Yesterday was a sad day. I didn’t stay up on Tuesday evening to see the results of the election but I knew when I went to bed that things didn’t look promising. When I awoke in the morning and turned on the radio my fears were confirmed. Barak Obama had won the election.

Over the last few weeks my husband had talked to our six-year daughter about the candidates, who we stood for and why. When I told her on Tuesday that everyone was voting she said she hoped John McCain would win. I told her that may not happen but she told me not to worry, God would let the “good man” win.

Unfortunately that isn’t true. I explained to my daughter than Israel had many bad kings and that sometimes God gives us bad leaders to teach us or to judge us. In way though she is right. Our sovereign God does choose our leaders and we can still rest in his choice even when we suspect the outcome won’t be easy for us.

But this is still a sad time for me because our nation has chosen a leader who does not support Godly values. A man who fully supports partial-birth abortion is a candidate that no Christian should be comfortable with. I can only expect that with a liberal President and a liberal Congress our nation will slide further into ungodly practices and incur God’s judgment. That is not a place I want to be.

I am also scaried as a parent. If our nation lurches more and more toward darkness I will have to fight harder and harder to keep my children in the light. As things like “alternative lifestyles” become more acceptable I have to worry that my kids will see things at our local mall that I don’t care to explain to them at a young age. Sheltering my children from ungodly practices may become impossible.

But despite my sadness and fears, I know that God “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom 8:28). The darkness around us may grow but it will never overcome the light.

But I do hope this time will be a wake-up call for Christians. I think too many Christians today have become too comfortable with the world and it is time for us to set ourselves apart and be different. As children of God we are a holy nation – let’s start living that way and show the darkness what is light.

Labels: Carrie

I was reading 1 Corinthians last night and was struck by the following verses:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” 1 Cor 15:3-5

Remember Peter? As one of Jesus’ disciples, he had listened to Jesus’ teachings and saw him perform many miracles. Peter had walked on water, witnessed the Transfiguration, and claimed he would follow Jesus to death. Yet when Jesus was captured and put on trial, Peter vehemently denied his relationship with him three times just as the Lord had predicted.

“Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 20:60-62

From there the Lord was crucified and Peter was left to his own thoughts. I can’t even imagine what Peter must have felt for those days following the crucifixion. At this point he looks like a complete failure. When the “going got tough”, Peter folded.

But look at what happened according to 1 Corinthians. The Lord appeared to Peter alone before appearing to the rest. We know that all of the disciples had scattered like sheep during Jesus’ capture, but it was Peter who openly denied the Lord and was confronted with his own failure by the rooster’s crow (and Jesus’ gaze). If anyone needed face-time with the Risen Lord, it surely was Peter. And that is what he got.

We don’t know what the Jesus said to Peter when he appeared to him, but we know that Peter went from cowardly denier to bold proclaimer. In the second chapter of Acts it is Peter that addresses the crowd with the truth of Jesus’ crucifixion and converts 3000 to “the way”. Peter’s failure was no obstacle to God.

And so it is for us. We have a Savior who is willing to meet with us personally, even when we have failed him. He can lift us back up and continue to use us despite our failures. How lucky we are to serve such a loving and merciful Lord!

Labels: Carrie, christian living

A few years ago PBS aired a show called Frontier House. The basic idea was to place three families out in Montana to live life as it would have been like in 1883 out on the frontier. At the end of the show, the families were judged by historical experts as to how well they had set up their homesteads to be able to survive through the winter. In 1883, if their homes weren’t sturdy and their provisions weren’t stockpiled, they wouldn’t live to see spring.

In the day of home heating and grocery stores, we don’t have to worry too much about surviving the winter. We rely on those amenities to keep us warm and fed. Unlike the frontiersman of 1883, we have tamed winter.

But we haven’t defeated winter. If we lost electrical power in this country, we would be exposed to the harshness of winter. Those amenities that we had relied on would no longer protect us and we would have to look for new ways to survive.

Never become too dependent on the material things of this world. In the blink of an eye, all of those things can be lost. The only thing that you can depend on no matter what is God.

The people on Frontier House were living a fictitious life. If they hadn’t succeeded well enough to make it through a Montana winter, it didn’t really matter – they were going back to their 21st century homes. But how we carve out our lives as Christians in this world does matter. Yes, we’ll ultimately return to our home in heaven. But like the people on the TV show, we will be judged on how well we do in the life God has placed us in for now.

Stockpile for yourself spiritual goods that will see you through the tough times and store up treasures in heaven. Study the Word, spend time with the Lord, and live for Him. Learn now to rely on Him completely. Don’t wait until you have no choice.

