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Build Your House
"The wise woman
builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down."
-Proverbs 14:1
The Heart of the Matter
The Bible cautions to "above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
Joyful or Miserable?
"What we fill our hearts with, we will
eventually fill our homes with. A miserable woman
makes a miserable home. A joyful woman makes a
joyful home. God has given us the incredible
ability, as women, to set the atmosphere of our
surroundings, for better or worse. The words and
actions that set the atmosphere of our homes are
simply an overflow of what we have stored up in our
hearts."
-Terry Willis
Creating a SenseSational Home
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1996), p.199
Decorating Concerns
by Brenda King
Decorating can
be among the most fulfilling of a
homemaker's responsibilities, but it
often generates feelings of
insecurity and raises a host of
questions as well. The first step to
a positive decorating experience is
to address these issues and
questions. Some of the most common
are:
-
Isn't decorating a waste of
time? We rarely have visitors to
our home, and I could better
spend my time helping others.
-
How can I decorate when my
family follows a tight budget?
-
How should a Christian decorate
her home?
-
How can I decorate my home when
I have had little decorating
experience or training?
1. Isn't decorating a waste
of time? We rarely have visitors,
and I could better spend my time
helping others.
Attention to decor is
meaningful and necessary for the
following reasons:
- It provides a sense of
order in your home.
The Bible says that "everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way" (1 Corinthians 14:40). A home that is chaotic in appearance and arrangement, will not provide a peaceful haven for family and friends.
- It helps transform a
house into a refuge for you and
your family.
Throughout Scripture we are encouraged to view God as our spiritual refuge. He shelters us from storms and offers renewal, security, and unconditional love. In His wisdom, God created our homes to serve as places of physical refuge. A home should be a place where all family members can go for rest, rejuvenation, acceptance, and love. Decorating in a manner that is pleasing to you and your family will promote these feelings of security. Decorating adds interest to a home, and can be a way of making each family member feel special.
- It reflects God's
creativity and beauty.
God created the world to be a colorful, attractive place and considered it "very good" (Genesis 1:31). Most importantly, He gave humans the ability to appreciate and experience that beauty through the five senses of taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight. A pleasantly decorated home can remind us of God's beauty and creativity, as well as His generous gift of the five senses.
- It is a tool for
practicing hospitality.
"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality" (Romans 12:13). The purpose of decor in hospitality is not for guests to gush over your furniture arrangement or color selections. It is to make them feel comfortable in your home. It has nothing to do with expensive furnishings; it has everything to do with arranging your home in a way that is welcoming, sensible, and comfortable. Additionally, by investing time and energy into making it an inviting place, you will feel more comfortable practicing hospitably in your home.
For the most part,
decorating does not need to be
expensive. (The exception is a large
home improvement project or the
purchase of new furniture.) Shop
thrift stores, garage sales, and
online auctions for quality used
furniture and accessories. Before
purchasing something that you feel
you should have, determine if you
actually need it. For example, many
living rooms have a sofa, several
chairs, and a coffee table. Ask
yourself if you are truly going to
use a coffee table, or if you want
one only because everyone else seems
to have one. Furniture that is not
needed, quickly turns into clutter
and only adds to your cleaning
duties.
In its purest sense,
decorating is not about filling your
house with the latest furniture and
artwork trends. It is about
fashioning your home into a place
that you and your family enjoy being
in; it's about creating an ambiance
of beauty and love. Use your
imagination and save money by
decorating with meaningful items you
already have on hand. Add touches of
warmth by appealing to the five
senses. Use your creativity, keeping
in mind that the atmosphere of your
home is enhanced by so much more
than simply a few pieces of
furniture and artwork. Here are some
examples:
- Sight
- A basket of ripe, colorful
fruit on a clean kitchen
counter. A pretty welcome sign
or wreath on the front door. A
picture you cross-stitched.
Photos of your family in
beautiful frames. Cheerful green
plants inside, vibrant flowers
outside. A shiny kitchen sink.
(It may not stay that way for
long, but it's pretty while it
lasts!) The quilt you made for
your bed. The family Bible
displayed in a prominent spot.
- Smell - An intensely scented candle
for your bedroom. Small sachets
placed in drawers. Cedar chips
in the coat closet. Lamp rings
dotted with essential oils.
Freshly brewed tea or coffee.
