A Homemaker Is A Full Time Stay-At-Home Woman

Yes, it can be done!  I know this topic is very unpopular and most woman, including Christian woman, would argue that "you gotta do what you gotta do", meaning they have no choice but to go out and work.  I have been sorry for many of these women who do desire to stay home with their children but have bought into the lie that there is no way.  Weekly, I see a beautiful young lady at Trader Joe's grocery store who loves my children.  Every week she talks about her little one year-old girl.  She tells me, "You are lucky to get to stay at home with your children, I wish I could too."  And like her are countless of women.  I believe we are wired this way by our Creator.  We are women, nurturers and motherly by nature.  We long to love our husbands and children by providing a peaceful, beautiful, healthy, nourishing atmosphere at home.   This cannot be accomplish by being part-time at home.  Even if we try to "tough it out" in the work force, the longing to be a woman of our home is deep down in each of us.

I have good news!  It can be done!  I am a living proof.  I've also known other women and known of others who have believed God as well for their provision so they can stay at home.  For my husband and I, it was never a question whether I would go out to work.  I did do ministry full time before our first child was born.  After that, I have dedicated eight years  so far to our growing home and I have a vision and a prayer that not only in my life it will continue this way but in the lives of my future generations of daughters and daughters-in-law.  We have friends who asks us, "how do you do it?"  When they find out we have had no income for more than 3 years (more on this story later).  The answer is simply, "By the grace of God and our full trust that He is Faithful".  And no, we take nothing from Obama or any type or Government "assistance".  God has been giving us our daily bread and healing every sickness. We have determined to stand on God's Word and obey it wholeheartedly no matter what the circumstances around us are.  God commands us to teach our children diligently throughout the day (Deut. 6:4-8).   This is perhaps the most important Scripture passage to the Jews.  They would recite it everyday, at the Synagogue and it is very first passage their children would memorize.  It can only be obeyed by parents being with their children throughout the day.  The next command is in Titus 2:5, for women to be "keepers at home that the Word of God be not blasphemed."  God promises to bless us if we obey His commandments and seek His kingdom first.  For me, if I had to choose between either obey God's Word or go out to work to provide for my family, I really don't have a choice.  God's Word will always be authority over my life.  And He definitely has provided day by day in ways we would never had imagine.  We do have story after story of God's providence in providing all that we need in.

Secondly, the stay at home woman is not the picture you get of one cleaning all day, changing diapers, fixing meals on her pajama sweats and a pony tail quickly put together.  Far from it.  We get an excellent picture from the woman of Proverbs 31.  She is industrious, contributing to the financial welfare of the family and yet, tending to the many needs of her family and community.  There are many ways we, as wives, can help our husbands save money, be frugal and work from our homes utilizing the gifts and talents God has given us. In no way do I imply women are to never leave home.  That would be impossible; it's unbiblical and ridiculous. We can be professional business women right from our homes.  This season of lack of income for us has truly been a period of creativity, inspiration and even health in homemaking.  Many women who work outside the home have very poor health and the whole family would suffer because they have no time to prepare a wholesome meal.

O.K. women have also told me, "...but I love my job, I love what I do."  Others have told me after having a baby, "I can't wait to go back to work, I need to get out of my house."  These are Christian women who are teachers at their churches.  If you are one of these, I would urge you to please pray, pray, pray and study the Word of God  and meditate on His desires for us as wives and mothers.  Our home is the building block of society and when we neglect it, we all suffer.  Just look around you.  This broken society is a result of that mentality.  Many have bought the feminists lie that we have a choice about having a career or being at home.  When we belong to Christ, we don't have a choice.  He is our Lord and we obey His commands.  Men don't have a choice but to work.   Being a homemaker is a full time job.

A goal of Blessed Homestead is to encourage women to embrace their homes and nurture their families.  So for the next month, I will be sharing how important "The Home" and the "Homemaker" are to the family, church and society.  I will also share ideas and stories of other women in similar financial situations who are surviving and even thriving without neglecting their God-given duties.  If you are one of them and would like to share your creativity and resources here, I would love to know.