Y’all.  It’s been one heckuva week; a gully-washer of problems and pains. {Pulling out some Texan for effect.}  Honestly, I think it may go down in this mama’s history as one of the top ten most stressful weeks of her life so far.  People, and issues, and more people, and more issues, and messy battle after messy battle, and tons of drama to top it all off.  Honestly, I don’t think you would believe me if I told you the many sordid details of the multiple situations that had to be faced this week, so I’m not even gonna try. I do know I’ve never spent that many hours engaged in intense dialogues over the phone, via email and text, and face to face. I woke up this morning feeling like I had been run over by a semi. The Lord is so faithful, though, and His presence is so near.  His Word has sustained me. Prayer with my husband has sustained us. 

It also happened to be the week we discussed the virtue for wives and mothers listed in Titus 2 as “workers at home.” Oh, I knew it would create questions and controversy and even anger {it always does, sadly}, and by the time Wednesday evening rolled around, and it was time to go to church, I had dissolved into tears and told Robert I could not go into one more battle. {Why does THIS chapter have to fall on THIS week???} I was kind of hoping he would offer to go and lead the discussion for me. He did not. {He’s actually teaching the kids on Wednesday nights for these first 6 weeks of summer!}

 And it was a bit of a heated discussion, but a good one, I think. {I hope.} One thing I know for certain is that when Titus 2 says “workers at home” it really does mean that married women with children should “work at home.” It comes from the Greek word οἶκος, which means house. Now, I know there are some tricky Bible passages to properly translate out there, but this really isn’t one of them. Woman means woman. House means house. Worker means worker. {or guardian or keeper} Women are called, in this passage and several others, to be at work in their own homes ~ and to do it with kindness. Not that they can’t work elsewhere also. Not that they can’t earn money. Just that their principle focus and area of work is to be in their own homes. The word “homes” also does not really connote anything broader than a person’s household here, and the exhortation isn’t qualified in any way except that these are women with husbands and children. They don’t need to be specifically gifted by God for domestic duties, or even receive some special and unique call or vision from Him to be at work in their own home rather than somewhere else. It’s a call on ALL women with husbands and children. And it’s not meant to be oppressive, either. Rather, it is lifted up as a principle way to adorn the Gospel as a woman. 

What? Work at home and draw attention to the Gospel? Yes. Loving my husband, loving my children, and working in my own home makes Christ attractive to people? Yes. Literally, we are asked to practice those things “so that the Word of God will not be dishonored” {Titus 2:5} and “to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” {Titus 2:10} The cool thing is that the Gospel also provides the only means of living these “good deeds” out: the grace of justification and the freedom from a slavery to unrighteousness.

But it’s still not easy.  To be honest, it’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. The tasks are endless and the relationships emotional. But you learn as you go, and wisdom is provided each step of the way even if it’s by failure.

It may sound silly to write all of this in a post about a crockpot curry dish, but I view this recipe in particular as a provision of wisdom from God on this homemaking journey.  You see, my whole family enjoys Indian food.  Interestingly enough, they also all like to eat dinner…nightly. {I know.  Downright selfish, huh?} And I have been trying to honor God by taking a sort of Sabbath on Mondays, which means I’d like to not cook something that requires a lot of time and effort on that day{especially when there are no leftovers}.  I happen to discover a recipe that combines Indian food and ease, and I slot it for our Monday menu. The groceries get purchased over the weekend, and I can still take a breather on Monday and provide a meal that everyone will enjoy.

And I get to glorify God and adorn His Gospel in the process?  Yes!  
{It’s biblical!  See Titus 2}

4 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
4-6 red potatoes, cubed
4-6 carrots, thickly sliced
1 onion chopped
2 cans coconut milk
6 tsp curry powder
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Place frozen or thawed chicken in a 350* oven for 30 minutes or until done.  {You can brown the chicken in a skillet, but that will require more work. I just pop mine in the oven and chop veggies while it cooks.} Chop potatoes, onion, and carrots, and place in crockpot.  Pour two cans of coconut milk over veggies. Add curry, garlic {I had a jar of minced garlic = more ease}, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  When chicken is done, chop it up and stir it in to the crockpot mixture.  *Serve over basmati rice. 

*If you have older kids, they can really make this on their own ~ the whole recipe or just the rice. Both Kayla and Kory have cooked rice this week for various meals. Kayla made an entire batch of chicken tortilla soup last week while I was away at a training in Vermont.  I gave her the recipe and a few helpful tips before I left that morning, and she did great!  It’s a form of managing your home, you know, and training children as well!