My Fall Retreat

Around the last week of September, Dave and I decided that I would head north to Nashville and spend a month with my sister. She had been having a lot of early labor pains and we all thought I might be able to help when and before the new baby arrived. Well I have been here three weeks, and no baby yet! I have had a great time with my sister, her husband and their baby Arabella, now 16 months old. I am glad to say, I was also present when Arabella was born. There is nothing comparable to attending the birth of a sweet baby. Sweet and gross...;)

While visiting with my sister, I have had a great deal of time to think about life in general. We have talked about things we enjoy, crafts, our immediate families, and of course our childhood. Now that my sister and I have families of our own, we have been talking/thinking a lot about what we want for our children and our families as a whole. We are both raising our children in Christian homes, where both parents represent and support the principles and doctrines found in the Bible. Something we took from our raising, as our parents learned us in the faith we currently embrace. Our faith is something that can not be replaced by anything else, we know our children will come to the same conclusion.

As children, our mother always worked in the home. Through my sixth and seventh grade years, my mother did work in my classroom as an aid. Those years were very chaotic for everyone in our home. When my mom quit and started home school my sister and I again, peace enveloped our home once more. Life was never perfect, but it was always clean, organized and full of opportunity. My sister and I know for a fact, that we are to be "keepers in our home" as Titus 5:4-5 points out in more detail. Really, the Bible gives a clear job description for the wife/mother of the home. When I was married previously, and now in my current marriage, I have found that every time I attempt to leave the home for work, there is a stress and disorganization that Dave, the kids, even the dogs and I can not handle. Chores were taking longer to get done, I was unable to spend time with anyone, I was stressed and tired, emotionally unavailable to my husband and step kids. I could barely find time to buy groceries and I struggled to keep up with responsibilities at church. Once we moved to Texas, we again wondered if I should start working. I went to an interview at a job I would walk to each day. The pay wasn't great, no benefits, and I'd have to drag the kids along from time to time. Though the extra money wasn't much, it was tempting. In the end, God made the decision for us and revealed His plan for our future just in time. Amazing how He works. One might say "Miraculous" :)

Now that I am home on a regular basis, I have been able to fulfill my job description according to the Bible, as well as earn some time off to come share my talents with my sister. Earlier in the week, my sister and I started talking about the crafts and projects we have each been working on. We decided it would be fun to start a blog, displaying some of the ideas we have gathered from others, created ourselves and things we have tried and succeeded or failed at. Our blog is www.homesweethousewives.blogspot.com I am really excited about it, as I love to do all the writing, and I have gathered some great ideas over the past few days. I am so excited to get into quilting again! With the holidays coming up, there are sure to be some fun things on the horizon. My husband is also very excited to spend this holiday baking and cooking with me. Those who know my husband, yes I am still trying to take over the role of "chef" in our house.

Thanks for reading, and stay at home moms/wives, you will be blessed for fulfilling your role according to the Bible!

God Bless!  

Elizabeth Rose