This is a honorable goal and can bring joy to the home as long as its not paired with overwhelmed and stress. Here are 5 ways to keep the joy in your home and the stress elsewhere.

• Letting Go of Perfection
• Declutter Your Decorations
• Keep Your Everyday Meals Simple
• Consumable or No Clutter Gifts
• Remember, All Glory be to Christ

Letting Go of Perfection

No matter what trick you use to simplify your home, avoid overwhelm and make the holiday’s less stressful nothing will actually work unless your attitude and perspective are right. Some people call this taking care of your ‘mental health’. I would say this is much more of a heart issue than a mental issue.

When you love something it becomes important to you. Once something is important to you, you get anxious and stressed when that thing is not going the way it should. As a homemaker, we are responsible for the things going on in our home. The cleanliness, the meals, the way the home functions, we are the ones who get to work that out and accomplish it. It becomes important to us.

What do you love?

I love homemaking! Creating a home that is comfortable, hospitable, clean and has the smell of homemade meals delighting the soul is what I love doing. I love when my kids want to be home. When my husband comes home from work with a smile on his face. I want people to feel welcome and at home in my house. This is all good, until it is more important, loved more than my own families well being.

So what do I love more? I love the Lord and the most important thing I can do as a wife and mother is emulate Gods love to my family. Show them love, teach them love. Walk in His way and teach my kids to do the same.

Proverbs 25:24 says “It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” It says similar things in Proverbs 21:9 and 27:15-16. If I’m continually stressed over the well being over the home and I’m yelling, complaining and getting frustrated with the kids, I’m in the wrong. My love is on my home and myself more than my family who the home is for. I have become a contentious women.

Let go of perfection

If you find yourself overwhelmed, bitter and contentious over the busy holiday season you need to let go of the perfection of your home and seek perfections or sanctification in your relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Avoid overwhelm by resting in the Lord. Remember His holiness. Be thankful for His sacrifice. Serve you family for His glory. Let go of the ideal perfect home and seek the perfect Lord. Let go of the idea of the perfect holiday experience and see the perfect Lord. Don’t hold onto the standards of the crunchy homemaker but seek the standards of the Lord. Only then will you be able to truly avoid overwhelm.

With that being said, lets get into some of the tips and trick that can help simplify our homes now that our hearts are set.

Declutter Your Decorations

To avoid the holiday overwhelm in your home, simplify you decorations. Now, I’m not saying you have to go all minimalist with your holiday decorations but try to avoid a cluttered look. Not every little angel, nutcracker or snowman has to be out every year. If your decorations make you feel like your house is clutter and uncleanable, simplify them.

A cluttered house can be hard to relax in. During this time of year our schedules are often full and cluttered. Our home should be able to give us all rest and peace. If the decorations stress you out, simplify them to fit your family’s needs.

Letting the kids help Decorate

When you have little kids who want to help decorate things can get stressful very easily. We imagine we will be making wonderful memories with our kids when decorating until they have their own great ideas of how things should look. Then its messy, unorganized, and chaotic.

I want my kids to be creative and celebrate our saviors birth with joy and not memories of mom controlling things and taking the fun out of it. But I also can’t stand the numerous messy, mismatching kids ornaments and cut outs, drawing and such. Its all clutter to me.

In our house, each of the kids rooms get their own tree with their own ornaments. My kids can also display all their arts and crafts and decorate in their own rooms however they want. They get to be creative and make memories. I get a tidy house with decoration that bring me joy and not stress.

Maybe you don’t want a tree or decorations in their room. You can also take same idea and apply it elsewhere in the house. Like a table, shelf or mantle that they get to decorate and arrange. Giving them some boundaries to their creativity is a good for them. When given boundaries they become more intentional with what they do.

Keep your everyday meals simple

The holiday season is all about food (and Jesus). From Thanksgiving to New Years there are so many traditional meals, sweet treats, from scratch family recipes we have to make. There are parties that we are baking for and edible gifts to make all on top of all the expected amazing holiday day-of meals.

For the homemaker it can be a lot of fun or stressful days in the kitchen. This is when meal planning and freezer meals come in handy. I love cooking, but it can be exhausting during the holidays to keep up with all the extra baking and cooking on top of the daily meals. Having a monthly meal plan laid out for the month of November and December help me a lot. Here are more resources on monthly meal planning.

When planning these meals I choose easy, simple meals that my family loves. Meals that can be make ahead of time if needed. In November I often make a few freezer meals for some of the busy days in December. This makes it easy for us to eat a healthy home cooked meal on days we have been out all day enjoy the seasons festivities. Having freezer meals ready also makes it easy for me to relax and not worry about dinner when I’m overwhelmed with all the extra holiday baking.

