As I am now over half a century old, I wanted to share some of the thoughts that go through my mind as I look back over the years of my marriage and raising our family. There are so many good memories and things I wouldn't change, but there are many things I wish I would have grasped at a younger age. If I could go back here are some of the most important things I would like to tell my younger self: Visit ThankfulHomemaker.com for the full show notes. Subscribe to ThankfulHomemaker Join the Than...
May 28, 2019•25 min•Ep. 58
Spiritual journaling is a way to slow our lives down and ponder deeply over the events of the day. In my life journaling has helped me to grow spiritually by discerning my thoughts and motives. It has shown me areas where I need to give thanks and praise to the Lord. My journaling time has reminded me of situations or people I need to be in prayer for. Journaling is an excellent time for me to see areas of weakness and set spiritual goals and not always just spiritual but other areas of my life ...
May 14, 2019•29 min•Ep. 57
Prayer is simply talking to God. As believers, we have access to God the Father through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Prayer reminds us we are dependent on God for every aspect of our lives and we grow in that relationship by communing with Him in prayer. Donald Whitney reminds us in regards to the spiritual disciplines that prayer is second only to Bible intake in the order of importance. Prayer is not demanding but we are coming before the Lord with open hands to what He knows is best fo...
Apr 23, 2019•43 min•Ep. 56
We're continuing in a series on the Spiritual Disciplines and today's episode is on Bible Study. We're going to talk about the benefits, explain some basic Bible study methods, share some resources to help you get started digging into the Word. Jerry Bridges says in regard to God’s Word - "Reading gives us breadth, but study gives us depth." *I stated in the podcast the next episode in the Spiritual Disciplines series will be on prayer, and it will be up on Tuesday, April 23rd instead of April 2...
Apr 09, 2019•36 min•Ep. 55
We all want to grow in our walk as Christians. We've talked about how often we read God’s Word close the book and forget what we’ve read. We can blame our memories or our intelligence or our age, but the reality is it has more to do with our method than our abilities. Today's podcast episode is going to address areas that are important to our growth as believers: Meditation on God's Word and Scripture Memory. God desires us all to grow in the grace and knowledge of His Word, so we are all capabl...
Mar 26, 2019•42 min•Ep. 54
We are continuing in a series here at the podcast on the Spiritual Disciplines. On today's episode, we are going to discuss the importance of reading God's Word along with some practical helps to implement it into our days. We have a God that we can know and meet with and because of that, we should meet with God on a regular daily basis. My hope is by the end of the podcast today that we would all see and understand why we need to do this as those who are born again - first off if we’re in Chris...
Mar 12, 2019•32 min•Ep. 53
We're starting a new series here at the podcast on the spiritual disciplines. Today's episode is introducing us to what they are and the vital role they play in our sanctification as believers. In this series, we’re going to talk about why we need to practice them and share practical biblical ways how we as followers of Jesus Christ can pursue Christlikeness through these means of grace. The means of grace or spiritual disciplines (Bible intake, prayer, and fellowship the three main areas and we...
Feb 26, 2019•25 min•Ep. 52
How many times do we give thanks to the Lord for the ministry He has given us at home. Are we thankful for the mundane everyday moments or are we are only thankful when we think we are doing “great” things for the Lord? We live in God's home. He owns it. He has gifted it to us and given us the job of stewardship over it. He's put us in charge, and we are responsible to Him. As believers, it should make us work harder, and we shouldn't desire to escape from work or difficult situations because we...
Feb 12, 2019•24 min•Ep. 51
I'm re-sharing a previous episode I need to re-listen to this time of year. I'm praying it will be an encouragement to you today. We are already nearing Christmas Eve and plans that I had to bake or buy or clean haven’t all been finished. There are gifts I wanted to purchase or send that didn’t happen. There are cookies I wanted to bake that I didn’t get too and areas I wanted to tidy at home that I didn’t even get close to doing. But I want to share with you today reminders that I’m talking to ...
Dec 21, 2018•8 min•Ep. 11
Every Christmas season I look forward to reading the account of the birth of Christ in Luke together as a family on Christmas morning. I'm amazed at Mary's faith. What must have gone through her mind when Gabriel approached her? How did she process the news that she and Joseph were to raise the Son of God? What depths of sorrow did she endure while watching her Son die a horrific death on a cross? There are many lessons we can learn from Mary’s life, but I want to share just ten today. Show Note...
