“The minimization of the homemaker’s role has been a priority of the feminist movement for decades…Hollywood would like for us to believe that a woman who stays home serving her husband and children is not joyful and content, but desperate…”
My generation is a generation of women who have been inculcated with the feminist agenda for almost five decades. We no longer have a clear picture of what a “homemaker” truly is (or is meant to be). Granted, many of us have the idea that 1.) she stays home, 2.) she takes care of her children, 3.) she provides meals and keeps her home clean, etc, but sadly, many young women do not have a living example of what an efficient, innovative, capable homemaker looks like, leaving us at a loss for practical footsteps to follow. I just read a quote of a young lady who said, “I am only 26, so I don’t really know what it was like to have mothers stay at home as the norm” [emphasis mine].
A little over a week ago, I was on the phone with my sister bemoaning the fact that I wish I had some sort of a manual…book…anything to tell me exactly how I should be carrying out my role as a homemaker.
Thankfully, about two days after speaking with my sister, the Lord crossed my path with this book…Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.
In response to the increasing requests from my generation for help, Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald spend a good portion of this book shedding light on the destructive confusion that the feminist movement has introduced into the family unit and, ultimately, into our culture and paint a beautiful picture of what Scripture says about God’s design for women.
Here are a few quotes from the book:
Feminism
“Our culture now glorifies the “have-it-all” woman: you know, the one with the ultra-slim figure, power suit, perfect hair, successful career, beautiful home, and, on top of it all, the adoring husband and two perfect children. Problem is, that woman doesn’t really exist”
“One of the strange ironies of feminism is that it isn’t feminine. For several generations, women have been told they have to be more like men, adopting male occupations, mannerisms, and clothing…while women have pursued masculine traits, men have faced pressure to soften their maleness and adopt feminine traits.”
A Woman’s Calling
“Home is too important to be left to itself; it is something precious to be tended, cared for, kept, and yes, guarded. God has given women a sphere that is naturally and wonderfully their own to manage and wisely govern.”
“Even those of us moms who have chosen to go against the grain can still be filled by feminism’s lies. We can be lured by the insidious notion that being separated from our home and little ones is a good thing…”
“When we recognize and fully embrace our calling, we are finally free to truly enjoy it; we’re able to experience contentment in the uniqueness of our role and achieve overwhelming victory in our homes and lives!”
“The text of Scripture is straightforward and unequivocal: a woman’s duties are to be home-centered….As families shrink…we also see the breakdown of the family and the disintegration of the God-ordered home - yet too often we don’t see the connection…her ministry is her family…being a keeper at home is a holy mission….women are to passionately undertake it.”
Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald also provide practical and inspiring insights into topics such as daily quiet time for busy moms, praying in “prayer droplets”, help for sleep deprived mothers, self-inflicted “busy-ness”, pride, perfectionism, comparing oneself to others, humility in relationships with other women, older women teaching younger women, powerfully supporting our husbands, what a keeper of the home looks like, and many other helpful tips.
I walked away after finishing this book feeling inspired, refreshed and with a renewed zeal to pour myself, with all of the fervor that I can muster, into the incredible role that God has ordained for me. May His name be glorified and His gospel furthered by my role in the home as homemaker!
