Monday, April 29, 2013

Hidden Art of Homemaking - Book Club

Cindy at Ordo Amoris, one of my favourite blogs to read, has started a bookclub on The Hidden Art of Homemaking. I'm so glad - this will hopefully keep me on track for reading and blogging.


You can still join! We are just on chapter 2 and the chapters are short.


Her first post reminds us not to compare ourselves with others because that is the temptation we face. Cindy says, "'Inspiration is good; comparison is bad.'" I think this is so true in our world of social media, particularly Instagram or Pinterest. We feel like everything we do must be just as perfect as the pictures we see (since we don't see the real lives but simply the pictures).

Years ago, when I first started to get involved with email lists, I remember feeling very pressured to organize our school just like so-and-so's on the email list because they seemed like they had it all together. Then if I read homeschool forums or curriculum catalogues, I was even more tempted to change things until I found the "perfect" curriculum or the "perfect" routine.

What I gradually came to realize is that the women I observed on the internet were not whole people. I only saw what they chose to share. Most of them were not doing it intentionally but it came about that way just because that's the way life goes. And it's very tempting to never share anything negative about your family but only the positives. Why would I take a picture of my kitchen not being clean for the 3rd day in a row when I could take a picture of something else that was perfect? Our accounts of our lives can come across in the same way - only the good parts survive.

Does that mean that we should never look on Pinterest, never read blogs, or even go off the Internet all together? I don't think that's the answer. I think the answer lies in searching our own hearts, identifying ways that we are tempted to sin and then dealing with that specific issue. What my temptations are will be quite different from my friend at church. But each of us needs to check and make sure that we are not making odious comparisons.

I love Pinterest for the inspiration. I like reading blogs of women who encourage me to look beyond myself. I especially like reading about how women are growing and changing because it challenges me to do the same. But I need to be wary of envy and discontentment and look for ways to fight against the particular sins that I struggle with.

I'm looking forward to being challenged not only by The Hidden Art of Homemaking but also by the lovely women who are reading and blogging about it too.


I was also challenged by Cindy to include a photo each time of something beautiful. This is one of my favourite pictures of Calgary and the Rocky Mountains off in the distance.

1 comment:

Pam said...

(I commented already but it disappeared...so maybe I'm leaving two comments)

Very encouraging post! Caused me to think about taking pictures of my chaotic kitchen/dining area BEFORE all the painting is done, not just after :) All areas of our lives could be labeled Before, After, and In Progress at different points along the way.