"She Will Do Him Good" ~ The Wise Wife/Learning from Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams and granddaughter Susanna watch as a servant hangs laundry in the East Room – by Gordon Phillips

Did you know that Abigail Adams used the unfinished East Room of the White House to hang her husband's clothes. As President, she felt his laundry shouldn't be exposed for everyone to see. This showed a deep respect for her husband and a lot about her discerning character. She once said of her spouse, “When he is wounded, I bleed." What love, what affection, what passion!

"Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee…" 

~ Proverbs 2:11

In a society where many women share intimate information about their relationships via the internet, etc., I think our foremothers would be greatly distressed. In modern language, we call it being "transparent" but the old fashioned upbringing of Abigail Adams might insist that we are "airing out the laundry"!

Please continue reading at Deep Roots at Home where we are guest posting today...

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homemaking Thursdays and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.

Tribute to Mother in Literature from Jane Austen

"...forsake not the law of thy mother…" ~ Proverbs 6:20b

~ A Tribute from Literature to Mother's ~

"As soon as Mrs. Dashwood (mother) had recovered herself, to see Marianne was her desire; and in two minutes she was with her beloved child - rendered dearer to her than ever by absence, unhappiness, and danger. Elinor's delight as she saw what each felt in meeting, was only checked by an apprehension of its robbing Marianne of further sleep; but Mrs. Dashwood could be calm, could be even prudent, when the life of a child was at stake, and Marianne, satisified in knowing her mother was near her, and conscious of being too weak for conversation, submitted readily to the silence and quiet prescribed by every nurse around her.

Marianne continued to mind every day, and the brilliant cheerfulness of Mrs. Dashwood's (mother) looks and spirits proved her to be, as she repeatedly declared herself, one of the happiest women in the world."

~ Jane Austen, Excerpt from Sense and Sensibility (mother in parentheses is my addition)

“A mother would have been always present. A mother would have been a constant friend; her influence would have been beyond all other. ”

~ Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homemaking Thursdays and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. 

Virtuous Woman ~ Proverbs 31 Printable Art

I have seen many Proverbs 31 prints for sale but they are rather expensive.

This basic printable would make a thrifty but lovely gift for a mother or maiden.

Look for 8 by 10 frames in second-hand stores that you could paint and decorate.

To accessorize this printable to match a room, print on colored card-stock or fancy paper.

Or, perhaps you will want to make your own design?

To use ours, simply press the link below, download and print.

PRINTABLE INSPIRATIONAL ART A Virtuous Woman by JES

Graphics for this project are courtesy of Reading, Roses and Prose.

You will find gift tags there as well.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homemaking Thursdays and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. 

Starting Small ~ Planting Seeds of Motherhood

"Train up a child in the way he should go:

and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

~ Proverbs 22:6

The world is wise enough to know that a young child is a very impressionable child. This is why the education system continues to fight to get our children into schools at a younger age. The advantage of mothers is that they can use this opportunity to advance the kingdom of God.

I recently found this little book in our archives and thought to share it with you today. "When I'm Mommy: A Little Girl's Paraphrase of Proverbs 31" by Ginger Adair Fulton is a wonderful tool to aid aspiring homemakers. Many mothers wonder when the right time is to instill the Keeper at Home/Proverbs 31 values.

Today is the day... for every book they read and every video they watch, is already instructing them in some way. Be purposeful with what you share with your maidens for everything contains a message (Be discerning. For example, do they devaluate motherhood? Etc...). What you expose your daughter to at a young age will make a huge impact in their adult lives. It is forming their worldview. 

We shy away from books where the main characters are disrespectful to elders, are demanding and spoiled (lacking parental instruction), use inappropriate words such as "stupid" and contain trendy lifestyles that the author would portray as normal (picture if you will a little one wearing earphones, listening independently to worldly music while ignoring the family, obnoxiously chomping on gum, dressed like the latest rock star).

When you see affordable, picture books with a godly message, it is also fun to think creatively with them to make the moment more enjoyable. You can create a curriculum of sorts. A book like this can be a coloring book. Read a page a day as a Bible lesson, cut out the pictures and make a "beautiful girlhood" scrapbook. Memorize and copy the corresponding verses, decorate them in pretty colors, glue down ribbons and other fancies to make for a fun craft.

I encourage you to spend time with your daughter, learning about their Creator and their biblical role now. The books we choose are vital. Tomorrow will be here quicker than you can imagine and your little girl will be a young lady.

For our favorite beautiful and biblical picture books, visit the list here.

For the beautiful benefits of mothers and daughters reading together, visit here.

For our Regal Reading List, visit here.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homemaking Thursdays and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.