Blog Alert - The Proverbs 31 Woman Challenge - Day 4

*Another Day, Another Challenge! Original Post Found Here!*

Oh, and don't forget to see the latest pics of everyone's favorite Monkey by clicking here,
or simply scroll down to the previous post!

This whole challenge has really been changing the way that I view my role as a mother & wife. The past few days have been really great, and I have gone about my days with a renewed purpose to be all that I can be (through Christ!) for my family. And, though I've added a few extra tasks, i.e. the challenges, it seems as if my days have been more relaxed, and I have just had so much fun spending quality & quantity time with my son especially. It's pretty interesting---when I am fulfilling my God-given role the way I that I should then he is a much happier child! Hmm, who would have thought?!!

I started reading a book last night called Shepherding a Child's Heart (by Tedd Tripp) and one sentence near the beginning really stood out to me. It said something like in today's culture the notion of quality time has replaced quantity time. I used to think that quality time was a good substitution for quantity, but if you think about it, would our children enjoy 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time with us, or would a whole day of meaningful interactions make them feel more loved, understood and protected? Not to say that we have to make our days all about our kids, but lately I have tried to stop what I'm doing when my son comes up to me, showing me his latest block creation or wanting to play ball for a bit. And yesterday morning, as I sat on the floor on his level, he snuggled up into my lap for at least 20 minutes or more as he watched his show onTV ---he never sits with me for that long! It just made me realize how much it must mean to him when I get down and see the world from his angle. How many snuggling opportunities have I missed by being too busy to sit on the floor and interact with my child? Anyways, this challenge is teaching me to embrace all that it is to be a mommy and helpmate---there is a lot involved, but the rewards are priceless.

Onto our verses for today...

...She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle. -Proverbs 31:18 & 19

Many of us know what it is like to stay up into the wee hours of the night, but you can see here that those hours aren't spent being lazy. If you're like me, you have a hard time being idle for any length of time. Sure I like just sitting down and enjoying a good movie now and then, but often I find that it is hard to "waste" my time without being productive in some way---I guess that's a good thing?!!

As far as verse 19 above goes, most of us probably don't spin our own thread and weave our own textiles, but I'm sure that we each have something that we make from scratch. And, just as the distaff (a device used to keepunspun fibers from tangling during the process of making thread) is used to keep things untangled and organized...and I might be going out on a limb here theologically...we need to make an effort to keep our projects and homes organized too! So, onto today's challenge!

Challenge - Day 4

-Evaluate the state of your home, and if necessary keep the lamp oil burning in order to finish up a neglected project. Yes, you need your rest, but the more things you let pile up the harder it will be to get out from under the load! And speaking of loads, I think that I'll finish up the laundry that didn't get done on Monday! ;)

-Organize something &/or make something from scratch! I am going to declutter my craft room (again!) today. Seems as if it is a magnet for stray objects, so back to the drawing board I go to find a way to store things and keep things orderly in the process!

Okay y'all, that's it for today! Spend some quality quantity time with your kiddos (and hubby too!) & have fun making and decluttering! ;)

What my desk looks like without all the clutter on it! You can read about how I originally organized my desk by going here.