I was thinking about what I posted yesterday on being able to achieve your goals only through being diligent in your efforts.    I was thinking ….what does it mean to be diligent as a stay at home mom?  Not all stay at home moms can have a ministry outside of the home, in fact their number one ministry should be IN the home.  But what about for the mom who is home all day long with lots of little ones or even perhaps one little child with not a whole lot of outside interaction?  What does being DILIGENT mean for her?

It is going to be different for every mom.  We can’t look and think that our homes all have to be organized perfectly, or that our meals have to be all made from scratch,  or even all our children’s clothes have to be hand made.  What works for one situation doesn’t always work for another.  Being diligent isn’t always about working nonstop throughout the day with no time for rest.

What do we do?  We seek the Lord.  We ask Him.  What is it that He wants us to work on.  Has your husband been complaining that the grocery bill has been too high?  Can you research some ways to make some of your meals homemade to save a few extra dollars while shopping?  What about just cutting back by buying store brand over name brand items?  What about helping cut down on the clothing budget by buying second hand or shopping at garage sales?  Can you plan some “free” family activities to do on the weekends instead of spending money?  Do some research and look up ways to help cut back on spending your families paycheck.

Even though you do not work away from the home, you can help bring a paycheck by not spending all that your husband brings home by finding ways to save.  Even though you budget for certain amounts, aim to cut back on some of those.  I know there are tons of ways to save….use cloth diapers instead of disposables—–what???? Yes you are home all day long, it is okay and worth the extra effort to wash diapers instead of throw them into the trash.  Save disposables for when you go out.  Make your own coffee drinks instead of buying them—that $5 adds up over time.  What about your schooling if you homeschool?  Can you look for ways to cut back on what you purchase?  Can you buy used?  Do you really need “name brand” for the extras like history, handwriting, and science?  Your child can get a well rounded education even without you spending hundreds of extra dollars on curriculum.

Look for ways to make a separate income from home.  Is there something that you can do that won’t take away from you taking care of your children?Don’t do what everyone else is doing….seek the Lord to look for ways.  I know for myself when He introduced me to the world of blogging, I was like, “make money from this?”  I didn’t for a couple of years, but the Lord gave me opportunities to make money to help pay for it through other resources.  He allowed me time to do it and I ENJOY doing it—that makes all the difference.  It isn’t something I HAVE to do, I  LIKE to do it.

This diligence will be different for everyone.  Five years ago, my diligence was just taking care of babies. I had a 5 year old, a 4 year old, a 2 year old, a 1 year old, and baby on the way.   My diligence was just making sure that I had everyone fed, laundry was done, and that I had a meal on the table for when my husband was home.  Diligence will change over time.  The key is to work towards something.  When I started having my children be more independent, there was more time for me to do things.  I started exercising.  I worked on getting my body back in shape.  No, it did not happen overnight, but through diligence I was able to drop  a lot of weight.  Now I am glad that I had done that.  It took time but I was diligent in doing it.  Right now, I have discovered that I really enjoy a Coke to drink.  I have never enjoyed that in my life, until now.  I found myself drinking one everyday.  It made me feel yucky and I knew it was not in my best interest to start drinking it regularly.  So I had to be diligent in not having it.  It takes time.  It took a few days of having an inconvenienced headache from not having it.  But after a few days, I am better.  Sure when I see one I want one.  But I know that right now I am working on losing my last bit of weight and having that Coke is not going to help.  I want my efforts of being diligent and exercising to count and work so I must stop the Coke.  I can have one once in awhile but for now, I need to avoid.

That is just my little life of diligence.  Avoiding Cokes–smile.  I would love to say I am diligent in every area of my life….but I am a human and I am working at it.

Is there something that you can do today to start becoming more diligent in your life?  Take some time to evaluate things you want to change or things that the Lord has been prompting you to do and DO IT!

Be blessed today as you start thinking about what you can be more diligent at in your own life.

