O To Be A PROFESSIONAL Homemaker!

This is so interesting. I'm not even sure what to say about it! I stumbled on this article about how Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will be providing homemaking courses this fall. The "homemaking concentration" to a Bachelor of Science degree plan will offer courses on such things as the home, children, sewing, and cooking.

Obviously, this kind of decision has created some controversy. Here is what the course description had to say about it:

"The College at Southwestern endeavors to prepare women to model the characteristics of the godly woman as outlined in Scripture," a description of the program reads. "This is accomplished through instruction in homemaking skills, developing insights into home and family while continuing to equip women to understand and engage the culture of today."

OK, first thoughts. I think it's good that they realize there is merit in these skills. I am glad to see that kind of shift in thinking. My first thought was, "Wow. This is needed!" However, I also see the point of those who have said, "Is there really a need for courses in this?" Some have argued that you can find out all the information you need from books and the internet.

Or I was kind of thinking I could learn them from older Christian women...it's just a thought.

But the truth is, we live in a very different world. There are women like myself who find themselves wanting to be good homemakers, but lacking in skills. I am a product of the generation I was raised in. From Kindergarten on I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. It was never suggested to me that I should learn to do the things my mom did all day (who was a homemaker until I was around 9 years old). Oh, I didn't leave the house completely clueless (my mom taught me a lot), but neither do I feel I was actively "prepared" to be a homemaker.

And I can't get the movie Mona Lisa Smile out of my head. My favorite quote from the movie comes from Julia Stiles' character when she is speaking to Julia Roberts' character about her decision to not go to law school.

Joan Brandwyn: Do you think I'll wake up one morning and regret not being a lawyer?

Katherine Watson: Yes, I'm afraid that you will.

Joan Brandwyn: Not as much as I regret not having a family, not being there to raise them. I know exactly what I'm doing and it doesn't make me any less smart.

You stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't. To you a housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no depth, no intellect, no interests. You're the one who said I could do anything I wanted. This is what I want.

Yes, reading about all this just took me right back to that movie (which was set in 1953.) It seems strange to me that in this day and age a college would be offering such courses. Are they needed? Sadly, yes. It makes me all the more determined to teach my daughters homemaking skills AND a love of using those skills for the Lord.

Also, I need to remember that although I consider myself to be one of the "younger women" that are spoken of in Titus chapter 2, to some I am really one of the "older women." There are plenty of older women who can teach me a thing or two! But to my daughters, the girls in our youth group, and young married women or brand new mothers, I actually fall into the other category. Am I doing all I can to teach them the things spoken of in those verses? I think it's needed today more than ever.