Being a homemaker is a hard job! Despite the spin the world puts on it, we do not lounge on the couch all day watching TV. We are not lazy burdens who do nothing while our husbands go out and work. Building a family involves both husband and wife working at their different and distinct responsibilities yet unified in purpose – that of forging a strong family unit. Our task as homemakers is to create a refuge from the world, a heaven on earth, where our family feels safe, secure and loved.
Homemaking is often described as an art. And it is.
art–noun
1. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
Our homes are of more than ordinary significance. They are of eternal significance and value!
“The most important of the Lord’s work
you and I will ever do will be
within the walls of our own homes”
(Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye in Holy Places, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p. 255)
As with any art there are many aspects and areas to think of when creating a home. Yes there is the cleaning, the laundry, the cooking, the budgeting. But there is also the decorating, the music, the spiritual teaching, the nurturing, the doctoring, and so much more.
There is much to do,
much to learn,
much to teach.
It can become overwhelming if we think of everything that needs to be done all at once.
And it can become overwhelming when we think of all the things that must be done more than once, over and over and over again. Just remember:
“There is no career more meaningful, no calling more divine, than being a person who truly makes a home in the sense of creating and maintaining an environment of human warmth, intellectual stimulation, and spiritual strength—someone who sees the wellsprings of personal meaning that lie beyond a first glance at a diaper, a frying pan, and a worn tennis shoe. Motherhood is above all a teaching task.” (Marie K. Hafen, “Celebrating Womanhood,” Ensign, Jun 1992, 50)
I have been taught by my mother. I have also been taught by countless other women in my life – aunts, cousins, friends, widows, old and young, married and single.
March is National Women’s History Month. How appropriate our series starts in March. As I think of the women ancestors who have gone before me, read their biographies, learn of their hardships and struggles as well as their joys and triumphs, I realize their story is my story. They have passed on a legacy of home making, whether they have lived in adobe houses in Mexico or brick houses in Salt Lake City, their every day tasks were very similar in nature with the main priority of taking care of their family. They cooked and cleaned, sewed and swept, dusted and darned, wept in joy and sorrow, and most importantly, fashioned the fabric of faith into the hearts of their children.
As we journey together on this venture, the art of making a home, I hope we will each come to learn on a more personal level than we know now what a truly blessed calling it is to be
- What have you learned from the women around you?
- What have your women ancestors passed down through the generations?
- What do you hope to pass on to your children and grandchildren?
As promised, here are two sidebar buttons you can use for your blogs to spread the word about the Establish A House series. The buttons link to the posts labeled with Establish a House.
***Most of this post is a reposting of an article I wrote over two years ago. Another article I recommend reading to begin this series is Why Homemaking?
I am excited for your series. If you are in need of contributors, I’d be more than happy to help out with that.
I love homemaking. I’ve learned that it is about finding joy in it. One wise person told me that the word chores and cleaning bring on a negative feeling but when she says she is going to love her house today (meaning cleaning), it brings on a whole different feeling.
I know women who do not find the joy in it. They are unhappy and unfulfilled. It is all about your outlook and your choice of where you find fulfillment.
“It is all about your outlook and your choice of where you find fulfillment.”
I like that –that it is a choice. Our attitude is always a choice isn’t it, and we can choose to change how we look at things.
I generally see my housework as an obstacle. Something that is keeping me from what I really want. I admit, I usually have it in my head that I would much rather be having adventures with my kids than cleaning and doing laundry and that the only solution to my problem would be to hire a maid (ha ha, like that’s ever going to happen). I love cooking, and our meals would most likely be healthier and more timely if I didn’t have the dread of all those dishes looming over me (or the pile that is already there from the last few days –that really inhibits any culinary inspiration).
The truth is, those things are never going to change. There will always be laundry, and dishes, etc., and honestly if I would just change my attitude (and my avoidance reaction/bad habits) and view things in a different, more positive light, my life would be a lot easier and I would have more time to go on adventures!
I am looking forward to this series as well. I think it will help.
Now it’s time to go love my house. 🙂
I look forward to this new series. I especially like the quotes used in this post reminding us that motherhood/womanhood are divine callings from our Heavenly Father with a grand purpose.
I don’t comment often, but I want you to know I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. It inspires and uplifts me. You help me to not feel alone in the world as I magnify my roles as a wife and mother.
Thank you.
Looking forward to this series, Cocoa! You are indeed a Joyful Homemaker!
I personally find so much joy in homemaking I can say people say its the hardest job but for me I don’t ever view like a job at all. I hope to pass down to my children and grandchild the value and joy of being a home educating mother, wife and Daughter of Heavenly Father.
“Repeatedly God has described His course as reiterative, “one eternal round”…. We mortals sometimes experience boredom in the routine repetition of our mortal tasks, including even good works; and thus vulnerable, we are urged not to grow weary in well doing. But given God’s divine love, there is no boredom on His part amid His repetitive work, for his course, though one eternal round, involves continuous redemption for His children; it is full of goodness and mercy as His long-suffering shows His love in action.” (Neal A. Maxwell, Not My Will, But Thine, p.53-54).
I love that quote and I really think there is so much joy even in the mundane tasks. I do like cleaning and I can be fanatical about it, but cooking and laundry are my lazy points. Last night after I made dinner I was doing the dishes and I felt this enormous satisfaction that I had fed my family a good meal. I love Elder L. Tom Perry’s last conference talk where he read a letter he wrote to his mom while he was in Saipan. He mentioned that he always had a clean shirt in his drawer because of her. Lately I remember that every time I fold the clothes.
My great grandma born in 1876 would wake up every morning and put her hair in a tight bun and put on her shoes and tie her laces tight. Then she would say -Now that I am tied together at both ends I can face the day.
I am also looking forward to this series. So uplifting in our not so uplifting world. Thank you!
I think I want to pass on to my children enthusiasm for living the gospel. I want them to love the scriptures, recognize that no matter what is happening to us or around us we can have joy, and that there is safety in following the prophet (and General Conference weekends are when the world should stop so we can learn at the feet of the prophet and apostles). 🙂
I have learned from my mother that life throws unexpected challenges at us and the ONLY sure way through is by following the Savior and clinging to the gospel.
Looking forward to this series too Cocoa!
Thank you for your ideas for making Easter special. We look forward to having a passover feast on Thursday evening to help us learn about the culture and prepare for Easter Sunday.