top 5 posts of 2012

i thought it would be interesting to go back and look at some of the most viewed post of 2012 from this blog.  i wasn't surprised to see that most of the posts were from my passionate, joyful homemaking series in the winter/spring, which was a bit controversial, though probably needlessly.

something else interesting to note is that all 5 posts have to do with biblical manhood and womanhood. since these are two subjects i care deeply about, i am glad that these were ranked so highly.

#6  passionate, joyful homemaking: the pleasure duty paradox: [whoops, just noticed that this post was actually #6 after i wrote the summary thinking its #5... oh well i guess its a bonus :) ] a few people will admit it, but motherhood can be drudgery at times (which is why many will pay others to do it).  thats why its important to remember the pleasure/duty paradox: how our God-ordained duties (including being household managers) become pleasures when we know Jesus.

#5 Real manhood: the mostly female readers of this blog would do well to understand biblical manhood.  its important for functioning in the church, choosing a husband and praying for your husband.  this post has a few points on this important topic.

#4 passionate, joyful homemaking: why do moms pursue careers at the expense of family?: the title pretty much sums it up.  but one point i do want to make about this post and the others in this series: my tone (from what i gathered from people's comments) was assumed to be harsh and critical.  that isn't the tone that i was writing in.  the motive of my heart was to uplift this important aspect of biblical womanhood that is often maligned and degraded by our society.  i believe that homemaking should be full of joy (hence the title of the series!) and i write with joy at the beautiful role that God created for mothers (while not backing down from pointing out the lies society tries to tell us).

#3 passionate, joyful homemaking: distractions to the stay at home mom: in the midst of the biblical teaching for wives to be homeward focused, we can still fail to fulfill this even if we spend all day inside our house.  this post explores a few things that can keep our eyes off of the best things.

#2 passionate, joyful homemaking: what about _____ situation?: some questions about different situations not addressed in other posts of the series.

#1 passionate, joyful homemaking: should moms pursue a career?: i honestly hesitate to put this post on the list, as it was probably the most controversial of a very controversial series.  but biblical truth is controversial, and i am comforted to know that even jesus said i should expect to be maligned when i speak the truth.