Sister Michelle
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I must keep my eyes on Jesus my Saviour
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Post by Sister Michelle on Jul 27, 2006 19:14:12 GMT -5
You probably all remember the old army slogan "Be all that you can be, in the Army!" Well, I'm on a quest, to be all that I can be, the kind of wife, mother and homemaker that God has called me to be. But first, I had to ask myself, exactly what has God called me to be? And again, the thought of a lasting legacy, the theme of this website, comes to my mind. My life, lived out with prayer and purpose, hopefully will result in a lasting legacy of encouragement and be a real help to my children and their children......if
I follow that quest to be all that I can be, and with God's help and strength I know I can succeed in this quest!
As I look around me, I see that women have been liberated right out of the genuine freedom they once enjoyed, it was a God given liberty that most women looked upon with pride. Women have always had a unique job, given to them by God, to be helpmeets to their husbands, to oversee their homes, rear their children, and pursue personal satisfaction by reaping the fruits that such selfless labor enjoys. The question has never been whether a woman wants the best for her husband and children and even for herself.......of course she does! The questions we should be asking ourselves are ones like these: Is being a wife and mother and keeper of the home really worth the investment of the whole sum of one woman's life?
Or, how about this question: Does it take preparation and skill, concentration of all my energies, and a total commitment to both, to be the kind of home maker that God has called me to be?
(By the way, I wholeheartedly believe the answer to both questions is yes!)
Feminism, the "religion" of the 60's that has pervaded our culture even to this present day, says no to both of those questions. The feminist manifesto says that women can only be fulfilled by devoting their life to a career outside of the home.
We must continually test our preconceived notions regarding our life's chosen goals against the Word of God, to discern what is really best for us and our family. God's Word warns us to ". . . test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). I believe God has something so special, so unique, and so fulfilling for us that we are just now beginning to understand the totality of it all.
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Sister Michelle
Administrator
I must keep my eyes on Jesus my Saviour
Posts: 1,065
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Post by Sister Michelle on Aug 4, 2006 12:40:54 GMT -5
Can Home-making be thought of as a life long career? I answer this question with a resounding "YES!" Think about it.....a career or professional pursuit requires training and preparation as well as commitment and dedication over the long haul. It demands consistent activity on our part, from sun up to sun down, and constant forward action; as well as a combination of training and constant preparation. We must exercise commitment and loyalty, energy and time, and seek excellence in all these areas in our quest to achieve as much as we are capable of doing, both physically and emotionally, each and every day of our lives.
Homemaking is a career. The dictionary defines the homemaker as "one who manages a household" but I think it is especially true of the life of a wife and mother.
There are many reasons why I believe this is a high calling for women in general, but it is especially true for the Christian woman because of the state of our society. I believe there is no task set before us that is as urgent and deserves as much sincere and prayerful consideration as the career of home-making!
As we seek to understand better this quest towards making home-making our life long and chosen career, let us look at the possible benefits to others, namely our children and the society they are growing up in! A quick glance around us tells that declining morals and values have had enormous repercussions on the family----our society is crumbling down around our very ears----I believe this has happened because the family is no longer revered as the foundation of our society, as it once was.
Is the future of the world we will see our children and grandchildren inherit important enough to demand our diligent preparation, total energy, and greatest life long commitment? I believe it is!
So...... let us stop to consider where we should begin. Most of us need a little push, some incentive, to get us going each day in the right direction......after all, a homemaker does her job without the enticement of a paycheck. Let us consider what God's perspective is on this topic..... Proverbs 31:10 says: "She is worth far more than rubies". Do you see yourself that way? God does! A women who decides to make a selfless quest towards the ministry of her family is a rare jewel to be admired indeed!
Proverbs 31 contains a full-length portrait of what a godly homemaker looks like. The emphasis seems to me to be on those characteristics that God values most in women. He uses certain precious words to describe His idea of what the ideal woman looks like---a committed homemaker, chaste, a helpmeet, an upright and God-fearing woman of strength.
Our quest to be a godly woman and helpmeet to our husband, a loving mother and teacher of good things to our children, grandchildren and younger women in our circle of influence may seem unattainable and beyond our grasp, but God is with us each and every step of the way. With His help we can strive for the spiritual excellence of this woman of strength painted for us in Proverbs 31.
The first half of Proverbs 31:10-31 shows us that she is occupied with personal and domestic pursuits. But if we flip forward in our Bible to the New Testament, we find that it has a clear emphasis on what a godly woman's resume looks like, and how she goes about managing her household. (Titus 2:5; 1 Timothy 2:10; 5:14)
We need to always remember that the reason this Proverbs 31 woman was so successful at her daily tasks was because she took time to make sure she was tending to her spiritual needs first! When Jesus reprimanded Martha for her rather whiney attitude towards household matters, He did not put down the roll housework had in her life, and neither did He make light of the gracious hospitality she was offering to Himself and others. What He admonished her for was being so consumed and burdened by her work that she had forgotten what was really important, to make sure she was taking the time to get spiritually fed (which her sister Mary had so faithfully sought to do (Luke 10:38-42). We are never to neglect our spiritual health---not even for the joy of serving others.
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Sister Michelle
Administrator
I must keep my eyes on Jesus my Saviour
Posts: 1,065
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Post by Sister Michelle on Aug 7, 2006 21:31:14 GMT -5
In Titus 2:3-5, Paul admonishes the older women to teach the younger women, among other things, "to love their husbands and children, . . . to be busy at home". (The Greek word is oikourgous,, which literally means "home-workers").
"Home is a place apart, a walled garden, in which certain virtues too easily crushed by modern life could be preserved.
In a book written by Paul Fussel, the mother of the home
is described as "The Angel in the House."
Oh, what a blessed picture that paints for me in my minds eye! That is what I wish my home to look like! I want to be a woman of strength who enjoys dignity and importance in the administrative affairs of my home. I want to be a valuable helpmeet to my husband and a complement to him that others take note of...... "Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land" (Proverbs 31:23).
As a "Home-Worker", I often wonder how many women really realize what a great service they are providing for society and for the kingdom of Christ, when they choose to follow this quest and become a "home-worker"------ ministering to and serving their family by being a keeper of their home? A mother builds something far more lasting than just a home when she devotes her life to home-making. She leaves a legacy, not just to her children and to her grandchildren, but to society in general. No professional career on earth combines so uniquely both common menial daily tasks and meaningful, yet eternal opportunities as does the choice to minister to our family from our very home.
The best way to make homemaking a joyous task is to offer it "as unto the Lord", and the only way to avoid thinking of it all as just drudgery and mundane tasks, is to bathe all of those tasks with prayer and catch a vision of what God has called us to do----to be about the task of home-making and to nurture those He has seen fit to place within our home
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