A Godly Homemaker

An Encouragement for your Heart

Dear Abiding Homemaker,

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Perhaps you need some encouragement in the midst of your homemaking and preparations. If so, this letter is for you! Grab a cup of hot tea, sit down and rest your body and heart, and take a few minutes for some homemaking encouragement.

This is my second youtube video which is fully of encouragment for Christian homemakers. After I posted it, a lady messaged me and asked if I could share the transcript of the video typed out. I decided to turn it into a letter form and share it here. So If you prefer the video version, then watch here. If you prefer to read then keep scrolling.

The High Value of Christian Homemaking

Charles Spurgeon said, “You are as much serving God in looking after your own children, and training them up in God’s fear, and minding the house and making your household a church for God, as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of Hosts.”

Our modern culture says that the homemaker is lazy and wasting her time and talents, but God’s Word tells a different story. Proverbs 14:1 says “The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” Titius two tells the older women to encourage the younger women to be keepers at home. The Bible shows us God’s plan and design for married women in their childbearing years, His plan is for them to be homekeepers.

This doesn’t mean that women can never bring in an income, in fact the Proverbs 31 woman was industrious and blessed her household financially, but the home is the young woman’s primary place of ministry. A Godly homemaker is seeking to love and obey her husband and to support him in the calling God has placed on his life. She is seeking to obey in the command to be fruitful and multiply, and she sees children as a blessing from the Lord. She is seeking to love and bring up her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. She is also seeking to show hospitality to those who visit her home. She uses her time and energy to cultivate a peaceful and orderly home. This does not mean that she is doing it all perfectly, in fact a Godly homemaker is a humble woman who recognizes that she is still growing and being sanctified. She knows there is always room to grow. She has a humble heart that springs forth speech which is kind, loving, and charitable. She is not elevating herself above other homemakers and trying to exalt her way of doing things. She is simply seeking to be faithful to what the Lord has specifically ordained for her household.

No one does it perfectly, but we can do it faithfully. What is an area of homemaking that the Lord is prompting you to seek to be more faithful in? Maybe take some time to write it down and pray about it after you read this letter.

Contrary to the feministic lie that a homemaker is a lazy leech, homemaking is far from a cushy and easy job. It takes time, energy, planning, and self sacrifice. Becoming a good and efficient homemaker is not something that comes naturally. It’s something we pursue, learn, and grow in. Some women were trained more than others in the ways of homemaking, but even those who have been well trained often find that it’s an altogether different thing to do it in your own house with your own children often while being pregnant, or tired, or sick. Homemaking is not for the faint of heart, and being a Christian homemaker will require you to rely on the Lord for strength. Although the demands of marriage, motherhood, and homemaking can feel endless, we must find time to spend alone with God. Even Jesus when He was on this earth would withdraw to the wilderness or send the multitudes away so that He could seek strength from His Heavenly Father. If Jesus needed to do this, how much more do we who are still fighting our sinful flesh need to! This is where the name “Abiding Home” came from. In John 15:5-6 Jesus says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” We want all of our homemaking to spring forth from a heart that is abiding in Jesus. It truly means very little if we are doing it for ourselves or the praises of others. Instead we should do it out of love for Christ and to glorify Him.

An Easy Meal and Encouragement for the Woman Learning to Cook

This is a quick one pot / Instant Pot meal that can be done quickly.

Ingredients:

~A few pounds of ground beef (lamb, elk, or deer works well also)

~A box of noodles

~bone broth, beef broth, or chicken broth (whatever you have on hand)

~2 cans of tomatoes (strain the water)

~garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning

~shredded cheese (as a topping)

Simply brown the meat in the instant pot using the sauté feature, then pour in the broth, tomatoes, and season it to taste with the seasonings listed above. No need to measure, just give it a little taste test since the meat is cooked and make sure you like it. Then set the instant pot on high pressure for 4 minutes. Once it’s done, release the steam, give it a stir, and you are ready to serve into bowls and top with shredded cheese.

It tastes like an Italian soup. So yummy and perfect for a fall or winter evening!

I’ll be honest, cooking was a major challenge for me as a young homemaker. When I first got married, I didn’t even know how to crack an egg. I called my mom for the first few months of my married life asking her for recipes and meal ideas. Thankfully she was willing to help. I wish that I had paid attention and pursued learning how to be a good homemaker in my younger years instead of being so focused on temporary pleasures, but God is good to give us wisdom and growth when we ask Him. I’m proof that the Lord can restore the years the locusts have eaten because through much practice, and many kitchen blunders, I have now learned to cook for my family. I nolonger need guidance to whip up a meal, and I’ve learned what seasonings and food combinations my husband and children enjoy. On my youtube channel I want to help equip women who may find themselves in a similar situation to me when I just learning how to cook, so I will make it a point to share basic and easy meals. (I will try to move them over to substack as well for my email sisters) I believe it’s a part of the calling for the older women to teach the younger women even in the practical how to’s of homemaking. I feel like the Biblical and practical are both very important.

If you’re just getting started with cooking or if you are changing to a new diet that will require you to learn a whole new way of cooking than what you’re use to, then I suggest finding 4-5 meals that you repeat each week so that you can cook them almost on autopilot. You can begin to tweak those recipes to your husband and children’s taste. Then you can add a new recipe or two each week to keep learning. It keeps things from getting overwhelming and builds confidence in the kitchen.

What a joy it is to have to ability to fill up plates and bowls for the people we love the most. Whether you are a gourmet chef or just learning, it’s a joy to feed our families with the fruits of our labors and it’s a way that we serve the Lord in our callings as homemakers.

Some Final Encouragements

Some people have recently made the accusation that homemaking is a trend. There is even a new term for a homemaker being called a “Tradwife” that you may have heard if you spend much time on social media. It seems to be short for traditional wife. The truth is homemaking for the Christian is not a trend or a pendulum swing to fight a culture war.

Titus 2:4-5 says to the older women, “That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet chase homemakers good obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Homemaking is a Biblical command that is directly linked to the Word of God not being blasphemed.

This is why it’s important, this is why it matters. So let’s apply ourselves to diligence and rely on Jesus to be our strength. May the Lord bless you and keep you as you keep your home for His glory.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Abiding in Christ,

Stacey Blevins