Love.

Okay, so this week I've been sharing my quest to nest. This is representative of where I am in my life right now. I am building a home and learning the best ways to take care of my family- yes, a family. It may be just me, the Hubby, and two cats, but it's still a family. And even though my posts seem like gobble-dee-gook about cleaning, they are in essense about something else more than cleaning up my junk and organizing my material belongings. They are about love. "Love?!" you say. Yes. Love. Well, at least one way of showing it. And that way is through making a home.

Please be advised (work in a police station much?) that I have an expansive array of descriptions and expressions about love floating around in my head. It is a word, a feeling, an action, that resounds through me body and soul. However, I am kind of stink... um, haha, let's try this again: However, I kind of stink at articulating my thoughts about this subject and in this post will therefore just focus on love as the act of making a home. We'll get to the more deep, religious stuff some other time. Because it's scary. Haha, just kidding, it's not scary, it's beautiful and inspirationl. Yes, that's what love is.

Love as the act of making a home:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

In a home, for it to be healthy and nurturing, there must be kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must bear with your family through the ups and downs. You must forgive your family for whatever they've done. And in order to do all these things, you must love them. One way to love them, especially as the woman of the house, is to care for the home itself. To make sure there is a healthy meal on the table and a clean bed to sleep in. To keep the hot spots free of clutter and the sink clear of dirty dishes. This may seem like crazy talk, but think about it. If you have a routine that allows you to keep your home clean and clutter free, then you'll have more time to share with your family and a better environment in which to to do it. Things will get done more quickly, the items around your house will be more important to you, and your family will have a comfortable place to gather and spend time together.

For some this concept may be a stretch, and of course I'm never satisfied with my own explanations... and after reading what I've written above, I'm a little nervous about posting- it can be scary to share your thoughts. Especially thoughts that involve quoting scripture, which is a new thing for me. But I believe what I've said and I feel that by making my home clean, comfortable, and welcoming that I am loving my family and those who visit me.

And because credit should be made, part of the reason I've gone off on this tangent is because I found this blog (www.thisisreverb.com) recently and his post about "love wins" got that "expansive array of descriptions and expressions" in my head going and I felt the need to post something, anything, about love. But to see a little of that deeper, more religious, "scary" stuff I mentioned, check out the link to his post above. It touched me, for lack of a better cliche.