Skip to main content

Enhancing the Home Atmosphere

Home, Home, Home!!  The place we can let go, relax and just be ourselves.  I love my home and enjoy just being here.  Last week my heart was cut, stirred and then encouraged by one of my teenager's remarks.  It was his night off work and he was lining up to go somewhere.  I needed him to stay home for about an hour before he went.  He moaned and groaned and finally said "It's my only night off, I don't want to spend it sitting around the house."  OUCH that hurt!  My first thought was to pray for the Lord to change HIS heart and that he will want to be home.  But don't you just love it when God does answer the prayer, but changes YOUR heart?

Since our family includes 2 teenagers, I know it that we are on the brink of major household changes.  They will be leaving our home soon as they begin the journey as adults.  No matter how much I long for them to be near me, it is the divine plan for "man to leave his mother and father and cleave to his own wife" one day.  It has been said that the only thing sadder than having a child leave home in their proper time, is to have one that will not leave.  As they get closer to adulthood, the freedom to begin moving about on their own is natural.  Making some of their own choices is a step towards Independence.  So, my prayer changed, not to "make" him stay home more, but to put a special place in his heart for our home.

This also inspired me to evaluate and work on my home atmosphere.  Why do we want to be home?  A joyous home is filled with good things.  Things like:

  • Kindness
  • Encouragement
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Fun Times

It may take some effort to overcome some qualities that seem to want to stay around such as:
  • Bickering
  • Critical Words
  • Nagging
  • Strife
Some things I want to put into practice to enhance the atmosphere of my home include:
  • Smiling.  It sets a beautiful tone for the home.
  • Blessing the home through prayer, Scripture placed around the home, uplifting music.
  • Scent.  This is a wonderful thing to come home to, a good smelling home.
  • Home Cooking.  Who doesn't love to come home to a nice, hot, home cooked meal.
  • Treats.  Surprising the family with unexpected treats along and along.
A home atmosphere does not come automatically.  Some ways to invest in the home atmosphere include putting much time, love and energy into making a home.  The most important is to:

  • Fill our hearts with the love and grace of Jesus and pour it out in the home.
  • Pray diligently for the home.  While working in it, before entering, before leaving.
  • Speak blessings out loud.  Pray through the home the qualities and characteristics you want to see develop. 
The time, effort and energy it takes to make a home is a worthwhile investment that brings a lifetime of beautiful rewards of joy as the essence of home is engraved on the hearts of our family.
Making your home sing Mondays

Comments

  1. Oh, thank you! This seriously hurt, but I needed it. I just got done scolding my kids for the state of their rooms and I'm feeling badly about it.

    Thank you for the reminder that my words and attitude make a difference in my home!

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful post, my friend! I especially loved the last sentence. I want the essence of home to be engraved on the hearts of my family, too.

    Our 22 year old loves to be busy, and when he is home from college he is gone, gone, gone (although he does try to squeeze in some family time now that he's moved away).

    Before he moved away, however, he was like your son and pretty much wanted to be busy every single night.

    Our 17 year old doesn't like being busy like that. He is pretty much a home-body and enjoys being home and doing his own thing.

    Isn't it funny how their two personalities are so different?

    I will miss my kids some day when they move out permanently, but you are right - I would not want them to be afraid to move out and be independent.

    Thanks for linking up to Making Your Home Sing Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for this beautiful post. I have two teens, a girl 19 and a boy 16. The girl is hardly ever here, between work, church and a courtship and boy, well, we have a ways to go with him. I have to remember that they will be gone all too soon. I want my home to be a peaceful place that they want to spend time in.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the inspiration to give my older kids good reasons to choose to enjoy being at home. It is always good to be reminded about the impact a mom has through her home.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful and very timely for me as well. With a 19 year old who really only sleeps and showers here, a 17 year old who will be off to college this coming fall - and a 14 year old 'who still loves us and wants his noggin rubbed' I need the reminder that - home needs to be an inviting and warm and loving place.

    Since I work full time +, and my husbands hours are different everyday - (although bless his heart - he does the family laundry EVERY Saturday) I am exhausted and when I come home to a house where NOTHING has been picked up - even lights are left on - and if I ask for help I get an argument - it is easy to fly off the handle. My 19 year olds room is 2 feet high in clothes across the floor. You cannot even walk in there - Last week I threatened to take his car (that he owes us $1000 for and pays off each paycheck) -that did the trick - except he hauled all the clothes to the hall and then left them there for 5 days until I threatened again.

    My mom always said "Kill 'em with kindness"
    I know I must have gone wrong somewhere along the way - always picking up after them - although I always refused to clean their rooms (except maybe once a month).

    I am going to pray about your suggestions - that God would plant them on my heart and give me the energy to make our home a place that is a place they want to be and they want to care for.

    Thank you - your words touched me - today!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Having three that have "flown from the nest", I can say "Amen" wholeheartedly to your post. I think one of the things that blesses me most now is that they all still enjoy coming "home" and want to be here for holidays and such. Sometimes when they were growing up, they would spend the night at a friend's house. When they came home, they would talk about how things were different there.... not bad, just different. It did make me aware of adjustments we should make or of things that maybe we were doing right. Enjoyed our three as kids...enjoying them now as adults....God is good!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this! Your words are so true, we do need to actually work on home atmosphere. I never have thought about "Smiling. It sets a beautiful tone for the home" but I agree with that as well :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I just that line...and that thought - creating a special place in their heart for home! Having Jordan here for three weeks, I hope that that special place feeling deepened...or, perhaps, grew as this house is new and just beginning to be home for all of us - and especially him. It was special having him but, you are correct, that it is a joy to watch them create their own independent lives...and homes (even if it is an Air Force dorm room - which he was quite proud of) :)

    Powerful post!! Happy Monday, friend.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your commment. It is a joy and blessing to hear from you and your words are appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress.  When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.