Home
Making
by Pamela
Lancaster
In the last week I've had
two doctor appointments and I've filled out the new patient information sheets, complete
with the blank for "occupation." I love being able to write the word
"homemaker" in that blank. I am thankful that I have a husband who encourages me
to live out one of my roles as part of the dominion mandate: making a home.
This issue of Patriarch
finds me literally in the process of creating a new home for our family as we begin
remodeling a brick ranch house to make it fit our family and lifestyle. Over the last four
months I've gone through my decorating files and pulled out possible ideas for this
project, and I've been drawing my ideas on graph paper. I've checked out books from the
library and bought all the latest country decorating magazines. I've evaluated what makes
a home inviting and thought of ways to incorporate those ideas into our home. I've cut and
pasted ideas for shutters, window boxes, a sidewalk, kitchen cabinets, a porch, a deck,
and bookshelves on pages for quick reference. I've prayed for creativity and wisdom in
putting together this new home for God's honor and glory.
Let me step back now and share
with you some of the discussion that has gone on between Phil and me concerning this
neglected, nondescript house we've bought. First of all, let me say that this is not the
house of our dreams
not even close. BUT it is the house God has provided for us to
take dominion over and so we start with grateful hearts knowing it can be redeemed and
made to serve God's purposes. I love this kind of challenge.
We start by asking ourselves,
"What do we want our home to accomplish?" Here are some of our answers:
1. We want a home that reflects
God and brings honor and glory to Him.
2. We want a home that provides a
warm, secure and loving atmosphere for our family to grow and mature.
3. We want a home that welcomes,
first of all, the household of faith and then others, providing both with refreshment,
encouragement, and truth.
Of course this process would pose
no challenge if we had limitless money
but we don't
so we meet the challenge
with excitement and expectation to see how God will work to help us meet these goals.
Next we ask ourselves, What does
the house have to offer to meet these goals and what do we need to change or add to meet
them? How can we maximize what is there? What can we save and reuse and what do we need to
replace? I pour over my file of ideas, I review my Emilie Barnes' books, and I call to
mind all the things that I have learned from Edith Schaeffer and others. I keep two verses
at the head of my prayer sheet to give me daily perspective. From Psalm 127:1:
"Unless the Lord builds the house it's workers labor in vain." And from Psalm 5:
"...and wait in expectation."
If it were my house alone it
would have lots of pink, lace, and rose printed material, but this home is first of all my
husband's castle, haven, retreat, oasis, and it is also the home of my six children.
Therefore I need to factor in these needs and their tastes, and I do this willingly
because I recognize the eternal importance of creating a home that acts as a magnet,
pulling us together as a family that wants to be together. We live in a culture where a
home is more often than not a house where a group of people sleep and keep their clothes,
along with a computer that keeps track of their over-busy schedule. We as Christians must
do better than that. The world needs us to show it how to create a welcoming, homey home
and how to be a family. Our homes need to nurture our families and others, to be a place
that feeds them not only physically but feeds their minds, hearts, and souls so that they
can become all God created them to be.
Phil and I have discussed the
fact that we are called, "children of the light," (Eph. 5:8) and how that should
affect how we remodel and decorate our home. In our last home it meant taking down heavy
drapes and raising the blinds to let in all the natural light possible. It also meant
putting up a simple Amish-made candle chandelier over the kitchen table, a new cheery
nature-print wallpaper, and having candles and oil lamps around for that cozy evening
glow. In this new house we have more and larger windows, which is a blessing, but we also
plan to take out a wall between the living room and dining area. This will create an open,
light-filled area that will house the family room/library, eating area, and kitchen. I am
going to call this area "the gathering room," which is an idea I gleaned from
one of my decorating magazines and immediately fell in love with because of all the
positive qualities that this word conveys. We will also use light colored paint and
wallpaper to give the allusion of larger, more airy space.
