Let us Not Be Weary

The Homemaker has one of the greatest jobs in the world. She is the keeper of the home and of the family. She creates beauty with her skills . . with her hands. . and with her heart.

In the early morning, she can be found in prayer and Bible study. Then she starts her daily tasks:

She does the mending, ironing and washing. She prepares the meals. She tends to the children. She helps her husband in his work. She is diligent, but takes many breaks for refreshment.

Obstacles come that seem insurmountable. Perhaps these are designed to force her to stop and remind her to rely on God, rather than on her own strength.

After a time of rest, she can continue on, creating beauty and joy for those around her.

In the evening hour, she settles her house down and soothes and quiets their weary souls. She comforts them with her kind compassion and she makes home the happiest place on earth.

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Working when you don't want to - Housekeeping Despite Lack of Motivation.

A Lovely time of Serving the Family - Spending the Day in the Kitchen.

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Help For Homeschooling:

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life: Encouragement for Christian Homeschooling by Mrs. White

Paperback, 112 pages

As you read this book, I hope you get a sense that, no matter what is going on in the world, every home can be a homeschool. 

Creating Peace at Home

Things have been so stressful here lately.  I need to take a day off from my worries!

So tomorrow will be a better day.

I will have hot tea in the morning. I will sit by the window and read before the family wakes up. Then I will sweep the kitchen floor and start some laundry.

I will spend some time outside on the front porch.  I will watch the children play.

Then I will hang some towels on the back clothesline.  I will enjoy summer breezes and the warmth of fresh air.

I will play board games with the children in the afternoon. We will stay at home and pass the time with pleasant tasks.

Soon the storm clouds will go away. Soon my worries will fade. And before some new ones appear, I will have had a long enough break, so I am stronger for next time.

Blessings
Mrs. White

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 Help for hard times at home - 

House Keeping in Hard Times: Essays and Encouragement from a Christian Housewife

 Paperback, 180 pages

 As you read the entries, you will get a sense of what it is like as a Christian housewife through the ups and downs of life.  Topics include motherhood, marriage, taking care of children, cleaning, living on a low income, saving money, and building up the family with faith as the foundation.

Inspiration for Home Life

Morning sunlight through the trees at our home. 

I was reading the autobiography of Patricia St. John. A portion of the book is a tribute to her father. She described the beauty of a Christian Home. Some of what she said about her father:

"He never spoke a discourteous word about anybody and we never heard an impatient or unloving word between him and our mother."

"He encouraged us to enjoy ourselves and he loved to give us treats; but we knew he denied himself and kept his body under strict discipline; and the positive, radiant holiness that went on its own way, seldom criticizing or scolding, was extraordinarily constructive and controlling."

"So we grew up and he watched and waited never trying to force upon us the spiritual riches he had stored up for us until we were ready."

"He emphasized the importance of example, quoting John Bunyan's words, 'I was very careful to give my children no occasion to blame, lest they should not be willing to go on pilgrimage.' "

Patricia was a dedicated missionary, who wrote several books. I delight in reading about her adventures, her wisdom and the miracles she witnessed throughout her life. I am inspired by her victories, despite times of misery all around her. Surely her parents were a tremendous influence who helped her, by their living testimonies, become who she was.

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Old Time Manners - Waiting for the Door to Be Opened.  

I will do this - No Matter What it Cost Me.

What was for supper? - A Place they Want to Come Home To.

To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:

Mrs. White's old fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.

"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"

152 pages, paperback

Happy in the Kitchen

No matter what is going on here at home, no matter what trial I am facing, I can always find happiness in the kitchen.

There is something about putting on an apron and polishing counters. There is something special about listening to classical music or old time gospel while working.

Peace can be found in the kitchen.

I love to make tea and start a batch of brownies, cake or cookies.

I enjoy seeing the family, wondering what's cooking in the kitchen?

But most of all, I love the quiet time of prayer, looking out the window and just smiling while glancing at a neatly polished stove.

Then I am ready to face the world again.

Blessings
Mrs. White

To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:

Mrs. White's old fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.

"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"

152 pages, paperback

Mother as the Coach

Brink Family at home, 1942, Minneapolis. (LOC)

Ray Charles went blind when he was 5 years old. His mother was a devout Christian. They lived in a poor community, and she had to train him for life. Did she know she was going to die when he was 15? Probably not. But she knew she had to help him to live in a difficult world.

I remember watching his life story on television. I remember seeing this small, precious boy calling for his mother. He had recently gone blind. He needed help. I remember seeing that wise woman standing off in a corner watching him. She just watched. That boy called and called and it broke her heart. She wouldn't answer because she was teaching him.  Thinking he was alone,  he started to listen to the sounds around him. He started to reach out and see where he was walking. He started to actually live blind.  His mother had tears on her cheeks.  He was learning.

                                     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

A Coach is someone who trains the team. He trains the players to succeed and to win. A Mother is a coach in her own home. She teaches her children how to get along, how to form a family team, and how to survive out in the real world.

