Being Intentional About What I'm Bringing Into My Home

Hi friends! I've been busy getting ready for our new school year to begin at my kid's new Christian University Model school. We are so excited! I've been buying books, uniforms, school supplies and, of course, de-cluttering and organizing our home to be ready to roll on our homeschool days.

As I've been de-cluttering and moving things out, I've tried to analyze exactly what's going out. It's made me more aware of the "cost" of bringing in too many good deals. By cost, I mean time. The time that is has taken to organize, clean and then dispose of too much stuff. Oh how quickly great deals can become clutter and jeopardize the simple, haven I desire my home to be.

I believe the solution is to become more and more diligent of what "stuff" I bring into my home. Is this item going to have a function or add to the beauty of my home? I'm all for adding beauty, but too many decorative items can all too quickly detract from the beauty and add clutter.

As I pondered writing a blog post on this subject, it occurred to me that this does not stop with things, per se.  I began thinking about the food that we bring into our home. Is this food going to nourish and add to the health and vitality of my family. Or, is this food going to give me a headache, am I going to feel good about feeding it to my family, or am I going to feel guilty about eating 30 minutes later?

Then, I began thinking about what I'm bringing into my home by what we are watching on the tv, reading in books or on the internet. Is this edifying and building up my family? We don't watch a whole lot of tv, but we do choose a family friendly show on occasion to watch together. But, my kids probably do enjoy a Netflix show more often than I'd like. This is just another area to continue to be intentional about what I'm letting into my home.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

As I continued to ponder this intentionality, I thought about what attitude I'm bringing into my home. Am I bringing envy, jealously, fear, stress or anger from the outside world. As I enter my home, I need to check my attitude and again throughout the day. I find that if I am not being intentional about my quiet time and time in the Word, my attitude suffers and I am very susceptible to being affected adversely by the outside world.

Finally, I thought of the words that I'm bringing into my home. Am I speaking words of life to my family, or are my words harsh and damaging to the souls God has in my charge?

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

I guess after pondering these things, it became even more clear to me that my job as a mom is to guard my home from all the "stuff" that can be damaging to my family. That is, what I have control over (with God's help, of course). I am not naive or a pollyanna, we cannot control everything that comes into our homes. There will be trials, and I will make mistakes. But, I will do my best to create a safe haven for those I love.

Blessings to you,
Jennifer