Thank you for sharing these sites. :)
JoAnn

Oh My, Great article! I read the entire thing and have printed it out for my daughters to read someday before they graduate. My sentiments exactly. I am asked so often to help or lead various ministries and receive such incredulous looks when I kindly try to explain that even though I am home, I can not do whatever they are proposing.

So many of my friends attend women's conferences and invite me to go with them or ask me to speak, or say that it will be a nice "break"; and again, I just have such a hard time trying to explain why I don't "do" women's conferences without offending them. (I'd rather stay home and "be" a mother rather than "go away" to learn how to be a mother from someone who is probably away from her children "doing ministry."). Maybe I should just give out copies of this article. lol

I am living my "dream job" now, why would I want anything else. It is God ordained and gives me great peace and joy. We are in ministry and doing just as God instructs and I feel having a greater testimony in doing so than if we sought our ministry outside of the home. God knows best!

I better stop now, I feel another soapbox moment coming on. lol Thanks for drawing my attention to that article. It is such a blessing to hear someone who is likeminded. This road can be quite lonely sometimes.

Oh, and the part the article that speaks about a woman continuing her spiritual and intellectual education - I think I get a better education here at home than anywhere else. I have shelves of great books, my Bible and the Holy Spirit are the best instruction of all, great christian tapes and videos, and interaction with likeminded Christians on the computer and super websites - what more could a girl want? lol

Blessings to you and yours.

Well, I wanted to swing in and read up on some articles when I linked to your Women in Ministry thing. The only problem I have with this woman's article and her perception of what is going on in the world of "women's ministry" is that her sarcasm really takes away from the weightiness of her topic. Using sarcasm only belittles those who may be of opposing thought and her Biblical principles seem somewhat lessened coming from the lips of someone who speaks so condescending about her fellow sisters in Christ. I am thrilled that this particular lady and several like her are able to be the godly wife and mother God wants us to be without seeking encouragement from other godly women. The reality of our lives today is MUCH different from life back in Biblical times. The women then lived in large communities of other women. When the men left to go hunt or practice their trade, the women and children were all TOGETHER teaching and caring for the homes and families. They worked together and shared responsibilities. When a couple married, they often stayed with the family of the husband or wife for a full year only learning to be a married couple while the family supported them completely. I doubt that any woman in those times felt as alone as women today can feel when their husband's job takes them thousands of miles away from their nearest relative or friend. Women today do not have mentors in the form of an older relative or their own mother. This is not completely because of the industrial revolution and women in the work place. Women need other women friends to talk with and share with. Our husbands work outside of the home and talk in communication of some sort with adults all day long and often do not have the ability to listen to chatter when they get home. I have a very dear friend who is a pastor's wife and we try to talk as often as possible. We may not always agree completely with one another on issues of theology, but we love and respect each other as children of God who were created with very differing needs in our personalities. This article seemed to miss the point. To make a blanket statement like "women should not be in ministry" is just wrong. What about women who volunteer in the children's department at church? What about the ladies who bake bread for new visitors or take meals to people who are sick? Are those not valid ministries? Is she stating that anything that falls into "womens work" such as cooking, cleaning, child bearing... those are the jobs women can do in the church, but nothing else is biblical?

Perhaps I take this personally because I am a Religion Major at Liberty University. I do not particularly aspire to be a pastor, but I would love to write Bible studies or speak to women who have been through or are going through difficulties in their marriages. Would it be better for a man to give a women pre- or post- abortive counseling? What about a man writing a devotional for homeschooling moms? I think that before we judge the motives of other moms we need to look at our own motives for doing so. Honestly, this particular article sounds like it was written by a very bitter woman who perhaps is not as fulfilled as she claims to be by her role as a stay-at-home mom. Personally, I have gleaned great information from the Beth Moore study I did a year or so ago, and have relied heavily on books written by other high profile women in ministry as I started homeschooling and have felt lost in a new town away from my family and friends.
I dont know, didn't mean for this to turn into a soap-box moment... but it really offends me that women who are supposed to love and support one another towards being more Christ-like can be so catty and rude to each other - even so much as to demean their service to Christ.

wasn't trying to be anonymous!!
This is Lovemy4babies!
-Chrissy