Housekeeping revisited

I have always been touched by this passage in Little Women. I thought I'd repeat it here, as it illustrates the blessings of our profession.

Other helps had Jo. Humble, wholesome duties and delights that would not be denied their part in serving her, and which she slowly learned to see and value. Brooms and dishcloths never could be as distasteful as they once had been, for Beth had presided over both, and something of her housewifely spirit seemed to linger around the little mop and the old brush, never thrown away. As she used them, Jo found herself humming the songs Beth used to hum, imitating Beth's orderly ways, and giving the little touches here and there that kept everything fresh and cozy, which was the first step toward making home happy, though she didn't know it till Hannah said with an approving squeeze of the hand . . .
You thoughtful creature, you're determined we shan't miss that dear lamb ef you can help it. We don't say much, but we see it, and the Lord will bless you for't, see ef He don't.

The Lord will bless you for it, see if He don't!

Spiritual housekeeping

I have been thinking alot about housework. I believe housework to be a very important part of a godly woman's life. It helps make her house a peaceful place. That being said, I am not very good at it. I do not "enjoy" housework. I get by, and have improved greatly since my newlywed days, but its still a struggle.
I was thinking the other day about neat-niks. You know, those gals who seem to have it all together in the housekeeping department. But many of them stuggle just as I do. They want to clean their houses and then they want it to stay clean. They constantly chide their children and nag their husbands. Don't track in mud, don't even think of sitting on the bed. I know a few people who were raised in this environment, and its not a happy thing.
Is there a happy medium? I hope so. I know that a messy, unkempt house is not a peaceful place, and is a shame both to husbands and kids.

What both messies and neat-niks need to understand is that housekeeping, like the Christian life, is not an hour of work in the morning and a pick up at night. Its an all-day kind of thing. Fix a little here, straighten up a little there. Change an attitude, apologize now. Talk to Jesus all the time. I must not resent this fact. Good housekeeping and true Christianity must be a way of living.