Decorating Your Home

Oh, how I love to decorate! Give me a unadorned room, an unlimited supply of cash, and all the time in the world, and I'm in total bliss! Of course, it's a rarity to be able to live out the above scenario. In reality, we must make do with what we have and perhaps incorporate a few small expenditures for our vision to come to pass.

As newlyweds, all of our furniture had been handed down from our parents and a wonderful friend of mine. For example, our now-bedroom dresser had once been my changing table as a baby. My father-in-law had made our bedroom side table when he was in high school. Most of our living room furniture had belonged to my parents. All the furniture was in reasonably good shape and had been well-cared for.

As our family grew, however, things happened. Seven moves in seven years resulted in a broken hide-away couch. Infants initiated chair and couch cushions as only they can. The square footage of our living room varied from teeny-tiny apartments, awkwardly placed windows in a mobile home, weird extra rooms in an old Victorian, to the nicely sized area we live in now.

When we bought our first home (we currently live there now) my "colors" were (because of the hand-me-downs) slate blue, mauve pink, and cream. Our new living room had newer, earth-tone carpeting and warm ivory walls ~ but the drapes! I believe the word hideous should be used here ~ bright, dark burgandy-red (mainly red) drapes that were backed with a heavy white rubber-like material. Since we didn't have the extra cash to purchase new ones, I knew I had to somehow incorporate bright burgandy into my palette of restful blues, delicate mauves, and creamy ivories.

Fortunately, on a trip to either Khol's or Penny's, I found inexpensive throw pillows that had a floral pattern of blue, mauve, ivory, and ~ dark burgandy! A trip to Hobby Lobby enabled me to add inexpensive touches of burgandy to my floral arrangements, and voila! It worked!

Our bedroom walls were bright yellow and white sponge painting ~ what were these people thinking? So we repainted it with a creamy white. When we could afford it, the hubs finished the walls with a decorative glaze that looks like denim. We topped it with a country border that has hearts and sunflowers and other blue flowers on a creamy shelf. Now the room is denim blue and cream with touches of brick red hearts and golden sunflowers. Since we didn't have a headboard, we purchased some European pillows that serve as our "headboard".

My dream is to make my own headboard someday with plywood, batting, and denim fabric. We'd love to purchase a new bedroom set, but it's not in the budget. For now, my former changing table and my father-in-law's high school project are working just fine. Our old corner entertainment center houses our TV, and another hand-me-down entertainment table is my side table. God always provides for our needs, but He also blesses us with our wants, too.

My father-in-law took pity on us shortly after we moved into our current home six years ago. He and my mother-in-law came over to watch the kiddos for us while the hubs & I went out for a date. F-I-L tried to take a nap on our tiny loveseat, but was unsuccessful. When the hubs & I arrived home, he informed us that they would be giving us some cash to get "a decent couch".

A week later, we bought the current living room set we have now ~ and it was even on sale! With some of the extra cash, we bought a new entertainments center as well as a couple of nice end tables. I was thrilled to finally (!) get rid of the rubber-backed burgandy drapes that came with the house to a pleasing, nubby shade of olive green. Our living room is now done in comforting earth tones. The overall effect is cozy and restful. My idea of bliss!

The Simple Home

As a full-time homemaker, my greatest desire is that my family finds our home to be a haven of rest, a place of peace, and where their spirits can be renewed.

As I've stated in previous posts, as homemakers, we control the atmosphere of our homes. In fact, our home is the only environment over which we have control. No matter what storms are taking place on the outside ~ whether physical or spiritual ~ our home should be a place of sanctuary.

In her book "The Simple Home", Sharon Hanby-Robie writes, "For most of us sanctuary is synonymous with simplicity. Creating the simple home is not only practical for everyday living but also vital to spiritual health."

Charles Keeler, a poet and playwright in 1906, wrote that "The ideal home is one in which the family may be most completely sheltered to develop in love, graciousness, and individuality, and which is at the same time most accessible to friends, toward whom hospitality is as unconscious and spontaneous as it is abundant. Emerson says that the ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."