In all, to avoid the holiday overwhelm as a homemaker plan our a months worth of meals ahead of time. Choose simply easy meals. Have a well stocked freezer of meals ready to go.

Consumable or No Clutter Gifts

As a homemaker, as your family receives gifts, it can be stressful. As a mother with 5 small children we receive a lot of toys at Christmas time. It doesn’t help that we have November, December and January birthdays in our family. Lots of new things coming through that I must now find a place for in my home and teach my children to put them away properly.

The day after Christmas, about 3 years ago I remember looking at the mess and realizing I had not place to put all these new toy and I cried. I was overwhelmed. That day I made a plan, went to Walmart, bought bins and a new shelf, organized and threw out a lot of old toys to make room for the new ones. Here are a few tips on how to the avoid overwhelm and stress of gift receiving as a homemaker.

Tell your family and friends what gifts are appropriate

You don’t have to make this a joy killing moment of making harsh boundaries. It can be as simple as mentioning “We are getting out kids fun art supplies this year, they would love more coloring books too”. Often times that sparks a good conversation with friends and family as to what type of gifts are joy giving in your home.

In the past, to avoid overwhelm, I have had to give some family members a limit of how many toy and gift they can give my kids. Thankfully we have such good relationships that this was not offensive. When giving these types of boundaries I have often worded them like “We have a lot of toy right now, for Christmas I’d appreciate it if you only got them 1 toy. You can get them as many gifts as you want but can you keep the toys to a limit of 1 per child?” If you need more boundaries you can say something like “We have so much right now, and would appreciate a limit of only 3 gift this year.” Or what ever it needs to be.

What type of gifts to kids that are not toys

To avoid the clutter and overwhelm of toy during this seasons think of consumable or easy to store gifts for you kids. Gifts like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, coloring books are great non food consumable gifts. When they are done they are gone.

Food gifts, like their favorite snack in their stockings is always loved. I always fill my little kids stocking with applesauce, banana, boxes of yogurt covered raisins and fruit snacks and they love it! As they get older treats like, breakfast cookies, chocolate bars, trail mix. You can be as crunchy or not, food gifts are always loved.

For more ideas for no clutter consumable gifts here I have a list of 27 gifts ideas you can check out.

Remember, All Glory Be To Christ

Now that you have decluttered, stocked up on freezer meals, and your gifts aren’t stressing you out, you can remember again, this is all for the glory of Christ. It may be tempting to say what I do is for the glory of God. Christ is honored by my work. I give honer to Christ with what I accomplish. Like a knight saying he will win this tournament for the beautiful lady. Its not about me giving God glory with what I do but doing what He would have me do that brings Him glory.

All glory be to Christ means I seek His will and workout His plan that He has for me. God has prepared work for us to do and yes, doing the dishes, making the meals, wrapping the gifts so beautifully is a part of the life that he has given to us. But the work he desires for us is in our heart attitude towards Him and our neighbors. He desires us to love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourself. Put off sin, confess and repent, giving glory to our Lord.

When you do the work of a homemaker, don’t come to God saying “Look what I did for your glory” but come to God asking “What can I do to give your glory”.

The post How to find joy and avoid overwhelm as a homemaker this holiday season appeared first on Embracing The Home.

I have a great responsibility as a parent not to just take them to church and Sunday school to hear the gospel, but to teach my young kids myself. But how? How do we teach our young children the way they should go? Is it not God who does the work in each individuals life? I don’t want them force them or feel like I’m pushing “religion” on them. How do we let them make their own choice while also taking on the responsibly of teaching them the most important thing, the gospel message, the way to eternal life? 

Here I go over six ways I bring up the gospel constantly in conversation with my kids. Teaching them the truths of the gospel that changed my life. But first! What is the Gospel?

What is the Gospel?

The gospel is not just bible stories but the good news of Jesus Christ! When God created the world he created man to be in perfect fellowship with Him. Knowing God fully and glorifying Him in life in the Garden of Eden. But Adam and Eve sinned and now are separated from God, for God cannot dwell with sin. Separation from God leads to death, for the wages of sin is death. 

Now, we all have sinned, we all deserve separation from God and the punishment of hell. But while we were still sinners Christ Jesus, God in flesh came and dwelt among us sinful men. Living a perfect, sinless life, our God, Jesus Christ was tortured and killed on a cross. Jesus took the punishment we sinners deserved freeing us from Gods wrath.

Then, on the 3rd day after his death, Jesus rose up from the grave! Sin and death had not power over Jesus because he had never sinned. Now Jesus offers us new risen life through His death and resurrection. 

If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Making us alive together in Christ, free from sin and one with God again. We now live a new life by the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of god.

