Set The Temperature - Fresh Start for Moms

I THINK WE ALL WANT a home that’s filled with more peace and joy and less chaos and tears. If the term zoo or frat house better defines what happens inside your four walls, today’s pep talk is just for you.

But first, a question to consider: Who sets the temperature in your home? Is it you and your spouse? Is it a tug-of-war between the two of you? Do the kids grab chairs and mess with the thermostat?

As you start your day, I want you to believe something that could potentially change your home. As a momma, you can set the temperature in your home at the start of each day. You can’t decide if a hurricane will blow through, but with a little intentionality, you can set your home and your entire family up for success. Not only that, but you can help everyone get back on track if things get derailed. Because they will.

This is one of the biggest blessings of a joy that isn’t determined by circumstances: that same joy seeps out onto other people in your life too. Your decision to choose joy will affect everyone else, and if your outlook is positive, there’s a much greater chance theirs will be too.

I’ll be honest: I’ve spent a long time feeling like a victim to my circumstances instead of remembering that as the mom, my mood sets the tone in my home. I see this clearly on my worst days, but I forget that it works in reverse, too. As I’m intentional about our family climate, creating an environment full of giggles and generosity instead of tantrums and taking other people’s things, something special starts to take shape. Instead of succumbing to a kid’s bad mood and letting it ice over our home, I can warm things up as I recall my own powerful influence.

We are all under the influence of something. Will the biggest influence be the cartoon filled with whiny kids who get their way, or will it be a mom who is patient and full of grace even when things get crazy?

Proverbs 14:1 prompts me to take ownership over the temperature in my home when I would rather choose to believe that what is happening here is out of my control: “The wise woman builds her house [on a foundation of godly precepts, and her household thrives], but the foolish one [who lacks spiritual insight] tears it down with her own hands [by ignoring godly principles]” (AMP). It’s not just the storms that blow through that have the power to destroy our homes; our own hands do too. Convicted much?

So what does it look like, practically speaking, to build a foundation on godly precepts? And how do we avoid the other extreme, assuming we can’t make a mistake or our home will fold like a house of cards?

This is not a call for perfection. Life is more redeemable than we dare to believe, because even our mistakes can point to Christ. Just the other day I yelled so much that Vivi started covering her ears and acting frightened. I was mortified, and all I could think about was that I had scarred her for life.

As we hopped in the car, I started praying aloud for her school day. Then I confessed my yelling and asked the Lord to forgive me. As we model this kind of repentance, we’re teaching a valuable lesson to our children—that our homes don’t have to be constantly positive and perfect but that Momma has to go to the source for peace and joy. And that the only way for things to change is for her to go back to God.

The temperature in your home will not stay at a steady seventy-two degrees—it will go up and down depending on circumstances and personalities and emotions. The question is, when crazy weather hits, will you use your influence to bring your home back to a comfortable climate again?

ACTION STEP

Create a morning ritual that reminds you of the influence you have in your home. I like to start the day by diffusing an essential oil called Joy and playing worship music.

PRAYER

Father, let me never take for granted my influence in my home. Help me to shake off any sense of being a victim and instead let me take seriously the call to build my home on godly principles. When things get derailed, show me how I can steer us in a more positive direction, one that ultimately points to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

MORNING QUESTIONS

TAKEAWAY TODAY | Who or what usually sets the temperature in your house?

Do you tend to be a thermometer (reflecting the current temperature of your home) or a thermostat (setting the temperature)?

DREADING TODAY | Is there anything you’re dreading today?

REDEFINING TODAY | If so, what is another way you can view that thing you’re dreading?

ASKING GOD TODAY | What request are you bringing before the Lord today?

EVENING QUESTIONS

REFLECTION | What did you do today to set the temperature in your home? How effective were you at setting a tone of joy?

LITTLE VICTORIES | Where did you see God show up even in small ways, reminding you that you aren’t alone?

WHITE FLAG MOMENTS | When did you want to hide or escape today?

MEMORY OF THE DAY | What do you want to relish and thank God for?