Being the Heart of the Home

Attention Ladies:



image derived from knitted heart by mararie via flickr

You are the heart of your home!

 

We all know that keeping our physical hearts healthy is important.
 

But what do we do to keep the heart of the home healthy?

The Mayo Clinic provides five great steps to keeping up our cardiac health. Let's use the same advice to keep our spiritual hearts, and thus us, as the heart of our homes, healthy.

 

1. Don't smoke or use tobacco.

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.

Colossians 3:5

First things first: do away with the things that are hurting you. Flee from the things that drag you down. Just as tobacco clogs our lungs and constricts our blood flow, sin brings us down.

This is not a one-time step. Ever hear a former smoker say they still want a cigarette occasionally? Or a recovering addict say that they'll never be "cured?"

We need to die to flesh daily, making our commitment fresh everyday.

 

2. Exercise for 30 minutes on most days of the week.

So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:12

When we workout, our hearts get much needed exercise. Are you exercising daily?

Do you find yourself being stagnate, or are you looking for ways to grow, to improve? It's tempting to curl up on our hypothetical couches and become spiritual couch potatoes. It's tempting to become comfortable and lazy with where we are. But we need exercise! We need to challenge ourselves, to try new things, to constantly seek to grow and become more like our Lord.

Are you getting enough exercise?

 

3. Eat a heart-healthy diet.

Man does not live by bread alone...

Deuteronomy 8:3

Whole-grains, lean protein, fruits & vegetables, cut the fat: the heart diet.

Dear one, consume the things that are good for you. Listen to songs that uplift you. Pour over Scripture. Find friends who speak truth to you.

And cut your fat. You know what I'm talking about here... the fluff that you use to make yourself feel good, or those delicious time-wasters that end up sucking up hours of your time.

Please know that I'm not saying that we should never do things that make us feel good, or help us relax (refer back to point 2!). But as mature, Godly women, we know when there's something shrouding us from our true identity in Christ-- and we need to address it.

 

4. Maintain a healthy weight.

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you.

Psalm 55:22

When we gain weight, our hearts have to work harder to pump. The added weight makes it difficult for your heart to send oxygen-rich blood to your lungs, causing shortness of breath.

When we allow the weight of anxiety, the drive to be perfect, fear, stress, self-doubt, self-pity, and shame to accumulate around our home and in our life, we make it hard for us, as the heart, to operate. Chris's grandfather recently passed away after being admitted to the hospital during an episode during which his heart was functioning as 10% capacity.

Just as our physical hearts begin to suffer and weaken under added weight, so too, do we, the heart of the home suffer and weaken under burdens.

And just as our heart can suffer long-term damage the longer we carry extra pounds, the same is true for us.

The good news? The Lord tells us we can put our burdens, our extra weight, on Him. He does not tire or weaken.

Put your weight on Him; see how easier it becomes to breathe.

 

5. Get regular health screenings.

Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Psalm 139:23

Are you keeping your appointments with the Great Physician? Are you allowing your Heavenly Father to examine your heart, and to make suggestions on what you might need to change? Has He prescribed a course of treatment for you? Are you following it?

When we visit our doctor, he or she listens to your heart with a stethoscope. What are they hoping to hear? A strong, steady heartbeat.

God listens to your heart, too. He longs to hear a strong, steady heart beating for Him.

Pray for the Lord to help you understand the condition of your heart. Ask Him to care for your heart.

 

Shared with My Daily Walk in His Grace for Winsome Wednesdays, Raising Homemakers, Raising Arrows, AWise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, Mercy Ink, Abiding Woman, Growing Home, Live Called, Christian Mommy Blogger, and Walking Redeemed 

5 Day Count Down to Dinner Party + Free Printable

Surprise! Guests are coming this weekend!

Remember Mona Lisa Smile? There's a scene during which Marcia Gay Harden's character, the etiquette & elocution teacher, presents a scenario to her female pupils at Wellesley College. It involves an impromptu dinner party that the girls must be prepared for, or else doom their husband's career forever.

Thankfully, standards of entertainment are not quite as stringent in most circles today. When's the last time you wore a hostess apron to serve veal aspic?

In fact, most of the entertaining I do can be successfully planned and executed within just five days. Here's how we do it around here:

Monday: Make your plan for the week. Set yourself goals for each day up to the dinner party. Use my days to inspire your own plan.

Tuesday: Plan your menu. Decide whether you'll have a sit-down meal or buffet, indoor or out, fine china or paper plates? If actually serving dinner, keep things simple. If your get-together is a buffet or tea, have lots of options.

Wednesday: Plan for decorations and logistics. Decide if you'll use placemats or table cloths, or nothing at all. Think about details: napkin rings, coffee cups, trivets, table runners. Make sure you have arranged seating for everyone, and arrange a flow-of-traffic for a buffet or BBQ. Make a list of what you'll need. Make a grocery list.

