Keeping Up With the Gaines? Count Me Out.
I’ve always been a little bit of a rebel when it comes to big trendy movements in the modern mommy/wifey culture.
If the crowd is headed in one direction, I’m usually headed the other.
Anti-trendy is how I’ve described myself more times than I can count.
When the entire world painted their homes in that sterile “greige” color palette and tried to turn every nursery and living room into a hotel lobby—
I bought red plaid curtains.
Teal throw pillows.
Yellow kitchen towels.
Cheerful colors that looked like people actually lived there—because little people did live there.
I refused to make our family home look like a magazine spread, especially while my kids were still crawling under the table and spilling milk out of plastic cups.
And when every woman in America proudly carried around a $60 Stanley like it was a badge of honor, I would’ve rather walked around with a styrofoam gas station cup.
I’ve never had the desire to blend in.
So, it’s no surprise that years ago when the Fixer Upper era launched and women all over the country became infatuated with Chip and Joanna Gaines, I knew right away I wouldn’t be joining the movement.
Something in me recoils at cult-following energy.
I’m wired to be skeptical when everyone starts chanting the same tune.
I’ve always felt there’s something shallow about a culture that screams “be unique” and then proceeds to clone itself exactly.
Now don’t get me wrong.
I didn’t hate them.
I didn’t make posts bashing them or judge anyone who watched.
And yes, I could absolutely see why so many of my Christian sisters felt drawn to them.
They were clean-cut.
Traditional marriage.
Sweet, down-home family vibes.
In a world drowning in filth and rebellion, they offered something with a hint of wholesomeness.
And honestly? I did buy the “Christian family” act—hook, line, and sinker.
I just didn’t decorate my home with the Magnolia line.
But this week, the mask dropped.
The premiere of their newest show, “Back to the Frontier” featuring a homosexual couple should be a wake-up call for all of us.
It’s a reminder that just because something looks Christian, smells Christian, and sounds Christian, doesn’t mean it’s grounded in the gospel.
It’s not enough to say “marriage matters” on social media or quote a verse every now and then.
Christ will not be used as window dressing for entertainment and branding.
Let’s be honest.
These folks greatest accomplishments are as actors.
Performers.
They have built a media empire and they know who their target audience is—us.
Bible-believing women.
Homeschool moms.
Christian families who want something wholesome on TV for once.
And they’ve played us like a fiddle.
They’ve monetized the appearance of Christianity without the backbone.
They sold us ‘Hearth and Hand’ and made it feel holy.
But Christ is not fooled by branding.
He sees the heart.
The Bible says in Colossians 2:8:
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
That’s what this is—vain deceit packaged in aesthetic excellence.
A movement that made women feel like if they didn’t have shiplap walls and antique breadboards they were somehow missing out.
It created a culture of covetousness cloaked in the guise of “inspiration.”
The truth is, Christ doesn’t care if you used Joanna’s trending paint colors.
He doesn’t care if you made her cookies or recreated her tablescape.
He cares about your heart.
He cares about the discontent that grew in your spirit while flipping through her catalog.
He cares about the covetousness that crept in as you tried to “fix up” a perfectly livable, God-given home.
He cares that women walk into each other’s houses and instead of fellowship, there’s measuring going on.
Quiet judgment.
Unspoken envy.
Hebrews 13:5 says:
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
It’s not about shiplap.
It’s about your soul.
This isn’t just about the Gaines.
This is about a spirit that’s invaded the homes and hearts of Christian women across this country.
We were so desperate for something clean in a filthy world, we didn’t ask whether it was truly righteous.
And now we’re watching the final product:
A show glamorizing sin and calling it family television.
Abomination wrapped in farmhouse twine.
Proverbs 14:12 warns:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Don’t turn it on.
Don’t “give it a chance.”
Don’t support it.
And don’t let anyone fool you into thinking this is still wholesome content.
It’s not.
It’s propaganda, plain and simple.
It’s indoctrination served with a syrupy smile.
I challenge you, sister, stop eating out of anyone’s hand but the Lord’s.
Don’t let cult followings define your home, your wardrobe, your kitchen, your life.
Shut off HGTV.
Close Pinterest.
Set the phone down.
And walk through your house with new eyes.
Thank God for your home.
Thank Him for the roof, the food, the laughter, the memories.
That’s what makes it beautiful.
Not your curtain rods.
Not your backsplash.
Gratitude has always been gorgeous.
And as for contentment?
It isn’t sold in the Magnolia aisle at Target.
Philippians 4:11 reminds us:
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
That’s the lesson we need.
Not paint colors.
Not how to install a farmhouse sink.
But how to be content with what we have.
How to steward what God gave us.
How to raise children in homes that are filled with peace—not Pinterest pressure.
How to walk in truth and stop being duped by actors claiming Christian values.
Let’s stop trying to keep up with the Gaines. And start following Jesus.
Biblical Womanhood
🎆🎇!!JULY SPECIAL!!🎇🎆
For anyone who becomes an annual subscriber ($60 per year), or who upgrades from a monthly subscriber to an annual subscriber in JULY will receive a digital copy of my 30 day devotional & Bible reading guide for free! ($14.99 value!)
Upon subscribing please send me a private message with your email for the digital devotional! You may also gift the devotional to a loved one if you’d prefer!
Wall corners chipped? Check. Pictures all askew?? Check. Paint 20 years old? Check. Adult children convercing around the ancient kitchen table? Check. Teens yucking it up at the same table? Check. Grand babies crawling under said table and through all the chair legs? Check. Food aplenty? Again and again and again? Check. Jesus told us we would have life, and life abundantly. And so we have!
Franklin Graham isn’t too happy with homosexual show either. I visited Waco some years ago. Too hot ghost town due to a tornado that blew through and destroyed the area as told by one of the few shop owners open. The Gaines were revitalizing the town, he said. Sunday service at the church Gaines’ attended. A female pastor preached. I left disappointed and cheated. Never did I hear Chip or Joanna give God the glory for anything. The red flags were all over the place. Haven’t been a fan for a very long time. They continued to sell their products at Target while Target sold disgusting clothing to accommodate the fetishes of sinful life styles. I pray the Gaines come to their senses and believe in the living God who will one day be their Judge