31 Days to Bless Your Home, and How to Have Fun Doing It Too!
Week 1: The Spirit of the Home: Creating an Atmosphere Where the Fruit of the Spirit Abounds
Day 1: Cultivating a Peaceful Home
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Welcome to Day One of Pearls for Living’s Fall Home Challenge, “31 Days to Bless Your Home and How to Have Fun Doing It Too!” I just can’t wait to get started!
My hope with this challenge is that we will all experience the joy and fulfillment of putting in a bit of extra effort to make our homes a warm, inviting, and comfortable sanctuary for our families. Fall is a fabulous time to hunker down and enjoy the pleasures of home as we saturate our senses with all the gorgeous colors, smells, flavors, and memories of this beautiful season.
Each week will have a unique challenge that will last the entire week as well as small daily challenges that relate to the weekly theme. Our theme for week one is “The Spirit of the Home: Creating an Atmosphere Where the Fruit of the Spirit Abounds.”
We may often feel the need to spend a fortune and knock ourselves out trying to make our homes the best they can possibly be for our families. However, we are missing it if we stop there. Some of the most “homey” homes are not necessarily the ones full of designer furniture and décor, but what sets grandma’s home apart from the cold, stiff works of art that we see in magazines and show rooms is the spirit of the home. That’s it! That is what we are all really looking for!
I had thought about covering each of the fruit individually in this home challenge, but that would need to be a study for another time. How nice it would be to have a checklist of the fruit to work on in our homes, and to mark each one off as we conquer it. Wouldn’t that be a great feeling of accomplishment? However, that is not how it works. I have learned that in order to have the Fruit of the Spirit active in our lives and in our homes, we must first get to the source. To have more of the fruit, we simply must have more of the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit. Better yet, we must allow Him to have more of us!
Let us begin this week’s challenge by prayerfully yielding our lives, families, and homes wholly to the Lord. Let us seek God’s face, wives and mothers, and allow Him to reveal areas in our hearts and in our homes that we need to relinquish to Him. Let us invite the Holy Spirit to reside and reign in our homes. It is only then that we will find the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control developing in us and producing the “spirit of the home” that we are seeking.
All the other “stuff” we will be working on in our challenge this month will mean nothing without this most important step.
In this introductory video, I will explain how the challenge will work, and I explain today’s specific challenge. I know you are going to enjoy this!
Today, to begin our focus on the spirit of the home, let us begin with an emphasis on peace.
“Money can buy you a house of gold, but only the peace of God can give you a home.” John Hagee
Too often what we find ruling in our homes is anything BUT peace. Do any of these look familiar to you?
- Words: Arguing, complaining, negative confessions, shouting, ugly and abusive language
- Relationships: Strife, division, broken relationships, hurt
- Attitudes/Heart: Out of control anger, tempers, depression, fear, anxiety, exhaustion, weariness, worry
- Mind: Pressure, stress, perfectionism, impossible standards
- Environment: Chaos, disorder, disorganization, mess
- Schedules: Hectic schedule and too many obligations
Unfortunately, these are what you will find in too many American homes, even in many Christian homes to varying degrees. It is time to get rid of these peace robbers and replace them with God’s sweet peace. Invite the Holy Spirit to come in and transform your home. Pray for the following six areas that correspond to each of the above peace robbers, and watch the peace of God come in like a flood to soothe and heal.
- Words: Instead use words that bless and encourage. Use a gentle and kind tone. Use your words to build up and never to tear down. “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” Proverbs 18:21 MSG
- Relationships: Do not allow strife in your home! Keep peace and unity; get along; show respect; forgive; work together; spend time together; invest in each other; pray for and with each other; play and laugh together; bless each other; above all, love each other deeply and affectionately.
- Attitudes/Heart: Cast all your anxiety on Him and allow God to replenish you and to replace all the negative emotions with His peace.
- Mind: Shun perfectionism and the impossible standards that leave you with a constant feeling of never measuring up. Your purpose is unique, and you will never be at peace by constantly comparing yourself to others. Be at peace with who God made you to be and allow Him to guide you in fulfilling His purpose in you. He does not put pressure or stress on you!
- Environment: We will learn some excellent techniques and habits to help us create an orderly environment, promoting peace in our homes throughout this month’s challenge, but for now, ask for God’s guidance each day to create an orderly home without falling into the trap of perfectionism.
- Schedules: It is all about balance. Being involved in stimulating activities enriches our lives and gives us opportunities to grow and serve. However, there is a fine line between living an abundant and active life and overdoing it to the point of crowding out the most important things. Learn how to set limits and know when to say no. Ask God to help you achieve optimum balance. We must be careful not to neglect our homes and families, and prayerfully establish priorities and boundaries with our schedules.
My sisters in Christ, meditate on these two verses and understand that peace can be yours! Your home can truly be a haven of peace for you and your family through the Holy Spirit. Invite Him to reside and have His way in your life and your home, and He will make all the difference!
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4;6-7 NLT
Week One Challenge: Read Galatians 5:22-23 and prayerfully reflect on ways you see the Fruit of the Spirit thriving in your home and areas in which God would lead your family to grow. Write in a journal throughout the week ideas that the Holy Spirit puts on your heart. Pray for each member of your family.
Today’s Challenge: Play some soft, soothing music to create a peaceful atmosphere in your home.
Enjoy the peace you have discovered through today’s challenge and by meditating on what the Word of God says about peace. Let me know in the comments below what music you chose for today’s challenge. I have some Michael Buble playing, and in a little while I plan to lock it on the smooth jazz channel. This puts me in such a great mood!
Tomorrow, we will talk about cultivating a heart devoted to God and fun ways to impress the truths of God’s Word onto our children. Reading the Bible does not have to be dull, but as a family, we can develop a passion for the Word of God that will fortify the chords of unity and faith that will sustain us through even the toughest of times.
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Thank you and God bless!
Shari Lewis
