good stuff

Last night I attended Nancy Wilson's "lady's study" and, as usual, she gave some very encouraging and edifying thoughts. It was so uplifting to be in a (large) room filled with wonderful women, all striving to create godly homes and families. We counted 11 babies in the room and there were 6 more on the way! (Mine wasn't among the counted, thankfully Clay was brave enough to babysit since it was during Margaret's fussy time. I have a good husband!) Nancy was taping her talk to give to Canon Press, but they're going to have a lot of baby noises to edit out! Notably one impressive belch that caused the whole room to erupt in laughter. I couldn't help admiring the newborns in the group, with their adorable stretches, facial expressions, grunts.... it amazes me how much Margaret has changed already.

But I digress. Here are just a few of the good thoughts that I scribbled down while listening...
* Remember how important your job is as homemaker - you set the tone of your home!
* Plant your family in "Miracle Gro": a nice blend of loyalty, respect, love, and faithfulness.
* In order to be truly loyal wives we need to start with being steadfast to God. Psalm 57:7, Psalm 112:7, Psalm 101:7
* Being a loyal wife includes being a "one-man-woman" in thought, word, and deed; loyal with finances; faithfully working in the home; and loyal with your mouth (speak highly or say nothing)
* As part of our setting a nice tone in the home, we should make our husband's transition back home from work a pleasant one. This came with an analogy that always makes me smile (and one I need to remember)... don't wait at the door with a dump truck! unloading all the day's problems onto his head as soon as he walks in.
* Loyalty begets loyalty, and God will always bless steadfastness.

It's good to be fed and encouraged, it makes such a difference in surviving the day to day work and chaos to remember that everything we do as wives and mothers is important. Including the dishes and laundry and scrubbing the toilet.

I'm looking forward to the next three sessions of the study!