Why Would I Want to Stay Home? Part 4

The home should be the center of productivity…

The home should be a place out of which love and service flows to our families, and to those all around us.

The home should be a place of industry, where our resources are conserved, and sometimes income generated.

The home should be a place of security, comfort and beauty to our husbands, children and guests.

The home should be a place where mom is at the center, helping her husband fulfill their family vision, nurturing her children, being there to meet their daily needs, learning and educating herself to better meet the demands of her role.

“Remember that your little toddler will grow up! And your involvement and work in his little life now will have profound implications on the man he will become!”

This last post in the series will discuss the practical ways in which a mother must train her children, both in character and in the daily responsibilities of home. Of course the father has a vital role in this also, but since mom is usually the one spending the most time with them, much of this task falls on her.

In my opinion, the neglect of the early training of children accounts for one of the main reasons our youth culture is in such a mess; consequently, too, why there is whole wave of adults in a mess, and therefore a large number of families in a mess.

The importance of training children has been so underestimated, that parents don’t really give it much thought. As long as their little ones are being taken care of during the day, they deem it sufficient. What a tragedy!

Our little ones are being molded and shaped daily, into what they will become as adults. To neglect this crucial time of shaping, is to cast aside their importance, and to abdicate our biblical responsibilities. We will be held accountable for the time and energy we devoted to training our children! Remember that your little toddler will grow up! And your involvement and work in his little life now will have profound implications on the man he will become!

So what does it look like, on a daily basis? The first thing to remember is that even the youngest of children are soaking in behavior, learning from us and from their surroundings how to respond, react, and engage in the affairs of life.

• Are we teaching them basic responsibility and work ethic? This is best done by giving them age-appropriate duties. It is very important that they see the family as a unit, of which they have a vital role.
• Are we helping them develop self-control…this is a biggie. If the foundations of self-control are not established in a child, that child will grow up at best to be indulgent, perhaps struggling with materialism, debt and relationships…possibly divorce. And at worse, becoming criminals. Our prisons are overrun with men and women who simply have the inability to control themselves!
• Are we training them to put others first? Another biggie! It is the mind of Christ…”let each esteem others better than himself”…and few children are growing into adults with such a spirit.
• Are we teaching them basic manners? Manners are really just an extension of putting others first. Manners are not to make us look good; they are to show considerations to others. And it takes work and practice! Courtesy is becoming extinct!
• Are we engaging them in conversation that will develop their biblical thinking and analytical skills? This may seem like an “extra” thing to throw in, but think about how we (as a society in America) are being swept away by every whim and doctrine of man? It is crucial that we raise children who have a biblical world-view.

This list could go on for pages….but I’ll stop here. Feel free to add to the list.

As we look back over this series, it becomes clear that being a keeper at home is a FULL time job! It involves all our energy, time and effort. If we grasp the vastness of our role, the implications of our efforts, then it completely changes our outlook on what the world deems boring and unimportant.

It should be obvious that the world’s view of motherhood is upside down; isn’t it clever of Satan to get to the source of human development and create a breach between mother and child?

I challenge and encourage you to review your role in a new light…ask God for guidance and strength for the task before you. Let’s build godly homes to be beacons of light…let’s be wives who are crowns to our husbands…let’s raise children who will change the world for God…let’s be women of humility and valor, leading a new generation of younger women to embrace their callings!