Thursday: Clean.

Clean your guest bath, and put out fresh guest towels. Make sure there is soap and bathroom tissue available. Set up an air freshener like a candle, plug-in, or automatic spritzer, something that will keep the bathroom smelling fresh without having to worry about sprays.

Vacuum and freshen your living room furniture; dust. Clean your floors.

Wipe your counters.

Straighten and wipe anywhere you will allow your guests to see.

Friday: Do shopping for any groceries and supplies you need in the morning. Organize your mise-en-place: chop vegetables, marinate meat, etc. Don't set out your refrigerated items until you're ready to cook!

In the afternoon, start cooking your meal, do a final clean up of your house, and change your clothes.

When you've organized and planned, you'll have time to spend with your guests! Enjoy your friends and your meal! You've earned it!

 

Get your free printable, 5 Days to Dinner Party-- click here.

Shared with Time-Warp Wife for Titus2sdays and Growing Home for Teach Me Tuesdays.

DIY Reusable Chalkboard Banner

Hello awesome people!

 

As you can see in this post,  I was honored to host a woodland-themed baby shower at my home for my super-cool cousin, K.

 

I used some items that were in my craft closet and made this customizable banner.

 

 

This is quite quick & easy, and the best part: it's reusable.

 

Tutorial Starts Here

The items you'll need:

--8 inch cake circles

--chalkboard paint

--paint brush (sponge type works best)

--twine

--scotch tape

--chalk

 

Step 1: Paint one side of each cake circle with blackboard paint. Make sure to get the edges.

Don't be afraid to put a thick coat; blackboard paint works better in thick layers.

 

 

Step 2: Let paint dry. If needed, put on a second coat to cover thin spots or smooth ridges.

 

Step 3: Pull out about 18 inches of twine, to allow for plenty of room when hanging your banner. Don't start too close to the end of the twine.

By Emilian Robert Vicol (Flickr: Ball-of-Hemp-Twine_31614-480x360) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

  Step 4: Position twine on the back side of one cake circle about 2 inches from the top. Secure with 2-3 pieces of scotch tape.

 

Step 5: Repeat with each cake circle, spacing equally as you go.

 

Step 6: Allow another 18 inches of twine at the end, and cut twine from spool.

 

Step 7: Decorate each cake circle with chalk-- your child's sidewalk chalk will make some pretty letters and pictures.

If you goof up, just erase gently with a damp paper towel and wait until completely dry before trying again.

 

 

 

Hang and smile!

 

Share your chalkboard crafts with me in comments.

Shared with The 36th Avenue.

 



9 Ways to Show Hospitality

Hello sweet reader!

I want to talk with you today about hospitality.

Did you know that hospitality is something we are called upon to do in Scripture?

Take a look:

       

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Romans 12:13 ESV

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
Proverbs 31:20 ESV 

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

 1 Peter 4:9 ESV  

 

Never before have we had so many resources for entertaining and making our homes welcoming and warm to visitors (read: Pinterest.) But are we using all our cute little pins in our real lives?

Are we bringing people into our homes to share meals with them, to talk and form relationships?

Hospitality, like so many other good things God has called us to do, benefits not only the person you are serving; it benefits you!

Showing hospitality makes us vulnerable. For many of us, our home is a big part of who we are. When we bring people into our homes, we're letting them see parts of us that they would never experience in church or at the football games.

How wonderful that we can open ourselves to others and show that we are human! Think about what a living example of God's mercy and grace you can be when others truly know you-- your thoughts, your mistakes, what we can so easily hide in public. What better way to begin to be authentic and stripped away with one another than by being in one another's homes, where we are our most genuine selves?

Invite someone into your home. Begin to form your community. Surround yourself with others and let them see your true self... the one God is molding you to be.

Grab an idea here:

1. Host a dinner party.
Tried & true method that still works! Start small & serve frozen pizza if you want... the point is the fellowship.
2. Offer to hold a baby shower or birthday party at your home.
If you know of someone who's looking for a spot to have a small event, offer your home. You'll get work with the hostess, the guest of honor, and all the guests, too! Look at all those opportunities to connect and love on folks!
3. Be the small group home.
If you are part of a small group, wonderful! Be the place where the group gathers, or be the backup place. Bonus: you'll be more prepared for group.
4. Be the after-school home.
If you have school-age children, make it an option for them to invite friends over. Volunteer to be the home that provides supervision for an hour or so, until another Mom can get off work.
5. Babysit for another couple.
Offer to babysit for another couple while they go out. You are ministering to them, as well as their little ones. If they offer to return the favor, that's a bonus.
6. Organize a progressive meal.
If you haven't done one of these, you're missing out! Recruit some friends and neighbors. Each family is responsible for one portion of the meal, i.e., salad, dessert, etc. The whole group moves from home to home enjoying the feast!
7. Host your family.
Make it a priority to have extended family to your home for a meal or a weekend. Even if they live next door, you'll find that talks in the wee hours can be so fulfilling.
8. Clean someone else's home.
Know someone who's suffering with an injury or illness? Offer to do some light housework for them. Take care of their home as you would your own.
9. Be at home.
Because we live in a parsonage, we get a lot of knocks on the door. We meet a lot of strangers who need help. This may not ever happen to you, but if it does remember this:
       
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2 ESV 

Have you entertained angels? In what ways do you open your home to others and show hospitality? Leave your comments below.


