The Honor of working at home part 2

Carolynn gives us some additional insight on managing a home from a passage in 1 Timothy 5:14. Here Paul instructs:
"So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households and give the adversary no occasion for slander"
Carolynn tells us, "In the Greek, the phrase "manage their households" carries a strong connotation. It literally means to be the ruler, despot, or master of the house...we are to function as the home manager---taking full ownership of all the domestic duties of the household"
What this means is we are to "run" our homes in a way that it provides safety, nurturing, order and reflects God. This does NOT mean we are to usurp our husbands authority, but instead provide an atmosphere where our husbands can find full support. Our children should sense security and peace. It should be managed as a place where there is protection from the outside world.
David and I have traveled to many homes over the years. There have been large homes and very modest, intimate homes. And in these homes, size or material possessions did not make a difference. We could sense homes that were warm and well managed and homes that were disorganized and tense. There is a "greeting" to every home. A sense that you are "safe and at rest" it has nothing to do with what you have but everything with what you give.

If we pour ourselves into our homes...give that our best, our homes will reflect that. Yesterday I said, I found it interesting that in our Titus passage "working at home" comes right after self-control and purity. If we are running around with no boundaries and constantly out of our homes it is very hard to manage that home. If we don't seek purity, it's not easy to filter out the world. Our charge is, to spend our energy in our homes. Order our days. Be self-controlled... keep our schedules manageable. Clean out the corrupt messages of the world that have gotten in...magazines, videos, pictures, music. You will be surprised how much is in there when you purposefully seek to get it out. We are to make a home a safe-haven for our husband and children. We should seek to make it a home that reflects God.

Again, Carolynn reminds us: "Sometimes between scrubbing toilets or laundering dirty clothes, we can loose sight of the significance of our calling. We look around and perceive everyone engaged in meaningful work...our vision for working at home begins to flag...What we need is a biblical perspective. For in God's economy homemaking is a high and noble calling...by working at home we CAN represent the Gospel as attractive to unbelievers. Our homes can be a showcase for the Gospel!"

I love Carolynn's prayer at the end of the chapter:
"Lord help me to build the kind of home where all who enter find it impossible to keep from thinking of God"