Proverbs 14:1

“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:1‬

I awoke this morning eager to start my day and I threw myself into God's word. This verse jumped out at me in my study of Proverbs. A wise woman BUILDS her house... She builds it. Now usually when I think of contractor work I think of men, but here I believe the word is speaking of the household. What's it's a Woman's household?.. Her kitchen, her living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, all her possessions okay yeah sure, but there are more importantly people in her household.. A husband and maybe children. The household must be built up, encouraged, nurtured. I hold this responsibility to build my house up or if I do not my household will be torn down. Oh my! This is a big deal!! I don't want my household destroyed! Okay so my question became how do I build up my household? First I will start with the house, the building that holds my most precious people on earth...
My house needs:
1. To be cleaned
2. To be a display at all times for random guests to stop by
3. To be organized (totally different from cleaned)
4. To be treated as office, home and sanctuary all in one
5. To be a place my family wants to come home to
I'm not very good at all of these to be honest, but they are so important for #7 on the husband list!!
A husband needs:
1. To know that he is loved
2. To know that he is appreciated
3. To know he can trust his wife to speak well about him in the world. For a man's name is all he truly has at the end of a day.
4. To be fed
5. To know he is desired
6. To be encouraged spiritually
7. To have his load lightened
Well as I look over my list I realize I fall short at times. So today I asked myself:
 "Are you a load lifter or a load giver? Do I encourage or tear down?"
My children's needs:
1. To know they are loved
2. To be challenged mentally
3. To be reminded of basic hygiene (I have boys!)
4. To be fed
5. To be given disciple
6. To be encouraged spiritually
7. To know they are safe and have protection
8. To be given a bit of freedom
9. To have creativity and imagination encouraged
10. To be given lots and LOTS of hugs!
So as I look this list over, I pray I am preforming up to this standard! There are days I don't challenge them enough and days that showers don't happen (it's summer so swimming in the pool is like taking a bath, right??) making these lists make me feel better! This verse is such an awesome reminder to love your home and the people inside it. To build your household up, not to tear it down like a condemned building with your own hands from neglect.