What’s The Tone of Your Home?
This month as I sat down to write some helpful hints for home, several ideas came into play. After sifting through thoughts ranging from recipes to refurbishing furniture, I kept coming back to the tone of the home. Our homes can be decorated, cleaned, and organized to Good Housekeeping standards, but if our homes lack love, all that beauty and effort is wasted.
One of my aunts has a picture in her kitchen that states, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” Even though the artwork featuring a mother hen getting after her chicks is humorous, it holds much serious truth. We’ve all had days where the atmosphere in our homes have gone from sweet to our, simply with the change in our attitudes. When my children and husband seem to be more on the cranky side than the positive, I’ve learned to stop and ask what tone I’m setting for the day in our home. I’m sad to say that more often than not, it’s when I’ve been less than patient, discontent, or simply grumpy. Our tone truly affects the tone of our family life and also those who we may be welcoming into our home for a visit, meal, or stay.
My hope for you and myself as pastors’ wives is that we will dedicate the first portion of our efforts to being in the presence of Jesus through time in the Word, in prayer, and in fellowship. Is there a time and place for enjoying selecting paint chips, color swatches, new recipes? Of course there is. But our first “assignment” is the care of our homes and families is to be in tune with our Creator so that the tone in our home reflects His love and care. When we take advantage of the perfect manual He has provided us with in the Bible, the fruits of those moments spent with Him, will be homes that reflect beauty, compassion, and grace. Those are “decorations” that never go out of style.
