September 26, 2008
Why I Stopped Blogging
Posted in Dominion Living
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I wrote the following comment back in August of 2007 to explain to a commenter why I had stopped blogging. ------------------------------------- I think I'm done blogging, but we'll see. I'm overdue with our 5th child and in the past 6 months my husband has launched 2 new divisions of his company. I've no time for blogging. The questions I received in response to my posts required volumes to answer. A premillenialist is never going to understand why we should strive for dominion and wealth and the "best" in everything. To answer the question I would first have to lay out the case for postmillenialism. |
January 15, 2007
Part II: Proverbs 31 and Handmade -- Necessities
Posted in Proverbs 31 Entrepreneurialism
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This second installment in the Proverbs 31 series has proven more difficult than I anticipated.
If you missed the first one, you can read it here.
In the first post I addressed what I would call "homemade hobbies". At the end of the post, I said, "But there is another category of homemade items that I do believe to be necessities. The question is whether or not making these types of items by hand is 1) better and 2) necessary. I'll discuss this in Part II."
What are necessities? For this argument, let's keep it simple -- how about food & clothing? Is it better to sew our own clothes, grow our own vegetables and bake our own bread, (for just three examples)? And is it necessary?
What do I mean by better? Is it better to make things homemade or are the items themselves better? I would like to address both issues. First, I don't think there is anything inherently "better" in making things homemade. In my last post I quoted a speaker from a very popular reformed CD on homemaking who encouraged women to "work on one or two skills at a time... like say you don't make your bread, let's say you buy a lot of prepared foods... start with a couple of things and learn those, you're not going to be like us right now..." From this comment and others, it seemed clear to me that she was encouraging all women to slowly work toward 100% homemade. I think this is a gross misinterpretation of the Proverbs 31 woman. The general principle of the passage is that she provided for the well being of her household. In fact, I would argue that you could go further to say that she provided HIGH QUALITY items for the well being of her household. Whether store bought or homemade her goal was to provide "only the best" for her family. She traveled great distances (like merchant ships) to purchase such items. It even says that "she bringeth her bread from afar!"
If we want "only the best" for our families, is it necessary that we make these items at home or can equal or superior products be purchased in the marketplace? With the industrial revolution and all the advances in technology, I would argue that, IN GENERAL, you can purchase clothing and food of equal, if not superior quality for pretty low price compared to the hours spent making them yourself. Even modest clothing and organic food can be purchased affordably. I've found that oftentimes the raw materials can be more expensive than the finished product. But of course there are EXCEPTIONS! Your husband may just love your bread or home grown tomatoes and no store bought compares. Or you may not be able to find that perfect dress, costume, or modest bathing suit. There is also something special and gratifying about making something with your own hands. And in certain cases it can save you a great deal of money. So I'm addressing the general principle, not the exceptions.
But even if your homemade items are slightly better than storebought, is it really worth the time invested to make such items. I've baked my own bread, nurtured my own garden and sewn my own clothes. These are no small investments of time.
Some might argue that their financial situation necessitates this investment of time. I can definitely understand that situation. But what if you could get yourself out of your financial situation by spending those same hours following the Proverbs 31 woman in her entrepreneurial ventures. I would argue that in the same amount of time spent gardening, baking and sewing, you could multiply the money you saved. I'm going talk more about this in Part III.
To sum up Parts I and II, I would say that I think the Proverbs 31 woman has been sadly misinterpreted. She was not the spokesperson for "homemade". Rather I would say she was the spokesperson and rolemodel for wisdom and excellence. And whether made at home or purchased in the marketplace, she provided high quality items for her family, like scarlet, fine linens and carpets of tapestry.
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January 12, 2007
Clarification on False Assumptions
Posted in Dominion Living
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Many of you have made false assumptions about me. And many of your comments have been hurtful and completely unsubstantiated. I would like to set the record straight.
Just because I advocate following the Proverbs 31 model does not mean:
1) That you won't have "one of those days". In fact I said as much in my original post (paragraph 5).
2) That I "rip my pastor over dinner".
3) That I work when I should be sitting at the Savior's feet (or my husband's or my children's for that matter).
4) That I don't enjoy my children.
5) That I rely on my own strength rather than Christ's.
6) That I'm proud and self-righteous. Just because I feel strongly about it doesn't mean I'm proud and self-righteous. How would you like to be called proud and self-righteous for the beliefs you hold dear?
7) That I'm ruining my health. I'm exhausted because I'm pregnant, not because I work hard. I would be exhausted sitting in a chair all day too.
