Have you ever wanted to turn off all the noise and hear what the Bible says about homemaking? Does God’s Word establish a role for married women to fulfill? The answer is yes and absolutely! Only by exploring those goals and guidelines given in His Word can we really see the incredible value of this unique ministry which women alone have been chosen for.
As you begin to study and live your calling, you will be amazed to discover the gifts and talents you were given, the interests you are suited for, and the nourishing tendencies you show which were place in you uniquely by your Creator. No other woman is exactly like you, and as such, no other woman will make her home exactly as you do. Comparison with others will hinder your calling from the start.
God’s Word is very clear as it outlines our “duties” as homemakers, but not in a harsh way. I find the goals to be very well-defined while allowing a lot of room for creativity within the framework given. This sure foundation provides us an invaluable reference we can hold to when deciding whether or not to take on a new obligation or pursue a new path.
Read on if you are ready to embrace your ministry as a homemaker – this post is perfect for all stages of life!
Let’s start at The Beginning with the very first home.
God established the first home when he made Eve for Adam. She was placed in that home as a helper that was perfectly suited for him. (Genesis 2:18).
Whether or not you feel like being a help to your husband is irrelevant. It is my belief that God designed marriage in such a way that your husband will not achieve his highest potential without you. Lest you feel like a failure already, please remember our point of reference, Eve. When she pulled her infamous fruit sampling stunt in the Garden, that was most certainly not helpful to Adam. Because he loved her and the life they had together he also ate. Once that happened, they had to face one of the greatest challenges for any marriage…moving!
Seriously, as wives we have the potential to have great power of influence over our husbands. Ask God for wisdom as you seek to be a help to your husband (James 1:5).
With great power comes great responsibility.
We must be wise. Wisdom is the chief cornerstone of our home. Wisdom builds our home and fills it with precious treasures and memories. (Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 24:3)
When we invest in our home – the people in our home – that is wise. How do we build? How do we invest? With our time. We literally give ourselves. Selfishness is not wise. Selfishness tears down our homes. Instead, take the time to help and serve those you share your home with. Care for them, nourish them, make certain they know they are loved. As we build those healthy relationships with our husband and children we are not only nurturing whole persons, we are building our home.
We are wise to establish routines and traditions that our loved ones can rely on. We are giving them healthy roots to help them grow strong as they face the world’s attacks each day and we make our homes the haven they eagerly return to for encouragement and refuge.
Being a “keeper at home” does not come naturally for some.
Serving your family at home is sometimes hard. I get it. So many of society’s messages aimed at women seem to shout, “do it all, have it all, you are worth it.” These are the screams of feminism rearing her ugly, lying head. Social media is littered with accounts which seem to say little more than “look what I bought, look what I made, look what I have.” Again, with no foundation or basis in Scripture these efforts seem shallow, baseless. When our heart for homemaking is to minister and to serve others, our outcomes present themselves entirely differently.
While it would be best for us as wives to have grown up seeing being a keeper at home modeled out before our eyes, that is not always our experience. Perhaps that is why the Lord, in His goodness, has wisely instructed those who do have experience to teach the younger women to be keepers at home (Titus 2:4-5). In fact, those verses highlight quite a list of things that may not come easily to us, but must be learned. Make it a priority for yourself to practice daily each of the pursuits of a Christian homemaker outlined in those verses. Not only will your home benefit, God Himself will be exalted as well.
The role of Biblical homemaking is truly a high calling!
Purpose in your heart to serve the Lord as a homemaker.
There are times when the day-to-day duties of cleaning, clothing, and cooking for your family run together. There will be seasons when you will be tempted to just sink into your carefully created homemaking routines and go through life on auto-pilot. I challenge you not to do this. As you seek His face each morning for strength and renewal, ask God to keep your heart tender to serve. Be willing to give each task, each meal, each smile as an offering to the Lord. Make these offerings with a cheerful heart. Be confident in the knowledge that your service as well as your reward is not merely earthly (temporal). Your efforts have kingdom significance and should be performed with that in mind each day (Colossians 3:23-24).
Sometimes the hardest time to live this out is when we are interrupted! There you are doing your homemaker best at mopping the kitchen floor. One of your children calls out to you from the other room and voila you have a choice to make. Will you leave what you are doing, march down the hall and answer them in your frustration? Or will you stop and give thanks to the Father for another opportunity to serve? Scripture shows us that Christ placed a high value on children. This is one of many instances when society and Christ-likeness are greatly at odds. Would you honestly bark out “whaddya want, I’m busy” to Christ? Not likely. When we are serving these little ones we are serving the Savior (Matthew 25:35-40).
If this is new to you, begin right now, today by asking the Lord for His help and guidance as you become the homemaker He has called you to be!
Don’t neglect your spouse. Make home his favorite place to be.
Slippers and a newspaper are cliche, but seriously consider this. How do you welcome your man home each day? Is the odor of a burnt offering in the oven and baby spit-up behind your ears your signature scent? Yes, there are days which are exceptions, but make them that, exceptions rather than the norm. This has became so much easier once our kids were older and became involved in the “let’s welcome daddy home routine.” Those were special times. Now that my husband works from home I sometimes miss those days when he would return home from work. We made a big deal out of daddy being back at the end of the day.
Whatever your situation you should really make a plan, a routine. Do something on purpose that says you are loved and we are so happy to see you. We don’t know what Satan threw at our husband while he was away from the refuge of home. Frustration, temptation, lack of appreciation – all of these are possibilities – and many more. Let’s make home a haven for our husbands. Love him well. Here you are always a winner. You are our hero, our provider, our protector. We acknowledge and celebrate that. Outside these walls we can’t control what happens, but within these walls, your husband is the champion.
I have entire posts dedicated to this, but let me remind you that it is more than okay for your children to see you and your husband be affectionate with each other. In fact, the older they get the more fun it is just to see them cringe!
Your husband should also know that you are available for him when the kids are not around as well. You are his wife and in almost all cases, you chose this life. Never refuse him out of emotional pettiness, disinterest, or retaliation. Communicate your needs and be interested in meeting his as well. If your marriage needs help with this, get it!
Are you ready to embrace your ministry as a homemaker?
By following these Scriptures, you will be able to genuinely focus your heart on home. Now that you know some of what the Bible says about homemaking, I hope that you will search God’s Word for even more direction in this sacred ministry. I also hope that you will return here soon for more help and encouragement along the way.
What are some of your favorite homemaking Scriptures? Share them with us below!