My first apron…I think it’s the first of many to come. 
*The apron was purchased from The Smart Baker.
Apron for April
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Category Archives: Women
I am…
You might say, “Bethany I’m not all these things!” Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well.” Friend, you are wonderful! God has designed you to have these qualities and so much more.
There are often days we can have feelings of failure…crumbs are scattered all over the kitchen floor, there’s an avalanche on Mount Everest in your laundry room, and you burned the dinner again for the second time this week. Other times doubt comes in…am I doing a good job, does my husband know I love him, are my children learning anything? These are all thoughts from the enemy. We must take these thoughts captive, then stand strong and speak truth into our life.
When negative thoughts come in, I want you to stand in front of a mirror, pick your head up, bring your shoulders back, look into your eyes and speak the words from the poem “I am”…then believe it.
Power Scriptures:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” -Ephesians 3:20
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” -Philippians 4:13
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” -Psalm 139:14
#35 Time Management Tips
Aside
Below are 35 quick tips to help you manage your time more efficiently. Try adding one a day or three a week, into your routine. They are in no particular order.
1. Make a monthly menu calendar.
2. Plan your week out on sunday night before bed.
3. Schedule multiple appointments on one day.
4. Buy groceries for the week.
5. Have the kids lay out their clothes the night before.
6. Set timers for activities like social media, email, Pinterest, etc…
7. Turn the dishwasher on before you go to bed at night.
8. Pick one or two days a week to do all the laundry, including putting it away on the same day.
9. Pull out the meat to thaw in the morning, before breakfast.
10. Use a crock pot at least once a week for dinner.
11. Delegate chores between the kids.
12. Make up the bed first thing in the morning.
13. Have a set bedtime for the kids.
14. Don’t stay up late.
15. While folding laundry review your kid’s school work for the day or week.
16. Have the kids set the table, while you are making dinner.
17. Start your day early.
18. Limit your extra curricular activities outside the home.
19. Get dressed for the day first thing in the morning.
20. Limit time on the phone.
21. Wash and cut fresh veggies and fruits right after your grocery visit.
22. Have set places for toys, towels, shoes, clothes, linens, basically everything.
23. Put things back in there place when you are done using them.
24. Exercise and Diet
25. Prep for laundry day the night before by sorting all the clothes.
26. Schedule bills a month in advance.
27. Run errands only once a week.
28. Have a regular cleaning schedule.
29. Learn to say no to outside distractions.
30. Write down your plan for the next day, the night before.
31. Tidy the house before bed.
32. Read one tip a day on time management (this will help keep you motivated).
33. Do the worst, most dreaded task first. Once completed you will notice a burst of energy!
34. Value each day, each hour, each minute, and ask yourself is this task worth this much time.
35. And last but not least, KEEP MOVING. Body at rest stays at rest, body in motion stays in motion!
1 Timothy 5:14 I desire that the younger women…guide the house.
Lord give us wisdom on how to manage our time and our days more efficiently. May we see the true value in each day and honor it with the time you have given us. In Your Name Amen
Forgetting the Order
Around eight o’clock, in the morning, my husband comes home from the gym. I’m usually making breakfast for the kids, packing Kayla’s lunch for pre-school, and attending to our one year old, all while eating my breakfast standing up. This is my norm, but there is something missing in the equation…my husband! There were times he asked me to make him breakfast and I would smart off something like, “can’t you see how busy I am?” He has also asked me, to make his lunch and I would say, “I don’t have time this morning”. He had heard these answers for so long that he stop asking and it broke my heart, once I realized what I had been doing.
I was so use to juggling everything for our four young children that I had placed him last after their needs. This is not the order God has planned for marriage. Your husband must be your number two, right after God, not your number three, four, or five. You are here to serve him, help him, and support him!
Women can develop blurred vision when they become a mother. They take on this responsibility of caring and nurturing for a child and lose sight of dad, their mate, their husband. I want to help you today get your vision corrected. Here are some ways to strengthen your focus.
1. Get up earlier than normal, so you have enough time to take care of your husband’s needs as well as your children’s.
2. Go to bed early or at least a decent hour so you are able to remain strong throughout the day. The last thing your husband wants, is to see an exhausted wife laying on the couch, after he has been working all day.
