Industrious at Home

There is a lot of confusion about what goes on in an average home.   Modern families are distracted by television, home theaters, video games and the features of cell phones.  Sometimes, we are so busy with these types of entertainment, we forget what it is like to be industrious at home.

A day may start with opening drapes and shades. There might be a time of morning Bible reading - a little chapel in the quiet seclusion of home.   Next, some housework is started. Perhaps tidying up the rooms, starting laundry and then beginning a simple meal of breakfast to serve in a formal- sort- of- way at the kitchen table.  Do people still put salt and pepper or cream and sugar on the table, to share a meal with loved ones? Or does everyone grab food and run?

The mid morning hours are for general housekeeping. We clean the kitchen, dust, vacuum and straighten beds.  Once the house is in order, it may be time to sit and take a little break. Perhaps it is tea time? Or maybe time to chat and visit with the ones at home, while doing some knitting, embroidery, mending or sewing?

Lunch hour is like opening a little cafe for a time.  Some homemade food is prepared and lovingly served at the table.  We take a break from our home labors and join together for the noon meal. A prayer over the meal begins the time of fellowship. 

Before long, some may need a time of rest. Little ones are off to their naps after some time outdoors in the fresh air.  This break is helpful to prepare for the afternoon and coming evening.

Dinner is usually started in the early afternoon.  Some have helpers at home, while other homemakers do the work alone.  It is an exciting time - deciding what to make for the family's evening meal!

While food is baking in the oven, or simmering on the stove, we may find some time for reading and sipping on tea.  My mother-in-law always had fresh coffee which she enjoyed throughout the day.    We may do some last minute cleaning, finishing up the laundry, tidying rooms, and cleaning up the kitchen as we work at a more leisurely pace. 

Just before the dinner hour, it is time to wind down the day.  Sometimes guests stop by to visit.  We enjoy their company while we continue our industry.  If they arrive at a time when we can take a break, we may serve a little cake and tea and delight in the joy of being home.

Soon the family is seated at the table. Prayers are said. Conversation is started and the meal is enjoyed by all.   This relaxing time of eating together at a formal dinner, with napkins, and salt and pepper placed in the center of the table, is a delight.

At this dinner table, and throughout the day,  no one is secretly texting a friend.  No one is rushing off to play video games.  No one is talking about the television program they are missing out on.  No one is ignoring the family by endless phone or computer conversations.  Why? Because none of those things have been invented yet . . .  in this little home of industry. 

The evening hour has come. It is time to gather for family prayers and Bible reading.  Everyone has a bedtime. There is order and structure.  Everyone knows what is expected and they yield happily.   Once the day is finished, we look back and think what was done in this house that is anything special?  What was done that was industrious?

This home was full of service and love and old time family values.  This type of home is priceless!  The residents in this place, and the goings on there, will have a tremendous influence for generations to come.  We just need Homemakers willing to continue the tradition of being industrious at home.

Blessings
Mrs. White


It need not be difficult - Simplicity of Old Fashioned Housekeeping.

There is more glory and honor in this than anything else - The Mother Who Isn't Busy.

Once we got married, we took one of these  - A Vow of Poverty.



For Home-keeping Inspiration, order my book - For The Love of Christian Homemaking. 



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The Dinner Hour

I entered my parlour this afternoon, after being out in the cold on errands. We had bags and papers and things everywhere. It was time to prepare (mentally and literally) for the dinner hour.

I turned on a sermon tape, on my kitchen radio, of A. W. Tozer, "The Plague of the Heart," and  worked in my home, while being nourished and strengthened by godly wisdom.

Soon the dishes, from the day, were soaking. The counters looked neat. The table was cleared and shining.  The chairs were in order and the floor was picked up.  Home looked lovely.

I will light a candle before the sun sets. I will get the Bibles ready to prepare for evening worship, after dinner.  There will be no watching of television, or computer time, or listening to secular news or music.  It will be a sacred time of our family gathering together at our family table.   It will be the dinner hour.

