• Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Thankful Homemaker

Gospel-Driven Encouragement for Homemakers

  • Home
    • The Gospel
    • Statement of Faith
    • My Church Home
    • Church Finder
  • Welcome
    • About Me
    • Start Here
    • Advertise & Sponsorship Info
    • The BAR Podcast Network
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
    • Homemaking
    • Menu Planning
      • Menu Planning Made Easy Course
    • Marriage
      • Marriage Series
    • Motherhood
    • Christian Living
      • Spiritual Disciplines Series
      • Sermon on the Mount
    • Bible Study
    • Time Management
    • Holidays
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine’s Day
      • Summer Fun
      • Gift Guides
  • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Book Recommendations
    • Homemaking Courses
    • TH Gear – Mugs, T-shirts, Tote Bags & Sweatshirts
    • Journals & Notebooks
    • My Favorite Blogging & Podcast Tools
    • Free Library
  • Shop
    • TH Gear – Mugs, T-Shirts, Tote Bags & Sweatshirts
    • Books, Home Items & Other Favorites 🥰
  • Free Library
    • Sign-Up for Access
    • Enter Free Library (Password Required)
  • Connect
    • Advertise and Sponsorship Info
    • Patreon Support
    • Buy Marci a Cup of Coffee 🥰
  •  

Looking Out for the Interests of Others

by Marci Ferrell
Biblical Womanhood Marriage Ministry Motherhood

351 shares
  • Facebook281
  • Twitter

I’d love to help you simplify your meal planning. Check out my new menu planning course here.

If you're encouraged by the podcast & blog consider becoming a friend of Thankful Homemaker at Patreon

As wives and mothers we spend our days looking to the interests of others. There is much to do in caring for a family and home. @mferrell
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
Philippians 2:3-5

As wives and mothers we spend our days looking to the interests of others.  There is much to do in caring for a family and home.

 

As we go about our day do we think of our husbands and children as more significant than ourselves?  Do we truly look to their interests above our own with a joyful heart?  We are called to have the attitude of humble submission to one another that Christ Himself showed us as He laid down His life for us.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
 
How can we live as humble servants considering others better than ourselves? It is only by the work and power of the Holy Spirit within us.  God’s Word tells us we have the mind of Christ and we can have a Christ like attitude.
 
“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16
 

As a grandmother I find such delight in every moment spent with my grandchildren.  I cherish and find joy in everything about them.  My to do list before me stops as they enter my presence and I find myself crawling around on the floor with them and taking the time to truly enter their worlds.

As I was playing with them one day I realized when was the last time I wholeheartedly entered my husbands world and put his interests above my own?  My children?  My friends and family?

 
How many times do we put our desires or needs above taking the time to play with our children?  Meeting the needs of our husband?  Helping a friend or neighbor in need?  It takes time and it takes laying down our lives to put the needs of others above ourselves.  Quick reminder again – who is my example?  Christ Himself.  
 
May our prayer be to live a life as Christ did by freely serving as we have been freely served.  May we put on the mind of Christ.
 
May we take the time to give our husbands our undivided attention.  May I look my children in the eye when talking to them and focus on them, not the next item on my to do list.  May I take the time to meet that friend and see if there is a burden I can help her with.
 
I encourage you to find joy in the fleeting moments we have with our loved ones and humbly put their needs above our own. 
 
There is no contentment found in a life of self-centeredness, but true contentment and joy is found as we look to put others above ourselves.  Let us look to Jesus Christ who is our perfect example.
 
The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The
Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. ‘If a man will let
himself be lost for My sake,’ Jesus said, ‘he will find his true self.’
~ Elisabeth Elliot

Related Resources:

Putting on an Attitude of Love in Your Home 

Loving our Children Part One and Part Two

Loving Our Husbands

Pleasing Our Husbands

The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness by Tim Keller

Become a patron at Patreon!

No related posts.


Free Resource Library

Get more posts like this in your inbox!

And while you’re at it, you’ll receive access to our FREE library of resources to help you in your homemaking!.

(I will not spam you. Read my privacy policy.)

« Pleasing Our Husbands
Motherhood: Delighting in Our Children {Free eBook} »

Comments

  1. Barbara Guest says

    at

    I so appreciate your insight and encouragement. Learning how to glorify God in being a wife and homemaker is of great interest to me. Thank you! I look forward to finding more gems on your website.

    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Thank you for being here Barbara :). Let me know if you need anything. Much love xo

  2. Zhade says

    at

    Awesome post! I am so guilty of putting my husband on the back burner. I know he says he doesn’t mind but who would always want to come in last place? Your post has inspired me to make a more conscious effort to put him first.

  3. Jessica says

    at

    This is so good. Thank you. I find that I’m much better at serving my husband and my children, than I am at serving others outside of that. I feel that my time is too tight, and I don’t want anything in my home…including them…to suffer for my being committed to someone else. That sounds terrible, I know. The Lord has been whispering to me lately that I need to spread some of that serving to others. So, your post is greater confirmation of that. Thank you.

    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Jessica I can relate to you on that one too. It can be hard to find a proper balance when there are so many needs within our own families. I’ve been trying to get better to pray about outside ministry opportunities and make sure to take time to schedule them in my calendar each week. Also, just allowing our lives to be spontaneously opened to the needs that arise. Thank you so much for sharing.

