31 Days - Loving Your Home

Whatever season you are in right now, you are making your home somewhere.

Helen Allingham - Rose Cottage

And this potentially can be a source of stress.

Perhaps, you are a young couple with small children and your starting to outgrow your home, or you wish you owned your home instead of renting.  

Maybe you are getting older and your current home has become a bit much to keep up with, but you hate the thought of downsizing from a well loved home.

Sarah Bryant

There are tons of scenarios we could come up with, but you get the idea.  I am here to say that we can love our home regardless of circumstances.

When we were a young couple we were in training to be missionaries.  We lived in an apartment without a bathroom - we had to use a shared one down the hallway.  But I made that first small place a home for us, and we welcomed friends in every week.  

During one portion of our training Tim had to build a home in the woods of the training center for us to live in for 6 weeks.  This home was built from felled trees and landscaping plastic.  I'll have to find some photos to scan in and show you sometime.  He made all our furniture too.  During the time he was building, I was gathering supplies - vinyl tablecloths to staple to the wood and cardboard counters, for the table, an old quilt for our wood, cardboard and foam couch.  We had curtains to go up at the screened windows, and I color coordinate everything.

I cooked on a wood stove built by Tim and we hung a hammock out front and landscaped the outside with rocks from our house site, and we even transplanted a few ferns for outside the front door. Tim and a 13 month old Nate took a nap in the hammock every afternoon.

We made that place a home and settled in - and fared emotionally much better than those who had in their mind that 'this was just temporary' and didn't try to make it home.  They were not as content as we were.

That experience taught me that you can make a home anywhere - it's all in your mindset.  

William Blacklock - Lunchtime Preparations

Perhaps you move a lot due to your husbands work, or perhaps you rent and can't paint the walls or change the flooring.  Maybe you have lots of kids and few bedrooms.  Maybe your parents live with you or you live with them!

What ever the circumstance, you can love your home and make it your own.  You'll have to think creatively.

If you hate your carpet but you're unable to change it due to renting or cost.  My suggestion is to get an area rug to put in your living room, or your bedroom that can cover up a big section of yucky carpet or flooring.  

Pinterest

If you can't paint walls find inexpensive wall art to hang that will catch your eye rather than the ugly walls.  The possibilities here are endless.  Maybe you have a quilt you can hang.  Or perhaps you are a photographer or one of your children is.  There are so many places now that you can upload your digital photos and have them enlarged or put on canvases.  Maybe you are crafty, or not, but you've seen those easy crafts of taking canvases from the craft store and doing a bit of decoupage with scrapbooking paper or photos.  Endless crafting ideas out there for making artwork for your walls!

Candles, music, soft lighting in the evenings, books read aloud, coffee and tea being enjoyed, a game at the table, a movie shared, all can help to make your living space a home.

Anna Ancher

I know that perhaps the reasons for stress and unhappiness with a living situation are more serious than just not liking a wall color.  In all these circumstances the real key to loving our homes is attitude.

Albert Anker 

What is the attitude of my heart?  Am I thankful everyday?  Am I bitter at what life has thrown my way?  Where is my focus?  Is it on things or people?

You can make a delightful home where ever you live.  It's up to you.

Together - Daniel Gerhartz