Making Home a Haven

"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.... Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?" Matthew 24:42,45

When I read this verse I reflect on my calling as a servant of God... wife, mother and homekeeper and how faithful and wise I am? I am serving Him in complete consciousness or just unconsciously all the while. Am I just going through the motions or is my whole heart in it, my hands are moving but what about my heart? is it following closely behind or is it no where to be seen? The Lord has called me to serve Him wholeheartedly with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength... and that can not be done unconsciously.

When speaking about the Lord coming back I don't think of serving in fear but more in anticipation and joy of His return! When He comes, like a thief in the night, will I be ready as the wife of His servant, the mother of His children and the keeper of His home? Each day that He so graciously gives me is another opportunity to prepare for His possible coming. Can you imagine your beloved being gone for years and you know that he could return at any moment, in your sincere love for him you would keep your heart and mind pure and your hands and feet busy at his unknown coming. This is how we, I think, should live in our callings as we wait for His unknown coming. We are the bride of Christ awaiting His arrival, hopefully soon.

Practically when I walk around my home thinking about what this means I turn to the Proverbs 31 example, the image of a woman who was conscious in her daily high and holy calling. She was the woman that Titus spoke of when he told the older women to train the younger women... we can read that text of scripture and then see an example of what God was talking about in Proberbs 31. She is our ultimate vision as women living out His calling on our lives and she is the vision of a woman who lives in joyful expectation of her Lord.

This week at The Homespun Heart, Monica is encouraging us in one area of our calling which greatly reflects on the other 2 of being a wife and mother... Making Our Home a Haven. (HT to my amazing and encouraging friend Amy, thanks!)

To me - it means being intentional about investing in my home. The actual dwelling, those who live there, time together, and of course, others who will enter. Being focused on God in light of our responsibilities at home creates a precious view of our homes and our families.

Monica's personal reflection on what haven means to her above encouraged me to think about what it means to me. For me it is simply the dwelling place of our heart, a place where Christ is alive, where His peace reigns and provides shelter from the world that surrounds us, it is the place of launching His righteousness through our lives and children, it is the place where we are not only loved but loved, accepted and embraced even in our quirky-ness and where His grace is supreme. Making our home a haven means being conscious, staying awake in this highest and holliest calling of being a keeper of His home! A home is not always these things, but a haven is. A home is often fleed by its dwellers, a haven is the place we flee to. A home is not always safe, secure and sacred but a haven is... a haven of His righteousness always is. That is why our homes are not only havens for the indwellers but also the passerbys and daily visitors as some of them will flee their homes to dwell under the refuge of His righteousness found in the haven's we consciously labor in love for our family but mostly for our Lord.

This week I am going to be focusing on being a home keeper for the Lord... seeking Him in this calling... devoting myself to ways to improve and enhance my home keeper duties. Being a home keeper is not all about just keeping our homes clean, there is much more involved.

Today's challenge is to Tidy Up!!

(I will update tonight hopefully with pics)

JOYfully in Him,