My house defeats me most days, it beats me down with it's dust, dog hair, and infinite supply of cups littering every flat surface. It ruins my morning to wake up to dishes in the sink, and some days, I just avoid rooms all together because I don't know where to begin. I want so desperately to be a perfect homemaker, but I know this is not the goal God has for me and the unattainable perfection is just the voice of the enemy telling my best is not good enough. Now because I know just having a messy, dirty, smelly house is not what God wants from me either*, I needed to find another option- the motivation I must be lacking.
*"A wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands." Proverbs 14:1.
The book is 31 daily devotions that encourage home makers, wives, and mothers to find Joy, or at least the motivation to clean our houses. Each Day is about 1 page long and has a Mary Challenge and a Martha Challenge. I read through the whole book today, and I give it a wholehearted thumbs up. She addressed different personality types, the "curse" and the hope to overcome it, and some great quotes and scriptural references to put the cleaning into a perspective of it being your mission not your job.
It is only available via digital download, but it only costs $4.99, and now I have it on my iPhone, iPad, and Computer- No excuses to skip a day. Here is an excerpt if you want to see what it is all about:
Day 1 – Why Clean?
I have a question for you: Why do you want a clean home? That may sound like a silly question, but I think it’s important that YOU discover for yourself why you want a clean home, and I’m not just talking about the need to keep the roaches away. If you do not own your reasons, you will be unmotivated and quite frankly, bored with the whole idea of persevering in cleaning. However, if you can name it, you can claim it; you can and will be much more motivated to keep going towards your goal. I believe that if you can generate a list of the “whys” then you will be able to look on them and remind yourself day in and day out why you are spending time on the “mundane” things that never seem to stay accomplished. YOU need to have purpose in what you’re doing, you need vision, or you will continue to stay in a rut. Once you figure the “why” key out, you will already be one step ahead of yourself.
Mary Challenge: Identify specific reasons you want to make your home a haven, and then complete a mission statement based on those reasons.
Write down on a piece of paper exactly why you want a clean home. Be specific. Maybe your mission will be in the form of a paragraph, a poem, or a list. Consider adding a verse or a quote that motivates you. When you are finished, it should take you no longer than a minute to read over your “mission statement.” Now dress it up! Make it pretty, put it in a frame, just be creative and have fun! Put it somewhere where you can see it every day.
Martha Challenge: Look over all of the Martha challenges in this book and make a list of any supplies you need to get – organizing supplies, cleaning supplies, etc.
This book has already altered my perspective on housework in less than a week.
Read my review HERE.
Read my review HERE.
Now, because I think everyone should read it, you can buy the book directly through me!
How easy!
How easy!
The e-book is only $4.99, and available in PDF (readable in iBooks on apple products), on the Kindle, or Nook.
*** the link is emailed to your pay pal email address, so make sure it is an email address you can access before you ordering.
*** the link is emailed to your pay pal email address, so make sure it is an email address you can access before you ordering.
