5 Home-Shaping Tips & a Home Decor Giveaway!
If you popped over here from my Encouragement for Today devotion I have running on Proverbs 31 & Crosswalk.com, welcome!
If you haven’t peeked at it yet, click here to get up to speed on today’s topic & giveaway!!! (Yay!! I love giveaways!!)
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Don’t you just love Thida’s phrase?
“Thank you for helping me to shape our home.”
Home shaping is serious business. Just take a peek into what God says about a woman’s power to either shape or to shatter:
“A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1
Are we shaping or shattering?
Others are watching. What will they see?
Here are 5 tips for shaping your home. For morphing it into a place where others will both see and experience God’s love.
1. Pause before you pounce. Unkind words hurled at others in haste do not show the love of God to a watching world. All they do instead is show our ability to throw what my husband calls “flesh balls”. Remember, we are to walk in the spirit, not in the flesh.
2. Freely forgive. When wronged, as we all are sometimes, refuse the invitation to get “historical”, bringing up all past trespasses and blunders and such. (Trust me…I am waaaaay too historical waaay too often!)
3. Frown less. Would it kill us to ask a family member to “please pass the salt” with a smile on our face? Could we pass our child or spouse in the hall and give them a wink and I quick “I love you like crazy, ‘ya know!”? Must we treat complete strangers with more kindness and care than our own flesh and blood?
4. Laugh more. Listen to the young child’s knock, knock jokes. Get out the old home videos and reminisce. Pop popcorn and rent a clean comedy the whole family will enjoy splitting a gut over. (And note to self: Actually watch the movie with them. Put away the laundry needing to be folded. And the over-looked paper piles waiting to be sorted. And other piddly, distracting busy work. It will all wait patiently for you, I promise.)
5. Saturate yourself with the Word of God. Everywhere. On your mirrors, on your fridge, on the signature line of your checkbook, on the dash of your car.
Which brings us to today’s home-shaping giveaway.
In this prior post about my recent Christmas holiday decor, I spoke of my sweet, godly friend & co-author Trish Smith. She is a crafter extraordinaire who can whip up a handmade and heartfelt piece of home art with both her eyes closed!
Seriously!
Think HGTV expert with Jesus’ love appliqued on her heart.
One of her most well-known projects is her line of scripture signs.
I have one hanging in my laundry room: “Create in me a clean heart, O God”.
Our living room wall boasts our family name with a verse stenciled faintly in the background that reads: “Choose for yourselves whom you will serve; As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”
I have a marriage one in my bedroom.
Another inspirational one in my office.
And now, I want to give one of you a chance to also own a Trish Smith original! You could win today’s giveaway centered around one of her beautiful wooden scripture signs.
One gal who leaves a comment on this post will win the following package (valued at $48!) :
~ This neutral-colored scripture sign, hand-crafted by Trish Smith. (The dot of the “I” in the word light is a little flickering flame. Too cute!)
~ A $10 Kmart/Sears gift card to be used in the stores or online. Are your dish rags too ragged? Need a new pretty casserole dish? How about a decorative scented candle or pretty rustic vase? Get yourself something new for your home.
~ A signed copy of my book A Life That Says Welcome; Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others. 1/3 of the book is my story of marrying into a family full of gourmet cooks, decorating divas and even a bed & breakfast owner who was featured in Southern Living magazine—while domestically-challenged me could barely boil water!!
The remaining 2/3 features practical recipes, cleaning & de-cluttering tips, and home decorating shortcuts—all on a budget!
So leave us a comment on home-shaping tips you can think to share.
They can be words of advice to shape your home’s friendly atmosphere.
Or give us a quick or clever decorating tip.
Or perhaps a family-fun snack you serve to your clan.
Or anything that struck a chord with you from this devotion or blog post.
Or, if your day is swamped, simply say “I’m in!”
The winner will be chosen and announced on Monday.
Have a wonderful weekend full of home-shaping love!
Sweet Blessings,
I have learned not to worry about having it all clean, I love little finger prints of my grandchildren on my patio door.
Thank you for the inspirational blog
I am in
Low battery and swamped, but in!<3 Prov31!
I love that sign!
Hi, Karen! My favorite is Tip #4: Laugh more. Kudos to you!
We adopted a special needs baby; my precious baby is now 20 years old. Because of this I gave up a job I loved for a new more important one as Danny’s mom! I home-schooled him and stayed home with him until now. My husband lost his job 2 years ago because of a disability. I went back to school to get an education to help suport us. I am now graduated and appying for jobs. While I was in school it was very difficult to keep up the house, go to school on-line and take care of both of my disabled boys; (husband & son)!I have to admit I am a perfectionist! I have a problem with dust bunnies in are home! They are just not welcome! So much so my husband and I have told our son to watch out for them because they take our things in the night and hide them. Danny insists now that they have taken things from him and carried them off in the night. He looks for the dust bunnies under the furniture all the time now. It has now become a family joke! I guess I would rather laugh about the dust bunnies rather than let a messy house stress me out! I am sure that working out of the home will be very difficult after so many years being a stay at home mom! I need all of the home shaping & tips I can get. Thank you for your inspirational blog! God bless you for your work in his name!
