Word of the Day
Bedraggled (adj., buh-DRAG-gull'd)
*yaaaawn* Sorry about that—and please excuse the appearance. We weren't able to come up with a reasonably tidy definition today. It's a bit of a mess.
Gif of the Day
Link of the Day
The counter-cultural vocation of homemaking - Tim Challies
Tim Challies, blogger extraordinare, is married to Aileen, a woman with a lot of spunk, toughness, intelligence, and character. Some of these details came out in his review he did of a book entitled, "Fierce Women." Some of them came out this past week in his loving, thoughtful post about his wife's decision to stay in the home:
I am not passing judgment on those families. Not in the least. I am merely making the observation that my wife chose a rare and counter-cultural vocation. She chose a vocation that was once very respectful but is now viewed with some shame. I would love for her to explain why she chose this vocation even with other options available to her, what opportunities it has given her, whether she would do it like this if she had to do it all again. I would like her to explain to the tenth-grade students that this, too, is a choice available to them, and a choice worth considering.
She won’t, and I respect her decision. She is a reluctant public speaker at the best of times, and a high school careers class would push her too far from her comfort zone. I understand that. But at the very least I want to express my love and respect for her and for the path she chose. Though she followed her desire and her conscience, it has not always been easy. Even while she has always been personally confident of her choice, she has faced outside criticism. She has felt out-of-place. She has felt judged. But I, her husband, and we, her children, honor and love her. To echo Lemuel, “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’” (Proverbs 31:28-29).
This might seem a little different than the other entries this week but I promise you, it's not. We're still celebrating highly capable women in all situations and spheres of influence. As Challies so wonderfully distinguishes (ah, that Canadian politeness!), this is not a judgment of others; it's a celebration of strength. Aileen Challies could be doing other things well. Instead, she's chosen a perhaps less-encouraged path and is doing it well. That is certainly worth celebrating. Not celebrating it would be replacing one construct with another.
I've witnessed firsthand what an excellent, highly capable, strong woman does to a home. Like Challies, I'm thankful for them and believe those women are worthy of praise, respect, and love.
BloggingTim ChalliesCanadaHomemakingGoing against the grainInsane jobsWork-life balanceHighly capable women