As much as I love my job, though, my first role is always that of wife and mom, and ultimately it is the one that matters most. Earlier this month I was happy to read that Patrice Lewis, writing at World Net Daily, agrees.

In Lewis’ piece (entitled Why Housewives Will Save the World), she proclaims that she is nothing more than an opinionated north Idaho housewife and that she is proud to be exactly that. While the term housewife is often considered to be degrading, Lewis reclaims the mantle with zeal for all it entails–thriftiness, encouragement, and hard, creative work for starters. In fact, she goes so far as to proclaim that the housewives of America will save this nation.

There has been a revival of late, perhaps brought on by the economic hardships faced by many of America’s families, of self-proclaimed housewives who desire to share their tips on budgeting, cooking, cleaning and more. The impulse is a good one, and its easy to see the value of a new generation of wives and moms choosing to be more intentional at home.

While many of us moms work outside of our homes, either part- or full-time, we can find encouragement in Lewis’ proclamation. The work we are doing in our homes, though it tends to be more thankless and produces fewer immediate rewards, is the very stuff that keeps a society moving. A mother sets the tone for a home and lays the foundation of love and trust that keeps a family together when circumstances seem impossible. And, as Lewis points out, “the foundation of a nation is a solid family unit.”

G.K. Chesterton wrote a wonderful essay on this topic entitled The Emancipation of Domesticity. While I wish I could quote it all, I will leave you with this snippet to whet your appetite:

How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.

If I want to take on the world, to have a job that truly defines me and allows me to have an impact that will last well beyond my time on Earth, it looks as though I’ve chosen the right line of work.

You read that right. It was recently reported that an insurance company in North Carolina is now offering married individuals the ability to insure against the financial costs of divorce. The company is selling “units of protection” for $15.99 per month for $1,250 in coverage per unit.

Unlike other insurance options, just the consideration of divorce insurance has devastating implications for the marriage. First, the marriage is tagged with the label “limited life,” which questions the marriage’s chances of success. It essentially says, “I’m not certain this will last.” Second, both husband and wife would immediately begin to feel a sense of vulnerability in the relationship, rather than security.

Here’s an idea for starters. Instead of spending money on divorce insurance, how about investing that money on regular date nights to nurture the relationship? Communication and shared experiences can go a long way toward shoring up a marriage.

Here’s another suggestion: I’ll call it “marriage insurance.” This policy would insure the longevity of the relationship and pay dividends “till death do us part.” Both the husband and wife would be covered for accidental angry words, forgotten anniversaries, misspent funds, hurt feelings and the list goes on and on. However, there are two important “payouts” for the coverage. First, there must be forgiveness for the responsible party. And, just as critical, repentance (yes you read the word right) that heralds “I have not done the right thing and I will change my behavior to do the right thing next time.”

It makes a lot more sense to put our energy, time and money into making our marriage work than to undermine it by assuming that it won’t.

So which insurance policy have you and your spouse written for your marriage?

This week, GFC’s Center for Community Initiatives will facilitate a Train-the-Trainer Workshop lead by David and Claudia to certify 40 individuals in their resource. These certified trainers will then teach many more couples what they have learned.

“10 Great Dates” is dating with a purpose. Each evening out provides an opportunity for husband and wife to discuss a predetermined topic such as “resolving honest conflict.”

Although there are some questions provided beforehand to start the conversation, the couple is encouraged to “talk about it” during their date to assess how things are in their marriage relative to the topic. And so it goes throughout all ten dates. Ten dates, ten topics. Of course the second and equally important purpose of each date is for husband and wife to have a fun time together.

As David and Claudia are so fond of saying “fun in marriage is serious business,” but it’s well worth the effort.

So are you and your spouse having fun these days?

I was reminded of this when I heard a short interview between an 8-year-old girl and her father recently broadcast on National Public Radio. The dad had been absent from her life for 5 years.

“Have me and Mom ever extremely disappointed you?” the father asks.

“Yes. She asked me if I wanted to meet my father, and I was already 5 years old,” Kioni says.

“And I was like, wondering, why couldn’t she have said that before? And I was disappointed that she didn’t,” she says. “If I could do it now, then why couldn’t I have done it when I was 4 or 3, or 1?

“And you had disappointed me, Dad,” she says, “because you have not been in my life for five years.”

You can read the entire transcript of the short interview between father and daughter by clicking here, but I highly recommend that you click here to listen to it instead. It’s only 3 minutes long. The words of this little girl demonstrate powerfully how, even at a young age, a dad’s absence is felt by his child.

Most of us know intuitively that kids do best with an active father in their life. There’s just something uniquely compelling about hearing this expressed through the voice of a little girl.