Timeless Tips from Mentors of the Past

By Courtenay February 17, 2020 The Proverbs 31 Woman

Timeless tips. They sound pretty durable, anyway. The kind of thing your mother or grandmother would pass on to you, as you sit on the porch some lazy afternoon, with the gentle creak of a rocking-chair, and the distant voices of laughing children, while you talk about life, and faith, and the things that are really important.

It’s an idyllic image, but one that can call up a sensation of heartache in many of today’s most faithful wives and mothers.

It’s a picture of peace. A picture of happiness. A picture of the kind of mentorship that is part of God’s plan for raising and strengthening godly women.

But it’s also a picture that is tragically rare in our world today.

The Longing for a Mentor

Many, many homemakers and homeschoolers can identify with the unfulfilled longing for godly Christian role models in the generation who went before them. Not all, but many, find themselves walking a path that is radically different from that which their mother took before them.

In the quest for a more Biblical family life, they have been forced to abandon the status quo in which they were raised, and embark on a pioneering journey into what sometimes feels like an entirely uncharted sea. If you are one of these mothers, than you have probably experienced at one time or other the deep longing for mentorship—the heartrending wish for the guidance of someone older and wiser—someone who was walked this path before.

Where Do You Find a Mentor?

As difficult as it sometimes is to accept the fact, our longings cannot change the truths about our past. Every generation makes mistakes, and in the 21^st century Western world, the mistakes of the last fifty years have had a tremendously damaging impact on homemaking—and consequently, on homemaking role models.

That can be a discouraging fact to face. The good news is, no matter how “first generation” you feel when it comes to homemaking, homeschooling, or any other aspect of being a “keeper at home,” there is actually a host of qualified, successful, and optimistic ladies who have gone before you.

Faithful Christian women, who prioritized their role in the home, and have been eager to pass on their skills, have existed in every generation. And their wisdom can still be reached today—which is exactly the reason that SAW Publishing’s Timeless Tips series was born.

Timeless Tips from Mentors of the Past

Beginning in the early 1800s and continuing to gain force throughout the century following, the world of literature became flooded with works on the arts of homemaking and education. While these books are little-known to the majority of today’s readers, they contain a wealth of timeless tips to strengthen and encourage ladies of all generations.

SAW Publishing’s Timeless Tips from Homemakers of the Past, as well as our companion series of Timeless Tips from Educators of the Past, are designed to make these treasures available to the modern reader. The mentors of the past don’t have to stay in the past. They can be mentors, encouragers, and friends to all of us today.

Let Our Timeless Tips be Your Mentor

Each Timeless Tip features quotes from one or more homemaking/education writers of the past, as well as suggestions for adapting or applying the tip in the 21^st century.

Ranging from simple how-to techniques to overarching principles of life, and from child-friendly recipes to spiritual encouragement, our Timeless Tips from Homemakers and Educators of the Past offer you the chance to listen in on the advice and experience of mentors who have gone before.

With new posts being added monthly, this series is growing fast. As always, we would be happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below.

If you’re ready to tap into this wealth of past wisdom, just click on the image below!