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Flipping through the Dictionary the other day, I discovered something about myself.

-ist a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in -ize or nouns ending in -ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines, etc. Origin: Middle English -iste < Latin -ista < Greek -istēs; in some words, representing French -iste, German -ist, Italian -ista, etc.,A lyricist is one who writes words to a song.

A perfectionist is one who wants things to be perfect.

A terrorist is one who causes terror.

An herbalist is one who specializes in herbs.

A feminist, in the truest sense of the word, is one who is concerned with femininity. And so it is that I am a feminist.

Logically, the only One authorized to define femininity is the Creator of females. That means God (not Marie Stopes, Coco Chanel, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, or culture), gets to describe - no, order -what a true feminist ought to look like. He does so in Proverbs 31:

• She is pure (v. 10).
• She is a trustworthy treasure to her husband (v. 10,11, 12, 23, 28b, 29).
• She is concerned for the well-being of her family (v. 13, 14, 15, 18b, 19, 22, 27).
• She is hard-working and industrious (v. 13-22, 24, 27, 31).
• She is clothed with strength and dignity (v. 17, 25).
• She is skilled in managing finances (v. 14, 16).
• She is courageous in character (v. 25, 29).
• She is kind and compassionate (v. 20, 26).
• She is wise (v. 26).
• She is praised by her children and husband (v. 28, 29).
• She is holy (v. 30).
• She is blessed (v. 31).

Biblical femininity says men and women are equal in importance, status, honor, and dignity (Genesis 3:18). Both men and women are equally fallen (Romans 2:23), and equally able to be rescued from their sin and condemnation through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

However equal, their roles are different. God’s purpose for humanity includes complementary relationships between men and women so that a lost and dying world can be confronted with the Gospel through living portraits of God's love for His Bride, the Church.

Husbands are to picture Christ by loving their wives (Ephesians 5: 25-33; 1 Peter 3:7), and wives are to be submissive to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24; 1 Timothy 2:12). Men are responsible for leading their families spiritually and supporting them financially (1 Timothy 3:4; 5:8). Wives, in addition to the duties outlined in Proverbs 31, are exhorted to love their husbands, love their children (which assumes desiring them), keep a home, and live in obedience, meekness, and a quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of both God and her husband (Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-6).
"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Genesis 3:16 (emphasis mine)Sin oppresses women. Sin from within ourselves, and sin that comes at us through other men and women. Sin makes us desire roles we were not created to fulfill. Sin makes us reject authority rather than be submissive to it. Sin glorifies climbing a corporate ladder over serving "the least of these" at home. Sin calls meekness "weakness," and favors boldness over quietness in a woman. Sin puts me first and my family last. Sin blurs scripturally distinctive gender roles and makes the opposite of God's design seem more attractive.

Jesus came to set us free from the sin that holds us in bondage. Freedom and liberation are not found in departing from God's design, but submitting to it out of obedience and love to the One who bought our salvation, purpose, status, dignity, and value with His blood (John 14:15; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Romans 6:22)."Feminism" doesn't liberate women; Jesus does.
"Feminism" isn't feminine at all. "Feminists" are really masculinists: people who are concerned with becoming masculine. Until females become feminine and males become masculine as God created them to be, relying on His forgiveness and grace for freedom and fulfillment within their roles, they will continue to feel oppressed, confused, shackled, afflicted, and demand their "rights" to positions God did not give them.

Let women be feminists: those who are concerned with femininity.

Let men be masculinists: those who are concerned with masculinity.

Let us all be concerned with the chief end of man: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q & A 1; Ps. 86:9; Isa. 60:21; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 6:20; 10:31; Rev. 4:11; Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil. 4:4; Rev. 21:3-4).

Are you a true feminist? One who is concerned with biblical femininity? Then you'll love our new, 153-page eBook, The Pursuit of Motherhood! You can read more about it and view the Table of Contents here.

The Pursuit of Motherhood
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Like any area of life, homeschooling can quickly become a complicated monster. You can sometimes find yourself battling through the darkness in search of homeschool sanity.

We’ve been in the homeschool mentality for almost 10-years. When our oldest child was two-years-old the Lord did a whammy on my heart and introduced me to the world of home education. Boy, was I thankful, I’d get to stay home with my children everyday and learn and grow with them. I knew that I was made to homeschool our children.
That sounds poetic, and truly-many days are an overflow of blessing, but honestly there are seasons in which we all need a reminder to homeschool with joy and purpose. None of us want to be the un-showered mom who is still reheating her one morning cup of coffee in the microwave at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Sometimes, I’m that mom.
Here are 6 Ways to Keep Homeschool Sanity for those less-than-perfect ruts.

