By the Fruit of Her Hands…

She Maketh a Godly Home!

We trust you are encouraged to follow the Lord and the path He has designed for you. A song that has been a blessing to me recently says,

My soul is satisfied,
My soul is satisfied;
I am complete in Jesus love,
And my soul is satisfied.*

The devil will tempt you with the wealth and honor of this world and cause you to be discontented, but fine houses and furnishings do not satisfy the soul. In fact, if we only knew what was behind many of the fine home walls, we would find many very sad, lonely, miserable hearts. The devil hides all that from our view and shows us only the bright-looking side. Some of the most happy, satisfied hearts come from within humble dwellings.

What young lady doesn’t have a desire to make her surroundings beautiful?! In some cases, this God-given attribute may seem buried for a time, and in others, it may be too pronounced. How we need to look to God for balance in this area as well as all aspects of our lives!

In my youth, I was interested in taking a course in interior decoration. My mother, however, had some deeper insights which she shared with me. She had observed in others who were so focused in decorating their homes that it left little time for the more needful spiritual needs of their souls. I dropped the idea about the course and have appreciated that advice more with the passing years. However, this doesn’t mean we have to have drab, dreary-looking homes, but rather that we should make it as attractive and comfortable as we can. But with all the things available to us today, we must be careful to not to do more than Jesus would be pleased with. God has placed the woman in charge of the home to make it a warm, cheerful, happy place to be. Daughters, now is the time to learn these skills and the balance pleasing to our Creator. If God is not pleased with the things in our hearts and homes, He will not dwell there. I want to share a quote from an old article entitled, “The Hallowed Home” by Brother C. E. Orr:

Let your home be simple and free from all extravagances. Let there be not those decorations and ornamentations and richness that speaks of a love of earthly things. These earthly things when beyond the line of simplicity and modesty profane the home, and relieves it of all sacredness.

The difficulty will lie in “what is extravagant?” One thing that may seem extravagant to one may not appear to be extravagant to another. We all come from different families and backgrounds and the Lord knows how to work with us each as individuals and will teach us His will for our lives as we yield to Him.

A good place to start learning how to make a home pleasant and inviting is in your own bedroom. Form good habits of keeping your clothes hung up and having a place for everything and everything in its place. Make a habit of making the bed immediately upon arising. It only takes two or three minutes, and the job is done!

Your home can be made attractive with simple things from your sewing room and garden, without spending a lot of money on extravagant decorations. A simple thing we have found useful and charming in the home this fall has been braided shallots. The Lord blessed us with an abundant supply, so Coquetta learned how to braid them. When tied with a colorful ribbon at the top and hung in the kitchen, they are ready to use or give as a gift. Indian corn can also be hung up to dry in an attractive manner, and then later be used to grind for meal.

We are going through a time of remodeling our kitchen. It has been at a standstill for awhile and has been a trial at times, but the Lord has helped us when we have gone to Him with problems which seemed insurmountable. How great was the blessing when the Lord revealed how we could overcome each difficulty. We have used a large lazy susan with several baskets to hold kitchen items while drawers are being made. A small crock for the heavier knives and a shallow basket to hold measuring cups and spoons. How ugly the under part of the sink looked with no doors to hide them from view, but with a red-checked curtain, it looked very cheerful. The place for pots and pans were a problem until the realization came that the heavy plastic crates that the milk companies tote four gallons of milk with would fit perfectly on their sides in the spaces where the drawers were to be. Two were used in each space with pints of canned food dividing them to make even more space for small corningware dishes. We thank the Lord for the insights He can give to our daily needs. He has designed that we draw closer to Him through all the little details of our lives. We trust these thoughts will be a blessing to you. If not now, maybe in the years to come. Be like Mary and ponder all these things in your Heart.

With love,
Elois Spinks