Wife-style more dated than the 1950s... Part 2

Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind and strength… and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:38-39)

In my last post I talked about the debate some bloggers are having of whether or not "1950s style" wives are outdated or even foolish. I landed with a wife-style waaay more outdated than 1950s. Instead, I strive to be a wife, mom, daughter, sister, neighbor, friend, coworker, etc. who lays down my life for others just as Christ laid down His life for me (Philippians 2). And I believe that starts in my own home daily.

There are a lot of details in our day. There are a lot of opinions on how our time, money, and energy should be guarded or spent. But God says to weigh it ALL through the lens of Him. Is how I’m spending my day leading me closer to Him? Am I loving others as much as I love me?  Here are 3 examples of how I weigh daily life/big decisions through Christ’s call to love Him and then love others:

1) A Clean Home: Andy really values coming home to a clean house. He doesn't ask me to do it or "expect it" from me, but he prefers it that way. So I want to show him I love him in this one way daily.
Though most of us probably clean our homes regularly, I find the daily pick up sometimes the more exhausting task. I pray I’ll joyfully pick up toys and make lunch every morning and then pick them up again every afternoon because I know that Andy appreciates a clean house. Some days it seems crazy in this stage of small kids, but I want our home to be a peaceful and relaxing place where Andy can rest after serving all day in the studio mixing foreign languages. I don’t always want to pick up toys. But I don’t regret laying down my desire for rest to offer it to Andy. And God so often sweetly replenishes me.

2) Floor time: I carve out time daily to sit on the floor with my boys and put together puzzles, read book after book after book, and build legos, forts, sing silly theme songs we make up for Caleb’s Little People, etc. I put it in my schedule because I don’t always want to engage. Sometimes, after teaching homeschool (and reading a lot to Jimmy during class), I just want to veg out and rest. But playing with my kids speaks so much love to them. And this sweet opportunity to pour Christ’s love into my kids by sitting on the floor together is a season that will pass too quickly, I’m sure. God’s Word reminds me that pouring into them will often mean looking to their interests before mine.

3) Commitments Outside the home: Andy and I pray together before we commit to anything. We weigh it through the lens of Scripture to see if committing will take away from the priority people He is calling us to minister to (each other and our kids) or if it’s a way we can all, as a family, lay ourselves down and show sacrificial love to others. 

Sometimes it means saying no and staying home, believing that pouring Jesus into our kids is an incredible ministry honor that is more important. This often brings out a lot of my pride and the desire I have to be liked and respected by others. God has always provided for the needs (in church, work, neighborhood, etc.) through others when I've said no, but there really is no other wife to Andy or Mommy of my kids.

BUT other times God calls us to say “yes” and let our family lay down our ease, routine, and togetherness to serve others. Usually it's a short season with a few nights or weekends of sacrifice for our family, but a few times God called us to go on short term trips overseas without our kids (leaving them with family) to share Jesus with people who had never heard His good news. Most recently, He called us to move away from "home" to serve in full time ministry. Regardless of the length or depth of it, when we start to feel the sting of the commitment, we go back and remember why we said yes and who we said yes to (God). And we pray God will give us hearts to joyfully serve others and seek Him as He calls. And He is so faithful to do it in us again and again.

We trust that God’s Word is our sure foundation for life. Only His Word is truth. He shows us how to make these daily decisions. The conclusion isn’t always the same, but the purpose always is: to glorify God. And those daily decisions are what make up our life.

I’m praying that regardless of how I may be labeled (1950's wife, legalist, crazy, etc.), God will continue to give me a desire to know Him more and live in light of Him. And I’m praying others will desire to know Him more and lay down their lives daily in these little (and big) ways to show His love. Imagine if we all stopped comparing/labeling and instead lived for Him and not ourselves… I’m praying and believing Him for it. And I'm starting by trusting Him for it in me first- in my own home!