What is your definition of a good homekeeper? Is it someone who keeps a spotless home? Someone who has everything very organized or perhaps someone who makes everything from scratch, using little in the way of “modern conveniences”?

Homekeeping itself is a career that’s really more of a mission field serving our families and it involves not only house cleaning, but meal preparation, laundry, grocery shopping, clothing our families, and for some women it may also include financial management and homeschooling. How we go about accomplishing these tasks within our homes can vary greatly, and is where I see a wide variety of differences and opinions. Quite frankly, I’m surprised at how many women think one must do things a certain way to be considered a “good” homekeeper! Let me clarify…..

Within the Titus 2 Christian HomeKeeper administration team there is Sylvia and myself as the co-leaders of the ministry. Sylvia greatly enjoys things of yesteryear - ol timey stuff. She likes baking bread, making her own laundry soap, cooking and shares many homemaking challenges on the message board for the women on spring and fall cleaning and similar things. These are all wonderful and the women love it and it’s what makes Sylvia - well, Sylvia!! She’s good at those things and they are part of who she is and what she enjoys. She is without a doubt, a good homekeeper.

I, on the other hand, also know how to make bread, cook, make my own laundry soap, sew, do all sorts of crafty type things, etc… and can (and do!) keep my house clean enough to rival Mommy Dearest, June Clever and Martha Stewart! however, I am more of a modern convenience type girl. Give me my washing machines, dryer, dishwasher, air conditioning and just get the job done conveniences. I’m all about time saving - not the long, hard way of doing things. I buy my bread at the store, do use some pre-packaged foods and yes, Velveeta passes the lips of my family! I do not have a clothes line and I do not clip coupons. I work from home and while I have homeschooled in the past, I did not enjoy it and my children attend private school. I am also a good homekeeper.

Why post about this at all? Because if you read my previous post about being Like-Minded, you’ll see that there seems to be a general mindset of thinking of right and wrong about many things that I think are too narrow in their definition. Don’t box me in!!

More importantly, don’t box yourself in - you don’t have to move to a farm, grow your own wheat, bake your own bread, homeschool, have a dozen children, etc…… to be considered a good Christian homekeeper!! If GOD calls you to do that, and your husband is in 100% agreement, well then go for it, but if not - then you continue on where God has put you and called you and be blessed where you are! Don’t try to be like the Jones’ that you ’see’ on the internet and think that you need to be some crunchy Christian living in the wilderness eating wheat and berries to be a good homekeeper; because that’s not true.

Be true to where God calls you. Be true to the gifts and talents that God has given you. Don’t be lazy. Get up and do what you can do to work on keeping your home each day: whether that’s doing it from scratch, using a convenience tool to help you or buying it - you’re getting the job done and that’s all that matters.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men Colossians 3:23

Written by Traci Knoppe ©: Aside from her roles as wife, mother of six, mother-in-law and grandmother, Traci is a Christian parenting instructor, Sunday school teacher, and business owner.

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