How can you be confident that what you’re doing each day is what you should be doing?

There are some very organized women in this world who have picture-perfect homes and curated lists that allegedly help them get it all done. There are also some solid productivity methods that help you become a lot more efficient, and you can pretty easily apply them to homemaking.

So many of us want to find the silver bullet that will help us get our lives organized and keep all the plates spinning a little easier. Because when you manage a home, there are a lot of plates (figuratively and literally).

But is this the ultimate goal?

Even if you figured out a method to get it all done, could you be confident before God that He is pleased with how you’re stewarding the time (and home) that He’s entrusted you with?

The Missing Piece for the Christian Homemaker

Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of daily life, it can be hard to slow down enough to think through these more philosophical (but very important) questions. But I’ve found that it’s well worth the time to do so, because of the subtle but significant impact it has on my home and day-to-day life. And truly, it shapes where we are headed as a household.

Modern productivity advice can contain some very helpful tools for us as Christians, but on its own, it’s lifeless and stale. And ultimately, it’s fruitless when not connected to the Vine, our source of life (see John 15).

The Joy and Opportunity to Bear Much Fruit

As Christians, we have so many opportunities to bear fruit in this life (and in our homes) if we look to Christ.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

-Colossians 1:9-10

The answer here is really very simple and doesn't need to be overcomplicated. But it is a very important part of the equation for us as Christians, and we don’t want to miss the opportunities for a fruitful home and life!

If we want to be confident that we are honoring God with what we do every single day as homemakers, we simply need to pray and ask Him for wisdom about what our priorities should be. Because ultimately, our time is not our own. It’s His. As the body, we want to be aligned with the Head, so that everything functions a lot more smoothly (and joyfully, because He came to give us abundant life).

He tells us that if we lack wisdom (about anything), we can simply ask, and He will give generously (James 1:5). This applies not just to "spiritual things" but also to how we spend our time and what we put our hands to each day.

The Original Question

So again, how can you be confident that what you’re doing each day is what you should be doing?

In short, pray about your time and home. Get clear on your God-given priorities and set a few goals that reflect them. Then make sure your days and weeks line up with those goals.

This is how we build fruitful, life-giving homes through simple, God-honoring rhythms.

And with only three months left in the year, this felt like the right time to talk about it. In this week's video, I share how I reset my life as a homemaker, including the six areas I look at to get clear on priorities and how I pick just one thing to start with. You can find that here.

May the Lord bless you and the good works of your hands this week.

"A branch cannot bring forth fruit unless it receives nourishment from the vine." — Thomas Watson