thing that is true for all of us is the amount of time we have in a single day. We all get 24 hours a day to cram in all that we need to do. So, what is different about the woman who has it all together? Well, she has self-discipline.
related: Cultivating a Heart of Discipline at Home
For the woman who lacks self-discipline, the “perfect life” may seem like a far off dream – something that will never happen. She may wake up in the morning to a dirty kitchen and immediately feel dismay. So, before she makes breakfast, she must clean the kitchen.
A woman with self-discipline would see to it that the breakfast dishes were immediately washed or placed in the dish washer once breakfast was over. But, unfortunately for this woman, the task seems too great or she feels other items on her agenda are more important. Now, a job that would have taken less than ten minutes will take thirty or more when she must clean up the kitchen before supper can be prepared.
A woman lacking self-discipline may dread laundry and so she doesn’t get around to washing the laundry until no one has any underwear in their drawer. Or perhaps, she doesn’t mind throwing the clothes in the wash but when the clothes are dry, she throws them in a heap on the table to be folded later. Only later means more wrinkles and more work. A job that takes five minutes now takes ten or fifteen.
A woman lacking self-discipline may shake her head in frustration as the children rip all of the toys from the toy box leaving behind a horrendous mess. Instead of insisting they put away one toy before choosing another, she ignores the bad behavior until the floor is so cluttered walking becomes a hazard.
Unfortunately for the children as well as the mom, cleaning up the toys now takes all afternoon instead of a minute here or there. Even worse, she is setting an example of poor time management for her children that will likely follow them all of their days.
Sound familiar? It may be that you are disciplined in some areas of your life and lacking in others. We all have room to grow! Putting to use good time management is a must for every homemaker.
The undisciplined woman above is destined to a life of always running behind, always stressed from clutter and disorganization, and never seeming to have a break from all her work.
Why? Because when you put off a task until later it is always harder, more painful, and more time consuming than if you had done it immediately.
Learn more: The Disciplined Homemaker 30 Day Homemaking Class
For instance, washing a mixing bowl takes mere seconds if you do it as soon as the muffin batter goes into the oven. However, dried on batter takes forever to scrub! Piles of unfolded laundry cost you valuable time when everyone must search through piles of clothes to find matching socks or the shirt they need to wear.
So, how do we establish good habits and self-discipline? We begin small. And we pray for God’s strength. Remember, God’s Word says:
And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23, 24
Hopefully by now, you have gotten into a routine of waking up early and having your prayer and devotion. If you have been doing this there is good news! You have begun to lead a self-disciplined life! Let’s add one more routine to your day.
Tomorrow, I want you to wake up early, pray, read your Bible, and write in your prayer journal. This should be nearly a habit by now. If you have chosen to take your walk or exercise in the morning, continue to do that after your prayer time. You are doing great! Now, I want you to add to your morning routine: Getting Fully Dressed.
It is so important to your day not to lounge around in your pajamas or sweat pants. This can be such a hard one to follow through with for stay at home moms. You will feel so much better if you are fully dressed! You will find that you are more efficient and more likely to take your job as homemaker seriously if you have nice clothes on, do your hair (actually style it!) and put on a little makeup – even just lip gloss.
related: The Role of a Homemaker | Is Homemaking the Wife’s Job?
Self-discipline is so important! It means forcing yourself to do those things you don’t really care to do. In other words – just get up and do it! If your house is a mess – clean it up! If there are clothes that need folding – fold them! If you have children and a husband to feed – make it your priority to see that they are fed well!
Remember, God’s purpose for your life is not to run around frustrated, be lazy, spend too much time reading books, or anything else that takes away from your role as a keeper at home. His purpose for you is to find peace and minister to your family – one day at a time.
That is what this challenge is really all about. Taking it one day at a time until we are set in our ways which will become His ways.
Click to Listen:
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From Chaos to Calm: 15 Weeks to a Happy Home is a daily devotion – Monday through Friday for 15 Weeks by Melissa Ringstaff. The Audio Podcast gives you extra ideas to go along with the email series or e-book.
Extra Resources for Fun:
- Take the Myers Briggs personality test for free.
- My personality type: INFJ – You can read all about my personality type here.
Action Steps to Take Today
- Pray and ask God to show you the areas in your life where you are lacking self discipline.
- If you want to become more self disciplined, ask Him to help you learn to cultivate self discipline beginning today.
- Remember to give yourself grace. Building new habits takes time.
What areas of your life are needing some serious self discipline?
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