"Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently."

A friend of mine posted this earlier and I found it to be such an encouraging statement!

Plan purposefully.
"The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty" Proverbs 21:5

This verse is often used in relation to business and finances, but I think it can be applied to homemakers as well. Proper planning is an essential skill in homemaking. Without proper planning we often find ourselves in a bind. We might run out of things in the kitchen, and find ourselves needing to go to the market mid-week (and likely spending unplanned money!). We may find ourselves without all of the ingredients to make the meals we had planned for, or running out of time to do all that needs to be done. Often times these things can lead to inconveniencing our husbands.

When we plan purposefully, we can save ourselves time and money!

Another example of planning purposefully might be with planning a good garden to grow the food our family needs. Then we will have fresh food to put up for the winter months. Or, we might plan purposefully by researching the best place to purchase things we need. We can plan purposefully by scheduling our time wisely and making the best use of the resources we have.

Proceed positively.
"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalm 27:14

Why should we "be of good courage?" Our hopes are not in things of this world, our hope are with God. We can have faith to proceed in our walk with a positive attitude, with a joyful heart, being of good courage because we serve an awesome God who is ALWAYS in control.

If we go forth with a negative spirit, it is because we simply have not put our trust in Him.

Prepare prayerfully.
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6

Being full of prayer means paying attention to God’s presence in all parts of our lives. In ALL parts of our lives...

I tend to be a bit literalistic at times. To me all things means exactly that...all things. You might ask why God would want us to be prayerful about all things. He knows the exact number of hairs on our head. He cares about the tiniest of creatures that He created. He cares about even the little things in our life.

Are we prayerful in all things in our daily life? Do we prepare prayerfully as we go about our daily duties?

We should always go about things in a prayerful manner because we never know what God has planned for us.

God cares about not only what we do, but HOW we do things. He knows our inner heart, and He cares about our inner attitudes.

We should always be prayerful that God would use us for His will.

Pursue persistently.
"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

Another translation of this verse reads "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed." When we prayerfully and purposefully follow God's plans for us, He will renew our inner self. We don't need to rely on our own strength, because we have His strength.

Throughout Scripture, persistence and perseverance are described as good things. God is delighted with those who persevere in spite of opposition. We should pursue the paths He sets before us with persistence.


In His Abounding Grace,