Labels: Carrie

Pulpit Magazine has a good post on God’s High Call for Women which discusses God's design for women and their role in the church.

Here is an excerpt:

"God did not create the man and the woman at the same time, but rather He created Adam first and Eve later for the specific purpose of being Adam’s helper. Eve was equal to Adam, but she was given the role and duty of submitting to him. Although the word “helper” carries very positive connotations — even being used of God Himself as the helper of Israel (Deut. 33:7; Ps. 33:20) — it still describes someone in a relationship of service to another. The responsibility of wives to submit to their husbands, then, was part of the plan from creation, even before the curse. The first books of the Bible establish both the equality of men and women and also the support role of the wife (see Exod. 21:15, 17, 28–31; Num. 5:19–20, 29; 6:2; 30:1–16)."

Labels: Carrie, The Christian Woman

Today I was adding some articles to the main website and had one of those moments where you stare at a word, wondering if the spelling is correct. Ever had that happen?

Anyway, the word that I stared at for a few seconds, convinced that it was misspelled, was the word “business”. Instead of believing the word was “biz-ness”, I saw the word as pronounced “busy-ness”. And then it struck me. My own struggle with working outside the home at a “business” was due to the resulting “busyness” it created in my life. I never noticed how appropriate the spelling of business was!

I realize nowadays everyone is busy regardless of whether both parents work or not. But being a Christian working mother has some extra obstacles that stay at home Christian mothers and non-believing working mothers don’t have to overcome.

First, if you are working outside the home you have schedule constraints (being at work at a certain time for so many hours, commuting time) that make managing the household a bit more challenging. And I do not mean for a second to imply that being a stay at home mom is easier (been there, done that, it was tough!), but when you work outside the home you are juggling household responsibilities around your work schedule. That can be stressful and leave little time to just relax with your family.

Second, when you are a Christian working mother you have obligations that the non-Christian working mother doesn’t have – God and church. Sundays are not a day to catch up on laundry but a day to worship God and fellowship with other believers. And that is just Sunday. There can also be bible studies, community groups, personal study, etc. So if you work with mostly unbelieving mothers (which is the norm), you won't find much support.

I think the main difficulty boils down to this - when you are a Christian wife/mother your role is the same whether you work outside the home or not.

“That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:4-5

"Keepers at home". Even if you work full-time outside the home, you still are responsible before God for keeping the home. In my mind, managing the household is a big job already, so working for a “business” ends up feeling like non-stop “busyness”.

Now, it is better to be busy than idle,

“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27

but it is not good to be so busy that your family or God are not getting your best. That is the struggle. And that is my struggle.

Labels: Carrie, Christian working mother

Since we have started a team format at this blog and since my original introduction left much to be desired, I thought I would make my own introduction post.

I launched the The Christian Woman website in 2005 after leaving my job to be a stay at home mom. I had been working full-time after having my first child but after awhile felt the draw to stay home. Before leaving my job I began to research work at home opportunities and became very interested in the network of Christian women who made extra money online. The website was my way of compiling the information I had gathered to share with others as well as a ministry to Christian women.

Well, my stay at home mom status only lasted for a year for reasons I won’t expand on, and after another child I returned to working full-time. A working Christian mother is a bit of a minority in most circles but I have been lucky to have the support of my husband and have not felt that my working was outside of God’s will for me. At least not thus far.

Lately I have been becoming a bit restless and feeling the need to live a bit simpler. While there are many things I enjoy about working, juggling life can be a bit overwhelming at times. I am not sure if my restlessness is a push from God to go in a new direction or not, so I am praying and waiting.

In the meantime, I have revived some of my online activities to see if there are opportunities for extra income. When I returned to work a few years ago I let this website stagnate a bit so I am trying to update slowly. Over the last few years I have enjoyed blogging in other venues, so I am happy to have other Christian women blogging here with me to provide a better forum for the women visiting this site.

I share all this in anticipation of future post topics. My husband and I have agreed to try and save up some money to get to a place where I could have the option to quit working. I am not convinced that I want to quit working but I am convinced I would like the option. Much of what I will be posting on will be around my efforts to save money, make money form home, and simplify my life in the long run.

But most importantly, I am trying to discern God’s will for my life at this juncture. Not only have I been restless about working but I have had a desire to do more ministry-type work. My dream would be to take a few classes at a local seminary and spend more time with my nose in a theology book. But most importantly, I would just like to have more time to spend with my family without feeling rushed.

I look forward to sharing more of my journey in future posts.

Labels: Carrie, introduction, The Christian Woman