Our remodeling plans have
incorporated not only our own family's needs but the needs of hospitality, having space to
bring others into our life. Recently we were at The Southern Heritage Conference in
Louisiana and we heard a speaker talking about the benefits of the Southern culture. One
of those benefits was the ever-present porch where the family gathered to spend time and
to hear what he called "porch tales," stories from the family history. This bit
of information helped confirm our decision to build a large deck across the front of the
house which extends into a screened-in porch on the side (which will double as a summer
kitchen, especially during canning season). This is a relatively easy way to add
hospitality space and take advantage of our beautiful mountain setting and fair weather -
and the decorations are already provided by our Creator!
Now outdoor living requires
outdoor furniture, and where is that to come from? It has always been Phil's and my
experience in our twenty-seven years of marriage that the Lord provides what we need. Once
again he has already been meeting this need through some incredibly cheap chairs and
tables that we found at a flea market and auction, even down to one being the perfect
shade of green that I desired. We also found the perfect planter - just like in one of my
magazine pictures - at the dumpster one day when emptying a load of trash. Coincidence? I
think not! I also operate on two biblical principles: What do I have in my hand? and What
do I have in my house (found in Exodus 4:2 and 2 Kings 4:2). A lot of our things are
presently out of sight in storage units, but as I remember what we already have it is fun
and exciting to think about how they can be used in this new home. Sometimes it will be in
entirely different ways. (Try using your God-given creative imagination as you look around
your home!)
It is a joy for me to see my four
daughters making their plans for their two bedrooms. Even Alice, at age five, talks about
what will make for "the spirit of loveliness" in her bedroom space. Sarah,
Laura, and Joanna all have homemaking notebooks where they keep ideas and pictures of
their decorating preferences. The boys also have decorating ideas and preferences, having
been brought up in a home in which we discuss and try to practice the importance of beauty
and order.
Yesterday I bought a Marjolein
Bastin picture with a favorite quote of mine by John Ruskin on it, "Nature is
painting for us day after day, pictures of infinite beauty
". God has blessed us
with such a marvelous creation that reflects Him, so I try to incorporate as much of that
beauty into our home as possible. God intended His creation to feed our souls and to show
us more about Him as we observe and enjoy it and as we share it with others. This means
that I have also been working on my landscaping plans and ideas. My plans include lots of
flower beds with a variety of color, textures, shapes, smells, and even tastes. I have
also included plants that will attract birds and butterflies. Again, where do these plant
supplies come from? So far I've located some wildflower patches that I can borrow from, a
friend has offered to share some of the plants from her yard, our landlady has given us
permission to thin out some of the irises and daffodils at our rental home, we'll buy
some, I'll salvage and replant what is already there, and we'll see how the Lord will
provide all the rest that we'll need!
I share all of this with you so
that you can know me better and what our family is currently working on, and to encourage
you in your home making. The summer is a good time to look around and do some evaluating
and praying to see if there are some things you could do to make your home more hospitable
and glorifying to God. In my first article in ssue #25 I shared the illustration about the
two African men who had been turned off to Christianity by the lack of beauty that they
had found in the missionary homes. In her book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Mrs.
Schaeffer ends that illustration by saying:
I am sure there is no place in
the world where your message would not be enhanced by your making the place (whether tiny
or large, a hut or a palace) orderly, artistic and beautiful with some form of creativity,
some form of "art." It goes without saying, too, the "The
Environment," which is you should be an environment which speaks of the wonder of the
Creator who made you.
Does your home and message need
any enhancement?
I look forward to the day when
this neglected, rundown house, that several locals have said has been an eyesore to them,
becomes a HOME that reflects God's beauty, order, and hospitality, a home that says,
"Welcome, come in and visit awhile!"
P. S. I highly recommend Welcome
Home, by Emilie Barnes, who I find to be very inspiring and encouraging and who I
think will have the same effect for you in your home making.
Back to
Homemaking
From Patriarch Magazine----used
with permission 2001
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