Freshening Up the Home (and the family)

I've been drawn to the passage of Proverbs 31:10-31 over the past year, because I've been feeling guilty that I haven't been putting any effort into trying to grow and strive to being a more godly wife and mother. Since she, like Ruth, is one of the best models written of in detail in the Bible, I repeatedly read it over and consider all I have to do to get even a little close to what she represents. 

The point that sticks out the most to me personally is how well she appears to run her household and also ensure her family's happiness and contentment in doing so. I'm a big fan of organization, and I'm always striving to find new ways to make our stuff live in our home without looking like an immense amount of clutter. Lately though, it seems as if it's crossed that line and just become objects to find a place for. 

And I feel like a failure of a mom and wife because it's out of control and I let it get that way. The cleaning is not being done, the common tasks are behind and the renovations are creeping along at like a 10% pace...and I can't seem to find the energy or motivation to attend to all of it, or any of it. 

Until today. I recalled the words to my husband last night that involved me saying I couldn't understand how we had so much living space and not enough room for it (our home is 2000 sq ft!) and he basically said he wanted to get rid of stuff again. I realized he was right. It isn't making us happy, so what's the point of having it?

I finally have the motivation I was looking for to get on the way to starting to live the life of a Proverbs 31 woman, and I made the prioritization of starting to organize and de-clutter, beginning to pare down our possessions as Jesus calls us to do in multiple places inside the New Testament. It's a small step, but the journey to becoming a better, more godly woman is a long one, and it's full of small steps. 

Making the home easier to live in is a great place to start!