Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Book Series: Women Living Well - Chapter 19



Media and Your Homemaking -- Times Have Changed!

     Several years ago only a few homemaking blogs were available. Now, there are hundreds -hundreds of voices offering critiques and other opinions. At some point it all became noise and clutter to the revitalization of homemaking. I am one of them.

     Homemaking in the media has transformed into a highly competitive entity. Whose voice is louder? Whose numbers are greater? My possession of either of those qualities is unimpressive, and I often feel as though my voice is lost entirely. What is my voice anyways? I get the impression that I’m expected to instruct, advise or otherwise place myself in a position expertise. This is what I read in bloggers. Yet, this is not achievable for me as I am most always still learning lessons myself. My original intent for the Reviving Homemaking blog was to simply share what I was learning and experiencing on my journey of rediscovering homemaking.  Nonetheless, I repeatedly must step away to reconnect with this purpose. How quickly I become entangled in the web of homemaking blogging. Honestly, I don’t want to compete. I simply want to share.

     Sharing, though, is made difficult when the threat of unabashed criticism lurks. I write and rewrite spending hours on posts making sure each sentence is as acceptable as possible. The vast majority of the time the desired words never make it to the screen at all. I’m too consumed with the potential for criticism. Honestly, I struggle enough to hold my head up against nit-picking criticism offline, much less to expose myself further via online presence. It takes tough skin to be a blogger, especially with polarizing subject matter. The truth is my skin is so thin. The sting of words lingers. On one occasion, I learned that another blogger had taken my words from a post of mine and written a critiquing response on her blog. I took a break from blogging afterwards.

     There has been many times in which I've stepped away from the online realm of homemaking. With so much input on the subject, it becomes murky and messy. My ability to see my own homemaking path becomes less clear. Despite the intent of blogs to encourage, so often they leave me discouraged and needlessly burdened.


     In ways, homemaking in the media has had a negative impact on my homemaking journey. I turn it off in search for peace and purpose. In other ways, media has uplifted and revitalized homemaking. It’s made it accessible to all women. Women who are experienced in the practice are able to share insights and those who are novices are able to turn to this resource for learning. There is a positive and negative side to everything. There is also a balance to all things. I’ve learned that it is important to occasionally turn off the screen and step away in order to define and establish one’s own practice and purpose. 



*Note: Reviving Homemaking is not an affiliate of www.womenlivingwell.org or the publishing companies (Thomas Nelson & HarperCollins Christian Publishing). No compensation has been received by either of these entities for the review of the book. All opinions are my own. 

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