Not only do I want my home to be a place of soul~nourishment for my family, but a place where my friends feel welcomed.

My next posts will be about the purpose of a simple home, as well as decorating hints and my thoughts on hospitality.

The Home Manager ~ Watching & Working

Today's post is about our role as being the manager of our home. "She watches over the ways of her household..." Proverbs 31:27 states.

In Biblical times, watchmen were appointed to stand guard on the city's walls to watch for hostile action or suspicious activity. As home managers, we are given the same responsibility to be on the alert to watch over our households. As the one keeping watch, the woman turns her head, looking everywhere so that she doesn't miss a single detail.

She doesn't give a cursory glance over things. This godly woman oversees everything that pertains to her home with an intent gaze that studies everything closely. She knows what's going on under her roof.

Again, this lady carefully notices the patterns of her home life ~ the "ways" of her household ~ such as the general comings & goings, the habits and activities of the people at home.

Her "household" ~ her immediate family ~ is her main concern. A wise woman who carefully manages her home sees to it that her family is cared for spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Part of this caring is praying faithfully for your husband and children. To do, however, we have to look at our own walk with God and deal with any and all sin in our own lives before we can intercede for our beloved family.

With your family properly cared for, we can now turn our attention to our house ~ the place we work. I personally believe it's extremely important to have a house that is clean as well as organized! I also feel that making meals from scratch ~ using fresh foods is more healthy than buying frozen, processed foods or eating out too much.

All too often, even those of us who are stay-at-home-moms fail to recognize the importance of a clean home by just letting stuff "slide" for a while. We also fall into the convenience trap. I know in my own life, it's usually a result of poor use of my time or just plain laziness (eating the bread of idleness).

Tomorrow's post will be about the importance of cleaning and decluttering your home.

Making a House a Home ~ Avoiding the Negatives

We've studied ways how to build our home, but let's not ignore the last half of our verse from Proverbs 14:1 ~ "the foolish [woman] pulls it down with her hands".

When I think of pulling a house down, my mind goes to the TV series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". You know where I'm going with this. Bulldozers, wrecking balls, and zealous people eagerly smash, rip, and tear down what used to be a house. Do you notice it doesn't take long to ruin it? One bash of wrecking ball, and the house is no longer a place of shelter. It's open to the elements, unstable, and unfit to live in.

So how can a woman destroy her own home? "First, a woman can cause great damage actively: by working destruction." Mrs. George writes. This is usually uncontrolled anger. "It throws, it slams, it tears, and it rips. It also breaks things as well as rules." Doing these things is destructive enough, but "anger out of control also speaks words that break, destroy, ruin, and kill."

Not only can a woman destroy her home actively, but by being too passive ~ simply failing to work. Failing to follow through with our duties as homemakers erodes the foundation of our home. Laziness, neglect, forgetfulness, putting things off, and not spending enough time at home tears our homes down brick by brick. Also included in this is ignoring our duties while we are at home by watching extended times of TV, surfing the Internet for hours at a time, reading "just one more chapter", and spending too much time on the phone.

Let me continue with the parallel I wrote earlier. Remember the wrecking ball? With one whack, a house is suddenly unfit for people to dwell there. Just like that house, the woman who tears down her home with active or passive destruction is leaving her family at risk ~ exposed to the elements (a sinful world) in a home that is unstable (by either her neglect or uncontrolled anger) and unfit to live in (a stressful, uncomfortable place).

I must confess that I've been convicted with this post. All too often, I tear down what I spend so much time trying to build ~ with my impatience or selfishness! Mrs. George gives three steps to remember when building a home:

1. Avoid any attitude or act that doesn't build your home. (In other words, self-control!)
2. Decide to begin building. It's never too late!
3. Each day, do one thing to build your home. (Outwardly, like cleaning up clutter or inwardly, like giving a soft answer.)

She concludes with this thought, "Search your heart and your home. Which of these two women is most like you? Where are you placing your focus and investing your energy? Look beneath the cleaning and cooking to your heart."

