This is our life: November 2011

I’m sharing this GREAT insight from my pal Jill’s blog because some of it really resonates with me. It made me realize what a special gift God has given us…. (more of my comments at the bottom)

Enjoy!

"How Pleasant Is Your Home?

I read a lot of Grace Livingston Hill books and in one of them she refers to a woman’s home and her responsibility in the home. She said the responsibility was "to make it pleasant for those to whom she had been given."

I really started thinking about those words. I was to make my home pleasant for those whom I had been given. My home (husband and/or children too) are special gifts and treasures that have been given to me too. I wonder how often we disappoint God because we abuse and neglect those treasures that He has given us after having faith and confidence that we would take care of them and treasure them in the same way He does.

If we were given precious jewels, we would polish them, store them to protect them from nicks and tarnishing and see that they were carefully maintained. We wouldn’t allow them to become buried and forgotten under piles of dirt and dust and stuff. Do we care for our homes and families in the same way we would care for a treasure– by making sure they are well maintained and cared for?

If you give a gift of great value to one of your children, how do you feel when you find it lying out in the rain and weather being neglected? We have all been given a special gift – our homes yet so many of us neglect them or regard them as unimportant.

It doesn’t matter if that home is small or large, if it is in a great part of town or a not so great part of town. We have a responsibility as women to make our homes pleasant for those we love. Men and children can’t do this. That doesn’t mean they can’t help take care of your home but they don’t have the ability to make a home "pleasant" in the same way that a woman can. Don’t worry guys– you have other very special gifts and jobs we gals don’t have and I am speaking in general terms. I know there are always exceptions.

Let me give you an example. We just got through painting Tawra’s house. As we were painting it, we were talking about how none of the male members of our family and extended family like to paint. They hate it. A majority of guys don’t like to paint unless it is for profit.

I said, if left to themselves, I bet most men would never paint one thing (except maybe their cars :). They couldn’t care less if the walls of a house ever got painted or if curtains were ever put on a window. Most men would probably never put anything on a plate, instead eating their food straight from a can and drinking from a carton.

Why? Because men think in terms of comfort and necessity and painted walls or curtains don’t fit into either category. Those things only spell unnecessary work and painted walls do not add to their physical comfort at all. Eating out of a can– well that means one less dish to wash.

That leads to this next statement from the same book "Home without a woman… was a shell with the spirit gone." We add the spirit to our home. Yes, you can live without painted walls, curtains and decide to eat out of cans but painted walls, curtains and such are what add that spirit to our homes. They are what make a home "pleasant."

Have you made your home pleasant? Does your family hate having to leave it each morning and can’t wait to get home at the end of the day or do they dread coming home? What kind of spirit is in your home? One of warmth, comfort and joy or is it cold, dirty, tired and unkempt?

Only you can make a house a home. God has given you a special gift and treasure. Don’t neglect it. Appreciate it and take care of it.

-Jill"

Great post huh?

It’s funny how truth just jumps out at us no matter how it’s worded. My situation is a bit different. I don’t have a neglected unkempt house… BUT… The truth is, sometimes I get too militant about cleaning the house and forget to focus on making it a home. I need to find a way to merge my two greatest desires for my home.

1. To be the ‘hub’, you know, the place where all the kids hang out.

2. To be a warm, clean, fun and organized house. A place that my son will always remember and my husband loves to come home to.

I don’t think I’m too far off the mark but…. too far for my liking. I’m actually “laughing out loud” right now as I recall last weekend. There I was ordering my family around with my list of chores and projects in hand exclaiming in not the friendliest of voices “ I WANT TO ENJOY A CLEAN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND”. Believe me when I say that I didn’t quite capture the ambiance I was hoping for. The house got cleaned but I’m not sure any of us enjoyed it.

Thank you Jill, your timing is perfect ;)