Before we talk about the importance of seeking out what ministries God wants you to be doing for him…before we talk about all the different ministry opportunities there are for women…let’s talk about our families!
OUR FAMILIES ARE OUR NUMBER ONE MINISTRY.
If you are married…your husband and his needs are number one. God created you to be your husband’s help meet. HE IS YOUR TOP MINISTRY. It is the most blessed ministry you will ever be a part of. It may also be the most challenging. Helping to make your husband strong, confident and successful…encouraging him to be the leader of your home…working beside him in what God has called him to do. This is your most important work as a Christian woman/wife.
If you have children, your mission is to take care of them, train them, love them, and help them to grow in the way of Jesus. They need you more than any other child or adult or charity or organization outside your home needs you.
Because your family is your number one mission, you really are “doing your ministry” everytime you do a load of laundry, wipe a nose, cook a meal, wash the dishes, clean up a mess or shop for food. Everytime you smile at your husband or read a book to your kids…you are ministering to them.
I say all of this to reassure you of two different but specific things:
1. If you feel like all you do all day is run from one chore to the next or from one dirty diaper to the other…and because of that you don’t feel like you are being productive for God…think again. The things you are doing for your family is your ministry to them and for God. (“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:31-40…)
2. If you are doing all sorts of good things for the community, for the church and for the needy families next door…but you keep telling your own kids “just a minute” and are so busy running from one “outside need” to another that you don’t have any smiles left to give to your husband at the end of the day…you need to re-evaluate your ministry priorities.
Above all…focus on your family’s needs first…their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
Pray for God to reveal His great purposes to you as a wife and mother. And then listen. You will be amazed by how God will bring to light the ways He wants you to be serving (and what you should say “no” to). He will show you want is important.
Next in this series, we’ll talk about ways you can minister to others simply by doing the things you already do everyday. I have a GREAT grocery store story to share with you!
This is something that I needed to hear. Eric has been designing websites and working very hard on maintaining the newspaper website, and I feel like I want him home more. It is my ministry to support him and let him know how proud I am of him for his hard work. Thanks for the reminder!!!
AMEN!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I needed to be reminded of this.
A timely reminder indeed. Thanks Laura.
Well said, dear Laura, well said!
Amen, preach it SISTER!
Wow. Just this morning I spent more time finding fault with my husband than encouraging him. (This was all inside me– I didn’t tear him down with words, but I didn’t do much lifting up with words either.)
And we don’t usually have days like this. Things are pretty positive between us. Some days, I guess.
Your message said exactly what I needed to hear… it’s a little humbling to realize how much I wasn’t ministering to him, but I’m so grateful that God gives me grace forgiveness (and so does my husband)!
ON TO A DAY OF MINISTRY—–
THANKS so much laura, for the tears I am crying right now… knowing I need to make some changes in my life! Can’t wait to read more!
That is very nice to hear. I work out of the home and reluctantly had to give up volunteering with my youth group and some other ministries since I’ve had my kids. It is so hard, but this message helps me understand that I’ve made the right choice.
I’m wondering though, does anyone have good ideas about ministries to do as a family? With young kids (4-6)? I want to instill the importance of serving the community, but without taking time away from my own family…
Thanks for the reminder – it’s a great validation. Sometimes I look outside my family and think I should be doing more “out there”. By the way, I made your chicken and dumplings recipe (from your chicken book) for my husband the other night. He loved it. He has wanted me to make chicken and dumplings for years. I don’t like doughy bread and have resisted making it for him. I wish now I had made it for him earlier in our marriage. I will be making this recipe often.
I agree with you, I do however think that sometimes every family is different. Some men need their wives more than others, and some men want to support their wives more around the house. I would hate to pass judgement on anyone and how they run their household. If it works for that family and it is according to God’s set biblical principles, then how wives minister to their family will look differently for each family. Just a thought since we’re on the subject:)
By the way, I haven’t visited your blog in awhile and just passed by it today, and I’m glad I did! Have a good rest the week!
