Inspiration in keeping the home at Ladies Ministry

Monday night was Ladies Ministry meeting. This month my brother in law's wife Francisca is leading the assigned topic of Homemaking.
She read material from Lady Lydia and we discussed among ourselves at different intervals.

I personally was convicted when she read something to the effect that a Christian home reflects the presence of God to all who enter by the way things are in order and taken care of. In my mind's eye I saw the futon in the living room piled high with clothes waiting to be folded and ironed. I saw the ironing board in the same living room piled high with clothes waiting to be ironed. I saw my kitchen sink and counters with dirty dishes. I realized that I am not making a great enough effort to reflect order on a daily basis. There are areas that I am on top of but there are areas where it is definitely a struggle(dishes and ironing). While listening to Francisca I jotted down a few things that came to mind.
Tuesday I went right to work on those things I wrote down. Wednesday I ironed 28pcs of clothing in an effort to eliminate the piled up clothes. The result is that my living room and dining room which is the first place people see when they come in looks much better. I can truly say that I am well on my way to that reflection. I even cut material to make curtains for my master bedroom and throw pillows for the living room. This is a picture of how I beautified the living room:

Sorry about the picture quality, I took this picture at night. I used the stand for the keyboard and put the empty box for the keyboard over it. Draped a piece of material I had in my closet over it, used some fancy pins I had and voila! Then I put my Flylady feather duster in a soft drink bottle and put it on there. Put my Bible with the praying hands cash tin on the right and the phone on the left. I felt so proud of myself. I am looking forward to finishing the bedroom curtains and the throw pillows for the living room.

It looks like the Valerie family has a monopoly on winning gifts from Astaphans. For Mother's Day my name was drawn and I won a rice cooker. For Father's Day my hubby's mom was drawn and she won a radio/cd player system for my hubby's dad. Here she is receiving the gift from one of the employees of the department store:
God is good to us indeed! Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.