Welcome to Day #1 of the 31 Days to Professional Homemaking series. To learn more about this series, click HERE. There you'll be able to follow along or catch up if you happen to miss anything. Also, please know that I am not an expert in marriage, motherhood, or homemaking. I'm just a woman {who happens to be a wife, mother, and homemaker}, trying to figure it all out, by the grace of God. This series is just as much for me as it is for anyone reading.
Before we get started, I'd like to offer you the following button, in case you want to share this series with your readers:
The 1828 Webster Dictionary defines the word "professional" in this way: "pertaining to a profession or calling; as professional studies, pursuits, duties, engagements; professional character or skill". It also defines "housewife" {there were no results for "homemaker"} as "a family economist; a good manager". So, putting these two definitions together: a professional homemaker is a woman who studies, pursues, and practices her domestic duties as a family economist and home manager.
Problem is, most people do not view this job as one deserving of professional status. But, as much as feminists try to make
women feel like doing laundry, cooking dinner, and raising children is a
complete waste of brain cells, I would argue that it is actually quite the
opposite. In fact, in order to run an
efficient home, today’s homemaker must possess the skills of a CEO.
CEO? Really?
Yes! After all, not only are you responsible for
the well-being of your family {human resources}, you are also in charge of
making sure the house is stocked with the appropriate items needed to live out
your daily life – food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies {inventory
management}. Plus, you've got to make
sure bills are paid, as well as ensuring that your savings account has enough
to fund a small emergency {accounting}.
And that’s just a few of the things you have to juggle!
Okay, so how exactly do I become a professional homemaker?
Well, at the risk of sounding redundant, to become a professional homemaker, you must study, pursue, and practice your domestic duties as a family economist and home manager. It's as easy and as complicated as that.
Really, though, professional homemaking is just the practice of managing our homes with more intention, instead of the typical "just enough to get by" kind of way {although, in some seasons of life, getting by is all we can do}. But, you see, when our homes run efficiently {putting tasks like laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, and scrubbing toilets on autopilot}, we have more time for the more important things in life, like chatting with our husbands after the kids go to bed or "camping out" in the living room as a family with a pretend fire and some delicious homemade s'mores. Because, you know that homemaking is so much more than just completing chores, right?
A while back, I came across a quote that I
think sums up my philosophy of homemaking perfectly: “homemaking isn't about
the home, it’s about the people in it”.
My husband and my son are the two people who are directly affected by my
homemaking {for better or for worse}.
They are my top priority. So, even though we will touch on things like laundry, meal planning, and cleaning, I am writing this series from the standpoint that it’s not about these tasks, rather it's about the people who wear the clothes, eat the meals, and benefit from the peace that a clean home provides.
The thing is, though, that all of this - our relationship with our husband and our kids; a clean and organized home; delicious and nutritious meals on the table - means nothing unless we seek after the One who designed it all. Because, honestly, without a set standard to determine what we should be aiming for, we're really just working in vain. As Christians, our standard is the Bible, which tells us what kind of women we're supposed to be, how we're suppose to love and care for our husband and children, and it also tells us how to manage our homes. When we hold to this standard, we will experience the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10, when he says:
"...I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." {NASB}
So, we know now what professional homemaking is, but why is it so important? Well, the most important reason is that God has called us to the roles that we have. Taking care of our family and our home is being obedient to our heavenly Father. Also, our family will greatly benefit: our marriage will be stronger, our children will thrive, our home will be a place of creativity and rest, and our influence will overflow into the world around us. Plus, if you don't even take your job seriously, why should anyone else?
Today's Challenge:
Each day, I'll give you challenge: one small thing you can do to apply each day's topic to your life and your home.
What exactly does it mean to create a home with purpose? Personally, I think it begins with changing the way you view your role; remembering that you’re not "just a homemaker" but you are a divinely appointed domestic arts professional. {Sounds pretty good, huh?} It means having a vision for your home and working diligently to make that vision become a reality, to the glory of God.
But, remember, you cannot do this alone. Trust me, if you try to become a professional homemaker by yourself, you will fail every time. You see, on our own we can do nothing. On the other hand, if we rely on God to be our strength and to give us wisdom, we will be able to do anything {Philippians 4:13}.
With that in mind, today's challenge is for those of us who haven't been intentional in one or more of our roles. If you fall into that category {my hand is raised, too}, then your challenge is two-fold:
1. Ask God to forgive you for your halfhearted attitude towards that role {or those roles} and ask Him to teach you what it means to live out that role in a biblical manner.
2. Change your mindset concerning the work you do at home {everything from taking care of your children and scrubbing toilets to washing dishes and doing the laundry}. All of it matters when it's done for the glory of God.
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Linked To:
Better Mom Mondays at The Better Mom
Anti-procrastination Tuesdays at New Nostalgia
Titus 2sdays at Time-Warp Wife
Teach Me Tuesdays at Growing Home
Titus 2 Tuesdays at Cornerstone Confessions
Women Living Well Wednesdays at Women Living Well Ministries
Works For Me Wednesdays at We Are THAT Family
Thrive @ Home Thursdays at Jenni Mullinix
Desire to Inspire at Royal Daughter Designs
Linked To:
Better Mom Mondays at The Better Mom
Anti-procrastination Tuesdays at New Nostalgia
Titus 2sdays at Time-Warp Wife
Teach Me Tuesdays at Growing Home
Titus 2 Tuesdays at Cornerstone Confessions
Women Living Well Wednesdays at Women Living Well Ministries
Works For Me Wednesdays at We Are THAT Family
Thrive @ Home Thursdays at Jenni Mullinix
Desire to Inspire at Royal Daughter Designs
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