Wednesday, January 22, 2014: Routines, Walking Through Ephesians: Ephesians 3:1-13; Priorities and Disciplines

 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Bible Reading: Genesis 41-42; Psalm 19

Area of Focus Wednesday, January 22^nd  to Tuesday, January 28^th :

The Dining Room, The Entry, and The Front Porch

My File Box for My Simple Filing System

Wednesday is Desk Day

• Pay Bills
• Deal with Any Paperwork, phone calls, emails, or notes that have to do with your personal business or family business. This does not mean a business as a job but you are the manager of your family and manage your personal affairs. Keep up with it regularly. Not dealing with personal and family business can be very expensive.
• File—Put away papers you will need in a way that you will be able to locate them

Walking Through Ephesians: Ephesians 3: 1-13 God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles

Who is writing this?

1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

What does Paul ask us we have heard about?

2Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

What does Paul tell us about the mystery of the administration of God’s grace?

• 3that is, the mystery made known to me
• by revelation, as I have already written briefly.
• 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
• 5which was not made known to people in other generations
•  as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
• 6This mystery is that through the gospel
  • the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,
  • members together of one body, and
  • sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

How did Paul become a servant of the good news of God’s grace to the Gentiles?

• 7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.
• 8Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles

What was Paul to proclaim to the Gentiles?

• the boundless riches of Christ,
• 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,
  • which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

What was God’s intent?

• 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
• 11according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

What did Paul tell them regarding his suffering?

• 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Priorities and Disciplines (Sounds Like Fun, Doesn’t It?)

Each morning, before I sit down to write to you, exercise discipline to fulfill my commitments to the Lord on behalf of myself, and my husband.

The way I care for myself and my husband and my home and also for my grown children and their children is an “as onto the Lord.” The people I love are sometimes more or less popular with me based on their actions and attitudes. When I love them intentionally because of my relationship with Jesus, their actions and attitudes become less important to me and I can attempt to love them unconditionally and forgive them quickly.

My first discipline is to get up, brush my teeth, wash my face and moisturize, take a shower every other day, fix my hair and get dressed to the shoes. When I put on my shoes and socks I moisturize my feet.

My second discipline is to make sure my home is in good basic order as I head for my chair where I have Quiet Time. While I am reading the Bible and praying, my washer, and my dishwasher are hard at work. After I have had my Quiet Time and written to you, clothes are ready for the dryer, and dishes are ready to come out of the dishwasher. Roy is ususally up my now ( I can hear him moving around upstairs) so I can make the bed when I go up to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

At this point it is usually around 8 am and I have my day ahead of me to enjoy whatever the day holds:

• I am dressed
• My heart is lined up with My Savior’s
• My home is in good basic order—dishes done, laundry on the move, rooms in order

This gives me tremendous freedom.

I am easily distracted. Becoming organized was WORK for me. These are disciplines (trainings) I have developed in my life that pay big dividends in freedom, time, peace of mind, and so many other things. Once these basics are done I am free to head out the door or do things that I enjoy or need to be done in my home. I can declutter, serve at Bible Study and in other groups, visit with friends, work on projects in my home, read, or take off for the day with my husband.

Get up—take care of the basics—and then schedule what needs to be done and some things you enjoy. Mix times of rest in with times of focused work.  Mix time outside your home with friends with time in your home caring for your family. Maintain balance and put first things first.

• Relationship with God—times of prayer, reading, study, living continually in His Presence
• Relationship with my husband—time talking, enjoying each other’s company, caring for him by caring for our home
• Relationship with my children—spending time with them and helping them as I can
• Relationships with friends and neighbors—helping and sharing life with them
• Being a member of my church—serving and being aware and involved
• Being a citizen of my country—being informed, sharing information, serving, voting

What are your priorities—what comes before what?  Are your husband and children coming in a poor last to others? What about me? I sprinkle me time throughout my day and I enjoy all I do including the things I don’t necessarily like to do. Cleaning toilets does not thrill my heart but having a clean bathroom and providing a pleasant environment for myself and Roy does.

What are your priorities? When you are asked to do something do you consider those priorities? Are your priorities out of order? That is a road paved with misery for you and your family.

There are times and seasons in your life. Enjoy the season you are in. There will be time in the future for the things that are part of that next season. As a young mom, don’t overload yourself with obligations. Learn to say no with a smile recognizing that in the future you will be able to say yes. I miss those years of struggle with small children, then homeschooling and then teens in conventional high school. Don’t miss the joy around you now and then look back with regret. God will give you strength for what He has called you to in this season. If you do not have the strength or the energy, something is out of kilter.

• Ask God what is supposed to be part of this season
• You are God’s woman where you are first.
• Only you can be your husband’s wife. Only you can be your children’s mother. Do not let them feed on relationship leftovers
• Carefully consider each other obligation in your life. You may need to make some hard changes to fulfill the primary commitments in your life.
• Think about it, pray about it, talk about it with your husband, and then build the life God has for you.

