Is there any place better than home? If you’re blessed with one built on the love of God, the answer is, “no!” We could all use some ideas to turn our house into a home. Here are some tips I’ve found recently.

Here are some great tips from Country Living:

• Pick up some herbs from the Farmer’s Market and bundle into a bouquet to hang in the bath.- the scent will perk you up and refresh you after a long day.
• A pretty bedspread can be turned into a shower curtain. First, hem to the correct length, then install grommets to hold the shower hooks.
• Quilts are too pretty to be stashed away in a cabinet. They become works of art when hung on a blank wall in an open stairway.
• Place a small desk in the entryway as a spot to sort mail or hold keys. Top it with a large bouquet of flowers for a welcoming greeting for everyone who enters the house.
• If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to spruce up the kitchen, try replacing the hardware on your cabinets, or replacing the faucet on your sink.
• Line the back of open cabinetry with vintage fabric to help its contents to stand out.
• Mix stripes, florals and solids in the same color family to get a vintage-inspired look.
• Use a dining chair as a bedside table, topped with books and a reading lamp.

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to”

–John Ed Pearce

Maintain an open door policy. Make your house inviting to family and friends by letting them know they are welcome in your home. Encourage them to stop by to say hello or to visit with you for a few minutes. Let them know you value them as a part of your life. A closed home is a lonely home!

Fill your home with fresh aromas. Let the aroma of compassion, kindness, gentleness, love, joy, patience, etc. permeate through your walls. Homes need to be a haven, a place where people can feel secure to be themselves. Someone who smells these character qualities encompassing your home can’t help but hunger for more!

Hold a consistent family dinner hour. Make sure your family sits together at the table for dinner each night (or at least regularly) so that you can share together, laugh, and bond. It doesn’t matter what else is going on in the world if you can all connect as one family unit each day.

Keep your home picked up – but let it be “lived in”It’s a great thing to be organized and to take pride in your home. In fact, your family will benefit from these traits. But it’s just as important to not let that organization run your life. If a home is so immaculate that everyone is afraid to relax, what good does that do anyone? A good reminder to help you keep your focus balanced is to think of what you would do if you opened your door to find Jesus there after He’d walked for miles on a dusty road. Would you allow Him to enter in His dirty sandals?

Slow down! Fast-paced lives are the biggest thieves of family time these days. Friends are important but you need to make your family your priority not your social activities. Make time to create memories together in your home. –Dionna Sanchez

There’s nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.”

–Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Content at home,

Instead of having guests yesterday, my husband and I were guests! We were invited to a young couple’s home. They have been married eleven months. What a blessing it was to be in their home and enjoy their hospitality! She said she wasn’t a cook before they married, but I want you to know, she did a fantastic job! I’m going to have to get her recipes and share them with you – they were delicious! Here was her menu:

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

(they were stuffed with Feta and Mozzarella Cheeses!) Yum!

Garlic potatoes
Fresh Asparagus

Jello Salad with fruit
Rolls

White Cake with Strawberry filling

For a hostess gift to take to our hosts I made Strawberry Muffins and wrapped them in a cellophane bag. These muffins are so good – especially when served with a little strawberry freezer jam. It’s hard to believe they only have 4 grams of fat; they’re just too good!
One change I make in the recipe is that I do not put the strawberries, butter, orange rind and eggs in the blender – I simply mix them by hand then add this to the dry ingredients. I like the way they turned out better than the pureed strawberries.

Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup salad oil
2 tbl molasses
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp dry mustard
3 cloves, garlic, minced

Mix well, then marinate meat at least one hour.

Golden Onion Rings
Combine 1 cup plus 2 tbl all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 slightly beaten egg, 1 cup milk, and 2 tbl salad oil. Beat together just till dry ingredients are well moistened. Coat onion rings with batter. (I prefer a vidalia onion) Fry a few at a time in deep hot oil (375 degrees), stirring once to separate rings. when onions are golden, drain on paper towels. Just before serving, sprinkle with salt.

What’s been cookin’ in your kitchen lately?

With love,

I have always loved teaching and the Lord gave me the rich privilege when I was just barely twenty years old to teach kindergarten, and then for a few years after that, first grade. I remember the first year I taught I had 31 five-year olds in a tiny little classroom! I was overwhelmed many days at managing all those children and actually teaching them, but with the guidance of a dear saint and wonderful teacher who taught the other kindergarten class, I survived the year, and so did all my students.

Now, thirty some years later, I’ve been contacted on Facebook by some of those students! I always cringe when one of them says, “I’ll never forget when you told me…” Who knows what I might have said or done! I pray I was a godly influence, but I’m sure someone has a memory of something said to them from my lips that wasn’t helpful. Children are so impressionable and I know from my own experience, some things that we say will go with them into adulthood.

When I was a little girl in the fourth grade I had a teacher that encouraged me. She was the first teacher I can remember that had us write stories and poetry. I loved it! I had a folder packed full of papers with my handwritten stories, some including illustrations. At the end of the year she said to me, “I’ll give you this folder to keep if you’ll promise me you’ll keep writing.” I promised. Did she ever know what a motivator she was to me? I wish I could tell her.

On a negative note, I know someone who was told they “weren’t college material.” This lady has a remarkable ability to learn, share, and create, but because of that statement made by one person, she never even attempted college. She has achieved much without a degree…I wish I could tell that person who discouraged her!

My point is, we need to encourage children with godly encouragement. Remind them that God has a purpose for their lives, that He created them with special gifts and abilities that He wants to use them for His honor. Tell them that He has a will for them, and that they can trust God with their lives! Tell them you will be praying for them and you know they can do whatever God calls them to do. They will never forget the truths you share, and they’ll never forget that you shared it with them!

With love,

This beautiful summer like weather has dried out my pansies, so I filled my watering can with water and took it outside to give them a drink. The poor little things slurped that liquid up in a second! I was guilty of plant neglect…poor little guys. I set the watering can down on the deck, then seated myself at the umbrella table to write in my praise journal.

When that was finished I picked up my book and pen, then stooped to pick up the now empty watering can. The thought then came to my mind, “I need to write my blog post…what can I write about?” The Lord then spoke to my heart – your “watering can” is just as empty as the one you’re carrying into the house. Come spend some time with me and let me fill it – then you’ll have something to share with others.”

Because of my company being here this morning, I had had my Bible study, but wasn’t able to finish and have my normal prayer time. Now, coming inside, I put the watering can away, then headed to my quiet place. I repeated the verse I’d read in my Bible study in James 4 – “Lord, your Word says if we draw nigh to you, You will draw nigh to us. How I need you…”

It was a sweet time with the Lord. He did indeed meet me there. I poured my heart to him; He blessed me with the sweetness of His presence. Then, and only then did I have anything to pour out on anyone else. How foolish to think that an empty watering can (me) could have anything to say or do that would be a blessing to others. Without spending time in prayer I am relying on myself. My coming to Him acknowledges my dependence on Him. John 15:5b …Without me ye can do nothing. How very aware I am of that, and how precious the Lord is to remind me. When that literal watering can gets full , then it can spill out onto the plants. In the same way, when I have spent time with the Lord, I have something to spill out from the overflow onto others I meet! Without Him I am empty!

How about you? Are you full or empty today? Will your life be able to spill over onto others because of time you’ve spent with the Lord today?

With love,