Monday, March 14, 2016

Making Your Home a Restful Haven



In this busy, chaotic world that always seems like it's on the go, go, go--we, as Christian moms, have the wonderful opportunity to purposefully make a quiet and restful place for our families.

I have been talking a lot about rest on the blog lately and how me and my husband have been purposing to get rest more in our schedule and the importance of it  but I also don't want to forget to create that kind of space--a haven, for our families.

I know that many of us are too busy to think about doing something like this and don't feel like we have the time to do it but it will definitely make a difference in your home if you make the effort. Your family will thank you!

And don't feel like it is a ton of work. You can do this in small steps too. It doesn't have to be overwhelming.

 I promise!

So let's begin.


10 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HOME A RESTFUL HAVEN


1. Slow down - If you are a busy mom, I encourage you to slow down. If we control the atmosphere of our homes then we need to practice learning how to rest in our lives too. Say "no" to activities or outing that steal away your rest and peace so that you can focus more on your family.

2. Pray - Ask the Lord to show you how to make your home special for your family since every family is different. Pray over your efforts, pray for His wisdom, pray over your home and every room, pray for vision, pray for strength. Pray that He would guide  you in this endeavor.

3. Light a candle - Candles always seem to calm me. I like to light one when I am resting or at meal times for my family to enjoy.

4. Play some calm music - this helps to set the mood of your home. I like use Spotify and my children all know which channels are the peaceful ones. Right now as I type this out I am listening to "Solo Piano Radio". My husband likes this channel a lot and just recently introduced me to it.



5. Create a restful space - It is hard to relax if your home is cluttered or disorganized, so make a plan to do away with those things that don't make your home conducive to rest. I know that every room can't be perfect but we can try to move in that direction. I especially try to have the living room and bedroom spaces clean when my husband gets home. Does this always happen? No, but I try to aim for it as much as I can when I can. I am glad I have a husband who is really easy going and doesn't mind how things are but just likes being around family.

6. Focus on relationships - No home is calm and peaceful if there is arguing and strife. Let's focus on deeply knowing the people on our home and giving them grace, mercy and love as the Lord allows us to.

7. Build up with words - Remember to praise your husband and children, to tell them that you love them, forgive them and give them freedom to talk. If they feel like you are always negative and criticizing they will not freely share their hearts and that can hinder relationships.

8. Routines that help - It is good to bring order to your days by having a helpful routine. It has been proven that children do better when there is a routine in the household. In our days I like to establish school time, cleaning time, reading time, Bible time, eating times, play time...you get the picture! But don't be so rigid that no one can deter from the schedule. Be flexible!

9. Good books, food, and fun - Make sure to nurture your family with having good books available for them to grow, good food, tea and coffee available (some of our best conversations come over a family meal), and plan some fun into your week. It is important for the children to have things to look forward to--like our family outings and family movie nights.

10. Christ at center - the most important part to making your home a haven is having Christ at the center. He is King and should be King in our homes and in our lives.




At then end of the day we want to make sure our family has a place to come home to and be loved and nurtured. It doesn't have to be perfect, just a place where they can truly feel loved.

What a joy it is to serve them and show God's heart for them in this way!

I am currently reading through The Life Giving Home, where you can learn more on building up your home and where the authors share generously their thoughts on this topic! It has been a blessing so far and you can find it here.






May God bless you as you build up your precious homes!







**WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU**



How do you like to make your home a haven?

Please share them below in the comments!

















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13 comments:

Mrs. Chrissy T said...

I am also reading this book and it is so wonderful. Some things I already do but there are a lot of great ideas and it is so helpful in reminding me of our purpose to make sure our home is as HOME not a house. I recommend this book to every lady. Thanks for sharing your great post.

Suzanne McClendon said...

I enjoyed reading your post. My husband and I are now empty-nesters (most of the time). I am working to regain our home. We are working to make it a more peaceful place.

Thank you for your post.

Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage said...

Just finished reading that book. I'll review it this week.
I love your vision of rest. I'm working on making some changes
in our home, too.
Be blessed,
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Tiffiney said...

Hi June!

I love the pointers you've shared in this post. Of mall, my favorite is lighting the candle. And you've inspired me to once again get back into the habit of having a family night. I've been parenting for 28 years, and so I feel like I'm growing weary of doing such things, but I still have little ones who would really appreciate a night dedicated just to family fun.

As for the book, I love everything by Sally Clarkson. I can't wait to read her latest. She's so incredibly inspiring. Thanks for featuring her book.

Blessings to you!
Tiffiney

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Thanks for sharing and stopping by, Christy!

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Great to hear how even empty-nesters are working on this too! Be blessed!

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Yes, the book has been a blessing and I'm sure it will bless others too!

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Yes, we have been parenting for 24 years and I understand about getting weary. Sometimes it is easy to forget the younger ones since we did all of that with the older ones and we are older too. I keep praying that the Lord would just keep guiding me and giving me strength to what He would like me to do with them. He always supplies what I need!

Unknown said...

I have just ordered this book and am impatiently waiting for it to arrive! Your 10 tips are a perfect reminder and source of inspiration. Thanks and blessings to you!

Unknown said...

I can't wait to read this book! It is on my wish list! :)

HeatherMavis said...

This caught my eye as I scrolled through FB. My home needs to find "it's" way out of a chaotic mess. I'd like to read the book.

Unknown said...

Hi,
I also strive to make our home a haven of rest and comfort. Having teenagers it now seems even more important as their lives can be very stressful. Some key ideas I try to implement are to be available to listen when they want to talk. Teens don't always jump right into sharing, so when they want to tell me something about their day I really engage in that conversation and build them up by not being critical and just enjoy the talk.
This really opens the door for them to feel secure in talking about bigger issues too.
Keeping a friendly face is important, too. It's hard to relax if someone's face is saying " I'm mad, or irritated".
When the kids were little (elementary school) we started Thursday Night Pizza and Prayer. We didn't go out to eat often, so ordering in pizza was a real treat. We would eat the pizza, play a game and then spend a little time just sharing needs and praying for one another. We did this once a week and we all looked forward to it!
God bless you all!

June Fuentes @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home said...

Great ideas, Jessica, thanks for sharing!

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