Steps to Being a Good Wife and Making a Contented Family

Being a good wife is not as difficult as it may seem. You can be the super-mom, loving wife, and all around perfect woman with just a few key ideas in your arsenal. Sure, you have to live with a husband, put up with the kids, and find a way to juggle sensuality and sensibility with out embarrassing yourself or your kids. But in the end, it all comes out in the wash.

1. Put God first. Every day should start with some quiet reflection time and some study time. If you will make Him and His word a priority, you will find that the rest of the day will manage to work itself out.

2. Put your family second. It’s easy to get caught up in the things that we think are important and miss those things that truly are. Turn the TV off – even in the middle of the show – to talk with your kids or go out and take a walk. Turn off the computer screen and face your spouse when he needs to talk with you. Let the people around know that they are more important than anything else.

3. Make time for yourself. Scurrying around taking care of the family and the home and the neighbors means that not much else gets done. But you need to take time and pamper yourself. Do you like a good book? Take a few minutes each day to hide away with one. Even Jesus Christ got away from the crowds to rest and recharge.

4. Plan ahead. Make a menu for the next two weeks so you (and your family) will know what to expect from meal time. It will save you time not having to pour through the pantry only to find that you don’t have the one ingredient you need to make that dish that was on your mind. Not only does a menu help with the cooking, but it will help you plan out a grocery list as well.

5. Just do it. I can’t be the only one that has walked by the dryer KNOWING there were cloths in it just waiting to be folded. Many days I spend more time putting off the job than it would actually take if I just did it. What’s worse is that chores, like the dishes and the dirty cloths, find a way to multiply if they are left unattended. Before long the task is so daunting that it would be easier to just leave the mess and move to a new house. Instead of making the bad seem worse and eating time in the process, just do what needs to be done and get it over with.

6. No more excuses. I’ve started my game plan over a hundred times – at least if feels that way. I’m not putting out the white flag. Instead, I’m re-organizing, re-planning, and re-attacking. Eventually, I’ll get it right. Until then, I won’t fall back on the excuses – “It’s never worked before” “No one ever helps” “If only my parents had taught me different” – and I will push through to victory one step at a time.

Being a good wife and keeping a contented family is not that difficult. It’s just a matter of getting my priorities straight and getting going. By spending time with God, putting my family first, taking time for myself, planning ahead, doing what needs to be done, and not making excuses, then the battle is almost won.

This article will be featured in the Carnival of family life starting July 30th.  Please give the host site a visit.

1 comment July 23rd, 2007

Get Ready for Work

This morning I got up, had some quiet time with God, did a short work out, and then got ready for work. When I say “got ready for work,” I mean that I fixed my hair, picked out and put on an outfit, and put on shoes.

For those of you who are unaware, I work at home. I’m a homeschool mom, a full-time mom, and a freelance writer. Up until this morning, I had never thought about the importance of preparing myself both mentally and physically for work. There was never a doubt it WAS work. It just seemed that it was the kind of work you could roll out of bed and do (actually have done ).

It’s amazing how much more I was able to get done just simply by getting ready for work. Laundry, shopping, family time, naps, and a menu for the next three weeks are all done and there is still half the day left.

My motivation was a combination of a Flylady.com suggestion that I heard at a conference this past weekend, and the implication from some guy (dare I say my husband) that I don’t contribute to the family income. If I’m going to claim that staying at home is a job in and of its self then I need to start acting like I’m going to that job.

I’m taking it a step farther (another tip from this weekend) and posting a time when my children’s day starts. They are expected to have had breakfast AND done the morning chores before that time.

Being the optimist that I am, I know that this is the system that will get my family motivated and on track. Being the writer that I am, I expect that this adventure will be the beginning of many fun and colorful articles.

2 comments July 23rd, 2007