I recently picked up an air popper for popcorn at a Salvation Army. I think it has already been worth the $1.75 I spent! The kids love watching it pop, especially the 3 y.o., and we have a fairly healthy snack together. Making popcorn has become associated with family time, whether we watch a movie together or sit around on the couch munching on our bowls of popcorn together.
Oh, Karen….I would so love to leave a decorating tip, but I’m afraid I am chronically challenged in the decorating department! I struggle to make my home feel welcoming….well, except for teenagers. They all LOVE my home. But I could really use the help…so I’m in!
Donna
anotherbattlewon.blogspot.com
Beautiful post. Wonderful reminder. Thanks for all you do.
Hello!
Im in! Quick little tip for decorating on a budget (no matter what size) is that you can find some GREAT stuff from thrift stores(ex:salvation army/goodwill or other community thrift stores)/garage sales, dollar stores etc. You can find furniture from thrift stores/garage sales and re-paint or stain, or simply cleanup and add something to make it your own. You can also get some great stuff at dollar tree like frames, glassbowls/marbles and fake flowers to make decorative centerpieces, and even “wall words” (the decorative sticky wall words you find in decorating or hobby/craft stores that are UBER expensive). They work great and just as good as the more expensive kind, for only $1!!!
This was great Karen, thank you! I’ll use all of this but especially the “frown less” one…I am going to make SURE I smile more areound the house and when I psss my kids and hubby, I’ll give them a kiss or some kind words. Makes so much sense, why didn’t I think of that?!
God bless you and yours…you and the other P31 women are in my prayers, love you guys!
I love a tidy, neat house as much as the next person, but I always try to remember it’s about people first. The dishes can wait while I’m laughing with my family at the end of a meal. What’s my reaction when my hubby knocks over my new vase? Or when I’m swamped with to-do’s but my sister needs to tslk? I try to remember that people matter more than stuff and the stuff is not that important anyway.
I want to be entered in this drawing please! I found you thru a P31 link and I especially like reading your Wednesday blog about losing weight, because that’s what I am trying to do right now. I also would appreciate anything new for my home because that always lifts my spirits. God Bless!
I am so very in! I am glad to have found your blog through the P31 emial.
I loved this post and would love to win.
I had to laugh when I read your comment about “actually” watching the movie with your family. That really spoke to me as I am always doing something else when I am watching a movie. I tell my family don’t pause it, I’ll be right back and then I leave the room to do “something important” (ha). I would especially love to get your book.
I have broken my chores down into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc and disperse them through the week so I am not caught off guard with house work. Thanks for the give away.
Hi Karen…
I’m in, thanks for offering this drawing…I try to to make my home comfy by knitting…making pretty throws for my husband and me to use..and I also like making them for friends…love candles too…..
I agree to about surrounding ourselves with scripture…God’s word is true and the more I keep it in front of me the better by signs and pictures and cards etc..the better my days go…I have some bright index cards at work that I have written verses on and flip through them all day long!
Blessings,
Kelly
Love having Scripture in one form or another all around my home! My husband and I raised two sons and have a grandson, so my home-shaping tip is ENJOY them! Living on a farm, there’s a little bit of dirt coming in the house on a regular basis (lol), especially now that Grandpa built a really big sandbox in the backyard!!! I want my grandchildren to remember the good times, not how Grandma worried abt the dirt/sand on the floor! Thanks for the chance at a great giveaway!
Thank you for your 5 home-shaping hints! I so needed the reminders and ideas! To treat our family with the same (or more) kindness as we do others is something I try to live by, but fall short sometimes. And I so agree with surrounding yourselves with God’s living word in our homes- I have verses taped up EVERYWHERE!! So my family would probably really appreciate an ACTUAL sign done professionally with scripture on it! :) I really connected instantly with you, and have subscribed to receive your posts. Thanks for all you do for His kingdom!!
KAren,
Thanks for the wise words, here I have been trying to live by James 1:19″ .. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger….” Boy is that a hard one to follow!!!!
A fun dessert/snack is fondue. Everyone gathers around the fondue pot instead of scattering so it is a good time to chat. Thank you for hosting this giveaway!
I think that the art in our home can really “speak” about what is important to us. For many years now, we have had a very large print by Ron DiCianni of a father praying over his sleeping son hanging in our great room. It “speaks” to our belief in prayer and our reliance on God in our family. When I saw your signs, it made me think of this. These things can be a silent witness to all who enter our home.
I do not have a home yet, but I am looking for one with my fiance. So not sure what I can share. I will say, I plan to take a circut and create those things you stick on walls (You can buy them at Michaels and such) but with Bible verses. I love the idea of verses to encourage me in every room. When my church built a new building, families came and wrote verses and memories on the boards of the frame before the church was finished. This is as close to that as I can get with an already built house. If we every build, I will be sure to do both!
We hold a “10 minute pick up” each evening so we can go to bed with less clutter around us. The whole family participates (not just Mom) We all race around the house (the kids see it as a game)and pick up as much as we can before the timer goes off. You will be amazed at how much actually gets picked up and it helps the kids have ownership in the process of keeping our house clean. The best part is we all win…and can wake up to a less cluttered morning.