Shared at Christian Mommy Blogger
and

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home




 

5 Minute DIY Throw Pillow Covers (using Maternity Tops)

Guilty of saving baby clothes? Check. Guilty of saving maternity clothes? Double check.

 

Saving maternity clothes is, for me, almost just as precious as saving P's clothes.

 

No, they're not small and cute. And they don't have that great smell.

 

But they were some of the first items that were purchased because of my LO's existence. They represent the very first moments I cared for that wonderful little boy.

 

I have a lot of happy memories attached to my maternity clothes, and I bet you do too! Think about your very first maternity top, or the comfy shirt you wore all the time, or what you wore for your baby showers.

 

In a constant effort to upcycle, recycle, reuse, and refurbish-- I created a fresh look for my throw pillows using my beloved maternity tops.

 

Tutorial Starts Here

 

After washing, turn your shirt inside out, and beginning just below the arm hole, sew from one edge to the other, straight across the shirt.

 

 

 

Trim the excess material. Turn the shirt right side out, then place your throw pillow inside.

 

 

 

Measure about 1/2" below the edge of your pillow, and, using a marking pen, mark a seam line straight across your shirt. .

*I eyeballed mine, but to make sure your seam is straight, you may want to mark the seam.

 

Sew this seam with pillow inside on the right side of the shirt/cover.

 

 

Alternatively, you can sew in a zipper, button loops, Velcro, etc. for your closure. I even used fabric glue with a sweater.

 



  Finally, trim you outside seams. You'll want to be very careful, as this will be on the outside of your pillow. 

Just a quick way to give your pillows a new look!

 

Much Ado about To-do

 

Who loves lists???

 

I'm working through Sarah Mae's 31 Days to Clean, and Day 6 includes a hint about lists. This got me thinking about to-do lists.

 

  I love to-do lists, and when I was in the work force, I never went a day without one. And as a SAH, I still make lists sporadically.

 

Of course, a list is a great tool, but if your to-do list has become your biggest source of stress, that's bad!

 

Believe it or not, the list itself may be causing your stress, and not the items on it.

 

Here's a few helpful ways to combat list worries:

 

Get Techie

If you've been using the standard paper-and-pencil method religiously for years, it's time for a new leaf. Try an app such as Wrike or Good Todo. If you're too attached to a physical list, try keeping a document saved on your desktop that you update and print out daily. You can dress it up with graphics and fonts to get you motivated.

 

 

Luck of the Draw

 

This is a fun method I use for completing chores. It's great to use with kids, too!

• Write each item on a separate slip of paper, and put the slips in a basket or bowl.
• Draw one slip, complete the item, and discard.
• Repeat until you're all done!

 

Highlights

 

Use highlighters or light colored markers to mark off list items instead of pen or pencil. This way, you can see the items you've completed, and you end up with large blocks of color that signal to your brain that you've accomplished more than you have.

 

The Ten Rule v1.0

This method works better when used for longer periods of time-- like a week-- rather than day-to-day.

• Make a list of the top nine things you need to accomplish this week.
• At number 10, write something fun & rewarding like getting a mani/pedi or taking the kids out for ice cream.
• The trick is, obviously, to complete all ten things in order.

 

The Ten Rule v2.0

 Like with version 1.0, use this over a week or a few days, or for even longer term goals or time consuming projects. You'll need two separate lists for this method.

• Make a list of ten things you want to accomplish. This could be cleaning out your garage or plotting a new flower bed. Title this "List One."
• Pick one item or goal that's really exciting to you, say, shopping for a new piece of furniture for your home. Mark this item off List One, and put it on List Two. If you like, you can replace the marked off item with something else, so long as it's not as exciting to you as what you just moved to List Two.
• You can now complete List One in any order you want, but must complete the entire list before moving on to write and begin work on List Two.
• Keep the cycle going as long as you can! It's a neat way to challenge yourself to complete all those projects you never get around to doing.

Throw it away, throw it away, throw away it, now

 That's right. Throw away your to-do list for at least one day. Trust me. If it's important, you'll most likely remember it without the list. Without a list as your taskmaster, you'll have the time and space to be creative and play. You may feel a totally lost at first, but just let yourself enjoy the freedom. If you see something that needs done, like laundry, do it! If you see something that looks enjoyable, like baking a cake, go for it! You'll alleviate a lot of guilt that comes from spending time on things that aren't "on the list." If this works for you, try and work without a list for a few days. I did, and I haven't made a list in over a month!

