Using My Sniffer

I have spent a good portion of the summer traveling to golf tournaments and visiting my son and his family. As much fun as traveling is, it is always nice to get back home. I leave the house in good shape, with the laundry and dishes done, cleaned and ironed clothes for my husband, and prepared meals in the refrigerator or freezer. When I return home, I get the house back in order.

Upon a recent return home, a faint, rather sickly sweet smell kept hitting me as I walked from the hallway into the kitchen. After confirming that the trash had been taken out, I cleaned out the refrigerator and even behind the refrigerator [Yuk!], and concluded that some animal had died under our house! This meant we were going to have to call someone to investigate since neither my husband nor I were about to crawl under the house. We then cleaned out the hall closet where the crawl space is located so that our investigator would have access.

As Providence would have it, right after I scheduled someone to locate the source of the smell, I walked by a basket that sits near the kitchen and in it, hidden from view, were three of the smelliest rotten potatoes I have ever encountered. An up-close nose test confirmed this was the source of the foul odor. We cancelled the appointment and I was saved the embarrassment and cost of a “skilled professional” telling me to throw out my rotten potatoes.

This experience made me consider another vital role a wife/mother plays in her household. My presence at home made it a number one priority to find the source of the smell, in part because I had to experience it for days. Likewise, a wife/mother who is looking well to the ways of her household is on the scene and able to notice the changes in behavior or attitude of family members, to investigate situations and occurrences that “smell bad” to her, and get to the root of matters more quickly than those who spend their days servicing other people’s businesses and priorities.

I am blessed that God has given me a good sense of smell so that I can detect minor nuisance odors before they turn into bigger ones. I am more grateful that God has given me His law-word, and faithful expositors like R. J. Rushdoony, to help me sniff out minor family problems and issues before they escalate into serious dilemmas.

The Many Hats of Womanhood

As I reflect back on my years of raising my children as a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, I appreciate how useful the model provided in Proverbs 31 is in outlining the various “hats” a woman wears for her household. Any serious reading of this passage of Scripture clearly demonstrates that a woman taking on the role of looking well to the ways of her household, needs to be educated, resourceful, and steeped in the law-word of God. I realize the following list is not exhaustive, but here goes:

Teacher
This is an obvious one, as mom is the first person the child has intimate contact with, starting in the womb. That is why her vocal comforts are especially soothing for the newborn, as they are the most familiar. As the child grows, the desire for mother’s attention, hug, and closeness pave the way for her to be the most effective teacher in things like language acquisition, motor skills, interpersonal relationships, and the need to submit to authority.

Coach
A coach has a different role than a teacher, though some aspects are similar. Primarily, the coach is responsible to teach participants how to play a game and succeed. A coach also acts in overseeing the players’ personal training, helps them overcome any personal obstacles, and assists them in developing a winning attitude geared toward achieving their goals. Similarly, a mom who is with her children most of the time has the ability to coach them through disputes with siblings, overcome subject matter or tasks that prove difficult, and provide useful outlets other than tantrums and fits when things don’t go their way.

Director
In the setting of a play or movie, the director is the one who is most responsible to see that the message of the script is effectively conveyed, by drawing out excellent performances from the cast. In much the same way, Mom is the one who, given the “script” of household life, works to get her “actors” into their roles so that the production (serving God and keeping His commandments) is a success.
Miner
Mining for precious metals and resources involves digging below the surface in order to uncover something of great value. The wife and mother of a family is particularly situated and suited to unearth greatness in her husband and children. As one who is intimately familiar with tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses, she is in a position to recognize a treasure of great worth, long before others may even be aware of it. Whether it is in the realm of music or art, scientific inquiry, or good communication skills, a mother is often the first to spot (if she is looking) areas of great potential.

Conductor
If you ever have enjoyed a live performance of an orchestra or symphony, you might be deceived into thinking that the conductor’s role is merely for show. Not so. The conductor is the person who transforms individual musicians into a unified body so that the intent and beauty of a piece of music is conveyed to an audience. True, most of the work is done prior to the performance, but musicians without a conductor can easily lose their way. The woman of the household acts much like a conductor as she brings together the talents, giftings, and responsibilities of all family members to produce a unified sound and movement. Just like the conductor needs to have vision for the final result and develop his musicians accordingly, a wife/mother must have vision for God’s requirement for her family and work toward that end.

