Keeper of the Home
Sandy Willoughby

It is my job... my responsibility... my ROLE as the homemaker to "keep" the home. I looked up the definition for "keep" and I am still totally amazed at the small notebook beside me here filling up with notes! Who would think that such a small word could hold such massive meaning when looked at fully? It reminds me of the truly tiny mustard seed spoken of in the Bible, which grows into such a huge tree.

Ladies... we are called to be keepers at home and of the home. We are called not by man but by God Himself to stand up and accept this role. Regardless of what kind of family unit we have... how many or how few living in our homes... what style/type/kind of home we have... we are under a magnificent calling to keep these homes. Under God's authority and written Word.

"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

Following this Word in our lives will preserve us... the Bible says so:) "Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee." Proverbs 2:11

I want to share The Living Bible's version of this, too:

"These older women must train the younger women to live quietly, to love their husbands and their children, and to be sensible and clean minded, spending their time in their own homes, being kind and obedient to their husbands, so that the Christian faith can't be spoken against by those who know them." Titus 2:4-5

This is so beautiful to me...truly and spectacularly beautiful. Glittering more than the purest gold and shimmering like no jewel could compare to. This, my precious and Godly women, is God's plan for us. This is His will... His desire for our lives. He created a position that only we can fill. He masterminded this intricate way of life just for us. He didn't just place us inside this domestic and fruitful place with no guide or direction. He lovingly made sure that we had WORD sent from heaven to teach and train from --- filled with special examples. He also made sure we had a Mentor above all Mentors... Himself. He is our blessed Keeper. "The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand." Psalm 121:5 Ladies, He is our Shepherd and it is His footsteps we are to follow. His footsteps before us are sure and steady and never fading or wearing thin. There are other footsteps along our paths to the right of us and to the left but any other than His don't lead us anywhere good. They lead us over dangerous cliffs, rocky ledges, and desolate lands. "And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." Genesis 28:15

We are not alone on this journey... oh, no. God wouldn't leave us nor would He forsake us. Did you know that angels go before us? Everything we do as a keeper at and of the home... every struggle we have with our faith, every time we work to submit to our husbands, every tear we cry as mothers, every "mountain" we climb in homemaking... well, for all of these and everything ...angels go before us. We are walking and working with angels every day. "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared." Exodus 23:20

Keeper. One that keeps. One that is worth keeping. One who has the care, custody, or supertentindant of anything; one who saves from harm; a defender. A preserver. One who remains or keeps in a place or position. Someone in charge of other people. One having charge of buildings or grounds or animals. This is just a tiny crumb of the Keeper our Lord and Savior is to us! He is this magnified millions of times!

We are called to be keepers, too!

We keep. We keep our hearts on Jesus. We keep ourselves as helpmates for our husbands. We keep our children and our homes. We keep on keeping on. We are keepers.

What do keepers do? They keep:)

Get ready --- keep is bigger than we can imagine!

Keep.

To raise. We raise our children. We train them in the way they are to go and when they get older they will not depart from that way. To maintain. We must maintain our homes. This calls for consistent work and being on top of things. To manage, tend, or have charge of. This is a big assignment, isn't it? It is a worthy and wonderful assignment. We are to manage our finances by watching what we spend and not lavishly buying up things we don't need. To manage our food so that we are getting the most for our money and working in our kitchens to save even more. We must manage our schedules so that everything God has on our to do list can be done. We learn to manage our homes just as diligently as a CEO of a huge company! Tend... this means to "have the care of; watch over; look after. It means to "manage the activities and transactions of"... see... there is that manage word again:) We have the care of meeting our husband's needs, watching over our children, and looking after our homes. "To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." Psalm 103:18

To preserve. This means to "maintain in safety from injury, peril, or harm; protect. To keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged. To keep intact. To prepare (food) for future use. To prevent from decaying or spoiling." There is much to heed in this one. We are to be watchful women of the Lord by standing strong in His Word and protecting ourselves from being deceived by sin and the lies of satan. We need to be watchful over our hearts and make sure to strive for purity and not the things of the world. We are to protect our marriages by remembering what our husbands face out there as well as the temptations that fly all about them by day and by night. We must work to protect our children from evil influences and guard their precious innocence for as long as we can. We NEED to keep our lives adhered like the strongest of glues to the mighty Word of God so that our families don't begin conforming to the world's standards. It is important that we prepare food ---of course --- but the most important food we can provide is that of Spiritual nourishment. There is a water that never runs dry and always quenches the thirst of our souls. His Living water. There is a daily bread more important than anything we can eat... the bread of life. There is a need for us to keep "fresh" lives not allowing the decay and spoilage of sin to take over. When it comes... we must do as we learn with foods we prepare in the kitchen... the bad and the rotten gets cut out or the whole thing thrown away!

