Reasons to Stay Home

Home at Last

by James Lee

It seems appropriate to be reminded of the reasons to be home full time. 

To take care of the family. Women at home have an important role. They not only physically care for the husband and children, but they provide good counsel and stability. If a woman is at home, she has only her own, and her family's cares to consider. She is free to concentrate and really look after the needs of her husband and children. She can help cut down on stress and worry in their lives, because just by being home, she provides stability. Free from the stresses of life outside the home, she can have peace of mind and transfer that to her own family.

Gardian of Light

by James Lee

To keep house.  We need to be aware that many people believe that housework can be done on the weekends quite efficiently, and therefore, they think it is not necessary for women to stay home every day. When people are preparing meals at home daily, using clean clothes every day ,using the living room, bedrooms and bathrooms daily, there will be daily housework.  To wait until the weekend to do the laundry or clean the kitchen or shop for groceries, is to put a greater burden on the family and the homemaker during the weekends, when the time might be used for hospitality or family outings.

 A homemaker can learn to create daily order in the home, rather than wait til the weekend. That way, she is free to enjoy some leisure with her family on weekends, and attend church on the Lord's Day.

Keeping house is more than hurriedly wiping up a mess or picking up trash. It requires putting a feeling or an atmosphere into it. If you know someone who really loves her home and respects her house, you will notice the effect it has on you. She has paid attention to where things are placed and how things look. She understands the value of comfort and knows how to use things to delight the senses: sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste. All this, combined with her spiritual values, can determine how it feels to be home.

Country Quiet

by James Lee

To have good health. Being home aids greatly in good health, because it is a place where a woman can rest when she needs to, without anyone regulating her. She
 also has a kitchen where she can prepare fresh foods, and cook from natural ingredients, without additives.  It is a place where the bad news of the world need not dominate or disturb the mind, and where social pressures can be diminished. It is here she can go out and get fresh air when she wants to take a walk. She can manage the interior of her home in such a way as to make it a place for good health.

Day's End Retreat

by James Lee

To be an example to younger women. Some people claim that women do not contribute anything to the world if they stay home, but over time, they do, just by training their children to be polite and have good manners at home. One day, those children will be husbands or wives, and the mates will be grateful that they landed such a good "catch"--someone who was raised to be respectful, and understands the importance of marriage and family.  Never think that a homemaker is not making an impact on the world, or the community where she lives, for the children she raises will one day be a part of that community in some way.  If she has no children, she makes a big impact on the lives of others by her hospitality, her benevolence, and her example.

Younger women need to know about homemaking as a way of life. A homemaker sets that example, and shows that even if the house keeping is not always perfect, she is at least there and knows what is going on at home. She is aware of the things that need to be done, and she is guiding her children's character. If she has no children, her time at home is still a good example, in the way she manages her time and conducts herself.

Autumn Dusk

by James Lee

To prove the word of God, which teaches women to be busy at home, and to mind their own business, taking care of their own families.  When someone claims to follow Christ but does not obey his word, found in the Bible, they bring shame and reproach upon the church, and discredit the word of God.  Over time, a homemaker will reap good results for her labor, and God will requite her in many ways for the sacrifices that she makes.

To improve the intellect and inspire the creative side. Because they make their own time and their own choices, they can decide what to read and what to study, and what new skill they want to develop. If you will look at my blog roll, and the blog rolls of other homemakers, you will see the amazing creative talent of homemakers all over the world. Staying home enables a woman to take her time and enjoy doing things, because she is in no particular hurry and is not pressured by too many demands from other people outside of her home.

I believe it is important for women at home to be creative, because it helps to relax and renew the mind. When she has created something, whether it be knitting or art or sewing or cooking, she has results that show and can be useful to someone.

Some homemakers are quite keen on government issues and politics that affect the family and the home, and are able to take part in the legislative process by communicating their approval or disapproval of certain things going on in the country. They are able to keep their husbands informed about things they might not have time for. They are truly the guardians of the home.

