Your Ministry of Home
Homemaker, did you know you have a ministry? It’s your ministry of home. Not only should our ministry begin in the home whether you’re a husband or wife, mother or father, but as homemakers, our ministry IS the home.
Let’s first look at the proverbs 31 woman and see what she exemplified in her ministry of home. It says…
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
The Proverbs 31 Woman is…
- an excellent wife who’s husband can trust her.
- someone who works diligently and willingly and does the work of provisioning for her home.
- wakes early so she can feeds her family.
- keeps herself strong on the inside and out.
- is generous to the needy and keeps good watch over her home. She is prepared for the future.
- sells the things she makes.
- wise and kind and not lazy.
- fears the Lord.
This in and of itself is a great calling as a wife and mother! We can minister to our husbands and children by our good conduct. We can serve our homes well by working diligently and by loving and training our children. What a high calling!
We will do a deeper dives into the proverbs 31 woman later in this video, but first, I want to tell a story about how important serving our homes are as homemakers.
Our Home-Based Ministry Comes First
There was a time when I was asked to serve in my church in a way that was super exciting, yet would have been very time consuming. When I consulted my mentor she told me to remember that my first ministry is my home and if that’s not completely in order then my focus should be there before any outside ministry.
When she reminded me of this, it forced me to evaluate if I had my ministry of home fully in order and if I could honestly say that I was ready to take on ministry outside the home.
1 Timothy 3:5 says, “For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?”
By no means is this meant to discourage you from volunteering in your church – if your home is in order! If you have more to give after you’ve tended to your home and family then by all means please serve the church. What a blessing that is.
But if you are a homemaker who feels tapped out just by serving your home and family – please do not feel like that isn’t enough. It’s exactly what the Lord called you to.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Do you understand the gravity of these verses? We, as homemakers, are discipling our children who will go on to disciple their children and so on. We are building multi-generational disciples for Christ. I’ll say it again, what a high calling!
Don’t Waste Your Life
I was reading John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life and in it he tells this story of this retired couple who in his mind were wasting their life because what they were doing had nothing to do with serving the Lord. He had me howling as I read his take on their life in retirement.
He says:
“I tell you what a tragedy is. I’ll read to you from Reader’s Digest what a tragedy is. “Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Fla., where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.
That’s a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. And I get forty minutes to plead with you: don’t buy it. With all my heart I plead with you: don’t buy that dream. The American Dream: a nice house, a nice car, a nice job, a nice family, a nice retirement, collecting shells as the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account of what you did: “Here it is Lord — my shell collection!”
The moral of the story was to be sure that you’re not living for yourself but that you are serving the Lord in the ways in which he has called you to serve. As homemakers, it is very clear what our calling is.
Titus 2 3-5 tells us plainly that “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
What Does Your Ministry of Home Look Like?
So what can our ministry of home look like, exactly?
Setting an example of the Christian way
Something I think of is to set a good example for those in our home of how a Christian behaves. I think of Titus 2 when it says women are to be reverent and good, self controlled and pure. Kind and submissive to our husbands. Emulating these traits set a great example for our loved ones.
Disciple your children
Another way to minister in your home is to teach your children about Jesus – regardless of whether you homeschool or not. Don’t leave this up to the schooling system – even if your children are in private school. You are to be the expert and you want to be the one your children come to when they have questions – so it’s your job to keep these lines of communication open.
Remember Deuteronomy 6:7 which says “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Always be teaching your children the Christian way.
Hospitality
Hospitality is another great way to minister in your own home. As a mom to littles who often meets other moms of littles, I like to open my home to play dates with other moms. I try to be hospitable and have snacks and drinks to serve and fun toys or activities for the children.
We are so blessed with a large backyard with lots of space for the children to play and roam so also host summer play groups where I invite all the mamas I know over to let their kids play while we get to sip on cold brew coffee, eat snacks and chat.
Proverbs 31 Example
The proverbs 31 woman exemplified the ministry of home at its finest. She has a husband who trusts her because she does him good all her days. What would this look like? I find that simply taking care of my husband when it comes to feeding him, managing the home, and giving him lots of good lovin’ is what makes him feel taken care of.
Of course, speaking words of encouragement to him and his ability to provide and protect. And never speaking poorly of him are ways to help our husbands trusts in us.
She is a hard worker in the home. She buys and sells the things needed for her household and the things she makes. She is crafty and a good business woman. So what could this look like for us?
I think many women in this day in age think of the girl-boss when they read these verses. Personally, I think it’s enough to be smart with managing the money our spouses provide. Finding the best deals, and stewarding our things well. Taking care of the things in our home by keeping them well-maintained goes a long way.
Notice, too, that the proverbs 31 woman is up early and goes to bed late. I think of this as the captain of a ship who is the last one off the ship if it goes down. Although there are season of life where homemakers are going to need to get to bed earlier, we should be sure that we are working diligently to care for our home and family.
She takes care of herself. She is strong on the inside and out.
This can look like being strong spiritually by dedicating daily time in the Word and prayer. It can look like moving your body in a way that keeps you fit and healthy.
The proverbs 31 woman was generous to the needy. So she extended her ministry of home outside the walls of her own home by serving others when she was able.
For me, I love making meals for others who are going through a hard time, or in a season of postpartum. This is a great way to minister to others and exemplify Christ by sacrificially serving those in need.
I also love serving other homemakers using this blog. This is part of my ministry by sharing my own homemaking journey and what I’ve learned along the way. Aside from the simple homemaking tips, recipes, and encouragement I provide, I’ve also very vulnerably shared my own struggles and transformation in homemaking.
I went from a burnt out, angry and overwhelmed homemaker, to one who is so fulfilled in her role, and who experiences the Lord’s perfect peace most of my days. I created a free workshop which explains my 5-step framework for how the Lord lead me to this transformation.
Homemaker Homework
Your homemaker homework today is to go through each quality of the proverbs 31 woman and think of your own ways you can embody her qualities in your own home.
I hope this was edifying for you and empowering for you as a homemaker. Your ministry is your home and you have so many opportunities to serve the Lord through your homemaking.