Dec 19, 2018•21 min•Ep. 50
Many times in my walk as a believer I have heard and read the term "abide in Christ" and didn't have a full understanding of what that meant. I know abide means to remain in, and I pictured it as a state of resting in Christ. Studying through John 15 has been a help to me in grasping fully what our Lord meant as he walked and talked with His disciples on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Picture this; our Lord had just left the Upper Room in John 13 & 14 where He and the disciples shared ...
Dec 12, 2018•18 min•Ep. 50
It’s not the gingerbread houses or cookies or special meals that will have the most impact on your family. It is the attitude of your heart. It is them seeing the Gospel lived out in your day to day life – even in the midst of busy seasons. As the busy Christmas season is upon us we can find ourselves all wrapped up (literally wrapping too) in planning, cooking, cleaning, shopping, decorating, ministry activities and a multitude of other tasks that seem to come about during the Christmas season ...
Dec 05, 2018•35 min•Ep. 49
We live in a world where it can be quick to pass judgments instead of seeing the best in others. We can find ourselves expressing our opinions harshly when we differ from one another. Watching debates between Christians online when there is a disagreement makes me cringe a bit when I see the responses towards one another not gentle and kind. Disagreement is inevitable, but there is a way as believers that God’s Word lays out for us what that should look like. There is the reality of being hurt b...
Nov 28, 2018•24 min•Ep. 48
How can we as believers "put on" an attitude of love in our homes? What does it look like to "put off" sinful responses and attitudes and "put on" God-honoring attitudes? I'm hoping today to encourage you that as believers we can "put on" attitudes and behaviors that are God-honoring. If we are in Christ, He has equipped us to do so through His presence within us and through our intake of God's truth. We're working through Ephesians 4:22-24 together today: 22 to put off your old self, which belo...
Nov 21, 2018•21 min•Ep. 1
On this podcast episode of Thankful Homemaker, we're talking about how our tongues can get us into so much trouble. We tend to have many words. Many times we're not careful with our words and say things that are slanderous, or gossip or sadly at times even malicious. This should not be for women who love the Lord and are loved and known by Him. Let's encourage each other today to speak words that glorify and honor the Lord. Scripture References & Other Resources Mentioned: Colossians 4:6 Pro...
Nov 14, 2018•19 min•Ep. 1
I know as women we can get caught in our to-do lists and forget to give thanks in and through all things – even in the gift of preparing to serve others with the hope of pointing them to the One who we truly have all things to be thankful for! give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 My hope today is to simplify your holiday planning a bit. So you’re getting this two weeks before Thanksgiving with the hopes it will be a help wi...
Nov 07, 2018•30 min•Ep. 47
Self Discipline is essential to spiritual growth and it is useful in our lives in so many ways. Living lives that are disciplined means saying, “yes” to God in every area of our lives. Jesus is our ultimate example of what it looks like to live a disciplined life. He chose both dependence and obedience to His Father. As Christians, we too are called to dependence and obedience to our Father. Self-discipline is primary to our spiritual growth. In 1 Timothy 4:7 We are called to discipline ourselve...
Oct 31, 2018•30 min•Ep. 6
On today’s Encore Episode, we’re going to talk about our cell phone use and discuss whether we master our cell phones or do they master us. This podcast was on my mind because of two recent posts at Tim Challies blog on the use of our phones. I recently read the book, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke and it was a challenging read. I’m going to share with you some of what I took from that book to get us started, some thoughts on Tim Challies posting about him going back to a “dum...
Oct 24, 2018•31 min•Ep. 33
The hope on today's episode of contentment is to remind us today how rich we are in Christ and that we will find our satisfaction in Him and Him alone. I want to open with the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians: Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ~ Philippians 4:11...
Oct 17, 2018•16 min•Ep. 46
God’s Word reminds us: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:5 “apart from me you can do nothing” is a continual reminder that I am utterly dependent on the Lord to do anything. There are many things I can do without dependence on Christ, but the reality is I have achieved “nothing” in God’s sight. This is so true in the raising of our children. Our children are a gift from the Lord,...
