Lisa Barry: Are you someone whose house is always neat and hospitable? Or maybe you're a person who only thoroughly cleans when company is coming. Is it possible to improve in this area? Elisabeth Elliot has a few helpful and practical tips for all of us today who would like our homes to be more orderly and full of love. Find out how during the next 15 minutes we refer to as Gateway To Joy.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, continuing my talks today on the holy work of mothering.

Last Monday, we reviewed the beautiful story of the young village girl, to whom a totally unexpected visitor appeared. It was an angel. What did he say? He said, "Hail, Mary, full of grace! Blessed art thou among women." And what was her answer? "Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it happen as you say." Or "Be it unto me, according to your word."

On Tuesday, we talked about emptiness. Not uselessness, but responding to God as Jesus Himself did. He emptied Himself and became obedient unto death. We might even say that Jesus had no plans of His own. He came for one purpose and one purpose only, which was to do the will of God.

Mary had no agenda of her own. I think one of the things that makes mothers so tired and so frustrated and so bored is that they have drawn up an agenda of their own. "I've got to do this. I want to do that. I must do so and so." But day by day, one day at a time, instead of making out your own plans so far in advance and being so insistent that those plans must be fulfilled, why not just receive each day, quietly and thankfully, what God sends?

Now I don't mean that you're not supposed to plan for tomorrow. You have to make out your grocery list, of course. You have to make plans to get the laundry done, if you're having guests come for the weekend. You have to clean the guest room and make the beds. There are lots of things which one must plan.

But the things we want to do, and we feel as though we will not be fulfilled unless we get to do those things, may be merely our agenda, which has nothing to do with God's agenda. I find it so helpful to just trust the Lord that He is going to enable me to go through the work of a day in an orderly and calm fashion, when I commit it completely to Him at the beginning of the day. I simply say, "Lord, this is what I think You want me to do today. These are the things which I think must be done. But Lord, You know what the interruptions will be. You know all about the unexpected. I'm going to keep a quiet heart, simply trusting You to help me moment by moment, as I go through things as calmly and as quietly as I can."

Jesus emptied Himself and became obedient unto death. Because of that-that emptiness and that obedience-He was gloriously fulfilled. He was highly exalted. So was Mary. She was exalted above all other women who have ever lived, because she was given the unique privilege of bearing in her physical body the Son of God.

You remember that that pregnancy took place because she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. She did not have a husband at that point. She was engaged to Joseph, but she had never known a man. The Holy Spirit came upon her and Jesus Christ was conceived in her womb.

Some of the old writers believed that the moment of conception was the moment of Mary's saying, "Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it unto me, according to your word." Mary's consent was the exact point at which conception took place. Now it doesn't say that in the Bible, of course, so you don't need to write me any letters and tell me that. But why shouldn't it be so? It's a wonderful thing to think about-that her "yes" to God, He received, and at that moment the baby was conceived.

We are a chalice, a cup, an empty cup. The Lord knows how to fulfill our lives in ways that we cannot even imagine.

I spoke about the portion which was assigned to Brother Lawrence, a man who wanted to become a saint and was given the job of scrubbing pots in the kitchen. It certainly didn't seem to him like the proper place to learn to be a saint, and yet that was exactly where he learned to practice the presence of God.

To the Ratous of Greer, South Carolina, God has assigned a staggering portion, so it would seem to us. They have adopted 19 children, ten of whom are seriously handicapped. But the Lord gives grace for the portion that He assigns.

And Juana Michaels, whose baby was born with cleft palate and harelip and no eyeballs. The portion assigned by a loving God. Fulfillment comes through obedience to Jesus Christ.

Little Theo, my five-year-old grandson, loved emptying out drawers and sorting out the things that he wanted to keep, the things that he wanted to throw away, and the things that he wanted to give away. You know those three rules? Put away, give away, throw away. He enjoyed that. He actually found happiness in his work.

I gave you a few tips about teaching children to work and how important it is to start very early.

I had a letter from a mother, who was trying to bring up a two-year-old, with order, discipline, respect, control and lots of love. That sounds like a good program, doesn't it? Order, discipline, respect, control and lots of love. She says, "We want her to be enjoyed, as well as to enjoy. My problem is that the grandparents offer them snacks and other things, and other children are allowed to have them in the presence of my children. What shall I do? Shall I take some apple slices along in a bag? Should I permit my child to talk back to Grandma, as the others do? Do I make Christianity look bad with my decisions? And when other children come to our home, are they to respect our rules?"

Well, those are tough questions, and I certainly don't claim to have the last word. But possibly, you could take the parents aside to explain beforehand some of the rules. Just let them know that you are not insisting that their children must do the way your own children do. But at least they will understand that these are the rules of this house. Maybe you can avoid some conflict.

There was a child named Autumn who was in daycare, and she had a "mine, mine" attitude. "This is mine. This is mine." I can remember a little boy next door to us, when I was a child, and when we would have a toy, he would grab it out of our hands and say, "That's mine. That's mine." Well, very common, isn't it? Because children are born rebels. Children are born sinners. It does take a lot of correction and discipline and instruction in righteousness to bring them up to true manhood and womanhood.

Here's a tough question that this lady asked me: "Shall I correct her while the mother sits idly by?" We had an experience very recently-my husband and I were coming back from Nantucket Island on a ferry. There was a little girl who was just screaming her head off. Just ear-splitting screams. Nobody seemed to be doing anything about it. Her parents were sitting there. But once or twice, we did hear the mother say something about, "Be quiet" or "Shut up" or "Shhh."

But the screaming persisted. My husband thought up something really sensible to do, and I couldn't imagine what he was going to do. But he quietly got up, went across to where they were sitting, and he said to the little girl, as he pointed to her mother, "Is this your mama?" The little girl said, "Yes." Lars said, "There are a whole lot of us here on this ferry that would be very grateful if you would do what she says." You know, the mother thanked Lars for that.

This same lady, who had written me a letter, said that the cousins come once a week. "They eat on the go for the entire visit. My husband hates the clean-up afterwards. The children refuse to eat broken pieces of cracker or cheese, and their mother explains that they refuse. And the children decide whether to go or not to go. If she can be coerced into going, they go."

Well, that's a picture of chaos. As the hostess mother, my advice to her would be that she simply not offer the whole cracker, if the child has refused the broken one. Just be calm and friendly and cheerful and just say, "Well, we eat the broken ones here." See if you can't just sort of jolly them out of their rut. They will soon learn that they can do things at home, which they cannot do when they go out. It will be a very necessary lesson.

Proverbs 15:19 says, "The way of a sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother. Folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course. The Lord tears down the proud man's house, but He keeps the widow's boundaries intact. A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise." A life-giving rebuke. So necessary.

"He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor."

Lisa Barry: There's a lot in today's program that you can apply in your own home. Better yet, make sure you remember it by purchasing our Mother's Day packet. It contains this series, along with three more coming up this month. Glenda Revell's new book is in there, and more.

You can get purchasing information when you call us on our toll-free number: 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Monday Elisabeth talks about the importance and practice of family prayers. Join us then for another Gateway To Joy.