Cleaning House With Kids

O.K. yesterday I was reading an article on Christian Women's Online Magazine about keeping kid's rooms clean. And I felt bad, really bad. Like usual when I read those type of book/articles, I begin to feel guilty. Because these women always have like, twenty kids, and their dinner's are always cooked, and their house is always immaculate, and they never raise their voice over the gentle hum of a whispering wind as they quote Bible verses all day long to their (homeschooled) children who soak up their words as sponges soak water...etc.
I feel like such a dismal failure! Can anyone out there relate? Anyway, I decided to give the tips a try (minus the Bible verses, because frankly, I thought she was stretching them a bit.), and I must say it went a lot better than usual. When I stayed in the room with them--calm and peaceable--while they cleaned and offered encouragement, I was amazed at how clean the room became. Real clean, too, not the toys-stuffed-in-underwear-drawer pick-up or the don't-open-the-closet-unless-you-have-a-death-wish straighten. I will definitely try this strategy again.
But I'm going to be totally honest with you...my four oldest children had peanut butter and jelly for dinner, the baby I nursed on a Boppi while I folded a few items from the monstrous pile of laundry on my sofa. I can't recall any quoted scripture today, but we did administer the rod of correction to my five year old, who poked her little brother in the head with a pencil. I'm counting the days till I can send her to public (collective gasp) school. BUT, their rooms are very clean. And I still love Jesus. And, best of all forever, He loves me.