 

 

How do you work with to-do lists? Are you better on- or off-list? Leave a comment!

 

Mirror, Mirror... on which wall?

Check out my newest completed project!

  

 

 

Luckily, my grandmother is a bit of a pack-rat, and her basement is a treasure chest full of great family heirlooms.

This mirror-turned-inspiration-board belonged to my great-great grandmother.

 

Two of the glass sections had been broken years ago, so I created a blackboard section and a cork board section.

I love to use heirloom pieces in my home! What heirlooms have pride-of-place in yours?



Laundry day. And there's nothing better than clothes dried in the sun. --Piglet

I finally did it! I painted a room in my house. Having lived in parsonages for all my married life, I've never been able to do this-- until now! Here are some pics of the makeover I gave my laundry and mud room.

 

I'm a huge believer that your home should reflect YOU, when you have the ability to choose what's in it. Of course, decorating can be pricey, or in my case, often prohibited. But if you have the luxury of deciding on your home's appearance, relish it; and create a space that says who you are. You're lucky!

 

 

This is the mudroom. The door-turned-coat-rack was salvaged from my Grindiddy's parents house. This was their front door. The house was empty for about 15 years before it was burned down. I used to play house there.

The glass doorknobs are original to the doors. The outside knob was purple, and the inside knob clear. I've repurposed them as hooks.

 

This is my little "take your shoes off" nook. The basket (and it's twin on the set of drawers) are from Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, about 30 minutes from where we live.

The pillow belongs to the house; it was here when we moved in, as was the ottoman.

I sewed and painted the ottoman cover.

 

I used chalk board paint to create a little message center above the washer & dryer.

 

We reattached the door plates, too.

Finishing touches :)

On moving...

As I'm writing this, it's 20 days until moving day. Now, moving day has been defined as "the day we move the big furniture in the truck." We haven't yet reserved a truck. I guess Hubby thinks one will just drive itself up on the day. Today I asked Hubby to call our contact at our new church (more on this later), and ask if we can pick up the keys on the Monday of moving week. I would like to spend the first part of the week painting and lining shelves and drawers, and moving items that belong to the church to places I want them in the house. Mostly painting. I've never before been allowed to paint my own house/apartment. And I'm very excited! And trying not to over do it on paint colors/schemes/total revamping of the house.

The reason we are moving about 30 minutes up the road ("up the road" is probably a colloquialism-- it means "away-- but not far away") is that Hubby is being moved to a new church. He is a United Methodist pastor, which makes me a pastor's wife. And makes P a "PK" or "preacher's kid" as Hubby taught me to say, having been one himself. As United Methodists, we move every 2-4 years or so, or just about the time you get a good thing going.

We're, of course, very excited to be moving to a new church. We always are excited about a move, but this one seems particularly to be a good fit. Hubs does not visit people in their homes, and these people are more than okay with that.

We've met the people coming in behind us, and they are probably the closest in personality/theology to us as any we've ever met. And since we'll be so close, dare I say it, we may can be friends with this other couple.

About every three years, I get a fresh start. I move to a new town, get a new house, meet entirely new people, shop at new stores, eat at new restaurants.

The pros of this are pretty obvious to me. I love it; it's a chance to start totally new. You know that feeling of getting a brand new hair cut you really love? Our moving is like that multiplied.

Cons have been hard for me to come by. Packing may be the closest to a con. But even that is somewhat enjoyable. It's a survey of all our stuff, so we get to downsize if we choose. It's also like a game I play, a challenge to get the most stuff in the least amount of boxes.

Now that Little Bit is here, we may experience more cons in the future with leaving schools & friends, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Do you like moving? Why have you moved?

World Market Finds (in Neutral)

This weekend I enjoyed a trip to World Market, one of my absolute favorite stores. It's a wonderland of decor inspiration, not to mention great chocolate & wine. Here were some of my favorite finds:

I've been researching ideas for picture frames as of late. I've got quite a few that could do with an update.

This was a cute idea for frames as well. Gave me the idea to work it into a mobile of sorts.

These would be a great fit for a theme party/wedding, and very quick/easy to diy.

I've also been looking for ideas for covering the throw pillows that came with our sofas. This was a great idea for using fabric scraps that didn't feel so "scrap quilty."

I loved this Indonesian inspired tray. Have great ideas for this.

I just liked this:

While reviewing the "inspiripics" I took, I noticed my preference for the neutrals and muted colors. Even the tray has a brushed finish of sorts.

I'm hoping to add a lot more color in the new house. But I wonder, are neutrals just a part of my natural style? Am I a natural neutral?