Beautiful Homemakers

 Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!   Today I am reading chapter 3 of the book Beautiful Homemaking by Charlene Johnson, and the title of the chapter is also "Beautiful Homemaking."  I hope you enjoy it!  Love, Janine For a list of ALL of the Grace L. Hill books, many with my notes, click here:  Grace Livingston Hill Books in Alphabetical Order.    I had linked this short story thinking it was by Grace Livingston Hill, but it was actually by her mother Marcia Livingston, and her aunt Isabella Alden, who were sisters, and Grace's writing mentors. Here are two short stories by Grace Livingston Hill.  Most of her stories are full length novels. I also had mentioned Myka Meier's book Modern Etiquette Made Easy . (Amazon affiliate link)

 Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!    I hope you enjoy Chapter Two, complete with original illustrations, of the 1961 Beautiful Homeamking book. I briefly mention the book Christy from Catherine Marshall .  Everyone who has read this book loves it!  A word of caution if you are going to buy a copy - the latest 2017 edition has had problems with printing and pages falling out.  I've linked to an older version that has held up for 30 years.  Don't get the abridged version, either, if you want the full story.  You may need to find a copy on ThriftBooks or eBay. "Keeper of the Springs" is a sermon about homemakers from Peter Marshall, Catherine's husband    May God bless you in your homemaking,  Janine  

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers! I'm sharing the book that I named my channel after.  Beautiful Homemaking was published in 1961 by Charlene Johnson , when she was 27 years old.  The illustrations and the Foreword were by her husband, Raymond W. Johnson.   Whenever she quotes Scripture, it will be from the Revised Standard Version of 1946 and 1952. There are 10 chapters: Introduction Have a Cup of Coffee, Mother? Beautiful Homemaking Beautiful You Crown Your Husband! The Tender Care of "Jesus' Little Lambs" Your Home - Your Paradise! Open the Door! How Big Is Your World? Your God and You  After sharing both flaps, the foreword, dedication, table of contents, a poem, and  Chapter 1: Introduction , I tell you a story of a mother and daughter I met some time ago, and how they exemplified the old saying,  "beauty is, as beauty does."       I think her book is really going to encourage you!   But, you know, being a Christian is not a s...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!   I like to start off my day with prayer while I'm still in bed, and then eventually have my physical breakfast with my spiritual breakfast ("Breakfast and the Bible").  I am not always able to begin my day with the Bible, but it's a goal.  Some days are easier than others.  Sometimes I'm running out the door and can't read it until bedtime. I learned long ago to give back to God a portion of the money we receive from a paycheck or other income. The New Testament emphasizes giving with a cheerful heart the amount of money you choose.  It doesn't have to be 10%, but that is a good goal.  If you aren't used to giving, be consistent with giving 1%, and when that becomes fairly easy, up it to 2%, and so on.  We like to give the first part of our money to the Lord's work: whatever work is being done in Jesus' name, whether it be to our church, to Christian charities, or directly to other people in need. In the same way, ...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!   Can you believe that after a good two years we have finally reached the end of the original 1922 Fascinating Womanhood pamphlets?    The video will do a little recapping of some information in this last chapter called General Conclusions, and then I will go over some of the things men say they don't like in women, and what they DO like.    I talk a little about upgrading your wardrobe by getting rid of your old, ratty, too-tight, too low cut, stained, faded, sagging at the knees, or stretched out clothes and making room for new, feminine clothing.  Remember that business suits are masculine.  Only wear clothes that you feel adorable in! It's time to do a closet purge.  Remember to turn your hangers around so that at the end of the year you know which clothes you never wore.  OR, better yet, remove clothes that don't fit that you want to keep to a suitcase. Simplify your closet.   While visual impact co...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers! I just came home from attending lovely Margaret's funeral. She was 96 years old. When I last saw her a few weeks ago she was as chipper and sweet as ever. She slipped into eternity last week in her sleep, in her own bed, at home. For those of you who enjoyed her story, I thought you'd like to know.      She was a true, frugal homemaker, raising 6 children in a tiny home with a big yard, right near a railroad track. She had the best orange and lemon trees. Several of her children spoke at the service, as well as a man who says he inserted himself into their family as a kid and never left. He testified to her scrumptious cooking, and many remarked on her Proverbs 31 ways.     When I asked her for her favorite Bible verses about marriage, she said she had two chapters she lived by:  Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3 .  This past year she and her daughter have been attending Sunday morning church with us and I will miss he...

 Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!   In today's video we continue Chapter 17 of Inspiring the Proposal, and our subheadings are: A Case of "Give Up or Speak Up"  The Story of Mary and Robert  "If Robert ever wanted to marry her, she wanted to know it, and she wanted to know it NOW."  The Method Mary Used He Thought Mary Was a Fixture [in his life] How Any Girl Can Win A Tactful Artifice "...Joe couldn't help telling her that in his opinion she oughtn't to marry either; that, indeed, he had hoped some day to marry her himself..." The Third Principle of Inspiring the Proposal "If he is not ripe for action, naturally, no attempt ought to be made to hurry matters." How to Make Use of a Rival The General Principles Involved "In every case, however, and under all circumstances, the three underlying principles must obtain." Make it easy for the man to act Make it hard for him  not  to act Place herself in such a light that action, if th...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!    We are still in the middle of Chapter XVII Inspiring the Proposal, and our subheadings are: Another Method of Making It Easy  When to Be "Blue" -- and How What to Do When Immediate Marriage Seems Impractical What Every Girl Must Do Making It Hard for Him Not to Act A Method That Stirs a Man to Action A Word of Warning [Most important!] Marrying Under Pressure A Case of "Give Up or Speak Up" [Introduction] I think that after this video there will only be two more before we finish the pamphlets! I'm so excited to delve into our new book, hopefully in January 2026.   Notifications By the way, I am not sure why those of you who signed up long ago with Mail Chimp are still receiving notifications on Saturdays when they said they were ending the free notifications; I'm so sorry if receiving two notifications bothers you.  If so, please unsubscribe from Follow.It. Some people actually like receiving both, because Follow.It notifies y...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!   We are getting nearer to the end of the original 1922 Fascinating Womanhood pamphlets.  In this video we cover one-third of chapter 17 entitled "Inspiring the Proposal." Three Ways to Secure Action How to Create Romantic Situations How to Encourage Sentimental Emotions The Atmosphere That Encourages Romance The Secret of Surrounding the Home With the Halo of Romance How to Dine to Your Best Advantage The Kind of Photo Plays to Avoid When Together Actions That Make Speech Easy When Ezekiel's Heart Thumped, and When Pretense is Pleasing   I just love it when I come across MEN saying the same things we've been talking about in these FW pamphlets.  Here are a few I've come across recently, if you are interested:  **** Since we are almost through with these 8 pamphlets, I am busily gathering information for our new book series which I hope to begin early in 2026!  We will move forward in time 30-40 years to cover a book that w...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers! We cover a lot of ground in today's video of Pamphlet 8 of the original 1922 Fascinating Womanhood pamphlets.  How to Shatter All Obstacles "No matter what the objection that is standing in the man's way, it is only in this atmosphere that it can be overcome. For the sake of convenience, we have been calling the process of creating this atmosphere the 'castle-in-the-air' method.  It will have to be used constantly."   Living with a man, or sleeping with him, gives him absolutely no reason to marry you.  THAT is a counterfeit marriage.   We cover what would prevent a man's proposing marriage to any girl under these subheadings: When Money Blocks the Path (including debts) ,  is the first subheading.  Regarding school loans - look up Completely Free Colleges, Sophia for undergrad classes, and Western Governor's University for less expensive degrees. After I read about  A Man's Secret Obligations ,  I discuss ...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!  Can you believe we are  finally  on Pamphlet 8?  We are beginning Chapter 16 "Removing the Obstacles to Marriage."   "The objections of judgment always stand between desire and action. Those objections must be overcome before you can get him to act upon his desire to marry." We discuss two barriers to marriage and how to remove them. His biggest fear is usually that he cannot earn enough to support a wife.  (Our book about newlyweds Bettina and Bob, A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband , also had great advice on this front).  "If she imagines that the fear of being unable to support a wife is the obstacle, she must proceed to remove it. This is not to be done, of course, by boldly coming out into the open and showing him that he can.  That wouldn't be lady-like, at least before the proposal.  But the following method is both lady-like and effective." We also discuss  How Most Men Propose  and believ...

Hello, Beautiful Homemakers! We are actually finishing up Pamphlet 7 today of the original 1922 Fascinating Womanhood pamphlets!  YAY!    In this video I cover the last quarter of Chapter XV  Arousing Worship, Adoration, and Love.  The Qualities in Woman that Inspire Love in Man  Subtitles are: Your Next Step What You DO to Sustain Worship:  "Many a girl, in this way, has transformed a man from an apparently thoughtless, careless, selfish, and ignoble man into a true and noble one..."   When Men Slip: "You must be immensely disappointed at his temporary lapse, but your faith in the ultimate nobility of his nature must be unshaken."   Two Results of Your Plan How to Turn Worship Into Love:   "She becomes, for him, the one woman in all the world - the purest, the best, the gentlest, and the Loveliest in every other way."  Look at this headstone I uncovered: (literally - I uncovered it from a mound of dirt and leaves - and yes, my hea...

 Hello, Beautiful Homemakers! Let me give you a preview of today's lesson.  I saw a scenario once in a tourist town - the man wanted pie, and the woman wanted ice cream.  Instead of being a FW, she became a shrew.  She started belittling the man's taste, his weight, she began mocking him, blah, blah, blah.  Whereas all she would have had to do to get her own way, would have been to .... do what we cover in today's lesson!    We are continuing in Pamphlet 7, Chapter 15, Arousing Worship, Adoration, and Love .  How were our great-great-grandmothers were so successful in capturing the hearts of men? "They knew how to place themselves on a pedestal and keep themselves there. They knew how to look sincere, and yet drop their eyes, how to be animated and yet seem timid, how to blush, how to lay a hand ever so lightly on a man's coat sleeve, how to shake hands with an eager beginning and before the clasp was scarcely begun shyly to draw the hand...

 Hello, Beautiful Homemakers!    We are in the middle of Chapter XV Arousing Worship, Adoration, and Love, of Pamphlet 7 of the original 1922 Fascinating Womanhood pamphlets.  This video starts with "The Story of a Stenographer" and her date taking her to supper at the Roof Garden. As she is looking around with interest at the crowd that was drinking, "the man naturally thought that she was wavering, that the contagious irresponsibility had affected her, and proceeded to wobble her pedestal; he was intensely interested, to tell the truth, in learning if she was the refined and idealistic woman she seemed." I got halfway through the subsection "How She Won Out" before I started telling stories of how I fell off my pedestal at work, on my first date with my now husband, and other stories, and I ran out of time, so we will finish this subsection in FW 7.6. I tell what my husband thought of me not drinking alcohol, and how he came to stop imbibing as well. Peo...