We’re almost done! We’ve got our hair done and our shoes on, we’ve made a schedule, we’ve spent time with God, we’ve improved our marriages, our kids are starting to obey, our house is neat and clean, our checkbook is balanced, dinner is in the oven, and we have a church family. Are you tired?
Actually, I have a sneaking suspicion that you read through these ten steps and probably haven’t had a chance to put them all into practice yet. If so, you might be feeling overwhelmed. 🙂
On the other hand, I hope you’ve been blessed (as I have) by the numerous comments by classmates, by the spiritual encouragement of other women who are studying along with you, and most of all, by the Word of God that you’ve been hiding in your heart.
- Go back through each lesson. I’ve made a Summary Page here, to make it easy for you to access all the lessons. Be sure to check each assignment as you do it.
- As I said before, you really need to have some friends who can come beside you and support you. The Bible says older, wiser women should “…admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed (Titus 2:4-5).” Do you have any women like this in your life? If not, add this to your prayer list right away!
- Now is also a good time to go back into my website and look at oodles more links to help you in the areas where you need help. Find out more about the priorities of a healthy family, read through Bible studies and articles, or find more tools that can help you grow spiritually. Let me know if I can point you to a specific resource.
- Choose some good books to add to your “Reading List.” My favorites, categorized according to the topics we’ve been studying (and then some…) are listed at my Amazon Store. My intention is not to make money selling books to you. Just use my Amazon store to create a “wish list” of books to read during the coming year. Then take your list to the library with you, and get them for free through inter-library loan. You can also get books for the cost of shipping only through Paperback Swap. (Of course, if you’re really in the mood to support my websites, LOL, you can purchase any of these books through Amazon.com by clicking on the title.)
- I really don’t want to lose contact with you! You’ve become my friend as I’ve been praying for you this month! I’m hoping you’ll sign up for my E-zine, so I can continue to send you encouraging articles and resources each Friday morning. You won’t be hearing from me from this list any more, so the only way to keep getting any email from me is through my E-zine. You can do that here.
- Finally, I have a couple books that might be helpful to you. My first book, Juggling Life’s Responsibilities: Practical Help for the Married Woman, is designed to be studied by you with some other women, and it goes into much greater detail on all the topics we’ve been talking about this month. Also, if you’re too tired to keep up with life because you’re struggling with health problems, I encourage you to check out my new book on chronic fatigue. All my other books are listed on my website.
Well, finally, I wanted to mention some of the “Frequently Asked Questions” you’ve been sending in through the comments. First, I want to apologize for how SLOW I’ve been in responding to your comments. I’m hoping you understand that my life is a tad crazy, too — but yet, I don’t want you to think I don’t care!
Some of the most common questions so far have been:
- What is the purpose of makeup? Or, what about chemicals in makeup? What about husbands who don’t like makeup? (I think this is a personal decision, to be made with the agreement of your sweet husband. Oh, and I hate chemicals, too. I use all-natural make-ups that have no toxic chemicals. If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.)
- Have you heard of FlyLady? (Yes, love her!)
- How do I make more margin in my schedule? Or what do I do if I just don’t have time for everything in my day? (Check out some of the blog posts I’ve written on time management.)
- I can’t seem to follow a schedule longer than a day or two. Or, I constantly try to make schedules and occasionally get started but finishing them and keeping them seems to elude me. (Oh, me, too! LOL! Actually, I have to just keep doing it again, about every 2-3 months. Try reading Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund, and read some of the blog posts mentioned above.)
- What if one person in a marriage doesn’t believe in paying tithe? Or, how much tithe should we pay? (Check out the comments to this lesson for an answer to the first question. As for how much, we personally give 10%, save 10% for celebrating biblical feasts and other similar purposes, and give 3% to the poor. But that’s another LONG post, LOL!)
And my list says, that’s everything for this wrap-up post! Wow — you’ve got your homework cut out for you!
Thank you for joining me this month! I’m so thrilled that you made it to Lesson 10! Stick around — I can’t wait to interact with you more! Do you have time to take a quick survey and tell me how this course went for you? I’d so much appreciate it!
Your friend and sister,
