As I write this post, the windows are up, allowing the cool morning air to blow in, but the air isn’t the only thing coming in. There are also the sounds of the country drifiting into our house. I hear…
A tractor on the hillside
An occasional car
A bird’s song
Silence
These are all reasons I love living in the country! But there are sounds that happen inside our house, too. Many of them are intentional sounds that I pray will comfort those that enter and give them the sense of rest, and of a haven.
- Quiet – How?
Be intentional.- Turn the television off. Don’t use the television to buffer the silence. In many homes the television is turned on in the morning and plays all day long. The noise of commercials alone creates an atmosphere of confusion and chaos. Sometimes people are afraid of silence. But it’s in the quiet that we hear the Lord speak. In the quiet we can think, plan and concentrate. In the quiet we can meditate on Scripture or hum a song! It’s hard to do any of that if there’s something shouting at us as “background noise.”
- Music – When?
- When guests come over – Having quiet doesn’t mean nothing can be on. I will often turn on Pandora Radio on my computer before guests arrive. I have a station of just instrumental music that I turn on softly so we can hear the music, but don’t have to shout over it. I think having on music that people might know will bring the words of hymns to their hearts and encourage them. It’s also a great testimony of your love for the Lord, just as a Bible verse hanging on your wall would do.
- During mealtime – When our girls were home, I usually always turned on a CD during supper. It wasn’t always sacred music, but it was usually just instrumental. There’s a dulcimer CD that when any of us hear it today, we associate it with the midwest home we lived in, simply because of the memory the music evokes! It’s such a reminder that even sounds are a sensory that God gives that can create a special atmosphere.
- At bedtime – If you have little ones at home, playing soft music as they drift off is a great way to quiet their hearts and help them sleep peacefully.
- Humming – Who? You! When?
- While you clean, cook, fold laundry, make the bed, or drive.You get the idea. I have never heard my mom sing a solo in church, but even today when I visit her, I’ll hear her singing softly and it’s comforting to me. As she sings, I know that she is reminder herself of the biblical truths of that hymn. Eph 5:19 tells us to speak to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Singing and humming is reminding yourself of truth, but it is also a message to those that hear you.
- Quiet speaking voices
- Bring the volume level down. If you respond quietly, it will set the tone. Proverbs 7 tells us that the strange women has a loud voice. As women, we should speak softly and expect the same from our children.
- Laughter
- Give the good medicine of laughter. Learn to laugh at yourself – when you forget to put the salad out for supper and remember it the next morning at breakfast – when you have spinach in your teeth or you trip in front of a crowd. Laughter throws the cares of the world over your shoulder. Have fun and create fun in your home and laugh together!
Let your home be associated with peace and quiet, soft music, quiet voices, humming, and much laughter. What a haven you will give those that enter!
What sounds do you associate with home?
RefreshHer 