Diets and menus are a big part of a homemaker’s conversation. Don’t we eagerly exchange recipes, listen to different ideas and learn modern techniques? After all we are usually responsible for the preparation and serving of meals. Much time and thought goes into the selection of foods to include on our menus in order to offer the family well balanced meals. These must include the proper foods rich in vitamins, proteins, and minerals needed for strong development, growth and health.
Stop for a moment and review your reading diet. Are we, as Reformed women equally concerned about what we feed our minds or do we consume a lot of “junk food”? Maybe your diet is made up of questionable or even dangerous food. Perhaps you live on nothing more than empty calories with very little nutritional value.
First, we must feed daily on the Living Word of God! This is basic for life and growth. Neither are we to be content with only the “milk of the Word” described in Hebrews 5:12 as the first principles or the ABCs of the oracles of God; but we must progress to the “strong meat” of that Word. II Tim. 3:16 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” In order to realize this, we must know this Word.
Second, we can add much other reading as supplements to this most important food. You might begin by exploring your church library for additional material.
Too frequently the objection is heard, “Oh, that material looks and sounds too ‘deep’ for me. I need something light that doesn’t require much concentration.” Do you really? Certainly we need to recognize and accept the variety of God–given talents, but are you making the most of your abilities? Would not your conscience bother you to call your family to dinner and serve them only dessert when they are really hungry for “meat and potatoes”? Accept the necessity of some meaty reading. Set some goals for yourself and then continue to persevere. Don’t become discouraged in having to reread that magazine article a second time or actually study that chapter until you are sure you understand it. Share it with a friend or discuss it at coffee break; talk it over with your husband and thus encourage him also. Add it to your discussions at the dinner table.
There is a great need for informed church members who know the various issues which threaten the very foundations of the Christian church. Ignorance, confusion and uncertainty concerning these matters are all too commonplace. Why is this? We have more leisure time than our mothers and grandmothers. How much of this is spent in reading that builds us up in the holy faith? Are we tossed about by every wind of doctrine, or can we stand up and defend our views as grounded in God’s Inspired Word? Hosea 4:6 records “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .” What a sad commentary on God’s chosen people. What a severe warning!
Perhaps you’ve only recently been exposed to the riches of the Reformed Faith and the Spirit has given you a true desire for His knowledge and wisdom. Or maybe you have been blessed with a Christian heritage but now are in danger of taking it for granted. Pray for guidance and a true hungering and thirsting for these things. Satisfaction is promised. Study our creeds and catechism; read their historical background; acquaint yourself with the lives of church fathers. Let yourself be caught up in the history of the church, its many great leaders and their writings.
As homemakers and mothers we are badgered by the constant din of the women’s lib propaganda. An intelligent person cannot possibly feel fulfilled being a mere housewife and mother, we are being told. Proverbs 31 gives such a beautiful portrait of the godly wife and industrious mother. Edith Schaeffer’s What is a Family? is an inspiration on just this subject. She truly challenges one to realize anew the high calling and responsibility of a wife and mother in the home.
Just as we teach eating habits, good or bad, at an early age in the home; we are also teaching our children either directly or indirectly by our reading habits. The world’s current best sellers and magazines ought not to fill our bookshelves, easily accessible to our youth. Instead, literature which reflects and teaches our Reformed convictions and commitments should be available for guidance and direction. Let the children observe us spending time and effort in daily devotions and worthwhile reading. Teach and encourage them to establish daily Bible reading habits on their own. Pray that they might come to know by the grace of God, that His Book contains wisdom for life and godliness.
Set aside time in your regular routine for a treat of daily reading. Look forward to it with eager anticipation, then ponder it as food for thought when you continue those numerous tasks which do not require one’s full attention. Just because we spend most of our time in the home, does not mean that we must be dull or uninformed.
Science says we are what we eat. The same is true spiritually. What we read can make all the difference in the world.