whistle while you work!

Proverbs 31:13 - “She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.”

Hard work is the primary ingredient for success in most anything. Think about it – it’s true. If you didn’t work hard in school, your grades showed. If you didn’t work hard at sports, well, you may not have developed your full potential. This is especially true when running a home. It’s hard work to run a home! Men tend to think we’ve got it easy…wrong! I definitely think it’s easier to go to work and work a full day than to run a home. I’ve done it, well, I actually did both at the same time! And let me tell you, I’m more tired after a day of working in my home than I ever was after a day of teaching. I’m thankful to have a husband who knows and gets firsthand how hard it is to run a home. He did it for about 8 months and said to me that he would never complain if he came home and the house was a mess. You know, he hasn’t either! Whew! A bit of relief for me!

Not only is hard work important, but the way in which we do the work. We are to work diligently and cheerfully. This can be tough too, especially when it seems we’re doing the same thing over and over again. How many times have you rinsed out your husband’s cereal bowl that he left on the table after breakfast, or picked up his dirty clothes that were lying next to the laundry basket and placed them inside? Or, folded the numerous loads of laundry because your children either have an accident while potty training or a leaky diaper? Or maybe it’s doing the weekly grocery shopping. We all have something, right?

Consider the Jewish woman. She was responsible for making clothing for the family (thank goodness we have the opportunity to buy ours today!). Wool and flaxseed were the two basic elements needed for weaving. Just a side note – did you realize flaxseed was used for making clothes? I make muffins with mine! Anyway, back to the subject – she seeks these things with energy and enthusiasm. Can you imagine the mundane job of getting the wool, spinning it and whatever else you do to wool and picking flaxseed all before you can even make the clothes. It’s no wonder they didn’t have very many clothes back then!

Many women do the work at home because they have to. The woman who is beautiful in God’s eyes does it because she wants to and does it whole-heartedly. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” And do it joyfully! There’s the Disney song, Whistle While You Work!

I love Elizabeth George. Her insight on things is so practical and down to earth. She developed these attitude helpers to help her do work willingly and cheerfully.


1. Pray daily – pray for those you serve and yourself. Pray specifically about your attitude
toward work.

2. Recite scripture that require you to be joyous in your work. Ps. 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

3. Do your work unto the Lord. Col. 3:23, “Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord.”

4. Tackle tasks energetically (Neh. 2 example), creatively and joyfully. Thomas Kinkade writes this about being creative in his work when we worked at a gas station while he was an art student.

“The work was routine, the hours were inconvenient, the pay was minuscule. My surroundings were grimy, the clientele grumpy. And yet I still managed to have fun at that job. I observed an endless parade of humanity who came through the doors. I made up stories about them in my head and sketched them from memory. I played games with myself to see how quickly I could make change or reset the pumps. And I took pleasure in serving, in knowing I helped people get through their day.”

5. Take care of your body – rest, good food, exercise

6. Value each day

So what do you think? Do the attitude helpers help? I think so! I’m giving them a shot this week as I tackle my work!

George, E. Beautiful in God’s Eyes. ch. 6