Working Thesis

Whenever asked the question of who I want to be my first thought it I want to be a mom. This might seem like an unusual goal but when looking back on everything I do for myself is to become a good mother. I work hard so I can get a good career for myself to provide for my future kids. Who I want to be in a mother with a career with religious values. 

Example of Integrating Quotes

Topic: Family
Jennifer Rutherford a mother of a 1 year old little girl named Eva, works at the Unversity of Ministry at Lewis University as the Coordinator of Retreats and Faith Formation. She is the moderator of FYI which is the First year Interaction for freshman retreats. She also is working on a vocation retreat for sophomores in March. When asked what defines family she referred to a painting hanging in her house that says " Being a part of a family means you will love and be loved forever no matter what." she compared this idea of family to the family of God and that family should represent having unconditional love. The quote is a reminder of what she wants her family to represent. 

Interview with Jennifer Rutherford (unfinished)

Jennifer Rutherford is a mother of a one year old little girl named Eva, she works in Lewis's ministry. It was a pleasure to get to know her and interview her. Here are some topics we discussed.

• How would you define family?
•  When asked this question Jennifer referred to a picture hanging in her home that said " Being a part of a family means you will love and be loved forever no matter what." This bring on a sense that we are like God's family and that being a part of a family means to have unconditional love. Jennifer said that " before my daughter I used to think of ourselves as a couple. Family meant our parents or siblings. Now, with Eva, my husband and I say 'family' instead of 'couple'."

•  As a mother, what are some challenges you faced while raising your child? 
• When asked this question Jennifer said "well being  that Eva is only one I don't have to do the whole car pool soccer mom routine yet." but she did state that she second guesses what she does and that being that Eva is their first child her husband and her are very over protective of her.

• Does work ever interfere with family time?
• Jennifer explained how she used to work from home and how now, that shes full time at Lewis University she misses out on seeing Eva grow up. "Sometimes I come home and I see her toys all cleaned up. I know I've missed quality time with E (Eva) and wonder what she's done without me." Jennifer said that she has considered the option of being a stay at home mom but she said she felt like working at Lewis was her calling. "I know I'm in the right place." Eva's grandparents get to spend quality time her her as Jennifer and her husband work. She said that she was grateful for them because they could influence Eva and become her teachers and mentors 

• What kind of support system do you look to when you are faced with difficult challenges? 
• Jennifer said that she relies on her friends that go way back to college even some from high school. These friends are there for help and support when she finds that she needs someone to talk to. Her parents of course, and at times she'll look to her pastor for help.

• Do you believe that having a home filled with God's presence is important?
•  "YES" Jennifer has a book of quotes and scripts that she reads to help raise Eva with Christian values,

• How do you incorporate religious affairs into the home?
• Jennifer described how she reads bible verses and prays for her family every night.

The Struggles of Parenting

Senior, Jennifer. “For parents, happiness is a very high bar.” Online video clip. Ted Talks.Ted. March 2014. Web. 5 November 2014.

Jennifer Senior a mother of a six years talks about how there are no rules or guidelines on what it means to be a good parent to your children. With so many parenting books out there it becomes overwhelming to know what kind of parent to be. This uncertainty puts parents under a lot of stress and anxiety. Jennifer compares parenting to a “crisis.” Though this term may seem like an over exaggeration studies show that people would rather interact with all others rather than their kids. This isn’t due to the fact that parents don’t like their children, it’s because parenting has become a complex job. Jennifer states the question “what is parenting?” and this question has no definite answer because parenting has no norms. Parents can agree that all they want is their child to be happy, but as we know happiness is something that cannot be achieved as a goal. Jennifer states that happiness can be a byproduct of other achievements but to have happiness as a goal can cause many anxieties not only on the parent but on the child as well. Parents always want what’s best for their kids. Each generation of parents wants better for their children than what they had or even what their parents had. That is what makes parenting so hard. These challenges that parents face can become very overwhelming especially considering that in most middle class households both parents work.  Jennifer mentions how Sesame Street has changed over the years because “it is not suitable for children” warning labels and caveats are inputted into older versions of Sesame Street because most parents now days shield their children do to the amount of anxiety they feel to protect their kids. Though parenting can be a wonderful experience Jennifer shows that parents do face common challenges. 

Video can be found at: 

http://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_senior_for_parents_happiness_is_a_very_high_bar#t-833887

Summary with included citation

Oates, Kerris L M; Hall, M Elizabeth Lewis; Anderson, Tamara L; Willingham, Michele M. "Pursuing Multiple Callings: The Implications of Balancing Career and Motherhood for Women and the Church." Christian Association for Psychological Studies, Inc. 27 (2008): 227-237. Web. 3 November 2014.

INTRO

In this article studies uncover the benefits of being a mother with multiple roles in careers and motherhood and compare the good and bad qualities these roles have.

In literature Thoits claimed that the more roles a woman possessed the less physiological stress she’d have. This is in direct relation to Crosby’s theory which states that women with multiple roles tend to suffer less depression than other women. Studies show that high percentage of women with children work obtaining these multiple roles. Though studies show many benefits to women with multiple roles researchers have found that women struggle with interrole conflict meaning they struggle with pressure and stress from these multiple roles and feel like they fail to succeed in a single role due to the amount of pressure they take on. In lament terms, they take on more than they can chew. Studies say the potential for interrole conflict is higher in women than men because women who enter the workforce still need to presume the cultural standards placed on them. Greenberg and O’Neil studied the relationship between married couples with preschoolers. They found that the women were more focused on the parenting role and because of that they felt more stress and anxiety because of the role strain. Another research Simon also found this to be true. To overcome some of the difficulties this study states that having a strong sense of spirituality truly helps because it can take the strain off of the amount of stress that is felt from the multiple roles.

POSITIVE BENEFITS

Investigator Barnett and Baruch found that married women with children that held prestigious careers tended to have a higher well-being than women with or without jobs that had had no children and women with children that were not employed. Haddock and Rattenborg found that some benefits of working and parenting are: better financial stability, better parenting overall, better parental relationships with their children, and the parents positively affected their child’s social and intellectual skills. Studies also show that a positive outcome of women having multiple roles is higher self-esteem.  Though it is believed that the positive outcomes would overshadow the negative outcomes of having multiple roles most of the negative outcome come from interrole conflicts. 

NEGATIVE BENEFITS

Studies have reported that women tend to have many conflicts from parenting and having a career. Employed mothers feel this because they try to balance working and motherhood and have to overcome the conflicting goals that both roles bring on. Many studies have found that women will experience symptoms of depression, anger, stress and many other negative qualities about themselves due to the interrole conflicts because it affects their sense of well-being. 

SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality plays a big part in women’s lives that have multiple roles. This sense of a greater purpose never included motherhood until the protestant reformation. Through these studies researchers found that God was a source of strength in the working women’s lives. The present of God in these women’s lives showed that their stress was reduced because they worked in collaboration with God and had a better sense of self-being. Researchers found that there was a tendency of Christian mothers to have a calling in the workforce and motherhood. Studies found that some religious organizations looked down on mothers with multiple callings and roles so it was beneficial to the mother if she was part of a church or religious organization that supported their roles. 

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion may benefits come from women pursuing multiple calls or roles in their life especially when there is a present of God. Churches that support these multiple roles in women’s lives can be very beneficial in helping women understand and accomplish their calling. Though some conflicts do arise within having multiple roles a strong support system helps lessen these negative outcomes.