Part 2 of "Martha Stewart...In the Bible?"  by Celeste Figueroa

     First of all, I'd like to start out by apologizing for inadvertently referring to our husbands as "hounding" in the last AOG issue (this was not my intention).  The other H's in my list are inanimate objects and can be hounding only if we let them, but our husbands, on the other hand, are precious gifts from God, given to us to lead us into a closer walk with the Lord.  When we reject our husband by referring to him as hounding, a pain in the neck, or, even worse, a mistake, we reject God and His gift.  I know that is a strong statement to make, but it is evident throughout scripture and is also the premise of this article.
How do we, as wives, allow our husbands to distract us from serving the Lord?  Let me begin by recalling Hebrews 12:1-2, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us,...fixing our eyes on Jesus…"
God has commanded us to lay aside those things which distract us from keeping our eyes on Jesus.  Shall we "lay aside" our husbands?  By no means.  Jesus tells us, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Matthew 19:6)  If it's not our husbands that we are to lay aside, then what?
It comes down to once again dying to self and choosing God's best.  How we choose to relate to our husbands, whether by action or attitude, is what can distract us from keeping our eyes on Jesus.  When we insist on looking to our husband's behavior instead of unto the Lord, we choose to take our eyes off Jesus and take on encumbrances that God didn't intend for us wives (See I Peter 3:1-6, for a glimpse of God's best).
A respected woman of our home school community wrote to me, sharing some of her ideas on how we should relate to our husbands.  The following is a portion of a heartfelt message from a devoted wife and follower of Christ.

~~First of all, I would like to say that my husband is the greatest blessing in my life, next to my salvation (and all that goes with salvation).  I have not always understood how much of a blessing he really is, but Praise the Lord, Jesus has taught me so much in the last few years, and it is true - our husbands are a blessing  to us, given to us by a loving Father. 
Our husbands were given to us as a blessing, and we need to see them that way.  It is so sad to see how many Christian wives and mothers see their husbands as a hindrance to what the wives want to do.  They even refer to their husband's requests or suggestions with a sigh and a "he just doesn't understand!  I am so overwhelmed!"  We need to remember that we were given the job by the Lord to be a wife first, before we were given the job of home school mom.  "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light" is truth from Jesus, and we should be careful we do not make it sound as if His words are not true.  Often it is simply a matter of wrong priorities again, as in the example you used of the house.  Our husbands have needs that the Lord gave us to fulfill, and we need to see what a privilege it is to fulfill them.  He said that we were created to be a helpmeet for our husbands (Genesis 2:20-24)- that is the thing we were CREATED for, and yet how often we give our husbands merely our "leftovers" - leftover time, energy, interest, smiles!
We each need to examine our hearts as well as our schedules.  Perhaps many of the things that we feel we need to be doing are not truly of the Lord at all.  If they are of the Lord, there should be enough time for them as well as for meeting the needs of our husbands and doing the things that our husbands consider most important to our families.  Otherwise, we may be taking on things that the Lord hasn't really asked us to do at all!
Listen to your husband.  How often have I felt I couldn't go on, I couldn't do everything that had to be done, and then my husband would sit down with me.  He would show me things that needed to be changed, things I needed to stop doing, and give me wonderful ideas on how to accomplish the things that he felt were most important.  I consider this a wonderful gift from the Lord.  The Bible says that we as wives are to submit unto our husbands as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22) and this too, is for our good.  When we are obedient to His word, what a blessing the Lord gives.  When I have a humble, meek spirit and ask for my husband's help and advice, what freedom and relief it brings.  I am no longer carrying the burden alone.  Of course, this means that you must then follow the advice that your husband gives, or he will not be so willing to give it again.  If you do not follow through on what your husband says, you will also miss the blessing that the Lord has in store for those who are faithful to obey His word in all things, including His commandment to be in subjection to our own husbands (I Peter 3:1).
I would love to see us all encourage each other in treating our husbands as the true head of our homes, not just repeating the words while living our lives as we please.  Peace and joy in your home and your home schooling will follow in measure to your fulfilling of your role as God has ordained it - in submission to your husband, in loving your husband and children, in keeping at home and managing your household well.  The next time you feel overwhelmed, burdened, and "hounded" by the house, your hobbies, your habits, etc., consult your best earthly gift from the Lord.  Your husband.

Another great mentor of mine has these wise words of encouragement for us:

• Pray~Be thankful for your husband and pray for him as he has the tremendous responsibility and accountability as head of the home.
  
• Instead of being critical in mind and heart, think on those good qualities he has (Philipians 4:8,9).
  
• Instead of having a quick, hurtful tongue towards your husband, choose to respond in a manner pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 4:29; James 1:19; Proverbs 31:26).
  
• May Psalm 19:14 be a reminder pertaining to your daily walk with the Lord including your relationship with your husband.  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer."
  

God bless.