This is the week where the previous 70 days all seem to come together and the “big picture” is revealed…. where I saw the reason why we have gone through the rest of this study, like a giant light bulb has been turned on and I can see it clearly! Although my home is not ready for all of what was presented in the lessons this week, I see the path that I need to follow to get there.

This was one of those weeks where I did the reading every day, but I was not as diligent in getting my posts up here each day. So, today’s post will be a combination of the entire week.

First things first, here is the memory verse card that you can print and use to help you in this week’s memorization (just click on it to get the larger version, save it, and print away):

Monday – Day 71: The homework for this lesson was to have a sit-down breakfast with my family every day. Mornings for us are way more hectic than our evenings, so this will not work for our family. When we were homeschooling, this might have worked – but with the kids needing to leave for school by 7am – this would cause more stress on the mornings. BUT, the good news is… we are already having family dinners together every night during the week. We eat together, pray together, talk together, and sometimes have our devotional at the dinner table. Family meals together are so very important and I am thankful that we have these dinners together.

Tuesday – Day 72: Dressing for success… spiritual success that is! Meal time is an excellent time for this and since we only sometimes do devotionals at mealtime, this is something I would like to re-establish in our home. Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, The Word of God, and Prayer – sharing these with my family is very important to me but it is so easy to lose track of your goals amidst stress and busy-ness. Today’s lesson was a great reminder of how important it is to dress for SPIRITUAL SUCCESS!

Wednesday – Day 73: Hospitality. My home is always open to those who need it, although it is not always in good running order when people are visiting. Its clean – but the chaos of the dogs in our house is sometimes more than I can handle and is even embarrassing at times. We have two little dogs and one big dog (as well as two guinea pigs, a hamster, and some fish). The big dog is great – she listens, she is well-behaved, she lets people into the house – she does what she is told to do. The little dogs, on the other hand, are older and nippier, yappier and out of control.

I am not sure when it happened but I am sure of HOW it happened. One of the little dogs was brought to our home shortly before I developed RA and the other was given to us after I was diagnosed with RA. I feel that I was not able to take the time to socialize and train them properly because I was always so focused on my health concerns. So, now we deal with the result… nippy, annoying, little dogs that aggravate me and often my household guests… especially the neighborhood friends of my children. Not so good for a hospitable home… but it is something we are working on. But, as the old saying goes… “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is proving to be true.

Thursday and Friday – Days 74 & 75: The goals for these two days, respectively, were to {1} Open your home to the work of God and {2} Host God’s Servants. I am more than willing to do both of these things, but there is a BUT to address… a couple actually. THE DOGS again… thankfully they have crates, so if we were to have a Bible study or prayer group at my house, then it would not be a problem to lock the little dogs up, although they may bark through the entire time. The other BUT is that we are not currently going to church, so getting involved in a home study or inviting a missionary to our home is not likely. However, if God has another plan and the opportunity arises, I am 100% open and ready – even if it means having to take the little dogs to the vet for a little “vacation” boarding session. We are planning on going back to church in the Spring – after cold and flu season, when my immune system has had enough time to rebound from all the immuno-suppressants in my system – so a home study or missionary visit could happen in the future, but not quite yet.

So, lots to work on in the months to come to be able to meet some of the goals of this week’s lessons. Not impossible for all things are possible with God, but unlikely right now until we get some things straightened out. 🙂

To close in prayer for this week’s lessons, here is my prayer version of Proverbs 31:30:

Father,
Help me to always remember that charm is not real and that beauty and physical appearances fade, so they should not be where I focus my energies. Help me to successfully teach my children this as well. May I focus on You in all things and remember that a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen