Raising a Homemaker – Q&A {part 1}

When I originally posted about my involvement with Raising Homemakers (here), I expected (and received) a few raised eyebrows and skeptical comments.

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Then I actually wrote a post for the site.

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And, I received several sweet and encouraging comments. (Thank you!)  But, I also received several e-mails.  These were full of questions.  But, instead of critical skepticism, these seemed to be rooted in more genuine curiosity.  (I could be reading them wrong, but that is how I chose to interpret them.)

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I understand that raising my 5-year-old or, a daughter of any age for that matter, to be a homemaker may be a foreign concept to some.  I just did not realize just how widespread the confusion, or curiosity would be.

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The questions ranged from “how/why did you decided to do this?” (which, I believe I answered here), to some who wanted clarification of what that does, or will mean for day-to-day life, or what it will look like, practically, in the future.

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So, I thought it might be helpful to post some of my answers to the more popular questions here, in case you were also wondering some of the same things…but didn’t want to ask.

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In an effort not to overwhelm you, I will be posting one question and answer at a time, over the next few days.  Some of the questions, and therefore the resulting answers, were of a more personal nature, so I am not going to post all of the questions I received.  Just the ones that seemed to be the most common, or frequently asked.

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And, if you have a question that I don’t answer here… Please, feel free to ask!

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Let’s just go ahead and start with question number 1:

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Are you suggesting that homemakers/Christian women are, or should be ignorant, or uneducated?

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No. Not at all.

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I believe that there should be a connection between the pursuit of spiritual, doctrinal, and theological excellence and academic excellence.  And, I believe that Christians (of either gender) should be among the greatest thinkers, and philosophers, and apologists, and scholars of our day!

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So, lest you get the wrong idea, Yes! I want my daughter to be well-educated.

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But, that being said, I do not believe that education is a means to an end, or an end to be pursued in and of itself.

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So, her education will include instruction and training in practical domestic tasks, but not to the exclusion of other academic pursuits.

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Should the Lord will for her to marry, I want my daughter to truly be a “suitable helper” for her future husband.  I want her to be interested in and knowledgeable of a variety of subjects (theology, politics, literature, history, art, music, current events, etc.) so that she can hold up her end of, not only an interesting, but intelligent conversation.  I want her to challenge her husband intellectually, and to be competent to help him analyze, consider, and think through the tough issues of life, marriage, vocation, and ministry.

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But, these same desires hold true should the Lord call her to a life of singleness.

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Because, regardless of her future (and present) marital status, I want her life, her conversation, and yes, even her intelligence to be a testimony for Christ.