Thursday, February 14, 2013

Community Brainstorming Session

I realized today that in trying to not be idle I am looking well to my housework, but maybe not to the ways of my household.  The dishes, laundry, clutter, and dust bunnies are not my household...they are my housework.  So what are the ways of a household?  I have some ideas, but I would really like to know your's. Please comment below and let's find out together what things I should be tending and what things might get in the way.

5 comments:

  1. I think our habits might be one of our ways. As a unit, is my family habitually loving or are we short tempered? Are we habitually late or on time? Are we habitually joyful or morose? I think habits could be substituted for ways.

    I think household means the people in the house, not the stuff in the house. All too often, I push aside the people to deal with the stuff. A friend of mine of Facebook got me thinking about this when she told me about her desire to choose the best over the good. Martha vs. Mary Stuff (housework) vs. people (household) World vs. God
    I want to mind my household while not letting the housework fall to pieces. Balance........moderation......those are key. Much easier said than done.

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  2. I agree, it is such a balance. When I get more of a Martha mindset it affects me and my household in a negative way yet when I can have more of a Mary outlook things go so much smoother. Example: We have been blessed with tons of rain this week and yesterday it cleared and warmed up. The girls asked if they could play in the mud... if I had let Martha answer they would have been disappointed. I told them they could and turned all 3 children out and they had a mudfest. The joy they had was contagious. Although they all had to be bathed and there was a pile of muddy clothes, it did my heart good. The memories will last a long time much onger than the cleanup took.

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  3. I have a very, very hard time not having a Martha mind. It's a daily struggle for me to not be consumed by my to-do list. There is a very tricky balance to lean here.

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  4. I need to remember that the housework is done for the household. The household is not there for the housework.

    Could "the ways" be the paths the household (individuals and whole) is on and where they are/it is going? No one's life stands still. Each individual in my household is always moving: growing, needs changing, ambitions forming, etc. One way I know this is that as soon as I develop a housework routine, something changes. I can get so upset about not getting everything done and so obsessed with finding a new process (I get hung up on processes) that I neglect to realize the reasons for the change: usually because an individual in my household has moved along his "way" and has new needs or a new focus. The way of my household should determine my housework plan. If it does, maybe I won't be surprised/frustrated/upset when the household moves along its way and the housework plan changes.

    Just a quick thought. Set me straight if I'm wrong. :)

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  5. AIMA, I think that application could work. How the members of our household are growing and changing is certainly something we should look well to. A FB friend of mine commented that the ways might refer to the heart of the home. Are we kind to each other, for example. I think that is also a good application. I love that ways is plural. That tells me that she is not looking to just one thing, but many different things at the same time. This seems like a true and honest report of a woman's responsibilities.
    Habits....hearts....paths.....ways. I am liking this.

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