To make the dinner hour successful takes labor, and vision, and an eagerness to enjoy home.  It takes a pushing aside of all worldly thoughts and worries and activities. It is time to calm the heart and to soothe the soul.  It is time to make family and loveliness and charm and the beauty of home a sacred obligation.

We will pray and eat and enjoy fellowship at the family table.  It will be a precious time because Mama made it happen.

Blessings
Mrs. White

A Precious Gift - A Wife Who Does Not Complain.

What Life is Like With Little Money - Living Without Credit Cards.

Take Time to Read - The Old Vintage Hymn Book.



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Mother's Dinner Bell

Vintage Dinner Bell on our Front Porch

Late yesterday afternoon, I rang the dinner bell for the first time of the season.  I never ring the bell in the frigid winter months because the children are rarely outside. But now that the snow has melted and the warm sun has appeared, it is time to get back to my supper time tradition.

Years ago, when we bought this 1800's house, there was an auction conducted on the grounds by the previous owner. They had lived here so long and had accumulated many things. My husband and I bid on several items - including an old wooden wagon that sits on the front lawn. I also got this bell. I just had to have it.

Once we got settled in our new home, Grandpa (who, along with Nana, lives with us in an in-law apartment of the house) installed it on my front porch. I have had so much fun with it ever since.

When the children were little, I did training sessions. (smiles) They would be out playing in the back yard. I would grin and tell them to come running whenever they heard the bell.  They thought it was such fun.  Eventually, when I rang the bell, it meant that I needed them for something or that supper was ready.  It sure saved me a lot of walking through the property to tell them what I needed!

Yet there is also a charming sense of nostalgia when Mother rings a dinner bell. It reminds me of my own childhood. My Great Aunt Rita lived across the street from us. She would ring the bell for her grandchildren to come running, just as she did for her own children when they were little. Our neighborhood had a beautiful private beach at the end of our street. This is where we children often played. There was a small playground, beach house, plenty of sand, and places to explore. Auntie Rita's house was up a hill, directly across from the beach. She would ring that dinner bell to call her children home.

Sometimes I would be out in my yard, and I would hear the ringing of the bell. I loved it. It comforted me.  It made me so proud of Aunt Rita. I wanted to be like that, and have a home like that - where Mother called her children home, each night, for supper.

Today, my children are mostly grown. Two of my children have moved into their own homes. I only have three older teenagers left here at home. They have outgrown many of my mother customs - like bedtime stories. So yesterday, when I rang the dinner bell for the first time of the season, none of my teens came running. I smiled. . . 

I headed out to the back  property and had to remind them. "Didn't anyone hear me ring the bell?"

 They grinned at me. "Yeah, we heard you." Said one of the mischievous ones.

[Mother] - "When I ring the bell, you're supposed to come running. It means I need you or that supper is ready. . . But just now was only a bell-drill." 

My older son perked up, "Oh, did you make supper?"  I told him I was just about to. "Well," he said in his gallant way, "When supper is ready, ring it again and we will come running."  I was delighted!

I love that the children humor my old ways. I love that even though they are "too old" for some of the Mother things I do, they still play along, in their own humorous way. And no matter what, I will still ring the dinner bell. Because someday, I will have grandchildren here, like at Auntie Rita's house.   I will ring the bell for them . . .  as a memorial of suppertime tradition.  Those little ones, the next generation of children, will come running. . . and they will love it!

blessings
Mrs. White

When the Children Get Older - Sitting Alone at the Kitchen Table.

A Precious Blessing - Suppertime in a Rural Home.

How The Blue Laws Affected Us - The Old Sunday Dinner.

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A Paper Plate Society

Years ago, in home economics class, we students learned how to set a pleasant table. We were told that dining together as a family was an experience. We felt that it was an essential part of family values.  The table didn't have to be fancy, but the basic elements were there:

Plates, silverware, a napkin at each place, cups, and serving bowls in the center.

I've noticed that families are using paper plates on a regular basis. Here is the problem:

- They tend to make people eat more. Why? Because we eat quickly. Paper plates are for fast and easy meals.  

