A Second Generation of Homeschooling

Aug. 1, 2009

If I Only Had a Maid

by Blair Massey

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10:40 (NIV)

Have you ever felt like Martha? You look at all the things you need to do and think, "How can I get this done by myself? Oh, if only I had a maid!"

If you've looked at the woman in Proverbs 31, you've seen that she was someone who accomplished a lot. I remember thinking to myself, "How is she able to get so much done? She has the same 24 hours in a day that I do, how come she is able to be so productive? "

After many years of studying the Proverbs 31 woman I can tell you that there are five things she does that guarantee her success. Let's take a look at a few of the passages pertaining to the Proverbs 31 woman to see what we can learn from her.

1. She Worked Early.

"She rises while it is yet night and gets food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks." Proverbs 31:15 (Amplified Bible)

Yes, that's right. She was up early in the morning. Not only was she up early, she was "working" early. Notice that she was busy preparing breakfast for everyone in her household. In today's world we don't have to get up before dawn to make breakfast, but there is much that we can accomplish when we get up early.

Oh, I can just hear some of you moaning, "I'm not a morning person." Well, I understand how you feel. I felt the same way myself. Then I realized that God thought it was so important that He put it in the Bible. This is the kind of thing you have to put into practice before you have a change of heart about it. It was that way for me. The Lord had to show my stubborn heart over and over that I need to get up early before I understood its benefits.

Now, I get up early with a joyful heart. I am able to have my quiet time with the Lord, shower and get ready, put in a load of laundry and get organized for the day. When I do these things early I am ready for just about anything that comes my way that day because I have prepared my heart and my mind.

2. She Worked with Strength

"She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms." Proverbs 31:17 (NKJ)

The Proverbs 31 woman was no couch potato. She understood that in order to do all that she had to do, that she must be in good physical shape. She knew that her family depended on her and therefore her health was important to her.

It is easy to get busy with taking care of your family and end up neglecting your own physical well-being. Making sure that you are eating right and getting enough exercise is important. How else are you going to be able to pick up your crying toddler, vacuum the house, clean out the car, play with your children and still have energy left to have a romantic time with your husband (if you get my drift)? You have to be in good physical shape.

3. She Worked Smart

"...and assigns her maids their tasks." Proverbs 31:15 (Amplified Bible)

I remember when it hit me that the Proverbs 31 woman had maids working for her. I thought, "How unfair it is that she had maids and I have to do all this work on my own (pout, pout)."

Then the Lord opened my eyes. He helped me realize how many maids I actually had! There was the washing machine and dryer, the vacuum cleaner, the dish washer, the microwave, the slow cooker, the oven, the toaster, the coffee pot and my favorite -- the bread machine. When I stopped to think about it, all my appliances were performing services just like the maids of the Proverbs 31 woman. How convicting. No more pouting for me!

Now I use all my maids, I mean appliances, to their full potential. I finally realized that I needed to work smarter not harder. Delegation was the key. After all, the Lord had blessed me with theses machines. Why was I not using them as I should? Now, on any given day you will find that I have my bread machine, slow cooker and my washer and dry going so that I am free to be productive in other areas of watching over my home.

4. She Worked Carefully

"She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness." Proverbs 31:27 (NLT)

This was a woman who was on top of things. She understood that what went on in her home was her responsibility. She carefully watched over everything and made sure that whatever needed to get done got done. She didn't let anything distract her. She had a plan and she worked her plan.

5. She Worked for the Lord

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

The Proverbs 31 woman did have one secret weapon in her home management arsenal. Today, that secret weapon is available to all Christian Homemakers. What was her secret? She had a healthy fear of the Lord.

She feared the Lord not because she was afraid of Him but because she had a healthy respect for the Him. She wanted to do what was right in His eyes because she loved Him. What she did, she did whole-heartedly out of love for the Lord.

She also knew that she could rely on Him to help her with all that He had asked her to do. This woman didn't run around fretting about getting things done or complaining that her load was too great. She got her strength from praying to the Lord.

We all have times when we feel overwhelmed by our responsibilities. Many times I have thought how nice it would be to have someone come in and take care of things for me. But that is not what managing a home is about. If we take the time to learn from the Proverbs 31 woman we will see that although she had a lot to do she was wise about how she did it. We can all be as productive as the Proverbs 31 woman if we put these five principals into practice.

© 2002 - 2009 Blair Massey

Christian Lifestyle expert Blair Massey publishes the popular Christian Homemaking Newsletter with over 20,000 subscribers. If you're ready to get organized, manage your time better, and provide a peaceful, beautiful home for your family, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com

• Post A Comment! • Send to a Friend!

Comments

*Metzger Family 2009 Newsletter* *Metzger Family Videos*

Mark and Lisa (with Ellie yet to be born)

I Contribute to:

Our Homeschool Tools

Bible & Missions

• The Picture Bible - A Family Classic! (Bible)
• Christian Heroes: Then & Now (Missions)
• Trailblazer Books (Missions)
• God's Little Princess Devotional Bible (Young Girls' Quiet Time)
• God's Mighty Warrior Devotional Bible (Young Boys' Quiet Time)
• Secret Keeper Devos (Annalise's Devotional)
• Family Worship - Devotions Led by Mark at Night
The Three R's

• ABeka math (K5-5th)
• ABeka English (K5-5th)
• ABeka phonics & reading (K5-6th)
• Systematic Mathematics DVD's (grades 6-12)
• Writing Strands (5th-12th)
• FREE Phonics Worksheets
• FREE Spelling (1st-7th)! BigIQBee
Science

**
Our family loves "Living Science", where science is experienced or read about in "living books". I find that the children retain so much more from this course of study. Visuals through experiments are important, too!

**
• YouTube Unit Studies (all ages)
• Steve Spangler FREE Science Videos! (all ages)
• Magic School Bus Books (all ages)
• Let's Read and Find Out Books (all ages)
• God's Design Science (Elementary)
• Real Science 4 Kids (middle/high school)
**Combining the teaching of science and history saves time in large families, is easier for teacher prep and the kids still learn a LOT!**
Social Studies

• Beautiful Feet Early American History (all ages)
• The Mystery of History I (all ages)
• ABeka My America (K5)
• Top Secret Adventures (Geography)
• Map Skills Grade 3
• Painless American Government (middle/high school)
**Combining the teaching of science and history saves time in large families, is easier for teacher prep and the kids still learn a LOT!**
Foreign Language

• Latin's Not So Tough (Ages 8 & up)
• The Homeschool Hut, Mint Hill, NC
Computer Science

• Free Typing Program (Age 6 - once all keys learned, on to Mavis Beacon)
• Mavis Beacon (After keys are learned on free typing program)
• Computer Activities Throughout the Year (9th grade)
**Children 6 and older should be able to do this COMPLETELY on their own with no help from you, aside from showing them proper hand positioning. Try covering their hands with a towel if they look at their keyboard too often.**
Electives

• Family & Consumer Sciences (high school, but start training in elementary)
• Logic - The Critical Thinking Company (all ages)
• DVD Homeschooling (for use with ALL our schooling)
• All-In-One Curriculum for The Pilgrim's Progress
• Vocabulary from Classical Roots
Preschool

• Everything for Early Learning
• Rod & Staff Preschool
• Leap Frog
• Games, Games, Games!!
**All of our children 7 & older learn to teach by teaching the little ones preschool. See my post HERE for more info.**
Manipulatives

• Geometry in a Box
• Base 10 Blocks
• Linking Cubes
• Geo Boards
• Pattern Blocks
• Geo Mags - THE BEST!
• Games, Games, Games!!
Games