Home

Home becomes a big deal when the holidays come around, doesn't it?  With phrases like "home for the holidays"or "I'll be home for Christmas" and the push for cozy 'homey' decor during the cold season.

(I love our new bathroom wall!)

We've been working on setting up our home, because we just moved in. The first couple of days felt like all our stuff was moved into someone else's house. It felt like we were temporarily staying at someone's rental, and I just wanted to go home. But the more we have unpacked, painted, completed projects...the more it feels like our home. 

Nights and weekends have been spent painting, building, digging, doing plumbing, etc because we feel driven to make a place of beauty and rest. As a wife and mom, I want my family to exhale in relief when they walk in the door and feel deep down joy at being home. For our home to be a place to grow, learn, talk, and rest. I know I will feel more at rest when we finish more projects. 

Here up north, there's a tendency to complain when the winter months come and seasonal depression to happen. I read a well written article on the secret to happiness in winter time based on Norway's culture. They suggested lots of candles, fireplaces, drinking lots and lots of hot drinks, dressing for the weather, and celebrating the activities/features of winter that aren't available the rest of the year. As I write this, I'm cozy with my pumpkin blanket and my Golden Chai tea. Especially when the wind starts to howl this winter, I want home to be cozy and full of cheer. 

(me feeling cozy and warm in my new scarf my friend made)

When God gave us this house, He left a string attached. He handed it to us with the understanding it was to be used for Him. This wasn't ours to hold tight, and hide away. It's to be used with open hands as a resting place, a refuge from city life, and a place for people to step back and breath. Each week we usually have multiple people out to eat or play games. Come summer time when the fence is built, friends with kids can bring them out to run wild in the yard. In Medieval times, the Keep was the inmost part of a a castle built to protect the most vulnerable and to be a place of refuge during battle. It is this idea of refuge that rings in my heart. 

Using a home in service for others doesn't require it to be finished nor clean. ;-)  This last week, my friend Tina invited some of us over for lunch and play time after a hike. She honestly warned us that she didn't remember the state of her home, and thought she probably had laundry sitting out. You know what I remember about her house? Her reading library, fall decor, and hospitality as we chatted over tea and the noise of children running around. I'm sure her dirty dishes and baskets of laundry just made my own kids feel more at home. :-) 

Home is a gift...for yourself and for others. It's a place you create so when someone walks in they say "Mmm, I'm glad to be home." Perfection and clean dishes are not required. Just love and hospitality.....and maybe some tea. 

How are you cultivating beauty in your home? How are you using it to bless others? What part of your home do you like the most? Please send me a message! I'd love to hear!

Sojourning with you,

 Felicia

Be kind....it's contagious!

Cold season is upon us as the weather has changed and snow came yesterday. Colds of the sickness type are also here with runny noses and coughs. I've been trying to use chicken stock for soups and noodles as much as I can, and encouraging everyone to take naps.  Yesterday, the house smelled delicious as I simmered our elderberry syrup on the stove...a mixture of elderberries, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.  Mmmmm!  Seriously, they should make an elderberry candle and I would buy it. It smells sooooo good!

Cold season has it's own social rules where you must warn others if you are sick, stay home if you are too sick, and be careful of catching other people's germs. 'Contagious' is the big question everyone asks. "Am I contagious?"  No one wants to be kept in bed for the day....unless you are a cat.

I've been thinking how kindness is also contagious. When your kids are little, it's hard to tell what they are picking up from you. You say and do things in the hope that they will follow suit one day.  At our house, it's easy to tell which parent the kid learned each specific phrase from. But as my oldest grows up, she's demonstrating that she's been listening all along. Before running errands, we pray together each morning "Help us be a blessing to those around us today." Lately, God has been answering that prayer and opening our eyes to how we can bless others. 

Monday morning, we were getting ready to run errands when my daughter looked at her beloved turtle craft hanging on the fridge and announced, "I want to do something kind for the Aldi employees! I want to take my picture to them."  However in the rush to get out the door, we forgot. Once in the van, she remembered her planned act of kindness and asked me to go get it.  When you look in your daughter's beautiful blue eyes and see her heart longing to surprise a stranger with a gift from her heart....you can't say 'no'. So we ran back in the house to grab the picture, and off we went to the store.  

At Aldi, she carefully carried around her precious picture looking for the right employee to give it to. We agreed the cashier would be a good choice. As we checked out, she started telling him about the turtle picture (which he complemented) and then presented him with her treasure. I explained the morning's conversation so he would understand the significance of this gift. He very graciously told my daughter he would have to place it in the store office so it would be safe. 

In a bustling world, where we run here and there trying to get everything done......how often do we stop to show kindness. Reality is my daughter's 'art' was a piece of paper with scrap ribbon glued to it. But in that moment, she told the cashier that he mattered and we appreciated him. (He is a pretty cool cashier, we've had conversations with him before)  Filled with that joy, his cup is fuller to be able to pour into others. 

One night this week, I was out under the stars waiting for the dog to stretch her legs. I heard two different flocks of geese or ducks as they flew overhead. I couldn't see them in the dark, but I could hear their constant honks of encouragement to each other as they flew over. Each one honking "I'm here! Are you there? How are you? Keep flying!"  As they flew over my head, I heard the rush of their wings beating together to keep the group flying together. Their honks and wings working in unison to encourage one another on in their journey.

In this season of cold weather and colds, let's remember that kindness is contagious too. The kindness the coffee barista showed me in creating a pumpkin spice drink for me in a mocha season and the kindness of my husband encouraging me to take 'mom breaks' to write and drink coffee feed my heart so I can pour out into our kids.

I'm raising my wings with you, and honking in encouragement. "Keep flying!  I'm here with you!"  Let's spur one another one, passing on kindness (and hopefully not germs) and encourage one another on in our journeys.

I'd love to know how you've received encouragement lately!  Please send me a message or leave a comment.
Sojourning with you,
 Felicia