The winter months can become long and cold in certain parts of the world. I love the winter season because it is a season of rest in some ways and for me always one of renewal both spiritually and physically. It's a time to put away things from the holidays and the last year and start a new and fresh year. Over the last few months of the last year, it seems I finally finished some of the transformations in my soft furnishings in our home. The long awaited chairs that I had hoped to transform in white finally happened. When we moved into our home seven years ago, we were living between two houses so little by little, I tried to piece together what I would bring from one house to another but I never seemed to get it right in terms of the look I wanted and the comfort necessary. I do not like overly formal rooms but think about comfort first. I have always craved a slow pace of life and through life's changes it seemed we were never living in the same house for long or forever. The seven years we have lived in this home have been full of happiness and family gatherings and making memories. I love living near the ocean but I think it's really water that I crave....any water. A lake view and a river access would do as long as it's brimmed with greenery, wildlife, fish and birds and oh yes.....flowers. Lots of beautiful flowers!
Have you ever thought about how your home reflects who you are? I love color but in my home, I have taken out a lot of the color and made the neutrals prominent. My color comes from the people who come into my home to curl up on the sofa, with a cup of tea on the table and view through to the dining room and kitchen of the grass on the lawn outside. I hear the colorful voices of my family in the walls and in the rooms where they have been. I hear my husbands voice and enjoy the contentment of a happy life and home build with him. I love my home when it is filled with the love of my colorful family!!!!
All of our children are artist..... of a sort. One has a professional position as an artist and the others have art talents well enough to be professionals, even though their degrees were acquired in other fields. Our son is a musician which is a beautiful artistic gift, for with music one is never alone! When our children were young, our home was centered around them, not the furniture. Most of our money went to family needs! My husband built a small round table with two chairs when our oldest daughter was about 15 months and for years as the other children were born, we would sit at that little table and color and draw and work puzzles. We had tea parties and cupcake parties. Later it also served as a gift shop table when they were old enough to create their own play. Allowing children to develop creatively is one of the best gifts a parent can give. When mine were young, instead of printed coloring books, I often gave them plain paper and crayons and they created their own pictures. I believe those crayons and paper have returned to me over and over again in admiration as I have admired something one of my girls or son created. Yes, they all love color and art and their homes are filled with many of their own personal creations. We visited art museums and historic homes every summer it seemed but we also camped in the open forests and hiked and admired God's creative canvas in the world of color! We took them down every road imaginable and crossed the road!
Where are you in your life? Are you at a crossroads? In many ways, we will be given crossroads until we take our last breath. Crossroads and waiting to cross the road to new adventures, new places, new waters are always ahead for us. God is always alive, changing us into the people we should be for His Honor and for His Glory. He leads us and He guides us as His redeemed people when we know and love Him! Our lives are sometimes a palate of neutrals but more often they are like holding a large canvas with a collage of colors ranging from blues to grays to green to bright yellow! Always with a vision that was ordained for each one of us individually before we were ever born.
In the warmth of the winter months may your home be filled with the warmth of color and if you are so fortunate........some refreshing water from the Master Artist above! Have a beautiful day my friend!
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters." Psalm 23:1-2
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