"Keeper at home" literally means to guard or watch. In order to guard and watch your home, you must be home. And so, the enemy devised a plan to lure women away from their homes so he could steal, kill and destroy the men, women and children of our culture.
He first gave women a taste of the independence and luxuries of working outside the home during WWII. Feminism came along and convinced them that homemaking was inferior and to cast off the shackles of marriage, child-bearing and housework, making their mark in the masculine realm of the workplace.
Over time, some people, especially those in Christian circles, decided that mothers were needed at home. They figured out they couldn't do it all and marriages and families were falling apart. So some came home. As incomes rose, more and more homes got two automobiles. Once again, moms had a lot of freedom and left the home often to run about here and there.
Children were carted off to after school activities, music lessons, etc. Moms are still seldom at home. Their car becomes their home away from home. As they frantically drive home from all the activities, they grab fast food and they all eat their dinners in front of the TV exhausted or playing with their electronic gadgets.
All the verses referring to wives and mothers in the Bible revolve around activities done in their own homes and caring for their families. Is it possible that God gave these instructions because He knew we were hard-wired in such a way that we require a mostly home-centered life in order to attain to the gentle, quiet, and meek spirit He wants to see in us?
The benefits of being home more are: time for prayer and meditation in God's Word, families eating healthier since we have more time to make meals from scratch, saving money on gas and automobile wear, homes better kept, being more rested and ready to fulfill our "wifely duties" for our husbands, more available to those in need, and our children will be rested, happier, and more relaxed.
Our homes and our families should receive the lion's share of our time and attention. The last thing in the world the enemy wants is for us to be rested, peaceful, content, and quiet. I think this includes not being involved in a lot of ministries that are outside of your home. When you have children at home, you are to guard and watch your home, even when they are teenagers. Don't listen to the lies of the enemy and society any longer. Listen to God's Word and His plan for you.
For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
has said, "In repentance and rest you shall be saved,
in quietness and trust is your strength."
