Homemaking Mindsets for More Joy in Your Role

Today I want to have a little chat about the mindsets a homemaker ought to have that will transform your homemaking to be more joy-filled. 

As with any role, it’s important to keep your mindsets in alignment with your true intentions and values. However, sometimes, when you’re in the trenches, it’s so easy to let the enemy slip in with lies. So I want to provide some encouragement that I believe will greatly benefit the way you run your home. 

4 Homemaking Mindsets

These are just a few mindsets that will help you to find more joy in homemaking.

The work you’re doing is for the Lord

The first mindset is to remember that the work you’re doing is for the Lord. Of course, we love our family – but sometimes when we are diligently serving humans who are, of course, sinful, it can be hard to remember that we are also serving our perfect savior. 

This helps you to get out of the mindset of keeping rank with your husband if this is a trap you tend to fall into. 

We’ve all done it. Thinking to ourselves “sure, my husband works all day, but my day started at 3 in the morning when the baby woke, then I wasn’t able to go back to sleep so I woke up and my toddler heard me and woke up and needed me to take him potty, then I had to start breakfast for the day…” and on and on it goes.

But if you operate from the mindset of doing everything you’re doing for the Lord – you know that you could never live up to what He’s done for you – making it much easier to sacrificially serve your family. 

So, a practical tip I like to do when I feel discouraged because maybe I’m aren’t getting the recognition I feel I deserve, is to think about what the Lord would say to me in a certain scenario. I will literally sit down, close my eyes, and imagine Jesus talking to me and giving me encouragement. 

Be a blessing 

My second homemaking mindset that we ought to have is to always be a blessing. Just always be thinking – how can I be a blessing to my family today? 

Where my first mindset puts into perspective who you are actually serving, this mindset gives you encouragement on how to serve those the Lord put in front of you to serve. One way to do this is to be a blessing.

Of course, you love your family and want to serve them  even when they don’t deserve it! Jesus did that for us, afterall. So always be thinking about how you can be a blessing to them and to your home. 

Remember, too, that needing recognition for something is a form of pride.

Matthew 6: 1-2 says “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Proverbs 11:25 says “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”

The Lord will take care of you as you’re caring for your family. So, how can you steward your time well so that you can be a blessing to those you serve. 

Something I like to do from time to time is to go through each family member and think of how you can be a blessing to them. Think of what they need most today. 

For example, how would you like to come home from a long day out of the house if you were your husband? What type of environment would you like to come home to? Maybe music playing, freshly baked cookies in the cookie jar? A cold beverage? Think of little blessings like this that would just make it so exciting to live in your home. All because of YOU – the homemaker. 

I also keep this mindset of being a blessing in mind when I see that someone in the family is struggling lately – how can I be a blessing specifically to them? 

It could be helpful to have a running list in your phone of how you can be a blessing to each person in your family so whenever someone needs a little more love in their life, you, as the homemaker, can pull from your pre-curated list of blessings. 

If you’re interested I have a whole playlist of a challenge I created called the Bless Your Husband Challenge. It’s a 30 day challenge and Bible Study of little blessings you can do for your husband each day. It’s a super fun challenge that will for sure enrich your marriage. 

Think of this as a career that you’ve worked hard to get to your whole life

The next homemaking mindset is to think of homemaking as your career. Not just a job – but your career. Something you’ve worked your whole life to obtain. Because, after all, this is your God-given role and I know you want to do it well. 

I have a high-achiever mindset, but anyone, even high-achievers, can fall victim to the lie from Satan that the work we do in the home isn’t a real job, thus, not worthy of ambitious goals. 

So, work hard to excel in your role as if you would in a career. Make ambitious goals for yourself and your family. Be clear on your vision for homemaking and the culture you want to create. Then, take the way that you spend your time all day long seriously. 

How do you spend your free time? Are you productive or slothful? Rest is a gift from God, so how are you resting? Are you resting in a way that is truly restoring energy or is it sucking the life from you? 

Do you make it a habit to meet with other mamas who all have similar values and who are encouraging? Or are you falling into the trap of toxic mommy culture that says this job as a mama is oh-so horrible and us mamas are victims to motherhood? 

Are you learning and growing in your role or are you staying stagnant just getting the bare minimum done? There are, of course, seasons for just getting by – but don’t handicap yourself by staying stuck in these seasons long term. Learning and growing in life are muscles that need to be developed and I’ve pulled myself out of many funks in homemaking simply by picking an ambitious thing to learn, and working to master that. 

So, become a master of your family – get really good at knowing how your family thrives and work to set up your home for success. 

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.”

I’ve made this my homemaking motto. 

So what would it look like to treat homemaking as a career that you’ve worked for your entire life?  The first thing I think of is simple – get dressed for the day. Make yourself look good and you will feel good and more productive. 

My son always says, mama, I like when you get dressed for the day. He notices that I’m a better mommy when I am done-up and looking good. 

Something else I like to do to ensure I’m always growing in my role is to always be learning something new. Whether it’s gardening, cooking something new, or any number of things. 

I also surround myself with like-minded mamas who offer encouragement in my role. 

I spend my free-time doing things that are soul-giving. Bible time, helping other homemakers, reading, exercise and things like that are what nourish my soul and give me true rest. 

You’re making memories 

The last homemaking mindset is to always remember that you are making memories. The way you spend your days, talk to your family, and run your home are building the memories that will help to shape the perception your children have on their childhood. 

Whoa. That’s a big deal. This isn’t meant to scare or overwhelm you as a homemaker – but it’s meant to help you look at the big picture. 

When you’re in a situation with, let’s say your children – think about 20 years down the line when they are recounting the scenario. How will they remember you handling it? Do they remember you training and disciplining in a Godly way? Or did you give way to your fleshly desires? 

How do they remember chore time? Were chores something that the whole family did together and had a good time doing? Or will they remember them being a stressful time when they could never do anything up to standard? 

Whenever I get in the mindset of feeling like a drill sergeant and barking orders at my family because there’s just so much to do, I try to stop and think about how they or I will remember this 20 years down the line. 

Keep this big picture in mind and train your brain to think about this when you’re in a moment of stress. 

I hope this brought you great encouragement to run your home with Godly mindsets.