Heaven's Light

by James Lee

To be free.  A woman at home can create her own schedule and do things in her own timing. She is free to have company. She is free to clean her house during the day. She is free to improve life at home. She is free to read, to write, and to go shopping at a time other than the rush-hour. 

She is free to pursue a creative interest. When I lived in Australia in the 1960's, many women there knitted, using Pure New Wool made in Australia. Most of them said that their families never had to have a store bought cardigan or sweater, during the entire time they lived at home.  Those were the days when more of them stayed home. They would clean up their houses and then take some time to sit and knit. It relaxed them and was a pleasure and a hobby, but it resulted in something good for someone else.  The example of these industrious knitters inspired others to want to knit, and so their influence reached far.

This is what it means to be at home and to be free: to be able to focus completely on the atmosphere of your home, without outside interference, and to provide things for your family in a personal way. Home cooked food from natural, basic ingredients tastes and digests much better than pre-packaged or instant food.  Home made clothing feels different, and a personally kept house creates good feelings and good memories, as well as good temperaments.  When a woman is home, she can do things like this, and these are the things that make a house a real home. 

To enable her husband to work. One of the advantages of being home, is that you can provide your husband with the things he needs in order to make it easier for him to work: clean clothes, fresh towels in the bathroom, nutritious food, and a peaceful, stress-free atmosphere in the home can go a long way to making a man motivated to be a good provider. He will feel his efforts are worthwhile, when he sees his wife managing so well.

  I know several unmarried men who say that people do not understand why they have as much free time as they imagine they might have. Since they have no one to take care of the laundry, cook, wash dishes, go grocery shopping, and change the bedding, these men have to do it themselves. When a man has a wife, he works to earn the living and she takes care of the house. When he has time off, they can spend it in other things they would like to do together. A homemaker helps her husband by doing these things. He is able to meet his work obligations on time, and even work more efficiently, without confusion, because he has not had to prepare breakfast, find a clean shirt, sew on a missing button or pack a lunch. While he is at work, his help-meet checks the mail, pays the electric bill, shops for bargains, mends his clothes, and prepares dinner.  She may even keep up the family correspondence by sending letters and cards to his relatives.

To create stability.  When a woman stays home and makes a real home life for her family, their lives remain stable through all kinds of problems. No matter what happens, her life will be the same. She will still have to buy groceries, prepare meals, keep the house, and make a loving haven for her family. This kind of life creates stability in the home, even when there are job changes for the husband or uncertainty and other issues. Knowing that at least the homemaker still values the same things and cares for her home, gives a sense of stability to the family.

To create valuable memories.  Often when adults are asked to relate the first family memory
that comes into their minds, they do not immediately remember how rich or poor the family was, but they remember the customs and events that gave them happiness and stability.
 It used to be a custom for the family to eat dinner together at a table, and then go to the living area for a little while before bedtime and visit. This, and other habits will become important memories that will form the history of your family.

Road to Lighthouse

by T.C. Chiu (from allposters)

.
To be good stewards of family property and belongings.  There are some people who think that it is possible to have a nice house and garden but do not believe it takes any time to maintain it, and therefore, there is no reason for a woman to stay home.  To really be a good caretaker of a house and garden,  it is necessary for a woman to be home, to protect the family investment. She will keep it clean, and make sure that things are orderly and do not deteriorate, and that the value of the house and garden increases, due to her watchful care.


To have peace of mind. Even if things are not done perfectly and you do not think you have the best skills in cooking or housekeeping, staying home should give you peace of mind, knowing that you did what you could and that you put the care of the family first in your life.

For more reading on the subject of staying home, please go to Andrea's article, "All You Need to Know About Staying Home With Children."  In it, she answers all the common myths about homemaking. Great for young women just questioning the idea of being full time homemakers.

Note: I am figuring out how to make a link-up for this subject (later on today), so if you have posted anything on your blog about reasons for women to be home, or if you would like to write a new post on the subject, you can link up to this one when I get the process going.

To print this post, go here.