1. Sibling Rivalry.

The coach wants the team to be a family. They need to have each other's backs. There has to be compassion and caring and kindness. No one is closer than a brother.  No one will sacrifice more for a brother. A brother will work despite pain, for the benefit of a suffering teammate. Yes, all children argue. Yes, they have their moments of feeling left out or that someone else is the favorite; but when trials come, when the games (in life) are being played, and the storms are brewing, the team pulls together and forms a bond which is not easily broken.  As for my own children, they have given up hard earned cash to help each other. They have willingly worked to pay for a designer coat, or a snack or a special birthday gift to cheer the other.  When times are hard, each one will give anything to take care of the other.   They are the teammates in the White House who were coached by Mother.

2. Work Ethic.

I required all my children to work hard. Each one had a job. I encouraged them to move fast and get the job done. When all the children were young, this was easier because they would compete with one another. They would see who could run faster, who could lift more grocery bags and who could have the cleanest room. (They did this on their own, to make the work fun.) But my youngest had it harder. I had to train him without the benefit of co-laborers. I would have him open doors for me (learn to be a gentleman), even while he was holding grocery bags. I would have him bring all the heavy shopping bags into the house - alone.  He did not understand this, but my praises and my kindness made him realize I was teaching him how to work.  All my children have a tremendous work ethic.

3. On the Field.

I have taught my children morals and values. I have advised them through some difficult times. But they don't always listen to me. Children will not always listen to their coach. But, know this, when they get out on the field, and they try it their own way - the players and the crowds (the world) will teach them. Your student may come back harmed, limping and sore. But he will understand your lessons.


4. Resenting the Coach.

Often the coach must be stern. The coach must carefully push the players to a point where their accomplishments exceed their own dreams. We Mothers don't want our children lazing around the house, being pampered by us. We don't want them to slack or get away with living an unproductive life. So we provide training opportunities. We provide work and see that it is carried out. In the beginning, the team will grumble and gripe, but as they rise and succeed, they appreciate and love their coach. They see that it was not all in vain. Many have come back to say, "Coach, thank you for making me work. Thank you for putting up with me and standing beside me all these years and never giving up on me."


The retired years of a Mother coach are the most precious of all. She sees the fruit of her labors. She sees those children coming back from the battlefield (life) with war stories and victories! She sees them as productive citizens who have learned life lessons. Her hair is white from age. Her vision is fading. But her team loves and respects her with great admiration.


Blessings,
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Living History - Homemaking Links the Generations.

Serious Advice - How a Godly Mother may Guide an Imperfect Family.

An ongoing challenge - Living on Mister's Income.

  - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

 

Mrs. White's special book for homemakers:

 

"Introduction to Home Economics:  Gentle Instruction to Find Joy in Christian Homemaking." 

 

Paperback, 200 pages.

Homemaking Links the Generations

Mother with her child, at home in North Carolina, 1939. (LOC)

As I work around the house today, I am thinking of my childhood. We had an old radio in the living room. It was a large piece of furniture and had a "72" record player inside. My Father also had an 8 - track player we kept on a bookcase near the lamp.

I remember the sweet sounds of old time music. It made me think of hard working families who loved home and cared about the basics of daily life, rather than materialism.

Today, I am cleaning and listening to Pandora Radio on a gospel music station. I hear the old songs, including Patsy Cline's "Life's Railway to Heaven." I am wearing a house dress and enjoying straightening chairs, sweeping floors and polishing counters.

While I work, I think of my parents and I think about my grandparents. I think about our history and our way of life. I think about the example of hard work, throughout the generations, as a shining example of old fashioned families.

There is so much history in homemaking.  As we go through each day, ironing, folding laundry, baking, washing windows and sweeping floors, we become a living museum of the old days - the days when home was everything. May we continue to be a witness, of a precious era, to a dying world.

blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

Yearning for The Romance of Home.

Homemaking - A Break that is Deserved.

Peaceful living From the Old Days - Sunday Driver. 

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:

Mrs. White's old-fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.

"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"

152 pages, paperback

Settling in to a Simpler life at Home

I have been working on making life simpler for my family. I want less pressure. I want less stress. The only way I can do this is if I have very few obligations.

I need time for unhurried family life.

I need to have all the time in the world to hear stories and ideas from my growing children.

I need to be found in the same old places by my children - the kitchen or parlour. I want them to have that security of knowing where to find me.

I need to be able to cook and bake and serve my family without fear of deadlines.

I want peace and happiness that comes from a surrendered Christian witness.

The greatest thing I can do, is to simply be a wife and mother here at home.



Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

The Preciousness of the Home Arts - Memories of Ironing and Other Chores.

Keeping at it - Homemaking Survival.

The Joy of The Old Sunday Dinner.

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Encouragement for Hard Times - A Quote

A snow-storm at our home in Vermont.

"I have held many things

and have lost them all.

But that which I have

placed in God's hands

I still retain."

- Martin Luther

- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Some of my favorite hymns - with beautiful photographs of Vermont scenery. 

"Hymns for Revival: Devotional with 28 Old Time Hymns"  by Mrs. White

 

126 pages, paperback