Gingerbread baking in the oven.
A kitchen floor freshly cleaned
with pine scented detergent.
Delicately perfumed lotions. A
jar of potpourri-scented room
spray, discreetly placed in the
bathroom. Freshly picked flowers
(from your own flower bed, if
possible) on the dining room
table.
- Taste - A cookie jar that's always
filled with cookies. Freshly
baked bread. Tasty meals for
family and friends. Freshly
squeezed lemonade, readily
offered to visitors and family
alike. The occasional
melt-in-your mouth morsel of
chocolate. A candy dish filled
with your family's favorite
treats. Bowls of fresh fruit
(juicy peaches, crisp apples,
succulent oranges) placed in
readily accessible places.
- Sound
- Laughter. Cheerful humming
and singing. The washing machine
going through its cycle. Your
favorite music playing on the
radio. Soft, instrumental
background music during dinner.
Fire crackling in the fireplace.
Birds chirping around a feeder
outside. Good, clean jokes.
Loving, encouraging words spoken
in a soothing tone. The coffee
maker's drip, drip, drip. A wind
chime on the porch. The silence
of a contented household asleep.
Prayers spoken aloud.
- Touch - Plump, soft pillows on the sofa. Warm lap blankets draped over beds and living room chairs. Smooth, freshly laundered sheets. Hugs. Fluffy bath towels. Soft but practical entrance rugs. Fuzzy slippers. Cozy pajamas. Cool breezes drifting through open windows.
Decorating is an
altogether personal endeavor. No one
can tell you how to decorate your
home, but from a Christian
perspective there are a few
guidelines to keep in mind.
- Accept your house, even
if it is not your dream home.
Consider your living space a gift from God, and determine to make the best of it. In Philippians 4:12 the Apostle Paul wrote, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Ask God to help you have the same attitude, realizing that He sees your needs and has given you the ability to make your living space attractive.
- Decorate in a manner that
pleases you and your family,
with a focus on making your home
comfortable and functional.
Forget about keeping up with the neighbors, or about submitting to the latest trends promoted in magazines. Those trends will change next month. Decorate to suit your and your family's preferences, without comparing yourself negatively with others. There is no need to feel inferior when others have more expensive furnishings, more elaborate decor, or (in your eyes) a more sophisticated decorating style. Greed is sinful and extremely detrimental to your well being. God gave each of us a unique personality, and the freedom to express it in the way we make our homes comfortable, functional, and appealing.
- Demonstrate your walk
with the Lord by eliminating
offensive objects or materials
from your home.
If Jesus knocked on your door today, is there anything in your home that you would be ashamed to have him see?
- Include items in your
decor that clearly speak of
God's love.
A few tastefully placed items can remind you daily of God's goodness, and serve as conversation starters with non-Christian friends or family. Examples include a Bible placed on a table next to the sofa; quality artwork that includes Scripture verses; photographs of a mission trip you took; an accessory from a country where a missionary lives whom you help support financially; a list of prayer requests on your refrigerator.
To help find your
personal style, look through
decorating books and magazines. When
you find pictures of decor that you
like, examine why you like it. What
stands out to you? Are you drawn to
the colors, the furniture
arrangement, or the overall theme?
Subscribe to several decorating
magazines and cut out pictures of
decor that you feel drawn to. Place
the cutouts in a scrapbook or photo
album. You will soon notice a
preferred style emerging.
In her book Daring to
Be Yourself (New York: Bantam
Dobleday, 1990) Alexandra Stoddard
urges, "Be a sponge. Open your eyes.
Get inspiration from everything
around you. Open your world to a
wider vision so you will have lots
of imaginative options for each area
in your home."
When you see a
decorating element that you like in
someone else's house, edit it in
your mind to make it suit your home
and personal taste. Visualize how it
will look, and retrieve that mental
picture when you have an opportunity
to put it to use.
Magazines, books, and
the Internet can help you study the
basics of color coordination and
design; but remember to decorate in
a way that feels right for you and
your family, regardless of what
others are doing or what the experts
say.
About the Author:
Brenda
King is the director of
PositivelyFeminine.org. She and
her husband Mike live in Ohio
and have one son. In her
spare time she enjoys reading,
writing, hiking, and working on
the computer.
Photo Credits
Flower: Lotus Head
Bedroom: Mark Mordecai
Pillows: Steve Gray