• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

A Quiet Simple Life

Sallie Schaaf Borrink

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Subscribe
  • Categories
    • Christian Faith
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Gracious Christian Parenting
      • Gifted/2e Parenting For Christians
    • Homemaking
      • Free Homemaking Printables
      • The Prudent & Prepared Homemaker
    • Homeschooling
      • Relaxed Homeschooling
      • Homeschooling a Creative Child
      • Homeschool Mom Encouragement
      • Homeschool Planning
      • Gifted/2e Homeschooling
    • The Library
    • Our Cozy Family Life
    • Simple Living
    • Unit Studies & Resources
      • Unit Studies
      • Unit Study Printables & Worksheets
      • Unit Study Books
      • Unit Study Activities
  • Tags
  • The Shop
    • Explore The Shop By Category
      • All Products For Children
      • Editable Homeschool Planners
      • All Products For Women
      • A Full Year Shopping Pass
      • A Quiet Simple Life Series
      • Clip Art & Digital Papers
      • Poetry
    • Cart
    • Digital Products Terms of Use
    • Your Account Details
      • View Your Orders
      • Go To Your Downloads
      • My Account
    • Lost Password Help
  • Donate
  • Go To: SRA
You are here: Home / Christian Faith / In Our Cozy Home This Week – No. 68 – Building Up Christian Women, Being Useful For The Kingdom

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure statement.

In Our Cozy Home This Week – No. 68 – Building Up Christian Women, Being Useful For The Kingdom

May 14, 2021 by Sallie Borrink
4 Comments
2         
2
Shares

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week of filling your home with increasing measures of peace, understanding, joy, beauty, and faith. That’s what we focus on around here and I encourage you to find ways to add them to your life and the life of your loved ones whenever you are able.

Last week Peggy left this comment in response to what I wrote in Simple Living This Week No. 67:

It’s good that you are stepping away from wasting time and energy on people that will not be convinced by any argument.

One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn is that you cannot explain the truth to some people. You cannot convince them through logic or make them see it. You can only lay out the truth as clearly as you can and then leave it to God.

Another person I follow online remarked at the beginning of the year that he was focusing on plans to

Preach to the choir and build up the remnant

I, too, reached that point around the same time. Life is too short and I am too far along in mine to continue to waste time on arguments with people who do not want to hear or do not have the ears to hear.

Some of you might have noticed the distinct shift around here in recent months. I am laser focused on building up Christian women according to the historic Christian faith. I make no apologies for that. Whether it is regularly sharing Scripture posts, adding thought-provoking links to the forums, or writing my own posts, I am focused on helping Christian women peacefully and joyfully thrive in a tumultuous time.

I am still trying to determine what that looks like in how I spend my time here in the days ahead. It was interesting that Aaron Renn in The Masculinist #52: Build Men Up, Don’t Tear Women Down lamented this week:

Even when it comes to men, those of you who have been readers for a while know that I try to avoid giving out too much direct advice telling people what to do and not do. Even the best of advice today is no guarantee. So if that’s my policy for men, that goes doubly for women. I do often notice women whose life choices and trajectory are likely leading to a place they probably don’t want to go. But it’s not my place to tell them how to live their lives.  It probably needs to be other women identifying solutions delivering the realtalk.

Alas, that’s not very common today, especially in the Christian world. I have never seen a Christian version of Lori Gottlieb’s famous “Marry Him!” article from the Atlantic, for example. Forget the specific recommendation in this case and think about the bigger genre of someone who is 40ish and not where she wants to be warning younger women not to make her mistakes. My impression is that there’s a dearth of this kind of writing out there by women for women in the Christian world.

This is exactly what I have been thinking about lately. EXACTLY.

I am now 54 and actually have quite a bit to say about my life experience. What makes it interesting is that I believe the trajectory of my life was in direct answer to a fervent prayer decades ago that God would make me useful for the Kingdom. What ended up happening is that I have lived out every choice I would not have chosen to make. I got married late, had a child late, struggled with infertility, struggled with lack of church community, struggled with health issues that removed me from “regular life” and so on. It was never my desire or choice to marry late, delay becoming a mother, etc. But that is the path God allowed.

