I am excited to dive into this book with you and look at the premise and the message the book, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, teaches.
It is not a coincidence that while I am reading about being a keeper of the home, I encountered some strong opinions (on both sides of “the camp“), during my blog reading. There was this video and then this response to it. I am sure that this debate will continue so I wanted to address something, for the interest of this book club.
*I (and I feel pretty confident that Betty agrees with me on this) do not want us to read this book and feel condemned, particularly if you work outside the home or don’t agree that our calling is to the home. I don’t completely agree with that premise and you will see what I believe as I talk about our reading assignment. This topic can bring out some strong emotions- I want to encourage us to discuss these issues in the Spirit and not in the flesh. I want us to pray through this book, pray through how we feel about what it says and healthy discussion is welcome in the comments and on the forum. What is not okay is attacking anyone because they believe differently than us. Let’s be grown-ups (just like the folks I linked to are) about this and agree to disagree if that becomes an issue.*
Now that all of that is off my chest here are my thoughts on our reading assignment for week one (the preface):
- The preface is full of definitions and laying the foundation for what the authors believe. Of course, the Proverbs 31 woman is mentioned. I bring up this woman that most of us have a love/hate relationship with often on my radio show and in my writing. I particularly like this statement in the book “She is known in the community and honors her husband by representing him well while in public, yet her hub of productivity and her primary focus is the place she most loves to be—her home” (preface, xx). This can be convicting, at least to me, because even though I am a SAHM (WAHM, whatever you want to call it) I can’t always say that my home is the hub of my productivity. Too often, I am distracted by the computer and that is something I really need to give to God, every day, so that my home is my primary focus!
- I want us to be cautious as we read the Scriptures that are associated with some of the authors statements. For example, the quoting of Matthew 24:45 (preface, xxiv) is taken out of context. I agree that “serving our family is serving the Kingdom” but that is not the context of this verse.
(chapter one):
- I completely agree that our current culture (particularly over the last 50 years) sends erroneous messages to women. That being a stay at home is somehow wasting your potential and all kinds of schools of thought on what the authors refer to as “me-ology”. However, I felt that the example of Carolyn and Leslie was exaggerated for emphasis of the author’s point. In addition, there was the insinuation that we shouldn’t view the roles of husband and wife as equal. I do beg to differ on this point. While I believe that I am to submit to my husband, that does not mean that we are not equal in the eyes of God. When you read Ephesians 5 in context, you see that we are all called to submit to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ (verse 21), as Paul talks about the way believers are to live.
I do agree that when we are burnt out and worn out as mothers, wives and keepers of the home, the only One who can fill our cup is Jesus. We need to walk out this life with Him as our only fuel or we will be tired, frustrated and confused.
What did you discover as you read the assignment this week? Be sure to stop by the forum for our assignment for next week and visit Betty’s blog to hear her thoughts as well.
Holy Housewives challenge for this week: Identify the areas in life that you feel tired, discouraged or defeated. Pray that God will restore you to spiritual health in those areas and together with Him, make a plan to step out of those pits.
