Hey friends, welcome back! I am so eager to jump into today’s conversation because it feels so near and dear to my heart.
But before we fully dive in, I wanted to remind you of my favorite things giveaway – for the first 5 episodes I am sending 1 of you a few of my favorite things straight to your door. Leave a review & share this episode on social (but be sure to tag me @theramseyhaus so I can see it!)
I’m excited for this episode, we’re going deep today, so get cozy. I have 2 main points, but let me first paint a larger picture for you.
It is so clear in the Bible that God is unbelievably passionate about…people.
He makes the human race the pinnacle of his creation. He uses people to rescue others, lead nations, for justice, acts of love and service.
He even gave up his own Son for people. And his Son, Jesus, LOVED people. He spent all his time with his friends, with the dying and sick and outcasts. It didn’t matter to Jesus who they were, he simply made time for them. And by making time I mean most of his entire life was spent with people: mentoring, teaching, being with them, breaking bread and drinking wine, healing them, praying with & for people.
But it didn’t come without a cost.
It cost Jesus his own desires, certain plans, it cost him comfort and physical needs. And then his life. His love for people cost him everything.
But because Jesus knew who he was (the Son of God), he knew his mission (which was people) and he knew his mission field (which was the several areas he traveled to).
…
Because I know who I am – His daughter and servant, I know my mission – to love people well and that always begins in my home, and my mission field is indeed my home. Everything else comes second.
Everything that I do outside of my home, is an overflow of what is already happening inside my home. I’m already seeing the fruit of the things I’m going to share with you next. So I hope you’re ready for some insight into how to bring passion into your home – specifically with your kids & with your spouse.
The two steps I teach you to take in this episode are: to learn how to surrender and make it a daily practice, and then to seek out God’s vision for your home.
- Surrendering
Practice of surrendering:
Schedule time every day. I personally like to do this right away in the morning, but don’t neglect to do it if it’s already late in the afternoon and it’s the only time you have by yourself, because this is important. So for me, when I can get time right away in the morning it often looks like: Waking up, spending time in quiet, settling my heart, clearing my mind, breathing. And when you get in a good rhythm of this then begin to ask yourself or write down a list of your thoughts, what’s in the way of you meeting with Jesus – get that all out of your head (take like 30 seconds) and then really dig into your heart and mind. Ask yourself: what is there to repent of? Think about the last week, few days or even moments. And then ask what do I need to surrender? Think about the day that is before you, the week that lies ahead, maybe conversations that need to take place, plans you have, purchases you need to make. Take note of how you’re feeling – little energy, lots of energy…because all of it is from God and can be used to glorify him.
- Seeking God’s vision for your home
Although I don’t know the vision God has for your home, there are obvious basics like loving one another, never giving up, forgiveness being a daily practice, but here are a few passages that are helpful for gaining a God-like, Christ-centered vision for your home:
Deuteronomy 6
Psalms 127-128
Proverbs 14:1
Proverbs 31:10-31
Matthew 7:24-27
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Galatians 5:22-26
Ephesians chapters 4, 5 & 6
All of Titus
Hebrews 3:4
I literally had to cut myself off from adding passages to this list because it’s endless.
Now if this is not a new practice or you are seeing the fruit of your life in your home, then some next steps could be:
- Creating a marriage mission statement or a family manifesto (my husband and I are currently in the process of creating the Ramsey fam manifesto)
- Having conversations with your spouse about what can change in your home that would make it more wholesome and fruitful
- Make a list of attributes or characteristics you want to pass down to your kids
But let’s say this is somewhat new to you or you’re really wanting to dive deeper in your faith, especially in your home. I wanted to give you a few tangible things, so here are a few practices for seeking God’s vision for your home:
- Read each passage I mentioned a few minutes ago a total of 3 times. The first time simply read it, try to understand the basics of what it says. Read it again and notice words that stand out to you. Now read it a third time and see if any other words or phrases stand out to you. Write those words or phrases down, do any of them overlap with the other chunks of scripture? Keep this list and keep revisiting them.
- Ask God what he has for you to do today – in your home, for your family, and then outside of your home, for your neighbors, your job or line of work. I typically ask God this on Mondays – start of the week and usually it’s after my surrendering prayers that I mentioned from the initial practice of surrendering.
- Lastly, listening. Become really good at listening. In our culture we are a information culture, always listening to podcasts, always checking social media or reading the next book or in order to learn something or the next best way to ‘fill-in-the-blank” so this practice of not speaking, of not typing in a search bar or endlessly listening to podcasts will feel wonky at first, but keep with it. The best way to hear from God is to tune out every other voice and turn to the Bible or simply listen. Jesus said that his sheep will know his voice (John 10:27). Are you quiet enough to not only hear his voice but recognize that it is his?
Lately I haven’t been asking God questions like “will you help me with what to do with my kids…” or “what should I do about…” instead I’ve begun asking God “what do I need to know about…” and then I’m quiet, I simply listen. So begin by asking “God, what do I need to know about the vision you have for my family? Not “help me with the vision” but “what do I need to know about your vision?” and then sit and listen.
Now if you’re thinking “oh my goodness, this all sounds like a lot of time. It sounds wild. Does Halie seriously spend like 2 hours with God every day?! Because I don’t have that much time.” Rest at ease, friends. I am not perfect, I don’t spend 2 hours in silence alone with God every morning, I’ve learned that these practices can take 10-30 minutes in the morning, and I’m in constant communication with God throughout my days. Some days I have my Bible and journal sitting out on the counter all day long for when I do get a few moments to jot something down, but for the most part it’s about 10-30 minutes every morning.
So just know that if this is going to be the start of a total asking God for vision for your family, it’s going to take time, consistent time approaching God and listening every day for months and years, it’s an ongoing conversation and time of prayer with God that lasts literally forever. For me, these are ongoing conversations I’ve had with God for over a decade and with my husband for 7 years. But when I started I began with reading scripture consistently, every day meeting with God and then the practice of prayer and remaining quiet fell into place.
John Mark Comer recently said that many people find that as they follow Jesus over time, they begin to listen to less music, radio and podcasts, and watch less tv, he says it’s because we desire to spend more time listening. We will likely find this as we follow Jesus, we crave quiet more because we crave God. John Marc has made it his life ambition to lead a quiet life (which Paul wrote to the Thesselonians) and John Marc has made it his life pursuit to teach others how to practice the way of Jesus, and one of those ways is the practice of solitude.
When we are silent and listening to God, something shifts in our minds and hearts. And just as Jesus lived, he, in John Mark’s words, “toggled back and forth between solitude and community.” So friends, we need to do the same. And the practices of surrendering and asking God for his vision for your home are two of the ways we become more like Jesus. We also need to toggle back and forth between solitude and entering back into community, both in your home and then outside of it.
Remember, everything we do outside of our home has to be an overflow of what is already happening inside our home, in order for us to have the biggest impact in the lives of our family, our friends and neighbors, and then the world.
I hope you enjoyed all of what I wanted and felt led to say on this episode. While writing it I felt little nudges from God saying I created you to speak these words so speak them boldly. I almost left out parts but decided to be faithful. Because truly, these conversations and practices and rhythms happen in my home – with Alexander and with my young kids. And gosh, the fruit of it has been humbling and beautiful.
If you enjoyed what I shared today, please share this episode with a friend – click the audio link above, be a light and encourage them also as I have encouraged you. I’ll see you next week!
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