Diligence to be a Prov. 31 Women

I just read a great post on diligence by Nancie Wilson, Doug Wilson's wife. (Doug is a pastor I have really enjoyed for awhile now thanks to Kenny sharing his stuff with us). Anyway, in this post she went through Prov. 31 and pointed out the practical ways we women are to be diligent. It was very good, but a bit lengthy, so I won't post the whole thing although here is the link to Nancie's blog for you to check out for yourself if you would like. http://femina.reformedblogs.com/2007/05/02/diligence/ After Nancie posted this lady wrote to Nancie the following and Nancie wrote her back. I thought what she wrote was so good. So that is why I wanted to post it too. Enjoy. This was a great encouragement to me. God is awesome to use people in our lives so we may better be used for His glory!
-------------------------------------
Any practical tips for getting and staying motivated to be diligent on the housework front…especially for those of us who live alone? I can spend all day at a friend’s house, working hard and staying on task and pushing myself to get just one more thing done. But at home, where there’s no external accountability, I just plain forget to care what the house looks like unless there’s company coming. Having company more often is therefore one obviously good motivator, but I find I need more help with self-spurring in the lulls between guests. -Valerie

Valerie,
A couple of thoughts. If you cultivate a love for beauty, the natural result is a desire to have your surroundings beautiful. This means that you won’t enjoy yourself nearly so much in a messy house as in a clean one. A table covered with papers and dirty coffee cups is not nearly so lovely as one with a vase of flowers on it. This could mean some paint and some new throw pillows, etc. But our homes reflect our worldview whether we like it or not. We can’t export a reformed culture if we don’t have a healthy one at home. And as my husband is so fond of saying, “Your theology comes out your fingertips.” What we believe about God is seen in the way we keep our homes. That is where you need to start, and then you’ll have use for “helpful hints.” The reformed community is generally very eager to pursue truth and goodness; but we lag behind in the pursuit of beauty. Women get to explore this in their homes, and once we have learned it there, we will have something good to spill out into the community and the world. -Nancie