8) That I have a "cold hard take on life".
9) That I'm a "fun hater".
10) That I treat my children as "slaves".
11) That I lack "love and grace".
12) That my husband and I don't have "great sex".
13) That my husband and I have a "sterile view of life".
14) That my husband has a need for "power trips". (Is obedience really only for dogs? If you truly believe that, I would hate to see your children.)
15) That my children have to be "helpful to their mother every single moment".
16) That I think that those with debilitating diseases should be able to do as much as those without. I made this point in my original post. In fact I specifically used the word "healthy" to prevent this type of accusation (paragraph 7).
17) That I thought Crystal was a "slacker". Paragraph 3 clearly stated that I wasn't addressing Crystal at all. I even mentioned that those with severe nausea (Crystal) and debilitating diseases might have a different standard and offered what I thought might be helpful suggestions (paragraph 9).
If y'all had read my original post more carefully, instead of jumping to conclusions, a lot of this could have been avoided. I chose my words carefully.
A few last comments:
My comment about Deuteronomy 6 WAS in context, Mrs. T. You just missed it. The point of the passage is that we teach our children God's command in the "milieu," which means in the context of living. While we're sitting, standing, walking, lying down, rising up and even while we're cleaning. I teach God's commands to my children all day long in the context of daily living, which includes cleaning. The use of the terms "asset" and "liability" are figures of speech. It is an analogy we use to describe a certain aspect of childrearing. It does not mean that we have reduced our precious blessings to numbers on an accounting ledger. How ridiculous.
I would be careful to judge a position by it's response. Just because people get all riled up and sling dirt, it doesn't make the position false. The liberals do that all the time. Regarding the unsaved reading my blog, I would hope they would find my words and deeds to be beyond reproach.
"In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity of doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us." Titus 2:7-9 I hope this helps clarify my position a bit more. Tina |
January 12, 2007
A Day In Our Life
Posted in Dominion Living
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I'm still going to write a general "getting to know us" post. But I thought I would start with "a day in the life of" post.
A friend pointed out last night that I might be accused of being proud and self-righteous again. This kept me from posting this until this morning. But it doesn't really matter what I'm accused of. God is my witness and my conscience is clear. I wrote this to show that we don't run a fun-hating, health-abusing, slave house! So here it is.
This is not a typical day, but then again what is? Everyone does not normally sleep in this late, but the family was up to about 1 am last night, so we all needed our sleep.
I find that the days get less busy as the week goes on. Mondays are so busy that I have stopped even trying to school on Mondays. So I school Tuesday through Friday year-round. Usually the projects build up over the weekend and I chip away at them through the week and by Thursday and Friday, things are a lot slower and more relaxed.
I would have liked to have taken some pictures throughout the day (especially of the 10 mo after his bath), but my husband has the camera in his truck. I do have one cute one of the three youngest that I'll post.
 So here's yesterday:
8 am - 10 am
10 am - Noon
12:00 - 2:30 pm (2 pm baby wakes up and plays with toddler until school is done)
2:30 pm
3:00 - 5:30 pm
5:30 pm
7:00 pm
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January 10, 2007
Mutually Exclusive? -- Hard Work & A Godly Attitude
Posted in Dominion Living
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There is a common theme that I have seen running through this whole debate. The opponents keep presenting a false dilemma. The thinking goes like this, "I'd rather be cheerful in my PJs with my house a mess when my husband gets home than all dressed up in a clean house with a snappy and grumpy attitude." Are those really the only two choices? Why can't we be dressed up in a clean house with a nice meal on the table with a gentle and sweet attitude when our husbands arrive home? Why isn't that one of the options? That's the picture of the Proverbs 31 woman. The "law of kindness was on her tongue" and she "smiled at the future". But she also "girded her arms with strength" and "her lamp did not go out at night". Why can't we work hard with cheerfulness? That's what I aim for every day of my life. I almost got the feeling from these comments that work made these women grumpy. Perhaps this is the problem? Does hard work and self-discipline turn you into a grumpy, snappy person? It shouldn't! A friend told me yesterday that when Nancy Wilson was asked how she "does it all," she replied by saying, "I work really hard ALL DAY LONG!" And knowing her, I'm sure she did it with the utmost dignity and kindness. It's possible ladies. It just requires repentance from sinful patterns, prayer, hard work, self-discipline and a Godly attitude. For those who want to aim for God's standard, I recommend reading Proverbs 31 every day. It's convicting and inspiring every single time I read it. |