Blog Series- The Heart of the Single Woman’s Home: Introduction (part 1 of 8)

I had the opportunity last Saturday to share some of my testimony at my church’s women’s conference.  The topic of the conference was the heart of homemaking, so my topic was the heart of a single woman’s homemaking.  Preparing for the talk was a wonderful process of remember the past faithfulness of God and again searching my heart to tease out the lies and misperceptions still there.  So many times I had to stop and thank God again for how patiently and completely He has loved me.

In my continued thinking about this topic, the 15-20 minute talk has grown.  In this little blog space, I would like to posted excerpts of the talk with extended ideas that have come in the week following the conference.  It encourages me to think on these things, and I hope that it might encourage others – especially single girls – in their pursuit of God and godly homemaking.

This post will just be a brief introduction to the series.  Since I’m talking about the heart of a single woman’s home, here is a little background on my housing situations: after graduating from college in 2008, I moved 9 times in 4 years. (This seemed a bit excessive to me… and also probably to the ones who helped me move.)  Those living situations included apartments with 1-2 roommates, a large house rental with 4 roommates, transition months when I lived alone, and my parents’ house. Almost three years ago, through God’s provision, I bought a house, made move #10, and I haven’t moved since. I’m 30 now and in my 5^th year of teaching at the same school, so I feel pretty settled now.  In all my different situations, however, the constant has been my faithful God, who has lovingly and patiently molded my thinking about making and running a home as a single person.   It is not as if I never struggle now, nor that I don’t foresee struggling in the future, but that God is faithful. So, in the upcoming posts I’d like to share a lie I believed about my homemaking, the truth to that lie, and some examples of what making a home has looked like for me in the areas of money, safety and protection, hospitality, and buying a house.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23