Recently, I attended a Women’s Conference sponsored by my church. The theme was ‘Joy through the Journey’. Approximately 150 women gathered to hear speakers talk about how to establish joy in various aspects of one’s life. I chose to attend establishing ‘joy’ in the home.
As women, we play a key role in establishing and maintaining the mood and atmosphere in the home. In the role as wife and mother, I believe the woman shares the responsibility (Proverbs 14:1) to create an environment in which children feel safe, and a place where family members will want to retreat, relax and unwind from daily stress.
Key Verse
Proverbs 24:3-4 ‘By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding, it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.’
If we examine the above verse, we find that wisdom is defined as ‘having the ability to think and act in such a way that common sense prevails and decisions made are beneficial and productive.’ The word treasure is defined as ‘something of great worth or value; a person esteemed as rare and precious.’
To restate this verse, one might say ‘a house should be built on a foundation of common sense and well thought out decisions. The decisions made within the household should be mutually beneficial and productive to all valued members of the household. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Now, I’d like for you to think back over the last three months. Was the atmosphere in your home stress free? Friendly, inviting, loving? Were there silent wars taking place between family members? Arguing? Complaining? More importantly, were you modeling the Proverbs 31 woman – the virtuous and capable wife or the Proverbs 14:1 woman, tearing her house down with her own hands?
Steps to Establishing Joy in the Home
Shifting the atmosphere in your home can be done by consistently following a few simple steps:
1) Ask God to give you a clean heart. Repent of anything you may have done to foster a negative and unhealthy environment in your home.
2) Begin praying God’s Word throughout your house. Sing songs, hymns, or offer praises and thanksgiving as you walk throughout your home. We live in a spiritual world, so conducting a spiritual cleaning is very beneficial to keeping negative energy or spirits out of the home. I perform a spiritual cleansing of my home at the beginning of each season and can truly feel the difference. On one occasion, my daughter returned home from a weekend trip. In her absence, I smudged and performed a spiritual cleansing of the home. Upon her return, not knowing that I had smudged, she stated that her room felt different. It felt clean and calming.
3) Think before you speak. Pray and ask God to help you find the right words when conversing with loved ones. This will help to improve communication which leads to healthier relationships.
As we begin our efforts to obtain joy at home, remember to bathe each family member in prayer daily. Consider playing praise music in your home rather than watching TV. Try to connect emotionally with each family member daily so there are no concerns festering beneath the surface. Soon you will begin to detect a pleasant change in your home. I have not mastered this process myself but am trying to be more deliberate in my efforts.
What are you doing to establish or maintain joy in your home? Let’s share ideas Thursday during our live blog chat.
Please join us for Thursday’s live blog chat at 8:00 p.m. EST. Please call 1-712-770-8009; Code: 335261. Share your thoughts regarding this post.