1. As We Walk by The Way

In Deuteronomy 6:7 the Lord commands us as parents to teach our children diligently. Talking with our kids when we sit, walk, rest and rise up. Teaching our kids in all that we do to give glory and honor to our Lord. So how do we bring God up in our daily conversations? Here are a few ideas.

When we sit.

When we sit to eat a meal we pray, thanking God for his provision in our lives with this meal. Praying before meals help establish in your kids hearts thankfulness towards God as well as remembering its God we relay on for all that we have. He is provider. 

When we sit together and relax on the couch, watching a movie or reading a book. When something comes up in a show or story that is God honoring we point it our with conversation. “Oh that is so cool, it reminds my of when God….” “Wow, Gods works are amazing.” “Did you see how that person was loving like God is?” Point out and ponder with your kids His awesomeness in these gospel conversations. 

Point out when we see things that do not honor our God. “Oh, yeah, that bad guy does not love God”. “That person was not kind, do you think they will be punished as God punishes the wicked or will they be forgiven as God forgives?” “What does the bible say about that?” Point out and ponder on Gods judgment and mercy. 

As we sit and watch the world, pondering the things in the world, teach your kids view all things through the bible. Though the eyes of God. What does God say about these things we see and how should we think about them? 

One day my 6 year old ask why is was so windy. I told him that God made the wind and he uses it to move seeds around and plant new plants. And although that is not the only work wind does my son now understands God is a work through nature. He sees the wind and does not complain but stands in awe of Gods awesome deeds.

When we walk.

When we walk by the way, while we are in action, motion, doing things, going places we explain to our kids why. “We go to church… to learn more about God, worship Him and encourage others.” “Doing our chores, we to take care of what God has given us, just like God takes care of us.” “We do our homework to grow in knowledge so we can understand God word and the world he created, God is wise and calls us to wisdom.” “We get to play with our friends because God loves fellowship and friendships, and God is the best friend we could ever have.” 

When asked why we do something take the time to explain how what we do reflex Gods character. Not just because God wants us to do these good works but why God wants these things for us. Motivate your kids do walk and act in the fruit of the spirit, honoring God, not themselves, by giving them Gods reasons behind our actions.

When we rest.

When we lay down to rest. Teach your kids that not to fear or worry by resting in the Lord. We pray before we go to sleep. Giving thanks for the day and asking for peace for the night. We read the psalm together and talk about how God is our shield and fortress. How we rest by streams of water that God provides. When my enemy surrounds me, I trust in God. 

Our children are going to face many hardships in life, just as we do. I want my child to rest in the Lord, trust in Him. First, I get to show an example of that when I go through a trial. I myself must trust in the Lord and rest in Him, for He is good. Then I tell my children, when things don’t go their way, that God is good even when He takes away. 

Teaching children trust takes a long time as we often have to wait for the end result. The situation I find most common is when my kids are hungry but lunch is not ready yet. When I tell them to wait I have an opportunity to ask “do you trust that I will make your lunch at the right time?” “if you truly trust me then I want you to wait patiently”. 

The best thing you can do is come through with every promise you make to your kids. So make them wisely. Teach them to trust you and point them directly to God. “You can trust me because you know I love you and I love God. God loves you more then I can love, you can trust Him.”

When we rise up.

When we rise up in the morning we thank God for His beautiful day. We read our bible at breakfast. Refreshed from the peace that God gives, we go to work and play throughout our day. 

Again, just as we walk by the way, we raise up and do the actions God has prepared for us. When we raise up we have the opportunity to teach our children that our good works and actions are for the glory of the Lord. Colossians 3:23 say “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”. 

To share the good new of the gospel with your kids you can ask them “why do we work unto the Lord?” Encourage conversation about what God has done for us, creating us, providing for us, loving us. And what do we do in return? Well, we sin. We don’t obey, we don’t love, we don’t trust. Yet, he sent his son to save us from our sin and give us a new heart that loves, obeys and trust in God. God is so good to us. So good he even gives us the opportunity to work, raise up and work with him for Gods glory and our benefit. 

So whatever we do. Do it unto the Lord. For he is good and worthy of our praise through our raising up to action.

2. Remember

Remembering daily

Psalm 77 calls us to remember His might deeds and wondrous works. Daily we can encourage our kids to remember the gospel as we remind them of God’s love and might deeds in our daily life. 

Giving credit to God for the things he has done in our lives is the best way to start reminding them of His gospel. You can remind them every time their little ‘owies’ heal that God is the one who heals us, just like Jesus healed people in the bible. We remember that Jesus controls the weather, just like he did the storms in the bible. God makes everything grow, just like when he created the whole earth.