Business Manager
No business or enterprise runs very well without a business manager. This is the position that ensures that bills are paid, payments collected, a good cash reserve is on hand, and the balance sheet is favorable. The stay-at-home wife/mother is particularly suited for this role, as she can stay current with everyone’s activities and requirements, knowing where to allocate resources and how to determine the essentials from the extras. Her motivation to see her household succeed develops her creativity in solving problems and preventing others from arising.

There are many other roles that could be mentioned—medical liaison, volunteer, social coordinator—but all embody the concept that the wife/mother is the person who has the God-given role and responsibility of making her family a number one priority. However, family life is not an end unto itself; it is designed by God to prepare and advance members into other spheres and institutions to further the Kingdom of God. Given that the wife/mother “covers” so many aspects of family life, maybe that is why 1 Corinthians 11 calls for her to be “covered.” Maybe this is God’s way of establishing her as an authority under authority!

Elitist Authority

"Elitist authority thus rules out both God and most men. It reserves authority to humanistic intellectuals who will not allow the validity of a Biblical judgment. The Bible, setting forth God’s law-word, enables every man to assess other men, himself, institutions, and history. The Ten Commandments set forth the foundations of man’s necessary way of life towards God and man. The law of God enables every man to assess authority and to exercise authority. When the law of God is denied standing, then only the elitist judgments of elitist man can prevail. The vast majority of men are then excluded from authority and denied any valid ground for assessing authority. Totalitarianism is then only a question of time."

(excerpted from Sovereignty, by RJ Rushdoony, p.50)

"The Older Woman"*

When young I was married and expecting the bliss
That was penned in novels or written in scripts
I quickly discovered that marriage demanded more
Than gifts from the wedding and being carried through the door.

My husband though a blessing from the Lord up above
Couldn’t teach me to humble myself and him freely love
For that one was needed who had walked in my shoes
A woman much older was the method
God would choose.

Her hair was a white crown, her face mapped with wrinkles
Her gait was not steady but her eyes how they twinkled
She was full of the wisdom that comes from a life
That had embraced the role of a helpmeet and wife.

At times I’d call her to complain about my man
And she’d listen and question to help me understand
That I hadn’t been called to be the person in charge
But to submit to God’s purpose
which was righteous and large.

She wounded me faithfully in my unbelief
And showed me by her actions that grace was within reach
Be discreet, chaste, and sober
Love children, love husband
Be obedient to his wishes
See that godliness ne’er diminishes
So the Word of God is not blasphemed.

The day came when this older woman went to receive her reward
Weeks before we had spoken—these were her tender words
I’m leaving you, Dear, to join my Savior in heaven
Now you be the older woman. Go help six or seven.

At first I was anxious. How could I become
Like the woman God sent to help me respond
To His call on my life a worthy woman to be?
My dear friend assured that His grace was sufficient for me.

She reminded me that I had something to teach
To the keepers at home—many within reach
Be discreet, chaste, and sober
Love children, love husband
Be obedient to his wishes
See that godliness ne’er diminishes
So the Word of God is not blasphemed.

There are numbers of younger ones expecting the bliss
That’s been penned in novels or written in scripts
They know now that marriage demands so much more
Than gifts from the wedding and to be carried through the door.

I look in the mirror and what do I see
With the same set of eyes that have always been me
But a vessel of God to be used in His story
As now, the older woman,
I help others to live to His glory.

(* copyright 2009/Andrea Schwartz)
inspired by the godly mentoring given to me by Dorothy Rushdoony

Rules of Engagement

Well over a decade ago, I first encountered a recording entitled “The War,” a compilation of the preaching of Dennis Peacocke and the worship music of Ted Sandquist. The full title is “Battle Songs for the War Between Two Seeds.” I was so encouraged by the project that in addition to playing it repeatedly for my family, I shared it with a junior high/senior high co-op class I was teaching on church history.1

Rev. Peacocke points out that the people of God are simultaneously involved in a cultural war and a spiritual war. He notes that no Christian volunteered for this war, but rather was predestined to be a part of it. The question isn’t who wins the war. The Word of God makes it very clear that Christ has already won the victory. Rather, the question becomes, Are God’s people engaged in the battle or sitting on the sidelines?

Peacocke declares that this war has been engaged and there is no avoiding it. Furthermore, Christians will always have opposition from those who are the seed of the serpent when it comes to our shaping, changing, and challenging the way the world system operates. We must take Jesus at His Word, “[U]pon this rock [the testimony that Jesus is Lord] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt.16:18). Now that’s the sort of recruitment promise that engenders confidence and resolve! [more]