7 SECRETS TO THRIVE AS A

Christian Homemaker

EMILY MYRICK • MARRIEDMYRICK.COM

The First Secret to Homemaking Success:
GET IN THE WORD FIRST
Investing in your spirituality by prioritizing time for God isn’t
a luxury – it’s absolutely essential. No matter how
important your duties of the day are, it will be futile if you
fail to approach housework with a humble, grateful,
servant-minded heart; and you can’t achieve that without
God. One of my favorite ways to ensure time in the word is
to play the Bible audibly as I get ready for the day, wash
dishes, or fold laundry! No matter what time of day, it is
important to schedule regular time to spend connecting to
God. Without centering yourself on Christ daily, you'll for
sure become burnt out as a busy homemaker.

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,

but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
PROVERBS 31:30, CSB

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as

something done for the Lord and not for people,
COLOSSIANS 3:23, CSB
 Second Secret:
MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR MONEY
My husband and I went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial
Peace University before the wedding, which helped us
start our marriage on the same page regarding our
finances! Creating a budget doesn’t have to be restrictive,
it’s truly all about your perspective. At its core, a budget is
simply managing your money with purpose and good
stewardship, for God’s glory. Friends, if God has been
faithful to provide for you, the least we can do is be faithful
in planning to use it intentionally. Budgeting is essential
because you just can’t operate a home that’s on the verge
of bankruptcy, and taking care of your finances ensures
your family’s well-being during financially stressful
situations. Bonus: it truly helps you learn how to
communicate better with your spouse.

She sees that her profits are good,

and her lamp never goes out at night.
PROVERBS 31:18, CSB
 Third Secret:
MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR MEALS
What recipes are you constantly making? Write out the
ingredients you use for those recipes (and snacks, drinks,
etc), decide on additional recipes you want to make this
week, and make a grocery list with all the ingredients
you’ll need for the week. I like finding meals that use
overlapping ingredients (we eat a lot of Mexican and
chicken, so I always have chips and fresh salsa veggies
and chicken seasonings/marinades!) Get in the habit of
checking your pantry/fridge before shopping to avoid
buying more than you need on hand.

She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from far away.
She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her female servants.
PROVERBS 31:14-15, CSB
 Fourth Secret:
MAKE YOUR PROCESS A PATTERN
Maybe you’re not a structured “on Tuesday I dust the
blinds and wash the sheets” kind of person. But if you
create a prioritized pattern of chores you’ll give yourself
the flexibility to get it done when you can, and you won’t
be stressed out if you didn’t complete the least important
thing as long as you’ve done what is essential that day. I
like to have an ongoing pattern of chores I do weekly
without pinning them to a specific day because when
something comes up I don’t feel behind and stressed if I
have to push back my schedule one day.
What helps me stick to a schedule is creating an "ideal
week" and time blocking hours of the day. It helps me to
see exactly how much free time I have (and not waste it by
just scrolling my life away online!), It's important to realize
you won't perfectly hit your "ideal week" every single day
every week, but it definitely will help you manage your
time with diligence and have a plan to go off of.

Strength and honor are her clothing,

and she can laugh at the time to come.
PROVERBS 31:25, CSB
 Fifth Secret:
CLEAN A LITTLE EVERY DAY
Depending on your season of life you might not need to
break out the mop every day, but it's wise to not sit around
waiting until you have a big party before you deep clean
your house. If you break the tasks up and do a little each
day, then you’ll section it all up into manageable chunks
that won’t make you feel like you’re wasting away your
free days cleaning. For example, it can be more time
effective to batch your cleaning tasks. Laundry day, all
your focus is on getting everything cleaned and put away.
And then another day focus on the dusting, and another
the floors. Then, keep a list of little tasks you forget about
but can get done in 10 minutes or less, and cross one off
each day. If you do it all in one day it will quickly lead you
to burn out!

She watches over the activities of her

household and is never idle.
PROVERBS 31:27, CSB
 Sixth Secret:
SPLIT UP TASKS WITH YOUR FAMILY
Maybe there is one housekeeping chore you really don’t
enjoy doing, and your spouse doesn’t mind it as much.
Communicate these things, as your spouse might
appreciate the opportunity to serve you by taking on a
task that helps you! In turn, take into consideration what is
important to your spouse and love them by doing that
thing. My husband enjoys mowing the lawn and frees up
my time by taking responsibility for that job. He hates
when dishes are left dirty in the sink, so I make sure to
start cleaning up as soon as we’re finished at the table.
Just remember to communicate your appreciation to them
for serving you in love! And if you have littles in the family,
giving them age-appropriate chores gives them a sense of
accomplishment and purpose contributing to the family,
and teaches them responsibility.
And if you're a working homemaker, there is absolutely no
shame in hiring outside help to come in and assist you with
some of the chores that take you the longest. It might cost
you part of your paycheck, but consider the time you'll get
back and see if it's worth it for your situation.

She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands.
PROVERBS 31:13, CSB
 Seventh Secret:
SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
A messy home is more desirable than a nagging wife. Of
course we want to be diligent and disciplined, but there's a
line you can cross that can get excessive. Let go of your
expectations for a perfectly run home. Naturally, the more
experience you have, the smoother things will run. Don’t
expect to have it all figured out right away – as all parts of
life, homemaking is a process that you need to constantly
be learning well about, in order to love your family better.
It's okay if your home looks like you live there - because
you do! And a well-working, organized home serves the
people in it better than a perfectly styled one.

One of my favorite sayings my husband has is, “I make

things better.” Not perfect, but better each day, for the
glory of God.

Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more

precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in
her, and he will not lack anything good. She rewards him
with good, not evil, all the days of her life.
PROVERBS 31:10-12, CSB