Forward To The Past

I have a brand New Home Management Binder all the way from America woo hoo. The original binder I had did not work very well at all and was driving me crazy :lol – I love my new binder which was very kindly sent to me along with some page protectors and other bits and pieces.  This dear friend also put my binder together for me to start me off – she was so sweet in doing this and sending this over to me too

My Binder – here it is – This is the front cover

 The side of my binder:

Tabbed Sections of my binder:

Next is the zipper pouch: In here I keep a pen (a gift from a friend in America), a book of stamps, post-it notes, airmail stickers, tabs, a highlighter and other bits and pieces:

Next is the inside cover , after that I keep “The Portrait of Excellence” (taken from Proverbs 31)

Next, I have “A Woman’s Rules to live by – Rules for the wife at home” – which I need……

1. Overlook husband’s faults, and instead focus on his better side.
2. Never nag, or try to manipulate your husband into doing things your way.
3. Trust God, and trust your husband. Pray for him daily.
4. God first, husband second, children third, house fourth, other ministries fifth.
5. Submit to yoru husband’s authority, and allow errors in his judgement.
6. Allow your husband to provide for the family, and appreciate the money he brings in, and the provisions he provides for his family, no matter how little or how much.
7. Spend your husband’s hard earned money wisely, and be frugal. Never sneak expenses behind his back.
8. Do not wound his masculine pride. Instead, compliment him on his manly accomplishments, and show your appreciation of him every day.
9. A modest, feminine appearance is important.  As is feminine manner, nature, softness, gentleness, and a spirit of sweet submission and dependency on the husband.
10. You have a God-given career that can bless you abundantly. That career is in the home.
11. Cook delicious healthy meals and keep the home clean.
12. Your duty is to be a “homemaker”, hence, your job is to make your house a home.
13. Above all, the wife at home is to exude an attitude of happiness and joy. Rejoice in the Lord for the wonderful family He has provided for you, and never take your family for granted.

Bible Order For The Home:

1. God is the head of Christ – 1 Corinthians: 11:3
2. Christ is over man – 1 Corinthians: 11:3
3. Man is over woman – 1 Corinthians: 11:3
4. Chidren are under parents – Ephesians: 6: 1 – 3

Bible Rules For The Husband:

1. They are to love their wives – Ephesians: 5-25. As Christ loved the church – Ephesians: 5-25. As they love their body – Ephesians: 5:28 More than any other relative – Ephesians: 5:31. As themselves – Ephesians: 5:33
2. They are to be the leaders in the way – Ephesians: 6:4
3. They are to labor for wages – 1 Timothy: 5:8
4. Thyey are to be learned about their wives – 1 Peter: 3:7

Bible Order For The Wife:

1. They are to submit unto their husbands as unto the Lord – Ephesians: 5:22
2. As the church is under Christ, so are they to beunder their husbands – Ephesians: 5:23
3. They need to rverence thier husbands – Ephesians: 5:33
4. They are to be a “servant” to their household
5. They are the star in the home
6. Are to be symbols of holiness – 1 Timothy: 5:1

Next, is the Prairie Muffins Manifesto:

Next, is the “People Contact Info” -  I have a lis of important contacts including friends,  professional contacts and overseas friends.  I then have another phone list to include all numbers for banks, health/pet care, travel/car insurance and so on – so we dont have to keep hunting around for telephone numbers anymore.  This will make life so much easier

Schedules: is next.

Daily Routine – as above:

Morning Routine: This starts after my time with The Lord (Old Testament)

• Make bed
• Take meds and vitamins
• check calendar
• Thaw something for dinner if I need too
• Exercise
• Shower
• Fix hair and fix bathroom whilst there
• Make coffee with breakfast
• Check any emails

Early Afternoon Routine:

• Eat Lunch (which I don’t always do)
• Meal Prep
• Make any phone calls I need too
• Check emails
• Get bread/rolls out of freezer to thaw
• Check calendar/planner for next day appointments – if any
• Write in journal

Late Afternoon Routine:

• Tidy up rooms, pick up & put away things, mags, papers etc
• Clear dining table
• Set dinner table
• Start dinner (except Saturdays when done in the morning)
• Light candles (if dark enough of course)
• Put on some relaxing music

Before Bed Routine:

• Kitchen clean it up, shine sink, lay out clean dischcloths as needed
• review checklist to make sure nothing is forgotten
• Think about tomorrow
• Write a “to do list” for next day in journal
• Gather any items I don’t want to forget for next day & put by back door
• Prepare & pack DH’s lunch box for next morning (if necessary)
• Set table for breakfast for the morning
• Decide on clothes for next day
• Cool down time & get ready for bed
• Read for fun or listne to music, watch dvd/tv with DH
• Relax in a hot bubble bath
• Brush teeth, clean & moisturise face, brush hair
• Take meds
• Reflection on the day
• Spend time in God’s Word (New Testament) & pray
• Go to bed at a reasonable time! Preferably at the same time each day (unless going out)
• Fall asleep with a smile on my face & in my heart