Love and Hugs,

Mary

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Bible Reading: Genesis 43-44; Psalm 20

Area of Focus: Your Entry, Dining Room and Front Porch

My China Cabinet

Each Thursday is Floor Day:  Clean Your Hard Floors

Wood, laminate, tile, linoleum

Declutter each day for 15 to 30 minutes

Tuesday, January 21, 2014: Routines; Walking Through Ephesians–Ephesians 2:11-22 The Division Between Gentiles and Jews; Dealing with Clutter

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Bible Reading: Genesis 39-40; Psalm 18

Area of Focus: Last Day of Focus in January on Master Bedroom, En Suite Bathroom, and Closet

Each Tuesday is Duster Dance Day

Don’t forget to get little helpers to dust baseboards, furniture legs and other low places around your home. Buy them their own ostrich feather, lamb’s wool, or Swiffer Duster. Put their name on their own duster.

Dealing with Clutter

Do you feel you might as well do nothing because you can’t quickly bring your home to perfection?

• I crashed and burned so many times before I learned what I now know and do easily.
• It is much more effective to work slowly and purposefully through your home.
• Work through one area at a time. These areas are your Area of Focus
• Deal with a layer of clutter each time you go through your home.  Everything you encounter is either
  • To keep—those things you actually use and like
  • Belong somewhere else. These things have been left or stuffed somewhere they don’t belong. You can’t find what you need so you go out and buy another. I found so many duplicates the first time I seriously went through my home.  I found many pairs of scissors, tons of pens, pencils. We had so many pieces of clothing—some that fit and some that did not fit—because it took me so long to do the laundry and you could almost forget about ironing or mending.
  • Trash—if it doesn’t work, can’t be fixed, or is just plain old fashioned trash—throw it out
  • Papers are challenging to deal with so put them in a box and make time each day to go through papers. If you will never need it for any purpose, toss the paper. Shred any that have account numbers or other personal information including the credit card offers that come in the mail. Do not squirrel these boxes away. They will not disappear. Deal with them.
  • Need repair—make a kit with needle and thread, glue, and anything else needed to repair broken items. Take time to fix anything broken regularly. It will not take as long as you think.
  • Give your excess to someone who genuinely needs it. Either donate it to your favorite charity that accepts donations or if you know of someone who needs or wants something you no longer need, let it go.
  • Be persistent and consistent—take 15 to 30 minutes a day and dedicate it to decluttering.

This is our last day in our bedroom for the month. Do you have a lingerie drawer or sock drawer that you toss things into? Is there any thing in there that has holes? Is anything stained? Is the elastic still elastic?

If not get rid of it. These are pictures of our underwear drawers:

Rolling instead of turning pairs of socks into themselves saves the elastic at the top of the socks and keeps them together

The organizer I use in my underwear drawer

 

 

 

The organizer I use in my underwear drawer with my underwear in it.

 

The first session of the Daniel Plan was terrific. Yesterday, between the morning and afternoon sessions 23 wonderful women were in my home (17/6). Everyone is so enthused and I know we are all going to get healthier together.

I also know that we are going to have a great study because I washed my watch and it no longer works and my iPad slid out of my arms and onto the floor on Sunday and the screen shattered. It didn’t fall that far or hard but it’s a loss. The enemy specializes in overkill. These two events were meant to be distractions. I count it all joy.

Walking Through Ephesians: Ephesians 2:11-22 Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

What is the division between Gentiles and Jews?

• 11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth (not born of Hebrew roots) and
• called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—
• 12remember that at that time you (Gentiles)
  • were separate from Christ,
  • excluded from citizenship in Israel and
  • foreigners to the covenants of the promise,
  • without hope and without God in the world.

What has changed?

• 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

What has Christ done?

• 14For he himself is our peace,
• who has made the two groups one and
• has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

How has Christ done this?

• 15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.

What was Christ’s purpose?

• His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,
• 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

How did Jesus do this?

• 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 

What is the result?

• 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

What does this mean to us, to me?

• 19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,
• but fellow citizens with God’s people and
• also members of his household,

What household?

• 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
• with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
• 21In him the whole building is joined together and
• rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

What is true of us?

• 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Hugs,

Mary

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Bible Reading: Genesis 41-42; Psalm 19

Area of Focus Wednesday, January 22^nd  to Tuesday,January 28^th :

The Dining Room, The Entry, and The Front Porch

Wednesday is Desk Day

• Pay Bills
• Deal with Any Paperwork, phone calls, emails, or notes that have to do with your personal business or family business. This does not mean a business as a job but you are the manager of your family and manage your personal affairs. Keep up with it regularly. Not dealing with personal and family business can be very expensive.
• File—Put away papers you will need in a way that you will be able to locate them