A few weeks ago I realized that God asked me to walk these paths to warn other women not to take them. I didn’t choose them, but He allowed them for a bigger purpose. Because I did not choose them, I do not live burdened with regret of making “wrong” choices I now wish I could do over. I live with the sadness that accompanies some of these paths I’ve been on, but I feel no regret because I have always sought the Lord’s leading and asked Him for good things such as marriage and children. I can see His hand clearly in my marriage and motherhood. They do not look like what I would have expected, but they are clearly gifts from Him.

So while I’ve been sorting out all of that in recent weeks and trying to decide what to do with it, I’ve realized there is a desperate need for Christian women to speak up on this issue.

In addition, there is a tremendous need for mature Christian women to speak up on other topics related to what Renn covered in this issue. I’ve observed that most Christian men have no idea what it looks like to be a strong man without tearing down women. That is an entire other issue that I’m not sure what to do with. But I cringe when I see well-meaning men give the worst advice about how to live with their wives, lead their wives, be godly men, etc. There are so few examples of men doing this well and even men who want to do it well don’t know what they are doing as they try to write about it and lead by example.

I truly believe the rise of egalitarianism among formerly conservative and/or Evangelical Christian women is due at least in part to the fact that Christian men have done a terrible job responding to the legitimate needs and concerns of women who wanted to follow Christ but were rebuffed or dismissed when they asked hard questions about hard issues and decisions in their lives. I see many parallels to this (When the Abused Become the Abusers) and the embracing of Wokeness among these women (Why Are High Profile Christians Bending the Knee and Embracing the False Woke Gospel?).

I’m still sorting out what to do with all this.

In other news…

Caroline and I have been having great conversations about history, faith, religions, people, etc. while reading through the The Story of the World series. I am so thankful for the time we spend together during our homeschooling. It’s fun to see her make connections among subjects, documentaries she has watched, sermons in church, etc. (I hope you enjoyed the post from earlier this week about Celebrating Our 15th It’s A Girl! Day.)

I reorganized The Shop this week. Of particular interest to those of you who have A Full Year Shopping Pass, I added two new categories. One features all the New This Month In The Shop. The other is Recently Updated Products. For pass owners, it makes it very easy to see what is new and if is something you would like to download. The same with products that have been updated.

I also made it easier to find everything. The shop has been split up into bigger segments which will be of great help to those searching for something in particular.

Lastly, we finally were able to add a full suite of Stripe options for those who would like to support the work I’m doing here. I know there are many people who do not use Paypal for a variety of reasons so I needed to find a Stripe plugin that allowed for a variety of options. I finally did. You can see it here at the end of this post. It is also on the Support This Site page (as is a PayPal option if you prefer it).

If you appreciate what I am doing here, I hope you will consider supporting my work financially. Please pray that God will show me how to best use my time, talents, and energy for the Kingdom.

Donation amount
$
Donation frequency


2         
2
Shares
Category: Christian Faith | In Our Cozy Home This Week

Related Helpful Content For You

In Our Cozy Home This Week – No. 81 – Beautiful Artwork, Birdfeeding, Linux, and High School Planning

Introverts, The Work Place, And Mission Trips

The Cure For The Anxious Heart

In Our Cozy Home This Week – No. 86 – A Week of Little Tasks Accomplished

Previous Post:Morning Hope – Isaiah 45:22-25
Next Post:Morning Hope – Psalm 8

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren

    May 14, 2021 at 2:19 pm

    Sallie, one of the many things that I admire about you is your desire to hear God’s voice for direction. Not only are you listening for His voice, but you’re willing to act in obedience to Him.

    I know that God is going to bless your efforts. ❤

    xo, Lauren

    Reply
  2. Janine

    May 14, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    We seem to be on a very similar path! I’m addressing the same issues. They seem so basic to me, but women aren’t hearing these biblical truths in most churches, and are hungry for them, I’ve recently discovered. I’m not sure how they even find my blog, but, like you, I’m speaking out more about the Titus 2 verses. I enjoy your uplifting blog!

    Reply
  3. Cheryl

    May 14, 2021 at 6:48 pm

    Thanks, Sallie. I love the “preach to the choir and build up the remnant” idea. I, for one , am so tired of reading and hearing about so called Christians twisting the Word to suit their worldly beliefs. Thank you for standing for godly truth.

    Cheryl

    Reply
  4. Peggy

    May 17, 2021 at 3:33 pm

    One mistake I frequently make is being far too tolerant of clutter.