To maintain records; to enter (data) into a book. Paperwork can be a monster to keep up with but this is part of what we do. We can learn step by step... and paper by paper... how to properly handle the records we must keep. For most of us this means budgets, menus, shopping lists, list of needs, gift shopping plans, party plans, financial records, inventory sheets, and the list can go on and on. What we don't know and need to know God will teach us. If we don't know and it doesn't matter... He'll let us know that, too:)

To restrain. There is one thing we can restrain from and it will mean the restraining of most other things we shouldn't do. That one thing is selfishness. When we are moving about with a self centered heart we will not restrain from complaining, griping, whining, moping, angry outbursts, arguing, and the many other things in that range of thought. Refrain from indulging in our own desires and wants. It makes for a happy home. "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word." Psalm 119:101

To be faithful to. This one touches my heart... how it warms me...ministers to me... heals me. I spent years of my life not being faithful in anything other than to myself. I didn't realize it... no, it took awhile for me to break and I still "break" now and again:) I always said that my number one quality deemed all important in a friend was faithfulness. It meant so much to me that I cannot describe how important it was... and yet I wasn't a faithful person myself. I mean, I thought I was because I would go to great lengths to be that faithful friend. BUT... I did it to make SURE the friend receiving my loyalty did the same for... ME. I wasn't a faithful person when it came to my husband, children, and home. I wasn't devoted or worthy of trust. Being faithful means being consistent with truth and reality. This wasn't something I understood for a long time. I am learning more about it now... and I run to the very word as a deer to water. Lovely sisters, we are to be faithful to our Lord, to our husbands, to our children and to our homes. This means we are to devote ourselves to these priorities and one day... become worthy of the trust God placed in us when He blessed us with these families and homes. "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." Psalm 119:2

To celebrate! We are to celebrate our salvation, our marriage, motherhood and homes! This calls for us to REJOICE in the Name of the Lord our God... REJOICE in the husband who gives us such opportunity for serving... REJOICE in the sweet faces of our children... and REJOICE in the keeping of our homes. "He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD." Psalm 113:9

To continue to do. Continue. Consistently. Some of the things we need to do must be done every single day. Over and over and over again must we take care of different things. Cooking, cleaning, creating, serving, and this list could carry on to make its own book:) Faithful. Steadfast. Keeping on keeping. "Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently." Psalm 119:4

To maintain in good condition; to remain adequately informed. Seriously and permanently. To watch over attentively; to watch closely or carefully. We must make effort to keep things running in our homes and to learn as we go. It is so important that we realize how vital it is for us to be on the lookout in the lives around us. We can't run with no daily working at things and expect anything less than disaster when we finally get around to spending some time on them. This is more true with people than homemaking. Learning to love God only comes when we find a way to spend time with Him as much as possible. A marriage will be nothing more than a partnership if we don't take time to talk, share, touch, and simply be together. Our kids won't just wait around for us to notice them if we don't take time to do so each and every day. "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Psalm 127:1

Daughters of God... being a keeper at and of the home means more than one can write without an entire volume of books being written. This is such a noble and glorious gift from the Father... to be a keeper at home. To be a keeper of the home. God chose us... He chose us. Keeping the home is not falling or faltering under the weight of the load for the wise woman doesn't attempt to carry it on her shoulders. She listens to the King of Kings and gives it to Him. The load He allows on this woman isn't too heavy or burdensome for her to handle. A wise home keeper learns the art of practicing until she gets whatever it is right... and performing her duties is an act of service to God... not tiresome chores. She knows Jesus loves each daughter as if she was the only one and she loves Him as if He is the only because HE IS the ONLY ONE. A keeper of home in the wings of God's love doesn't neglect those around her or their needs --- however great they might sometimes be. She remains in a Father's steadfast love so that she can pour that love into each heart around her. This is a woman who manages domestic affairs with the art that can only come from a heart submitted to her Lord. She is hospitable always and makes surrounding peace a daily goal. She learns as God teaches her to govern, manage, and instruct in such ways to bring honor to her family. She abides in a state of splendor because the Word of God is constantly and consistently pouring through her very veins. She knows WHO sustains her... and she knows WHO her Keeper is.

I was finishing up another article when this one came pouring through... I believe it was God... the words, thoughts, and lines just came pouring out onto this email:) so I pray that whatever His purpose for this was... He is glorified and His truth revealed.

Blessed beyond measure we are by His blood....

Love, Sandy