Next, I have daily & monthly planner sheets from www.donnayoung.org

In the cleaning section, I have:

• Daily, monthly, quarterly & Annual Cleaning duties
• Emergency Quick Clean
• Various Home-made cleaners

Budget section is next:

I keep monthly budget sheets in this section so I can keep records of all incomings/outgoings and so on for each month…………

Grocery Shopping Section is next:

In this section, I have a general Grocery list which I have adapted. I also have a weekly shopping list divided into four categories – again, both lists printed from Donna Young.

Menu Section is next:

As you can see I have monthly menu plans here – this is a little tight to fight daily meals in but there is just enough room – especially if I write small enough :lol

Recipe Section:

I have various recipies here but also I have decided to add all the recipies I will need for “that” particular month – then I don’t have to go hunting through recipe books for the recipies needed.   At the end of the month, these will go back into my recipe files (project in progress) and then the recipies for the next month will go in here.

Prayer Section:

The Power of Prayer

Monday:    DH & Damaris

Tuesday:    Family

Wednesday:        Church

Thursday:  Friends/Internet Ministries

Friday:      Government etc

Saturday:  Personal Concerns

Sunday:     Going over and reading through sermon notes / extra bible study

Guidelines:

• v Read a brief inspiration message or prayer
• v Open my Bible and read a chapter or more (if time is short then read a Bible verse)
• v Turn to Prayer Planner:
• o Write down my praise, confession, my thanks, and my requests
• o Give the Lord my hurts, pain from the past, disappointments and all the questions I can think of writing. Write down convictions of what I hear from the Lord saying to me.
• v I am able to verbalize things I’ve held in my heart but never spoken about. The art of writing somehow seems to bring up my thoughts, feelings, and desires and to expose them to the light of God’s love.
• v Writing out my confessions helps me get honest with the Lord. Somehow a confession feels more real when it’s down there in black and white. But this means that God’s forgiveness feels more real, too.
• v I can see concrete evidence of my spiritual life – and my spiritual growth – when I read back over past prayers.
• v My faith grows as I see God’s answers more clearly – God’s yeses and no’s and “waits”.
• v Writing down the answers I think I hear helps me discern which ones really are of God.
• v My obedience is strengthened. Once again, written promises are harder to ignore than mental ones. Once I have written down my sense of what God wants me to do, I am more likely to follow through.
• v Often when praying, the Lord will bring someone to mind who needs my love or care (that’s what the note cards are for). When He brings someone to mind, try to stop right there and drop that person a line, assuring him or her of God’s love and my prayers

Modesty:

In this section I have various articles relating to modesty:

My Bible Section:

In the above section, I have A bible reading plan and how to mark your bible, both of which you can find over at Keeping The Home

I have started reading and studying the Old Testament in the mornings and then the New Testament in the evenings before I go to sleep. I also plan on putting some of my bible/study notes in this section too.

Next is the Birthday Section:

This section is self-explanatory but much needed. I am not the best person at remembering birthdays especially when it comes to family & friends – so I decided to do something about this.  I have a Birthday chart in this section with headings, Month, Name, Date (of Birthday), Card/Gift (Y/N), so I can make sure that I can put a tick in these boxes.  I don’ always send gifts but will certainly be making sure I send cards. 

Going away from my binder for a second. I now have a “Gift Shelf” in my office which I have started – so any gifts I see that I think a family member or friend would like then I will have something there (theoretically speaking), this needs building up

Crafts / Gardening Section:

Again, this section is self-explanatory and will hold notes on crafts, card making and gardening tips etc that I will need.

Hope Chest:

I am planning on putting together a Hope Chest for Damaris my daughter which will be great for her later on. I can add journals, photos plus all kinds of gifts for her later on – this will be a legacy of my love put together especially for her.  If you would like information regarding Hope Chests – then there is a good link here.

The final section for now: “Other”

In this section, I have articles on Home-Making plus I will be adding articles from favourite sites, such as Laine’s Letters, Keeping The Home plus other favourite sites to do with Home-Making.

I also have an address/Telephone section at the back too. Again, this will keep everything together so that I don’t have to go hunting around for my address/telephone book each time – as it will be right here in my binder

At the back of my binder is a journal, which I will use as my Daily Journal:

and …… this is the back of my binder:

Well I hope you have enjoyed the peek into my binder. I still have another couple of sections that I would like to add, but I am so pleased that I have this near enough how I want it. 

I have been so blessed to receive my new binder plus the inserts, journal and other bits and pieces – my new Home Management Binder will be made good use of. 

It’s home will be in a prominent place in our kitchen