Home-made... always better!

Finding a church

Sunday Morning in Sleepy Hollow Art Print
Brownscombe,...
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Many ladies that have decided to make their home their career, who are enjoying home- schooling, home-making, homesteading, etc., wish to find a place to worship where other women share these values. Many are sorely disappointed to find that at church, other women do not hold these ideals, do not understand them, or feel that they are not important. It can be quite a blow to find out that, after all the sacrifices you make to try to be a wife and mother to the glory of God, that you have no moral support in your church.

Thus, many ladies have wondered, where does my family find a church that embraces these values, where I can feel comfortable, accepted, and supported in what I do?

The Early Days of Timothy Giclee Print
Le Jeune, Henry
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Feminism has come into churches all around the world. You could go to all the churches in your area, and perhaps find one "Proverbs 31 Titus 2" woman in each congregation. You many not have a church in your area that is supportive of your home mission. You may find it difficult to uproot your family and move across states just to find a church like this.

The first priority in looking for a church is your soul. Find a church that is following the doctrines that the first century church followed. Read the book of Acts, the history book that records the beginning of the church, and the instructions God gave through the New Testament letters. Compare the churches to that. And then, if you find several in your area, it may be worth the drive to attend a church that is not only trying to follow the simple New Testament pattern, but that is more suitable for your family.

Private Pew Giclee Print
Steer, Henry R.
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That does not mean that you will find one that supports the homemaker, or home-schoolers, or can encourage you and your husband in being a one-income family. But, keep in mind that the church is supposed to try to remain close to what God wanted it to be in the first place, and that if you can find a church that is striving to restore New Testament Christianity, in doctrine and living, that your presence, example, and teaching there may be what they need to help them restore the role of women as taught in the New Testament as well.

Jesus instructed, "Let your light shine," and that will be one of our missions as homemakers, to let our light shine and "brighten the corner" where we are. Be an example to others, be cheerful, be smiling, meet disapproval by "letting your gentleness be known to all men." It will cause people to stop and think. You may not realize that some people are actually on your side, they just don't know it yet!

Prayer Giclee Print
Le Jeune, Henry
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Re-designed Blouse

This blouse was given to me a year or so ago. It is a "Worthington" brand from Penney's. I never found the high neck comfortable, though, so never wore it.

With a snip-snip of the shears, and a hank of elastic, I was able to re-design the blouse to make it a peasant blouse:

The neckline had enough fullness in it because of the previous pleats, so the elastic worked just fine without altering the fit of the sleeves. What do you think, Rebecca?

Six Inches Deep in Mud

That is what happened to my favorite outfit. It is my fault entirely, for I should have changed before I went out into the garden. That evil hose enjoys whipping around an staining my clothing when I least expect it. One stain leads to another (and fortunately you cannot see them so well in photographs!), and with the discovery that the fabric is starting to wear out, too, I can no longer wear my favorite jumper anywhere but the garden. I mourn for that fact- since this is the softest garment I have and the perfect pink.

(the back)

I made this "regency jumper" from the Sensibility Regency Gown pattern. I adjusted it quite a bit, and added an invisible zipper instead of buttons. It fit perfectly, and was oh so comfortable.

Jumpers get a bad rap. In my opinion, they are very comfortable and allow for freedom of movement. You can change your blouse to suit your mood (all the ways I am fond of wearing it are shown in these photos). The only reason a jumper would be "frumpy" looking is if it was one of those low-waisted affairs, or if the color was drab and the materials ugly.

With the demise of my favorite, some new dresses were in order. The summer is going by quickly so I needed a very fast dress design to use. I decided not to make another Regency jumper at this time, because I was afraid I would still be bogged down in trying to decipher my specialized adjustments by the time winter rolled around.

But I may regret that... here is the jumper with a blouse I found in a department store that just matched!

These peasant blouses were on clearance, and are perfect for wearing under a jumper. I got one in pink...

...white...

...and blue.

I hope you enjoy seeing all my sewing projects!