Welcome to My Heart 4 Home!
I am so excited to launch the redesign of MyHeart4Home.com. It has been a journey to find the best expression of my heart and goal to encourage working women. Whether you work outside the home, from home, or at home, your life is full and complex. Your titles are many and may include woman, wife, mom, friend, grandma, auntie, administrative assistant, writer, creative, etc. The list is endless but what we all have in common is the struggle for balance between work and home.
Homemaking and full-time employment
It is not a new struggle but it can be a lonely one. My heart has always been centered in my home, but my reality has required that I work to meet the financial needs and wants of our family. My homemaking endeavors reflect who I am but, on the job, were often interpreted as a desire not to work. Enjoying my job and the people that I worked with often felt like betrayal of my family and heart-felt priorities. The dual responsibilities warred within me for top billing.
The decision to work outside of homemaking belongs to you. If you are married, the choice must be made in agreement with husband. Finances, health, priorities, desires, prayer and calling form the basis for considerations leading to that decision. Each household must determine for themselves what works for them and their priority system.
If your choice is to work, do not allow guilt to rob you of joy and contentment. Many models for women and homemakers reside in the pages of Scripture and the biographies of strong Christian women. God did not create us using a mold or cookie cutter. You are unique. Your talents, skills, desires, and dreams make you capable of fulfilling the calling God has for you.
What is homemaking?
Simply stated, homemaking is making a home. My Heart 4 Home defines homemaking as “creating a home where heart, hope, and hospitality thrive.” Your stage of life dictates the details of your homemaking tasks. Homemaking is providing a place where physical, emotional, and mental safety of all who occupy the space is a top priority. We share the responsibility for homemaking with those who share our home. We are not lone rangers.
How do you find contentment?
Contentment in your home requires balance and grace. Recognize that there will be seasons where life feels crazy and out of control, but make balance and grace your priority. God’s Word calls us to balance and grace in our attitudes and our intentions. Colossians 3:23 (NASB) tells us that “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” If we approach our work inside and outside our home with a desire to please the Lord, we are much less likely to lose our balance.
God’s Word is our guidebook. Romans 12:1 (AMP) reinforces the concept of the verse above by urging us “to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God which is your rational [logical, intelligent] act of worship.” We need to recognize that our work and our homemaking are acts of worship and explore the Word further to understand what He wants of us. He wants us to “not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]’ (Romans 12:2 AMP).
Spending at least a few minutes each day reading God’s Word, and asking Him to reveal himself, places you on the path to balance and grace. We find grace in recognizing that His “grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your]weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 AMP). As we accept His grace to overcome our weaknesses and shortcomings, we learn to extend grace toward the weaknesses and shortcomings of those in our lives.
So now what?
I want to hold you up in prayer on your journey as a homemaker. Will you please share in the comments below how I can best focus my prayers for you and topics you would like me to explore? If you don’t want to share publicly, you may email me at pam@myheart4home.com. Although we all have unique situations, we share our journey toward being the woman God has called us to be in our homes and our workplaces.
Please explore the website to find out more about my heart for you. I will admit that not all of the links are working yet but I couldn’t wait to start sharing this message with you. If you have followed my blog in the past, older posts can be found by clicking the link in the menu.
Thank you for allowing me to share my heart 4 home!