Has the Lord ever put into your heart a desire or a purpose for your life?  .  The Lord gives us those thoughts and desires so that we can ultimately become part of His bigger plan here on the Earth.  So that you, in your little town of “middle of nowhere” can influence and be a light to those around you.

I know for myself, God has shown me the “goal” of where he ultimately wants me to be.  Right now, in my current situation that goal seems very far off.  When He first gave it to me, I was excited.  I thought, “This is great!”  I was hoping big opportunities would open up, and this and that would happen, and things would run smoothly.  I started searching on my own opportunities and plans, only to have those doors close quickly.

Then by circumstances and things coming against me, it seems that it was coming to a stop. Satan is very clever, to come against you over and over again, to start making you “think” that this was all made up by you.    I could have very well, just gave up on that “dream” because it was never going to happen in my situation.  That was for the “other” people who had the ability to do that.  Trust me—I did that for a little while.

Thank goodness to get encouragement that can only come from the Lord.  The Lord has been encouraging me through my bible reading and daily sermons all on diligence.  Diligence is what gets you to where you need to be.  There isn’t some “magic” formula to help you achieve your goals.  It comes through faith, diligence, and a desire to achieve them.

You have to begin with faith.  Faith to trust and believe that God is going to help you every step of the way.  Your job is to daily trust that He is guiding you and directing you.  Satan is going to come against you where it bothers you the most.  It may be through a family member or through a situation.  He will come against you and make you doubt all that God is showing you.  But you do not have to listen. You need to rebuke him and get over it real quick.  Don’t dwell on the circumstances or the situation.  Keep trusting God.

The Bible says to be careful for nothing…………

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

……….we don’t need to be bothered or stressed out when things start looking like they are not working out. We are to have the peace of God.  That is our witness to the world.  They won’t understand how you can remain so calm and not get frazzled when things are going awry.  But you can remain at peace because you have the faith that God has a plan.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Philippans 4:6-9

We are to think on things that are pure and lovely.   Not things that cause us stress and  negativity.  Don’t dwell on bad things when they happen.  When someone comes against you and it bothers you, let it go right then.  Don’t constantly dwell on things after the situation occurs.  Think on things that are lovely.  It is our jobs to prepare our minds and our hearts to be aligned with the Lord.

Our Pastor preached on this scripture on Sunday:

I will not leave you or forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you.  Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1

God doesn’t just put dreams and desires into your heart so that you can “hope” to achieve them one day.  God puts those desires into our hearts because they ARE achievable.  We need to be strong and courageous.  That is what will help you achieve your goals and your purpose in life.  Only through faith, diligence, and expectation will all that happen.

We need to be strong and have courage in every situation in our lives.  If we stand and remain where God wants us—even when things come against us—we stay on that path.  We continue moving forward and God will give you the peace to be content through it all.  If we go off that path and on our own, get sidetracked, get knocked down, or listen to negativity, it shows nothing.  By remaining courageous and strong through it all—will get you to the end and it will be better than anything you have ever expected.  It is a promise that can only come from the Lord.

We can’t just sit around and wait for that one big thing to come to us.  It will never happen.  We can’t complain that God isn’t using us liked we hoped for.  We always want the big business,  the big ministry,  or we want to be at the top. How do you think people get at the top?  Through faith, patience, and diligence.  You have to begin somewhere. We can’t make excuses that God isn’t using us.  He will use us in everything, but we have to lay aside our own pride and let it happen.  We have to stop making excuses that we never get the big breaks or that because of our situation it will never happen.  Those are all negative thoughts.  Negative thoughts do not come from the Lord.

Start by doing something, today.  Do something for someone else.  If you are a stay at home mom and don’t get out of the house—encourage your spouse, write a letter to someone, bake a batch of extra treats for a neighbor.  If you work at a job, encourage a coworker by being positive when they are negative.  Smile more when you go out today. Do something that gives a positive impact to those around you.  Don’t look for the big things in life—those will come.  It begins with how diligent you are in the small.

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

Luke 16:10

Be blessed as you go about being diligent in your week.