How can you survive with one income?

I've been in a lively sermon series on roles of men and women called, "Male and Female He Created Them" and spoke two weeks ago on the topic of "Caretaker." The big idea of the message was that God has designed the woman in the partnership of equals to be the caretaker of the home - loving their husbands and loving their children, thus "helping" her husband to fulfill God's command to fill the earth and subdue it. He is primarily the provider, protector, leader and she is primarily the helper, nurturer, caretaker which is focused on the domestic area.

One of the statements I made in the sermon which caused a bit of controversy was this: "It is almost impossible to raise your children to hope in God when both parents are pursuing separate careers, all coming home at the same time (dad, mom, kids). The home becomes a frantic factory of activity to prepare dinner, help with homework, finish domestic chores that call for attention, converse as a married couple, and to have some meaningful time with the children, all from 6 - 9 PM. Normally, the parents are in no mood to deal with the kids and the urge is to get them in bed as soon as possible. In that environment, either the marriage suffers or the children suffer, and many times it is both." My point is that the mom needs to be home to provide a loving sanctuary to raise the next generation to hope in God.

One question that may arise from this statement might be: How is it possible to survive in this day and age with one income?

The first step towards change is being convinced that you need to. If you sense the Lord's promptings to stay home with your child during these crucial years then you are half-way there because 'where there is a will there is a way." It may take awhile to arrive at if you've made financial choices that lock you in (house, car, education, etc.), but over time you can make the changes.

The bottomline is: Either your husband gets a better paying job or you down-size. If you decide to downsize, consider the following...

• Rent instead of own a home
• Find an older or cheaper car
• Eat at home rather than going out to dinner ("brown bag it" for lunch)
• Unplug the cable or be more disciplined with cell phones

Does that sound too radical? Just remember something: you get your kids at home for only short time and then they grow up and leave. Make the most of it while you can...