What is a Homemaker & How Does it Relate to Titus 2?
God has a high calling for all women. A calling that is not dependent on marital status, occupation, or entrance into motherhood. A calling that can be lived out in many different ways and across cultures. A calling that has been handed down from mother to daughter for centuries, but that has abruptly fallen out of practice in our modern age.
This calling is that of the Homemaker. As a Christian woman, God has given you this high and noble calling to look after and manage your home. As a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter, or a sister, you have been given this calling that should be celebrated and treated as a calling, a career, and a craft.
“The point of being a keeper at home is to provide a haven for a godly family to thrive (a requirement for church leadership, according to 1 Timothy 3:1-5), to offer hospitality to fellow Christians and non-Christians alike, and to provide a place for the church to meet. Even though the early church met primarily in homes, even today our homes can operate as an extension of the larger Sunday gathering when we meet in small groups or Bible studies…However, even among a large number of Christians today, the home is not as important as it once was, nor is it viewed as a place of ministry and outreach. This is a result of a collision of trends in the mid-nineteenth century that tarnished domesticity and let to feminism’s vitriolic attack against the home.” Radical Womanhood, 104
What is a Homemaker?
Sometimes, I think that the role of a homemaker is narrowly defined. I hear mother’s who work full time outside the home share that they wish they could be homemakers. Or single women who don’t give any thought to what a “homemaker” is since they are not married, have their own home, etc. Or when I talk about homemaking, people assume I’m just talking about cooking and cleaning.
But I challenge you to open up your thinking of what a homemaker is. I want to reclaim the term and what it means. I think all women, to some extent or another, is a homemaker, regardless of marital status or occupation.
I have a passion for managing my home and I am excited to share that my “job” is a homemaker.
I like to think of the term “homemaker” as the official title for my role as a woman. When I lived at home, I was a homemaker in training and should have spent some time investing in future skills. When I lived in my dorm room, I could have extended hospitality to other women on my hall. As a newlywed, even though I worked full time, I was busy investing time and energy into cultivating my skills at home and making our small apartment warm and inviting.
And now that I’ve moved into this season of busy motherhood, and nearly all of my time is spent within the walls of my home, it’s so easy to feel run down, overwhelmed, and burnt out.
Intellectually I have a passion for homemaking, but I also know, that some days are just plain hard!! I struggle figuring out how to develop a housekeeping routine, its 4pm and I have no idea what’s for dinner, I need advice on how to discipline my kids and fit in devotional time…
I have a passion for homemaking but I also need help, advice, and guidance in this journey.
The Titus 2 Model for Homemaking
It always amazes me that God knows our hearts so well and provides for that in Scripture. I’m a fairly prideful person, especially when it comes to homemaking. Do you ever feel like this?
“I don’t need help. Other women run their home so smoothly, without help, and still have time to show up to church with a basket of homemade, gluten-free mini muffins, her kids are in matching outfits, and her hair and makeup is perfect! How can I admit that I often feel like a failure with all these super-women and amazing moms running around all over Pinterest.”
While I often feel alone in thinking all of this…I don’t think I am (judging by the response I got when I shared this photo of my messy kitchen). I think most women struggle with this on one level or another. And I think God knows this too. He provides for this in Scripture by commanding women to be in relationship with one another and learning and growing together.
As Paul is sharing with Titus on how to minister to those in the church, he teaches that there should be love, support, and instruction passing from woman to woman. He shares that as unique homemakers, older women are to pass down the skills and knowledge on how to effectively love their families and keep their homes to younger women who should be eager and willing to learn.
“And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive, that the word of God may not be reviled.” ~ Titus 2:4-5
A New Time for Titus 2 Mentoring
The Titus 2 model of women mentoring women, growing and learning together is beautiful. We need relationships with other women, it’s how God designed it. And the internet has changed the way we interact with each other – for good and bad.
There are plenty of reasons why the internet has changed relationships for the worse – but today, I want to focus on how the internet (and technology) can be used for good – to promote the Gospel and encourage women in their godly roles as homemakers.
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s difficult sometimes to find women who want to cultivate their skills at home, who want to invest time and energy into their home, and who have a passion for sharing this with other women. In real life, it can sometimes be difficult to find older women, and especially peers, who value homemaking and who want to spend time sharing and talking about it.
That’s why I feel so blessed by the internet at times. I’ve been able to connect with, and form real relationships with women that I never would have. I’m able to get advice on housekeeping schedules and preschool ideas. Online friends have taught me how to meal plan, make meal times special, and creative ways to fit devotional time into my busy schedule. My online friends, and especially some specific bloggers, have been so encouraging to me in my journey as a homemaker.
I feel I must add: The internet (facebook, pinterest, bloggers, etc) in no way should replace real life interaction and Titus 2 mentoring. It is essential to be in real relationships with other women. If you only have time for one, always choose face to face interaction with women over reading blogs, browsing Pinterest, etc. I feel that I must add this in because the very last thing I want to encourage you to do is trade in real mentoring with Pinerest advice and recipes. Moving on…
I think that in this modern era, the internet can be another wonderful resource for women. A way for women to learn essential homemaking skills, while their babies nap or play outside, that we haven’t had in previous generations. In past generations, these skills were handed down from mother to daughter while the young women was still growing up.
Now however, entire generations of women are entering into adulthood, marriage, and motherhood without even the most basic homemaking skills. That’s why I am so excited to watch Christian women come together and use the internet to inspire and pour into each other’s lives.
An Opportunity for Online Homemaking Mentorship
Starting on Monday, September 29th, tickets go on sale for the first annual Homemaking from Scratch Online Conference. You will hear 12 amazing sessions on various aspects of homemaking including: finding time for God’s Word, Biblical motherhood, hospitality, what it means to be a homemaker, cleaning routines and habits, getting your kids involved in chores, and so much more!
The conference is October 7 – 9th, 2014 but the beautiful thing about this conference is that it was designed with homemakers in mind – so all sessions are pre-recorded which means YOU get to listen to them at your own pace. Once a session goes live, you can pause it or shut it down and listen to it later – and these sessions are yours to keep to watch over and over again!
Also included when you pre-register for the conference, is over $200 in homemaking bonus items (cleaning schedules, marriage prayer cards, eBooks, and so much more)! Plus, register before October 7th and get $5 off your ticket! Head over to Homemaking From Scratch to find out more about the conference.