I grew up in a more or less traditional Christian home. My parents had a business with my mom working close to full time hours. I've always admired her talent to keep her household running. She wasn't that great of a cook — we often ate take away food at home — but now and then she would bake delicious cakes and she always kept her house spotless. If you could have taken a look inside the chest of drawers, cupboards and wardrobes in our home, you surely would have been amazed at how clean and tidy they were. She did a good job being a part time homemaker. Sadly, most of her life her focus had been on worldly things, beauty, and wealth.

My aunt was a full time homemaker. Her house was not as spotless as ours but her pantry offered an abundance of homemade canned products from her garden like fruit, juices, and vegetables. She baked more breads and cakes than my mom. She sew beautiful dresses, shirts, and various other clothing. When I was growing up I thought that she really enjoying keeping her home. She penny-pinched and did not waste money on fancy things — neither for herself nor for her family.

They both got married when they were still very young. My mom had a full time job working outside her home. My aunt was a full time homemaker. I doubt that neither one nor the other found real joy in keeping the family home. Sadly, neither one nor the other has passed on her knowledge of homemaking to the next generation.  

In a world in which our roles and identities are so badly distorted, very few of us can build our homes on a solid foundation. Not many women will get a good start into the life as a young homemaker. And who, if any, is teaching the young girls today — what it means to be a keeper at home?  
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I prefer to write the posts ahead of time and then schedule them to be published throughout the week. Today's post is an exception and intended to be a quick update about what is going on at The Christian Homemaker's Blog.  

Have you notice the changes I have made to this website? Thank you to to the ones who have made some suggestion. I appreciate your input very much! How do you like the new look of the blog? Do you find the sidebar with its added categories helpful? I have also added a new box that should make it easier to subscribe to my blog.  

I created that (subscription) widget at Feedburner. While I was at it I noticed that quite a few new readers signed up over these last couple of weeks. Thank you for that and welcome to my blog.  

​What is your husband's favorite dish? My hubby loves pan cakes. If it wouldn’t be for my vote we would have them on the menu every day. As the name suggests, they are made in a pan. Since moving to Ireland and for the last couple of years I have been trying to bend over backwards to make decent pan cakes but I have failed so many times. I've got so frustrated that I almost quit making them. And, I have spent a fortune on frying pans. The last one I have bought cost €35 and even that one didn’t do the job.

Maybe I cannot cook the way I used to? I often wondered. Or, perhaps the stoves (hobs) in Ireland are just so very different than the ones we used to have in Germany? I’ll have to admit that a few frying pans went into the bin because I’ve bought the wrong ones for the stove. However, the one I have bought for €35 is supposed to be made for all kinds of stoves. It did not work, though — and it almost went into the bin as well. The only reason I have kept it was that it had been so expensive and dear to me.

The other day my husband bought a new hob for me. It’s one of these single hot plates, an induction one. Guess what? Yes! Hubby’s favorite dish came out just fine. Meaning, the frying pan you see in the picture above is perfectly made for the stove.

Having the perfect appliance but using wrong cookware on it will not lead to good results. And, even the best cookware won’t work on the wrong appliance. Sometimes we are so eager to find the perfect match that we rush into something we might deeply regret later on.

God knows us well. He has made us!

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (Genesis 2:18)

God made us for (our) man. He has made us the perfect match for the one He has made us for. F. B. Meyer wrote in his commentary that Eve was, therefore, given to crown his bliss; taken from his side, as afterward the Church from the opened side of Christ. What a wonderful thought. ​