Photo Credit: http://www.cavegirlculture.wordpress.com

Last month I shared with you the answer I gave my sister, Cindy, when she asked if I would still encourage women to be full-time homemakers like I did 33 years ago when I sensed God calling me to do that.  My answer was a resounding yes and I explained why here.  Since then, many of you commented and some of you wanted to know how I got started with living out my new-found calling.

Before my first ‘full day’ on the job, I began to ask God what my focus and priorities should be.  I really desired to follow the blueprint He obviously had designed for me.  I believed that if He called me, He had a plan and would equip me to carry out that plan.  While I was the recipient of a stay at home mom all my life, I was not a student of the how-to’s, or so I thought. We’ll talk about that in another blog.  Where was I supposed to begin?  I needed to know specifically how I was to ‘keep’ my home.  What was the basis of why I was doing what I was doing?  What was my goal?  I didn’t want to just ‘be at home’; I wanted to be a good witness for this new endeavor I was so excited about.  If God called me, I reasoned with myself, there had to be a Biblical basis for it.  There was.  Titus 2:3-5 became my mantra.

Homemaking became my ministry to my family.  I wanted to create a haven of rest.  Heaven on earth, if you will. I wanted my home to be a place where God was the center. I studied and memorized Titus 2:3-5.  I learned the Greek words in those verses and the cultural implications.  I learned the order in God’s heart for older and younger women.  I was excited because I was a younger woman.  I longed for an older woman to pour into me.  I wondered whose heart He would lay me on.  Who would take me under her wing and nurture me?

God answered that desire through books at first.  I didn’t have YouTube or Pinterest to ‘mentor me’.  I didn’t have a personal warm bodied mentor.  After I grabbed hold of my mission/ministry with all my heart, I searched every venue I could for info on homemaking.  Christian homemaking to be specific.  This was the beginning of a beautiful journey that I’m still just as excited about today.  I even found a Bible Study on homemaking.  I devoured it.  I allowed God to pour into me through these ‘mentors’.  These ‘mentors’ discipled me well.  I am forever grateful and they don’t even know my name.  Women like Edith Schaeffer, Emily Barnes, and Sandra Felton to name a few.  I learned how to love and respect my husband, order my priorities daily, how to save money and reallocate the savings for other things, how to train my children up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD, how to develop homemaking skills, how to build community with other homemakers and how to develop some spiritual disciplines for my walk with God.  I learned how to serve.  It’s one of my greatest achievements.

With these ‘mentors’ pouring into me, I was well on my way.  Well on my way to what God called me to do…

+First Look

Read Titus 2:3-5

+Through The Looking Glass

How might God be speaking to you in these verses?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Please share in the comments below.