What’s a mom to do? Here is this high standard for Christian wife and mother set before us. And so often the point is totally missed. I’ve heard it said that this is the Christian command (or at least model) for mothers to be out in the work force and "doing her fair share" to contribute to the household income. PLEASE!! Take another look.

(This post began as a comment of encouragement to women after reading Renae’s post (link below). But it is NOT a response to or directed back toward that post. This really takes a MUCH different direction than those thoughts, to much more underlying ones.)

This woman, that a mom was telling her son would be a good wife, in what stage in her life was she? Newly married? Raising many little ones? Lots of older helpful children? Lap and table filled with grandchildren? Perhaps all of the above. This is a LIFETIME of  God’s expansion, the growth of a life. This is NOT a daily to-do/ check off list! It is the blessing of God upon a productive woman in the home. She looks after her home well, and God brings an increase.

Ladies, please don’t think you have to look beyond your own homes to profit your husband and your household.  Renae mentioned, "toys and dog hair off the floor and meals on the table." These are all of GREAT profit to the home. As well as clean laundry, taught and cared for children. Yes, these things even profit our families financially. You aren’t paying someone else to do it.

Many times the things a mom of young children can do, in caring for her home and family, SAVE far more money than she could make elsewhere. The fruit of her hands does not need to be a tangible product producing tangible cash in the hand to be of financial contribution and benefit.

But throughout her life the venerated "Pro. 31" woman expands the things she does within the home and her interests to help bless others. She’s not looking for a job or income, she’s increasing her own productivity to include blessing those outside the home, as well as inside.

A love of books, a love of design, a love of teaching, a love of ?cleaning - really, Renae? - are all blessed ministries we can share out of our homes.

But still nothing is greater than "the investment in my children [and husband, and friends and neighbors, that] profits for a lifetime and more." Our role as women is such a rich and rewarding one, blessing many in both our home and the homes of others.

We were made to primarily be nurturers, not providers. We do not in any way have to succumb to our society’s egalitarian ideas, that in their promotion of feminism, devalue women and their God given roles. We can rejoice in the fruit of our hands (and our bodies) and pray that God brings increase.

This is an area that we receive so much un-Biblical input in, we need to constantly be renewing our minds and reassuring ourselves to not forget God’s Big Picture of a godly woman, throughout God’s Word.  Another scripture we can look is Titus 2:4-5, and others I’ll ramble about on another day.

The long arm of evolutionary thought does not end at “millions and billions of years ago.” Many Christian parents who will screen books for such content, and say, “We don’t believe in that,” live their lives as if they do.

Oh, perhaps they don’t believe that the earth is millions of years old. Perhaps they believe a Creator specifically made people, that they didn’t evolve from animals. But they don’t value human life any more than the evolutionist. Oh, they may be against abortion, but are they really for life?

Check out the article and the resource below.

“I was speechless! How could giving life to a human being be considered a bad thing?” … read the rest at American Vision (I wish I could have included the picture that came in the email of this message. So precious. But so is the one of Beall Phillips and her baby in yesterday’s link.)

Family Driven Faith By Voddie Baucham / Good News & CrosswayFamily Driven Faith equips Christian parents with the tools they need to raise children biblically in a post-Christian, anti-family society. Voddie Baucham, who with his wife has overcome a multi-generational legacy of broken and dysfunctional homes, shows that God has not left us alone in raising godly children. He has given us timeless precepts and principles for multi-generational faithfulness, especially in Deuteronomy 6. God’s simple command to Moses to teach the Word diligently to the children of Israel serves as the foundation of Family Driven Faith.

Sunday was Life Chain. Did any of you participate? We didn’t stand in our "usual" spot, so didn’t really see how many were there in comparison to other years. It was quite chilly and windy - and we weren’t altogether prepared to stand in it for an hour. (We had a fellowship dinner, after church, which gave us just enough time to make it to Life Chain, and not enough time to get appropriate clothes on.) But, of course, we survived.

The 2 little boys did remarkably well, standing nicely with their signs for about the first half, and then sitting down. 7yod did super, standing and holding her sign the whole time. The older children are "old hats" at this, but the 2 older boys still can’t stop fidgeting. But we were all there, standing for life.

On a related note, don’t miss Doug Phillips blog, In Memory of a Woman Who Chose Life. It’s an awesome story about a woman in a "crisis" preganancy that did not abort her baby, and has a super ending that will bring tears to your eyes.

For Me and My House,
Lisa @ Me and My House ministries

I promised a Corn Chowder recipe about a month ago - ouch! - but I still haven’t found where the children hid the recipe card so here’s Potato Soup instead, for now. This can be made on the stove or in a crock pot.

Simmer in water to cover until soft:

3-4# diced potatoes
2-4 stalks chopped celery
1/2 diced onion
2-4 Tb. “BacUn’s” dried bacon bit substitute

If needed, drain off any excess water, so it just barely covers the vegetables.

Blend, until fairly smooth, 1-2 c. of the cooked potatoes/ vegetable mix with:

2 c. rice milk
1/2 stick butter

Return blended mixture to the pot. Reheat if necessary.