When we sit together and dine at the table, the meal goes slower. We visit with one another, smile  and enjoy the food. We tend to eat less.  The experience is savored and enjoyed.

Our society loves paper plates because no one wants to clean. The plates are a modern substitute, creating a fast food environment.  Something is wrong when we are too busy to sit down together as a family to enjoy the blessing of food.

Are paper plates wrong? Certainly not. But they should be reserved for emergencies, when someone is ill, occasional dining, or for picnics.  Paper plates should be the rare exception, not the common rule.

What if you have a busy schedule and cannot find time to sit together? Does that mean you have to use paper plates? (gentle smiles) How about setting the table, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with real dishes and enjoying the meal with whoever happens to be there. Meal times are commonly at specific times and should be an expected routine. This helps keep order and security in the home.

Dine alone, at times, if you must, but please use real plates. (gentle smiles)

Blessings
Mrs. White

Be comforted - Mother's Silent Influence in the Home.

A Precious Hymn - Be thou My Vision.

The meaning of Sitting Alone at the Kitchen Table.




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If I Visit You at The Dinner Hour

I remember visiting my Aunt Norma and Uncle Bob (a reverend) in Alabama. We would spend several days with them. Early each evening, my Aunt would be cooking in the kitchen. Uncle Bob sat in the recliner and watched a little television. The house was quiet and happy. Everyone visited or played while we waited to be called to the table for prayer, and our supper.

My parents had a similar routine. Dad would be in the living room watching the news or some other program. We children would be there with him, or in our rooms finishing up homework. We could hear Mother in the kitchen cooking. It was comforting knowing she was in there, preparing our food. She always set the table with fresh vegetables in serving bowls, and had little plates of bread. We were happy when she called us to the table.

Today, whenever I see the sun starting to set, I am able to relax. All tensions and troubles seem to fade. It's like I can shut the doors and shut out the world, because it is almost the dinner hour. It is time for our daily rest from trouble and turmoil. So I turn on the lamp, and listen to the quiet sound of gospel music from my kitchen radio. I put on my apron and start preparing food. And while I cook, I am at peace.

 I hear the sound of the family gathered throughout this large old house, and they are laughing and talking. Every so often someone will come to the kitchen and ask, "How much longer 'til supper is ready?" And it gives me a great sense of pride, because I am making them a delicious dinner and it makes them happy.

The dinner hour is like a break from hard labor. It is a special time for families. It is familiar and secure and special. Nothing else seems to matter. It is the comfort of home and family.

And today, I wonder. . . If I visited your house tonight, at the dinner hour, what would it be like?

Blessings
Mrs. White

Make it look like The Maid was Here.

To the Dedicated Housewife - What Time Does Your Shift Start?

To Encourage - A Mother of Sinners.



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Cooking for Mister

I have this old 1963 cookbook published by Better Homes and Gardens.* It has a section in the front called, "Meals Men Like." The introduction says:

"Fix any of these delicious meals for your man and you'll be the 'Best Cook' he knows."

A sample menu:

"Stew Supper Supreme"

 

Old-time Beef Stew

Crisp Cabbage Slaw

Bread      Butter

Apple Betty Pie

Coffee      Cream and Sugar

The directions suggest serving the pie with vanilla ice cream! The description for the stew says it will serve "6 to 8 hungry folks" and a "go-with" would include "thick slices of bread."

It sounds like a delicious meal! Sometimes, when we create a little menu, it makes the experience extra special.

How many housewives today are making a real old fashioned supper for their husbands? How many of us dress up nicely for when he comes home from work, and make his environment peaceful? Certainly it is difficult when we have small children, but even if we did some of our cooking early in the day we could heat it up in the evening.

Cooking for Mister. . .  When a wife makes pleasant, home cooked meals and serves them cheerfully, that man will be eager to leave work and head back to his family. It's like he has his own little restaurant, at the greatest place on earth - HOME!

Blessings
Mrs. White

* The Cookbook is  So - Good Meals  


The importance of Making Chores Fair for Children.

Is it Possible? Rising While it is Yet Night.

The Old - Time Tradition of The House Dress.





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