3. Practice telling your kids to wait instead of your husband. Unless it is a life threatening matter, they can wait.
4. Make it a habit to say yes or sure when your husband asks for something.
5. Pray for him, everyday, all day. When you are continually praying and thinking about someone how could you push their needs aside.
In Matthew 6:21 it says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”…in this case, I want you to think where is all your time and effort going. Over investing in your children and under investing in your husband can cause problems that can lead to horrific conclusions. It’s not too late. Evaluate your vision. Once you do, I guarantee your husband will look better than you have ever seen him before!
Elizabeth George says it best in her book A Woman After God’s Own Heart, “Nothing just happens, including great marriages! As much as you and I might desire to be a wife who lovingly supports her husband, such loving support comes only with planning.” So plan alone times, plan dates, plan special dinners and plan special deeds of kindness, then reap a happy husband and a healthy marriage.
Dear God, help us to correct our order of priorities. Give us wisdom on how to organize our time and our day. Thank you for blessing each of us with a man that leads and supports our family. May we honor our husband by placing him second after You, therefore obeying Your Word. In Jesus Name, Amen
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
~Ephesians 5:22-24
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
~Ephesians 5:31-33
Praying for Your Husband
She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
~Proverbs 31:12
As I iron my husband’s work clothes this morning I say a prayer over him. It is crucial we pray for our spouse everyday. Our husband carries a weight we will never know and the devil is ready at anytime to bring him down (Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Peter 5:8). For he knows if he can take down the husband he can take down the family!
When I pray for my husband I like to start where the biggest battles are fought, their mind. Some of the things I pray for are pure thoughts, discernment and wisdom. I continue down his body and pray for his ears to hear the voice of God in his daily walk with Him. I pray his mouth would be used to encourage and strengthen others. I pray that his shoulders would not carry heavy burdens, but that he would place them in his Father’s hands. When I get to his hands I pray over his job, the company and the role he plays. The heart can also be a place of battle, during this time I pray for our marriage and God’s protection over it. Then I continue on and pray that his legs stay strong so, that his body can continue doing the work God has called for him. Last, but not least, I pray that God guides his feet daily. These are just a few examples of things I pray when talking to the Lord about my husband.
Your prayer doesn’t need to be the same, just praying over your spouse is the key.
As a teacher leads a class, a sergeant leads men into battle, and a pastor leads a church, so our husbands lead our family.
God help me to continue to be a praying wife. Help us to see the importance of praying for our spouse daily. For as we pray for them, we are praying for ourselves…for we are one. Let us also remember to be thankful for our spouse and their relationship, in your mighty name. Amen.
Moody and Thirsty
A couple of weeks ago I noticed myself feeling irritated, tired and drained. My husband and I had been moving for four days straight…from sun up to sun down we were packing, lifting, carrying, and stacking. It was finally done and I felt miserable!
I began to analyze myself. Why did I feel there was a battle going on inside of me? Why did I feel I could snap at any moment? I realized I hadn’t had any time of refreshing in the past week. I had been so focused on our move that I didn’t take time to spend with God like I usually do or pray like I usually do and just sit and enjoy the blessings around me. I was physically, mentally and spiritually drained, I was thirsty!
As a homeschooling mother of four, I am like a kitchen faucet that is never turned off. I am constantly pouring into the little hearts that surround me 24/7 and when they are done my husband is waiting so patiently. If I want to be the wife, mother, teacher, daughter, sister, friend, and light to this world that God has called me to, I need to be refreshed daily.
After I realized what was causing my internal problem, it was an easy fix. I took about twenty minutes to just relax with my feet up, reading and studying the word. The Bible tells us in Psalms 19:7, “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”
Each person has a different personality, therefore, each person has a different way of being refreshed. My husband feels refreshed after a couple of games of basketball, others might feel refreshed after fellow-shipping with some close friends. Whatever it may be, it is important to take time for yourself and more importantly take time in the Word. Taking this time is not just because we selfishly need to be refreshed but rather our children, husband, friends, and others need to be refreshed. We cannot give something we do not have, including smiles and words of encouragement. So, make it a priority to spend 15 to 20 minutes refreshing yourself daily and refilling your spiritual well. Then we can give our family and others the love, grace and mercy they need.
From The Committed Heart 