Highlights:

How often do you consider the usefulness and design of your home?

Your home is a place meant to grow you, your husband, and your kids into creative and productive adults.

Creating your home atmosphere depends on you. So, what kind of home do you imagine?

When it comes to creating a comfy, friendly, useful, and creative home – it takes time to make it that way.

What Most People Aren’t Talking About

We live in a Pinterest happy culture. And if we don’t know what the purpose is for our home, we’ll adopt everyone else’s idea on how to decorate or live there.

I’m bringing up what I don’t hear most people talking about — the myth and the pressure of having a Pinterest-savvy home – whether it’s fashion perfect or minimalistic and simple.

Plus there’s the myth of having your home life look that way every day.

Not to put Pinterest down. I do use Pinterest for ideas — but have you thought that all the time spent browsing there – just might not be best for you?

It’s a breeding ground for comparison, a sense of not being creative enough or wealthy enough or anything else you know it makes you feel.

And here’s little secret — when you take that pressure off yourself, you open up so many possibilities for creating a home where you and your family can dream — and then become what you each desire. Really!

Our homes were meant for more than beauty. Let’s not forget that.
Let’s rethink what the culture tells us about our home.
“A messy home can be the sign of a creative home.“

“So…your next assignment….should you accept it — is to create that kind of home!
Just go for it.
Quit the comparison.
Stop the feelings of your home not being good enough.
Make it your home with your style.
Make the life lived there one you’re proud of.”

So…your next assignment….should you accept it — is to create that kind of home!

Time to Think:

What is it that you want to create there?
What kind of entertaining do you do?
Do you like to lay around on the floor playing board games or watching a show with popcorn?
Or do you prefer a more formal setting?
Is there anything you know you’re doing that’s not authentic to you?
Is there anything you’re doing only because everyone else does it or says it’s sooo good, but just doesn’t feel genuine in your home?
How do you want your home to look?
And what kind of activities or events will it be used for?
The most obvious answers are for the basics: cooking, eating, and sleeping.
But what activities do you want to do with your time in between the usual eating and sleeping?
How do you want to build your skills, hone your strengths, and grow in your weak areas?

Take time

Is your home environment conducive to experimenting and growth for both you and your kids?Or are you simply patterning what everyone else around you is doing?
What would you need to change to give your kids a chance to be more creative?

The answers to these questions will help you create the home only you can imagine!

What kind of life do you really want for your kids?
How do you want them to look back on their childhood and home life in 20 years?
What memories do you want to create?
That answer will probably affect the kinds of home you make. It’s called homemaking, remember?
Do you want your kids to feel comfortable working on a project?
Or learning to play music?
Or experimenting with something that interests them?
Do you want them not to worry too much about the mess they’ll create while they experiment or try something new?

Consider the activities and interests your kids have in your home. They live with you for almost 20 years, so it’s important!

What do they love?
What makes them smile?
What interests do they have?
What kind of home do they want to bring their friends home to?

Words to Remember:

“A free bird still needs to get the worm!” My husband!

“Remember, creating a soulful home isn’t just about furniture and decor or your cleaning schedule. It’s about the family life and the people who live in your home.”

“When you get your kids involved — and help them capture the vision of a home where they can learn, grow, and be inspired to become who they were created to be — that’s when the magic happens.”

“Remember, you’re raising adults, not just getting through this season of living with kids.”

Terry Covey @ Living Above the Noise:

Bible Verses:

Consider WHY you want what you imagine your home to be.

These verses tell us how God wants you to consider your ways.

Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Proverbs 4:26

Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”.

Psalm 23:3: “He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”
Psalm 37:23-24: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”
Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

Resources:

I talk a lot about planning (and my planner) because it has made such a huge impact on my life.

I’ve spent the last 10 years designing it — first in an Excel file, then in Canva. But I finally made it just the way I like it — and it’s so pretty!

And the best thing? It’s available on Amazon!

If you want to try it out first, jot me an email and I’ll send you a PDF to print out for the month!

If you haven’t tried coaching with someone about the complexities of life and living, you’re in for a surprise. Life coaching / mentoring really works!

Even if you don’t have the money, there are plenty of ideas online to help you create spaces with little cash. All you need is a little – or a lot – of elbow grease (as my mom used to say)

(1.) Travel Back to 1672

The first time the phrase “elbow grease” made it to print was in 1672. An English metaphysical poet named Andrew Marvell used the words in a satirical book about English parliament. Marvell wrote “Two or three brawny Fellows in a Corner, with meer Ink and Elbow-grease, do more Harm than an Hundred systematical Divines with their sweaty Preaching.” Guess we know how he really feels?

In 1699, the phrase “elbow grease” appeared in the “New Dictionary of the Canting Crew” defined as “a derisory Term for Sweat”. The phrase had existed for sometime before that, known to “elbow grease will make an oak table shine.“

(2.) Travel Around the World

English isn’t the only language that has instances of this idiom. In fact, the phrase “elbow grease” is used in 70 languages around the world. Terms like “arm oil” and “knuckle fat”. The seems to tell us that cleaning is a universally challenging experience, requiring physical exertion from the arms and the rest of the body.

https://thesimplescrub.com/home/the-origins-of-elbow-grease/#:~:text=The%20first%20time%20the%20phrase,satirical%20book%20about%20English%20parliament.