"Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith."
p r o v e r b s 1 5 : 1 6
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I love to decorate. No, I L O V E to decorate. You know, in the way you "love" chocolate kind of thing. TJ Maxx and the Antique Mall are my best friends. Not just decorating, but making things to use in my home. I was overwhelmed when Justin and I got married and got a house because it was more than one room for me to design + decorate and I could do whatever to any of the rooms! The Wedding Registry was almost torture, having to decide so quickly what kind of colors we wanted.
Doing things yourself is way fun. It's cool too when you have a husband that can build furniture and has an amazing eye for old, cheap (but sturdy) pieces that we can redo and make our own.
As much as Justin likes to make our house a home with me (which it is so fun to decorate together!), he is also the more practical one about things. Maybe because he is the one that works for our money 40 + hours a week around hot grease, managing a restaurant.
So, I've been learning to not be flippant about our money because we kinda need it to live on. It's SO HARD sometimes. I mean, we really need that old wooden ladder to hang our blankets on in the living room and that ginormous rug for I'm not sure where.
I want to be honest and say that as a wife and homemaker it is hard sometimes to not want to buy certain things that I feel would add to our home and make it look nice. There is actually nothing wrong with that! Justin likes the way we have our home decorated, and likes the things I buy to make it nice.
If Justin and I get in an argument about buying something (me wanting to get something, him saying no), is that bringing glory to God?
I stay home with Kyler a lot and see everything in our house over and over again. I enjoy what I love about it, but I also see the flaws. When I walk in a room my mind is like a Lego Master Builder (you know what I mean? Everything is awesome?) thinking about what should go on that wall, what shouldn't be there, what should be there, wall color, curtains, pictures, etc.
I have this huuuge list of things in the house I want to get done. Whether it be painting furniture we have, moving things around, making something, sewing something, buying something...I end up getting overwhelmed and getting hardly any, if any, done.
Then I read these verses in Proverbs.
"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." Proverbs 15:17
"Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right." Proverbs 16:16
It was the perfect reminder at the perfect time. To have The Lord is greater than anything else. To have the fear of the Lord and the love He gives us within us is far better than having everything you could want on this earth.
As much as I like to decorate, that doesn't even compare to the love I have for the Lord and my family. I love to design and buy new things for the house and make it look good, but that is not what I live for and should definitely never be put above the Lord.
To add to my list of things to paint and buy, there are also so many amazing shops out there selling handmade items that I just want to snatch up! Especially kids clothes. I wish I could buy everything! But I can't. And I'm learning that is okay. It is better to spend more time loving, learning to love, caring, praying and doing things for others. Spend less time caring about what my house looks like, what my clothes look like, and what Justin and Kyler's clothes look like.
There is a balance between caring about these types of things and obsessing over them:
"...for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple...She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness."
"...but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised."
Proverbs 31:21,22,27&30
It is wise to "look well to the ways of your household". To dress nice, presentable and even fashionable is not wrong. It is a matter of the heart and why you do what you do.
God placed beautiful things on this earth for our pleasure, and loves to see his creation happy! "And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God." (Ecclesiastes 3:13) He also has given us different gifts and talents to use. "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:" (1 Peter 4:10) Note that we are to use our gift to serve other people. This is glorifying God!
It is good to make my house beautiful and clean so that when we, for example, have others over for dinner, it will be a place of comfort.
But more importantly, I desire that our home will radiate joy and the presence of the Lord whenever someone steps foot in it. And that doesn't come from furniture or paint.
I hope this has encouraged someone else, like it did me! I love sharing what the Lord is doing in my heart. It also helps keep me accountable to live out what I learn.
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I'll end with this:
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 c o r i n t h i a n s 1 0 : 3 1
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