Not in my house!

High school was not my favorite season of life. I was ready to go to college midway through my sophomore year. I did well in school, but the social aspect of school often left me frustrated and, at times, in tears. Although I don't know how others viewed me, I felt that I did take a certain amount of flack for many of my convictions and beliefs. Make no mistake, I wasn't an angel or a martyr and I made plenty of mistakes. I'd like to think that at some point in life we all feel like our hair isn't cute enough, our clothes aren't trendy enough and we're the only ones who aren't drinking or having sex.

How any of us make it out of middle/high school without needing therapy is a miracle. Or is it? In my case, the miracle was the fact that I was born into a great family. My dad and mom provided so much security and safety within the walls of our home that regardless of what happened at school I knew I would be okay at home. There was no yelling, fighting, name calling, belittling or unkindness in our home. This didn't happen by accident or by coincidence. Dad and Mom were deliberate in creating this environment.

I've been struck lately at how much scripture deals with the home and fighting for our families. Nehemiah 4:14 tells us to fight for our families, Proverbs 31 uses language to insinuate warrior-like qualities. We have got to fight for our families. Not with weapons and brute force, but with the way we conduct ourselves. We have got to decide that certain behaviors will not be tolerated in our homes. We will not tolerate dissension, selfishness, unkindness, rudeness, etc. We will not tolerate our families being pulled in so many different directions that we do not make time for each other. We will not tolerate our homes being torn apart by a society that tells us that we can call it quits when we feel like it. We've got to start saying "not in my house!" more often and determine that our homes are going to be a safe haven for our children, our husband and ourselves.

Homemaking is not cooking, cleaning and folding. That's housekeeping. Homemaking is making home a home- a place where children know they can cry and not be ridiculed, a place where husbands want to go at the end of the day and a place where wives know they are valued and respected.

Make your homes. MAKE your homes.