What a great reminder–I’d been struggling with feeling like I need to do more outside our home; but at the same time knowing my own family should be priority. Sometimes I just need someone else to tell me that’s okay! :)
What an awesome post! I love it! It makes my laundry just a bit more important. ;)
Laura,
Thank you. I am a new stay at home mom (my daughter is 5 weeks old tomorrow) and haven’t been able to ‘do’ what my brain tends to think as ‘ministry’. . .serving at church, meeting with other young women etc. etc. My brain daily needs a shift in thinking to remind myself that God’s primary ministry for me is to be a wife and mother – anything else is a cherry on top (however we shouldn’t neglect the other things God calls us to – obedience is necessary). So thank you for this encouragement. If I don’t find time to do more than change diapers, feed my daughter, and take a shower myself (make myself look nice for my hubby), and make sure we at least have something to eat for dinner then I guess its okay, especially for the first few weeks of being a mom!
When I was overwhelmed as a young mother and feeling guilty for not “doing enough” my own mother use to remind me that your own family is the most important thing you can do for God. Think of it, you are raising little ones to grow up to be like Him. What is more important? Now that I have 3 grandchildren of my own, I can see that what I did for my kids reached so much further than my own family. And it just keeps on growing. If you can throw in a casserole to the sick or help people out along the way, your children are even more blessed. Don’t feel guilty, feel God’s blessing for your family.
This is the very thing that God has been hitting me over the head with lately. I thought I’d share a verse that has been a real asset to me during the necessities of life… 1 Cor 12:10 says “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, IN NECESSITIES, in persecutions, in distresses for CHRISTS SAKE: for when I am weak, than am I strong.” What a blessing to finally get to the place where you can take pleasure in these things and know that it is for Christ’s sake that we do them. I hope to get there someday soon!
Thank You Thank You Thank You I am crying This is exactly what I needed to hear after some very stressful weeks AMEN!
Because I am crying after reading your post I will just say… Thank You So Much.
Roberta Anne
Laura,
This is a timely series for me!!!
God bless you and your family!!!
Thanks,
Heather – Doodle Acres
I’m so excited about this series! It was meant for me right now :) Thanks so much for all you do! We appreciate YOU!
Thank you–I needed to hear that!
A perfect reminder as we start a fresh new year! Thank you for sharing your heart.
Excellent post – I think so often we forget the importance of being faithful in the little things. As a former missionary kid, sometimes I think being called to do something ‘important’ on the mission field would be easier for me than being faithful to provide a joyful home for my husband and three small children.
What a wonderful post!! Just what I needed to hear today!
Thank you!
Thank you for posting this. I definitely need to think of my ministry to my husband and children first. Their needs definitely need to come first. Have a blessed day!
Sherry
I found the link to your blog from another website that I read called Doodle Acres. If you ever peak at my blog, you will see that right now I am in a whirlwind of turmoil in my life. Aside from all the hormonal changes that I am currently going through, compared to all the hormonal changes my teenager is going through, medical scares, my husband’s company closing, and everyday woes, my life is a mess.
I profess to being a Christian, and an avid reader of homeschool, spiritual, and homekeeping books. I read them, they sink in, and then I am lost. I just don’t get what my purpose is in this life.
Thank you for your post above. I look forward to continuing to read it. I guess whenever I thought of my role as a mother, i never really considered the fact that I was glorifying God with any of it, or that any of it really even mattered. Hopefully, I can learn to see that it really does.
Again, thank you.
I am new to your blog, but so far have found it SO ENCOURAGING!!! Thank you so much for this post – it was truly something I needed to hear, both as an encouragement and a little stepping on my toes. :)
I look forward to reading the series and everything else you have to offer here! :)
I couldn’t have said it better!
Thank you for this post. Often times I get caught up in the earthly views of how a relationship should be instead of the spiritual views. I get so caught up in thinking that my husband should be doing things around the house, that he takes advantage of me. I need to be reminded that this is not the case. And I need to remember to do these household things with joy and a smile on my face, instead of in anger and resentment. Thank you for this gentle reminder when I needed it most!