Oct 10, 2018•18 min•Ep. 45
Today's podcast episode is a topic we probably don’t find ourselves talking about with others because it can be a bit uncomfortable but it’s one I know we all deal with —it’s addressing our sins of jealousy and envy. It just seems no matter where we are in life we can always find ourselves sinfully comparing ourselves to others. I would think at my age and life stage this would be over, but sadly it's not. How often do I find myself in my head comparing the circumstances of my life to others – t...
Oct 03, 2018•15 min•Ep. 44
How many imperfect parents out there? Raise your hands. I’m hoping all my parents out there raised their hands. We are going to experience failure in our parenting – it’s not an option but a reality in our lives on this fallen earth. Don’t we all find ourselves at times sure that we’ve ruined our children? How many times have we yelled, acted rashly in our correction and the list of mistakes and sinful responses towards them we’ve made over the years sadly goes on. We’re going to fail – and in s...
Sep 26, 2018•20 min•Season 1Ep. 43
As we start getting back into fall and a routine (as we talked about last week at the podcast ), I wanted to share a bit of encouragement for all of us today. Who doesn't like to be encouraged? Our time today is just a reminder that no one out there has it all together. We are a continual work in progress in the Lord's hand. If I shared only what I had mastered on this podcast, it would be non-existent ;). So today listen in and be reminded that no one has a perfect marriage, family or home whil...
Sep 19, 2018•14 min•Ep. 42
Are you struggling with getting back into a routine after the summer months? I know for us our summer months are a bit more spontaneous and flexible so I'm out of a daily routine quite often. Summer brings a sense of unpredictable days in our home. We don’t always have a regular schedule, and we’re on the go or outside more than usual so we may find our inside tasks take a back seat and our regular routine schedule doesn’t happen as often as it does in the fall, winter and even spring seasons. F...
Sep 12, 2018•32 min•Ep. 41
Sex is a beautiful gift from God. As Christian’s we have God’s permission to enjoy sex within our marriages – God invented it. We can learn not just to enjoy it but delight in intimacy with our husbands Martha Peace shares: The physical union of husband and wife is designed by God to meet God-given desire for companionship, to protect the husband and wife from temptation, and for the mutual giving and receiving of great pleasure and joy between the husband and wife. Companionship is strengthened...
Aug 29, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 40
We're going to discuss in today's podcast about how well we communicate with our spouses. God created us as relational beings so we are designed to communicate not just with Him but with one another. Because we're created in God's image, our communication within our marriages should be one of intimacy, beauty, and harmony. Communication is a huge part of our lives together. We share all of life together in our marriages and home should be a place where we can be vulnerable, open and honest with ...
Aug 22, 2018•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 39
We are continuing in our marriage series on the podcast , and this is the second half of the episode on submission. If you didn't get a chance to listen to the first one where my husband joined us you can do that here . I highly recommend it before listening in to this one. My husband shared last week on the theology of submission , and I'm continuing on today on what submission in marriage is and what it isn't. When we are living out the beautiful doctrine of submission the unbelieving world ar...
Aug 15, 2018•44 min•Ep. 38
We're continuing on in our marriage series and podcast episode 37 is part one of a two-part episode in the series on submission. I'm a bit excited to have my husband joining us today and he's going to work through with us what is the theology of submission. You can find all the podcast episodes in the marriage series here. We're camping in the text of Ephesians 5:22-24: 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of...
Aug 08, 2018•44 min•Ep. 37
We’re continuing in our series on marriage at the podcast, and episode 36 is on respect. So far we've covered God's Design for Marriage and Our Role as Women , Loving Our Husbands , and today we're talking about what does it look like to show respect to our husbands. What is respect? How is it defined? The dictionary defines it - A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. We are called by God to respect our husband’s position of...
Jul 31, 2018•40 min•Ep. 36
We’re continuing in a series here at the podcast on marriage. Each episode can stand alone, but they are meant to be listened to together. Last week we talked about God’s Design for Marriage and Our Role as Women . We touched briefly on areas of submission, respect, and love. Today we’re going to start by seeing what God’s Word has to say about loving our husbands. I struggled with titling the episode, so I borrowed it from scripture from Titus 2:4 passage that we are to be taught by the older w...
Jul 25, 2018•52 min•Ep. 35
