Look well to the ways of your household.

There's an irony here.

Firstly, thank you to Cheryl, Copperswife, who always uses that line to sign off her blog posts. I have been reading her blog, reading back through the archives, absorbing her housekeeperly wisdom, and ignoring the piles of laundry, scattered toys, stacks of boxes, etc., in order to do so. Read a page of posts, think "oo, that's a good idea, must get organised, hmmmm try not to do too much in any one day but get certain things done each day", "ooo home made baking mix, what a handy idea", "ooo what a beautiful garden and what a wonderful relationship with her adult children". Then think "hmmm, better go and unload the dishwasher/change the washing over/pick up the debris from Little Fish and Niece's sticker frenzy earlier in the day". And find my fingers sending the mouse to "next five" rather than to shut down. Just five more posts, five more, five more. And as I did so, the more I read the more I found my eyes wandering from the monitor to the surroundings. Is computer time really the priority at the moment? No, but just one more next five, just one more month's posts, just a little bit more...

Over and over again "God bless you as you look well to the ways of your household. Proverbs 31.27. " Proverbs 31.27 in my NIV translation reads "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness". Ouch. Still, just five more posts... Click. Click. Click. And then suddenly, ping, yeeeooowzoop (noise of a piece of electrical equipment shutting itself off), and my internet connection is no more. Deciding to take this as a Divine message, I shut down the laptop and cleaned up the worst of the child-related debris.

Waking up this morning I was greeted with the sight of a lovely clean kitchen, which is handy, as I'm cooking lunch for eleven today and it's going to be a lot easier with work surfaces and floorspace to work with.

Not being a wife, I tend to skip over the end bit of Proverbs. I'm still a Mother and a Housekeeper though; I think I need to review my outlook a little. I do like Proverbs. I was reading Proverbs when I heard that I had been approved as a Foster Parent. My fostering "promise" verses are from Proverbs 9 1-12 (not the whole passage)

"Wisdom has built her house...she has prepared her meat and mixed her wine, she has also set her table...she calls from the highest point of the city, 'Let all who are simple come in here!...The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you."

I need to get back to that I think.
Happy Christmas everyone
Tia