Remember the holiday’s

We remember Gods great works in all the little things, while also taking special days to remember special works. In the Old Testament God gave the Israelite’s instructions on when and how to remember Gods works every sabbath as well as at every feast!

Those feast are like our holidays. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter. These holiday’s are easy to remember Jesus. We remember the day Jesus was born. On Thanksgiving, we gives thanks to God. We remember the resurrection of Christ on Easter. If those holiday’s are not about Christ in your household you are missing out on a great opportunity to be preaching the truth of the gospel with your kids. 

But what about the other holiday’s? Halloween, Forth of July, even Presidents Day. Connecting the gospel to these holidays can be more difficult but will show your kids that God to be glorified in everyday. 

Halloween can be a very dark night in some cultures. At our church we host “Lighthouses” at a members house in a trick-or-treating neighborhood. We have music, puppet shows, hot chocolate and lot and lots of candy. The goal is to show our kids and the town that Christ is the light of the world and in him there is not darkness. Even on your darkest night, Christ’s light will shine through. 

Forth of July we celebrate our freedom in our country. Talk to your kids about freedom and what that means, ask them about the freedom from sin we have in Jesus. That’s the best kind of freedom. 

Presidents Day, God places every leader in his place at the appointed time. We can thank God for his grace with good presidents and His righteous judgment with the not so good presidents. Bad leadership is a reminder from God that we need to turn from our own sins in repentance and turn to Christ and His leadership in our lives. 

Remember, everyday, especially on Sundays and Holidays, Gods mighty works and share them with your children.

3. Forgiveness

Showing forgiveness towards your kids is probably the most important way to share the gospel with your kids. God forgives us and sends our sin as far as east is from the west, never to be heard from again. We need to love our kids in that same way. 

Your kids do not need to earn forgiveness, just like we don’t earn it from God. Our sins have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus and now we can forgive others just as Christ has forgiven us. Do not hold your kids sins against them. Once the punishment, discipline or grace has taken place, forgiveness of sins is granted and we move on.

Christ does not throw our old, forgiven sin back in our face to continually make us feel guilty but desires a restored relationship. We to must restore our relationship with our children, never making them feel guilty again for a sin that has been forgiven.

4. God Disciplines Those He Loves

Forgiveness of sins and grace is so important when sharing the gospel but so is Gods wrath and discipline. Without a punishment for sin we cannot have forgiveness. A payment is required for justice sake and God is just. Thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who took the wrath upon himself at the cross for our sins. 

When disciplining your kids the gospel should always be the center of that discipline. Reminding your kids that sin separates us from God. God is good and there is no good when separated from Him. Because you did wrong you need a punishment that goes with the wrong you did. Just like how God will punish the wicked for their wrong. But because of my love for you and Gods love for you, you will be punished so that you know what is wrong way and turn towards the right way. 

When you know what is wrong you can repent and say sorry. If you don’t know its wrong you will not repent. God forgives those who confess their sin. I want to teach my kids to confess their sin so I can lavish forgiveness and love on them, just as Christ has done for me. 

I want my kids to be quick to repent to God their sins. Not in fear that God will destroy them but knowing He will forgive them. I want them to remember that Christ died for that sin, confess it to the Lord and walk in gift of God, freedom from sin.

5. We Love Because Christ Loved Us

When sharing the gospel with my kids I want them to know Christ great love towards them and the type of love they ought to have towards one another. We have a great opportunity to share the gospel with our kids when teaching them how the ought to treat others. “No, we don’t hit, ask nicely for the toy. God loves you sister, so we should love your sister, being kind and patient.” 

We want our kids to grown up like Christ so show them that God loves others and we should love whom God loves, in the same way God loves them. Jesus loved us so much he died on the cross for us for you sibling, for your friend. Now its our turn to lay our lives, our desires, our comfort down for our kids, and show them to do the same for others.  

6. Read The Bible, Pray and Memorize Bible Verses Together. 

Reading the bible, praying and memorizing bible verses together is probably the easiest way to share the gospel with your children. Taking the time to do a bible study and share helpful verses with one another is a great way to introduce the good news of the gospel. When scripture is being read together regularly when the bad attitude and selfishness of your kids starts to appear it will be easy to remind them of the bible verses you have memorized together they have already been taught. 

Our kids need to be prepared for the scary things that are going to come their way in life. We can either teach them as things come up, or we can try to prepare them, before the trial comes, to remember what they know to be truth about the love of Jesus. 

My prayer for you and your children is that you both grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be strengthened in the power of God to continue to have gospel conversations, training your kids to love God’s word, pray and love others.

The post How To Share the Gospel With Your Kids appeared first on Embracing The Home.