For almost 4 years I had a wonderful opportunity to live in England. This adventure not only allowed my family and I to meet amazing people of all different cultures and backgrounds, travel throughout Europe, and live a "fairy-tale" life, but most importantly it set us on the track of me being a stay at home mom.
Now back to the US one of my greatest joys is that I get to continue staying home to raise our children and manage our household. Life definitely is a lot busier since we moved back as our young children are rapidly growing up, we are building a new home, and I have lots of ambitious thoughts of new projects to work on. Well, about a month ago I got horribly overwhelmed with everything going on and I broke down. I had no focus, no organization, and no sense of what my purpose was (an ongoing struggle I have). It was then that I realized I needed to step back and find a way to get in control of the chaos.
I began soul searching for the best ways to utilize my time and energy that would best benefit my family and allow me to serve God the way He wants me to. After lots of prayer I got turned to Proverbs 31: 11-31 where the Bible outlines the "Wife of Noble Character." Of any person to model myself after I found the Proverbs 31 woman would be an excellent choice. In my little bit of research I found loads of information about how this woman was as a wife, a homemaker, a good neighbor, a teacher, a mother and a person...and she is amazing! Ultimately I decided I wanted to "make" myself like her. Since this blog is about "Things I Like to Make" I thought that this would be an excellent tool to utilize in sharing with you my "life project" along with all the fun recipes and crafty projects I've shared with you so far.
I found a website (http://avirtuouswoman.org) that outlined 10 virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman that inspired me to discover real life applications to carry out these teachings. For the next several weeks I want to look at these 10 virtues and with your help come up with some great ideas to "make" me and you more like this amazing woman. Upfront I'm going to say that I know that I am definitely not perfect and I'm not an expert, just a woman who wants to be a better mom, wife, friend, sister, daughter, and servant. Not everything that I say and do is right for everyone else, but maybe my blog and the things I share can help inspire others.
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The 10 virtues of the Proverbs 31 Woman (as outlined by http://avirtuouswoman.org) : (After each virtue I'll share a few quick ideas of things I'd like to look into more for each and get more ideas from you.)
1) Faith - a virtuous woman serves God with all her heart, mind and soul. She seeks His will for her life and follows His ways.
- I've got a line up of new books that I look forward to reading and helping me with my Bible studies along with finding new ways to "make" my kids better people, how to "make" gifts for others, and lessons on how to "make" my life more by living with less. I am looking at sharing highlights from each.
- Books include: A Mom After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George, REAL Moms...REAL Jesus by Jill Savage, Growing Grateful Kids by Susie Larson, and Living Less so Your Family Has More, by Jill and Mark Savage, Homespun Gifts from the Heart by Karen Ehman, Kelly Hovermale, and Trish Smith
2) Marriage - A virtuous woman respects her husband. She does him good all the days of her life. She is trustworthy and a helpmeet.
- What ways to be a helper for your husband and "make" life easier for you and your husband
- A way to a man's heart is through is stomach, so some good eats to make your man
- Gifts to "make" for your husband
3) Mothering - She teachers her children the ways of her faith in Heaven. She nurtures her children with the love of Christ, disciples them with the love of Christ, disciplines them with care and wisdom and trains them in the way they should go.
- Planning positive activities, crafts and games to do with your kids that don't cost a lot
- Making toys and clothes and homemade gifts for your kids
- Creating keepsakes
- Recipes to make for and with your little ones
4) Health - She cares for her body. Prepares healthy food for her family.
- Healthy meal planning
- Ways to make things from scratch to avoid some of the negatives of processed foods
- Well illustrated recipes to easily make great food
- Tips on keeping your fridge and pantry stocked
5) Service - She serves her husband, her family, her friends, and her neighbors with a gentle and loving spirit. She is charitable.
- Entertaining others economically
- Setting up "service" projects for you and your family to make something for others
- Making homemade gifts for others
6) Finances - She seeks her husband's approval before making purchases and spends money wisely. She is careful to purchase quality items which her family needs.
- Save money by "making it yourself"
- Grocery buying tips that can help you save money
- Frugal living tips
- DIY projects
- Making memories without spending a lot of money
7) Industry - She works willingly with her hands. She sings praises to God and does not grumble while completing her tasks.
- Plan out housecleaning tasks on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly schedule
- Meal planning and preparation
- Gardening ideas
8) Homemaking - she is a homemaker. She creates an inviting atmosphere of warmth and love for her family.
- Things you can make yourself for you home and DIY
- Gardening and landscaping ideas
- Keeping your home organized
- Keeping up on your house cleaning activities
- Recycling and reusing things in your house
- Everyday crafts
9) Time - She uses her time wisely. She works diligently to complete her daily tasks. She does not spend time dwelling on those things that do not please the Lord.
- Setting priorities and planning out the important things
- Creating calendars and checklists to make life easier
- Organizing areas of your home
10) Beauty - She is a woman of worth and beauty. She has the inner beauty that only comes from Christ. She uses her creativity and sense of style to create beauty in her life and lives of her loved ones.
- Making things is a outlet of creativity to show your inner beauty
- Making homemade gifts for others shows others how much you care
I'll also be creating new sections in this blog and improving others as we go on this journey. I am hoping to include ways to save time, save money, and make life easier in each, but adding in the structure of following the 10 virtues above as best I can.
- Homemaking
- Recipes and Meal Ideas
- Entertaining
- Crafts and Sewing Projects
- Gift Ideas
- Kids' Corner
Need Your Help
I need your help on this journey so please share your ideas and opinions with me because I would definitely like to help to "make" us all more how we want to be. I'll be posting some questions up on Things I Like to Make on Facebook and also on this blog to gather some information to help put each newsletter together so give me all your input through comments on each.
Also any additional thoughts you have...please email me at corrina_dea@yahoo.com.
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