WEEKLY HOME CLEANING SCHEDULE SIDEBAR AD

Welcome to Thankful Homemaker

So thankful you’ve stopped by for a visit. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit a bit. I hope to remind you that contentment in our role as homemakers begins with finding our satisfaction in Christ.

read more…

Ultimate Homemaking Binder Side Bar Ad

Categories

  • Bible Study
  • Christian Living
  • Holidays
  • Homemaking
  • Marriage
  • Menu Planning
  • Motherhood
  • Podcast
  • Time Management

thankfulhomemaker

Marci Ferrell
What do you think of when you hear the word discer What do you think of when you hear the word discernment? The dictionary defines it as making a distinction between good and evil and truth and falsehood. As believers, we all desire to be discerning and wise in our choices. As we mature and grow in our knowledge of the scriptures, the hope is we will use that information to make choices in line with God's will.⁣
⁣
We become discerning people by not just knowing what to think but how to think. Being spiritually discerning is an ability to see the world the way God does. This comes about as we grow and mature spiritually into the likeness of Christ. It is about seeing “All That's Good.”⁣
⁣
Read Seeking Whatever is Good at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
“Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench i “Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench into our coping mechanisms. It brings us to the end of what we can control and forces us to cry out to God. God doesn’t waste our waiting. He uses it to conform us to the image of his Son.”⁣
~ Betsy Childs Howard⁣
⁣
Listen in to EP 23: Seasons of Waiting at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
As I’m sharing this episode, I’m finding mysel As I’m sharing this episode, I’m finding myself in a waiting room on the Lord, and it’s been a long one, and I don’t see an end near.  It has reminded me that when I gave myself to Him, I gave up my “right” to be in charge. The reality is we never were in charge anyway; we just came to that understanding when the Lord opened our eyes to His sovereign control over our lives.⁣
⁣
Even though it is a truth I know or we know, how many times do we want to think that somehow we can effect change in our life situations?⁣
⁣
Waiting is hard because there is no guarantee that my waiting will end in this lifetime. One thing I have learned – my waiting has deepened my trust in the Lord and has helped me to develop patience, perseverance, and endurance.⁣
⁣
It’s also given me different eyes to see with compassion others who are in a season of waiting.⁣
⁣
Listen in to EP 23 Seasons of Waiting at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Six questions I have written in my Bible that have Six questions I have written in my Bible that have been a help to me over the years may be a help to you, too, to be prayerful and slow to speak. These are helpful questions not just in our friendships but in our marriages and with our children, and truly any of our relationships:⁣
⁣
1. Is this the time to say this?⁣
2. Am I the person to say this?⁣
3. Is it necessary?⁣
4. Is it true?⁣
5. Is it kind?⁣
6. Do I need to say this?⁣
⁣
Listen in to EP 140: Threats to Biblical Friendship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
We all know that fostering true biblical friendshi We all know that fostering true biblical friendship isn’t easy – it takes work. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we’re going to have trouble in this world, and trouble does touch all our lives in various areas, but this includes our friendships too.⁣
⁣
We’ll be hurt; we’ll be the ones hurting others; selfishness is a battle; jealousy and envy raise their ugly heads; we have our fears and insecurities, failed expectations, the damage our tongues do to one another, not appropriating the gospel and these all come from hearts that are still battling sin. ⁣
⁣
So when these threats to our friendship with one another in Christ come up, it shouldn’t surprise us that we have these issues, but what we need to keep at the forefront of our minds is how we respond and deal with them when they do come up. ⁣
⁣
I want to walk us through some of these threats, and this list I’m working with isn’t exhaustive – there are many more threats than what I am addressing today – but these are areas that stood out to me that have been a battle within some of my friendships over the years. Sadly, it is often the sin I’m battling in my heart, and I need to get my thinking, attitudes, and actions lined up with God’s Word.⁣
⁣
Listen to EP 140 Threats to Biblical Friendship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
May we be women who are willing to return to the a May we be women who are willing to return to the authority of God’s Word, embrace God’s priorities for our lives and homes, and live out the beauty and wonder of womanhood as God created it to be.⁣
⁣
Read more at The History of Modern Feminism at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Women will never find fulfillment and satisfaction Women will never find fulfillment and satisfaction by trying to be "like" men and shedding their uniqueness as a female.  They will only find satisfaction in Christ.⁣
⁣
Come read The History of Modern Feminism at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
“Complaining will seem increasingly ugly when yo “Complaining will seem increasingly ugly when you let the beauty of God’s Word transform your words.” ⁣
~ Ronnie Martin⁣
⁣
Listen in to EP 24: Dealing with Our Grumbling & Complaining at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Why does it seem grumbling and complaining is so t Why does it seem grumbling and complaining is so tolerated within our Christianity? Sometimes I think we tolerate it because we don’t always think of it as a sin since it is so commonly practiced among us.⁣
⁣
We grumble about the weather, our government, our churches, our circumstances, and so many other things that truly are trivial in light of eternity.⁣
⁣
Our human nature tends to dwell on the negative more than the positive. Complaining is a spiritual problem and one I hope to tackle today and help guide us in the truth of the Word to spiritually defeat it.⁣
⁣
Listen in to EP 24:Dealing with Our Grumbling & Complaining at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Access the FREE Library!

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Thankful Homemaker · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy & Disclosure

Copyright © 2023 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email