online meanderings: homemaking

"I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified."
(Susannah Wesley HT GirlTalk Dealing with distraction)

There have been some great posts and series on homemaking in the blogosphere recently. I'll tell you about the ones on the importance and practicalities of homemaking today; next week, I'm excited to be sharing with you some posts that go a bit deeper into homemaking and the gospel, and the balance between homemaking and outside ministry.

As always, I suggest you start with Nicole's truly excellent discussion of the difference between home working and home worship in her EQUIP book club post on chapter 6 of Feminine Appeal. In some ways, I fell like saying "amen!" and leaving you with her!

GirlTalk has just finished a series on homemaking, and while I wonder if they occasionally fall into the "home worship" category Nicole warns against, you'll still find lots of gems, like Where home is, Homemaking is not a hindrance, Homemaking is not a holding pattern, The homemaker's secret of fulfilment, The single women as homemaker, Dealing with distraction, and The way home.

I've written quite a bit about the significance of homemaking and motherhood - see motherhood: a big vision where I reflect on Piper's How can eternity influence a mother's daily tasks, my summary of Claire Smith's talk Superwoman: the Proverbs 31 woman (a talk which very helpfully addresses the issue of paid work and homemaking), my talk jean williams on motherhood, online meanderings: the high calling of motherhood, and coming home.

If you need help with time management, see the GirlTalk series The highly effective woman, Jess' practical tips for balancing your time as a large family, and Nicole's helpful reminder of the fallibility of our plans in If the Lord wills.

If it's books you're after, check out GirlTalk's suggestions about homemaking books and Nicole's review of Edith Shaeffer's The hidden art of homemaking.

If you'd like to listen to some talks on the topic of homemaking, try Carolyn Mahaney's Being busy at home. Yesterday, I heard an excellent radio show by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, A godly woman's work, an excerpt from her talk series The Counter-cultural Woman: A Fresh Look at Proverbs 31. She starts by saying,

I don’t like it when I hear people say to a woman, “Do you work?” Now I know what they probably mean is, “Do you have a job that pays you a paycheck outside of your home?” But the fact is any woman who is a godly woman, a wife and a mother, works. And a godly woman works hard.

Amen to that!