1. Take it day-by-day: You can only live this one day well. If the spelling book is screaming at you-reminding you that you’re 2-months behind-remember who is boss! You’re are in charge, not the curriculum. If pressure mounts about tomorrow and what you still have yet to do, refine your focus onto today. I’ve had to remind myself on more than one occasion to live in the moment —that’s the best place to dwell.
2. Homeschool year-round: After a few seasons of trying to maintain a traditional schedule, we finally moved to a year round routine. This has allowed us greater flexibility, and has additionally strengthened our homeschooling experience. By homeschooling year-round we’re able to keep our life and school intertwined without too much of the hard-line differences between “school” and “life.” And if those complications arise, see number 3.
3. Take a mental health day: Does today feel crazy? Did the laundry goblin ransack your laundry room and spill his carnage out into the hall? Taking a mental health day for the benefit of your family is prescribed! Develop your children’s life skills in the morning by having them roll socks; then expand their cultural horizons in the afternoon with a bowl of ice-cream and a family movie marathon. You have permission to put your feet up, too!
4. Don’t compare: This is a trap. Susie will always start her 5-year-old in Latin first, and most likely her son will have all of his school work independently completed by 9 a.m. I’m not Susie, and my kids were made for me to parent. The End. And this non-comparison business goes for comparing children in other modes of education as well. Your home is just that, home. Like it, learn in it, live it!
5. Do something different: If I need a change of flow for myself, and a field trip is not in sight, I may load the kids in the van at 8 a.m. for an impromptu morning romp at the playground. I also like to invite a few other homeschool families over for a massive fellowship day—it’s okay to change things up a bit. We have these fellowship days at least twice a month, they're vital to our homeschool health!
6. Remember what is really important: It’s easy to find ourselves caught up in the academic success that homeschool affords. We must remember to keep our eternal focus. I listed in the Reasons Why We Homeschool that raising our children in a Christ following, family centered, atmosphere was our purpose; to bring these young souls up in His ways. Jesus is what is really important. The salvation and training up of our children in the way they should go. All the homeschool benefits are just the cherry on top.
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Jamerrill Stewart is the wife to one and mother of five. You can find her most days authoring Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling where her family is living the life of faith. Also, join her Christian Homeschooling Community on Facebook.

If I read my Bible everyday and use my trusty highlighter,

if I cook nutritious meals from scratch,

if I homeschool my children and give them a Christian, classical education,

if I meet my husband's needs before my own,

if I surrender my fertility and never pop a little pink pill,

if I adopt a special needs child or foster babies in our home,

if I entertain guests every weekend and invite them to spend the night,

if I perfectly tailor our curriculum to each individual child,

if I make our family memorize Scripture, songs, and poetry,

if I teach them Latin, Greek, and Hebrew,

if I foster beauty and femininity in our daughters,

if I encourage chivalry and a hard work ethic in our son,

if I plant a large vegetable garden and grow perennials along a white picket fence,

if I spend the summer canning, and freezing, and preserving our produce,

if I menu-plan, and master the art of crock-potting,

if I become a coupon queen, ad-match, and never buy anything unless it's on sale,

if I visit the poor and donate clothes to Salvation Army,

if I bring Chicken Noodle Soup to the sick and lonely, and invite our widowed church members for dinner,

if I vote for the most godly candidate, help set up lawn signs, and campaign against abortion,

if I dress in skirts and keep my necklines high,

if I sew all our clothes, knit all our mittens, and keep our shoes polished,

if I can preserve my daughters' virginity, and keep my son from looking at porn,

if I install Covenant Eyes and monitor my children's computer usage,

if I get rid of the TV and cancel Netflix,

if I keep the laundry basket empty, and the linen closet stocked,

if I make family devotions our top priority, and teach our children the Westminster catechism,

if I am a Trim Healthy Mama, and exercise every day

if I birth my children at home, and follow ecological breastfeeding patterns,

if I make use of the chiropractor, herbal remedies, and essential oils,

if I buy toy trucks and swords for my boy, and dolls and a play-kitchen for my girls,

if I live debt-free and pay for everything with cash,

if I take my family to church twice every Sunday,

if I clean puke out of carpets and change diapers for 14 years straight,

if I can't remember what it's like to sleep in,

if I do everything right...

... to buy my own salvation or that of my children,

it profits me nothing.

But if, out of a sincere love for my Savior (John 14:15),

believing it is not my works that save me (Isaiah 64:6),

but God's great love in granting me a full and free redemption purchased by the precious blood of Jesus on the Cross (John 3:16), and sealing my pardon by raising Him from the dead (Romans 10:9),

I desire to do all things through and for Christ which strengthens me (Philippians 4:13),

then motherhood is not in vain.

It is an honor to be pursued with diligence and joy (Colossians 3: 23),

because He who called me is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24),
and as much as I do it unto the least of these (Matthew 25:40),
I do it unto the Lord.

Coming November 29!

If you enjoyed this post, you may wish to follow Growing Home for updates via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, or have them emailed directly to your inbox.Linking to: Raising Homemakers, Deep Roots At Home, Raising Arrows, A Wise Woman.,Walking Redeemed, The Better Mom, The Modest Mom, A Mama's Story, We ARE That Family, Raising Mighty Arrows, Hearts For Home, Frugal Homeschool Family Time Warp Wife

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