Making a House a Home ~ Building a Refuge

Webster's defines refuge as a "shelter (a.k.a. something that covers, protects or defends) or protection from danger or difficulty". Other definitions include "a person or thing that gives shelter, help, or comfort" and "a place of safety; shelter; safe retreat". I was amazed as I thought about this! Part of my job as homemaker is to create a place my family feels secure, safe, and comfortable.

The old saying of "It's a jungle out there!" just about sums it up. It's harried and busy, and sometimes harsh and unkind. Our family needs a place to recuperate from a long day, and that place is home.

On a particular stressful day, my husband staggered in the front door, saying, "I knew if I could just get home, everything would be all right." Our home became that place of refuge for him. He needed the restful, calming atmosphere to unwind and refresh himself.

Even though we are a homeschooling family and my children are at home most of the time, I still need to create a place of refuge for them. A counselor reported that "a secure home life tends to reduce frustration and uneasiness in a child's life, and it gives them the ability to cope with pressures more effectively".

Oh, to build a home that strengthen/renews my family ~ to set up a place where hearts are renewed and souls are refreshed! What an amazing opportunity we're given as homemakers!

Making a House a Home ~ Creating an Atmosphere

We all know this verse in Proverbs ~ "Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her hands." Have you ever wondered ~ like me ~ what does it mean, exactly?

The verb "to build" actually means to make and to set up a house. This doesn't just imply the physical structure and upkeep of the house, but also to the family. That got me to thinking ~ how much more do I spend my time building (the upkeep) my house instead of building (nurturing) my family?

"Although the Hebrew word for "house" and "home" is the same, "home" is the preferred word here. This verse... speaks of home building; the knitting together of family and the day-by-day routine of creating a happy and comfortable place for a family to live." (Robert Alden)

I am the one who sets the mood and maintains the atmosphere inside my home. To be wise, like the verse above challenges, I have to diligently and purposefully create that atmosphere. I can't just hope it will happen on its own.

In her book "A Woman After God's Own Heart", Elizabeth George states that creating the atmosphere in our home is like using your thermostat to regulate the temperature inside your home. As the home manager, we are that thermostat, and we have the responsibility to set the ideal, comfortable temperature for our family.

Do I want the atmosphere to be warm, cheerful, loving, positive, and constructive? Then I must get my heart temperature right first! How can I possibly give away what I don't possess? Choosing to get up earlier to spend time alone with the Lord will help me to cultivate a heart like His.

Now, I have to "go to work to maintain the comfort in my home." Mrs. George writes, "If things start to get hot (hot words, hot tempers, hot emotions), I {must} set about to bring in cooling, soothing words ("a soft answer turns away wrath" ~ Proverbs 15:1) and words of peace ("the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" ~ James 3:18).

Likewise, if things start to cool off (cold hearts, cold feet, cold shoulders), I {must} go to work giving a good word which makes hearts glad (Proverbs 12:25), remembering that "a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: (Proverbs 15:13) and that "he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast" (Proverbs 15:15)."

Even through life's many challenges, my prayer is that God will give me the heart, wisdom and the words to create a healthy atmosphere in my home!

What is a Homemaker?

I've not posted in a while, because, quite frankly, I haven't really had the desire to. It was just one more thing on my never-ending "to do" list. Besides, I felt as if I'd gotten away from the main idea of this blog, which was to encourage my fellow sisters who are homemakers.

That got me thinking ~ what exactly is a homemaker, anyway? A homemaker is more than just a stay-at-home mom or the wife who takes care of her house by keeping it clean and organized. Yes, those things obviously come into play, but it's so much more than that. I want to not only make my house a home, but I want to love it and those I care for.

Beginning tomorrow, I want to share practical as well as spiritual ideas for homemaking.

Also, since I homeschool my three kiddos, I've decided to begin a new blog devoted to their schooling. It's called The Homeschooler's Haven. The link is in my sidebar under "Places I Visit". Feel free to stop by sometime!