    Sallie, you’ve probably seen this before:
    https://mises.org/library/isaiahs-job

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Thank you for your comment. I read and appreciate each one even if I am unable to respond.

Sidebar

I’m Sallie, Christian wife, mother, homeschooler, and homebody. Do you desire to create a quiet simple life for your family? If so, I invite you to explore my helpful content about the faith-filled and home-centered life. Please start here. Welcome! ♥ 

Categories

Find It Here

My Other Website: Sallie’s Rebuilding America

Popular Right Now

  • The Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food RecipesThe Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food Recipes
  • Why I Reject MinimalismWhy I Reject Minimalism
  • The Ginghams Paper Dolls (Free!)The Ginghams Paper Dolls (Free!)
  • 100 Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers {Free Printable}100 Field Trip Ideas for Homeschoolers {Free Printable}
  • Around Our Home In MayAround Our Home In May
  • In Our Cozy Home This Week No. 33 - Life in Lockdown, Cross Stitching, Website RedesignIn Our Cozy Home This Week No. 33 – Life in Lockdown, Cross Stitching, Website Redesign
  • The Importance Of Play For Small ChildrenThe Importance Of Play For Small Children
  • The Cozy Life In America (and Why I Prefer It To the Danish Hygge)The Cozy Life In America (and Why I Prefer It To the Danish Hygge)
  • 12 Quotes About Trusting God12 Quotes About Trusting God
  • 100 Encouraging Quotes For Christian Homemakers100 Encouraging Quotes For Christian Homemakers
  • He Drew Me Aside - "I Needed the Quiet" by Alice Hansche MortensonHe Drew Me Aside – “I Needed the Quiet” by Alice Hansche Mortenson
  • Cultivating ContentmentCultivating Contentment
Receive new post notifications from A Quiet Simple Life

Powered by follow.it

Popular Today In The Shop

  • U.S. Money Memory Game PrintableU.S. Money Memory Game Printable
  • Editable End of Year Certificates - Black and WhiteEditable End of Year Certificates – Black and White
  • Butterfly Copywork – Print & CursiveButterfly Copywork – Print & Cursive
  • Winter Word Search PuzzlesWinter Word Search Puzzles
  • Thanksgiving "I Have, Who Has" Activity CardsThanksgiving “I Have, Who Has” Activity Cards
  • Lincoln's Gettysburg Address PrintableLincoln’s Gettysburg Address Printable
  • Addition and Subtraction Story Problems Activity - 2 Digits w/out RegroupingAddition and Subtraction Story Problems Activity – 2 Digits w/out Regrouping
  • April Fool's Day Word SearchApril Fool’s Day Word Search
  • Shapes and Colors Bingo Game Printable Cards 4x4Shapes and Colors Bingo Game Printable Cards 4×4
  • In the Garden Writing PromptsIn the Garden Writing Prompts

Join The Conversation

  • Sallie Borrink on Breaking Our Bonds: Wokeness Will Destroy NPC Sororities
  • Birdie on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Peggy on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Alison Ward on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Patti Gardner on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Mrs. White on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Pam on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Cheryl on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Lauren on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Amanda on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Marilyn on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Sue Elvis on Happy Birthday To Me!

Blogging Is Better With Blinkies!

My Blogroll

  • Adventures In Keeping House
  • The Blessed Hearth
  • The Bluebirds Are Nesting On The Farm
  • By Sun and Candlelight 
  • Coffee Tea Books and Me
  • Creekside Cottage
  • Elefantz
  • Exquisitely Unremarkable
  • Generations Before Us
  • Heavenstretch
  • Homemakers Thoughts
  • Hope and Thrift 
  • A Housewife Writes
  • Jane Austen's World
  • The Legacy of Home
  • Like Mother, Like Daughter
  • Love My Life
  • Mama's Learning Corner
  • Mountain Housewife
  • The 1940s Experiment
  • North Ridge Farm
  • Rural Revolution
  • Something From Almost Nothing
  • Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth
  • Stories of an Unschooling Family
  • Sugar Pie Cottage
  • Thinking About Home
  • Thrive On One Income
  • Upon Hope
  • Vox Popoli
  • A Working Pantry 

Lifetime Visits

17,548,472

Archives

Contact Me • Privacy Policy • Disclaimers & Affiliates

Copyright © 2023 · A Quiet Simple Life · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Scroll Up