Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Home

You see it on door mats, framed pictures throughout homes, painted on the walls, in Arts & Crafts fairs in the wreaths and other home decor items, on coffee mugs, in photo albums, on holiday decorations, in lyrics of music; the phrase "Home Sweet Home". I'm intrigued. What makes home so sweet? How come when you think of home, you feel warm and fuzzy inside? What are the different aspects of "home" that make it so sweet when put together? Is home only the house where you grew up? I'm convinced it is so much more than that.

Everyone is different and everyone has different thoughts that come to mind and when you talk about "home" and when you discover what triggers the warm & tingly feeling. My husband, families, friends, holidays, foods, traditions, clothes, seasons, hobbies, music and my home in Heaven are my triggers. My hope with this blog, is that I uncover the warm aspects of "home" through each of my triggers and I invite you in as I live my life and open my eyes to my longings for "home" each day as they are revealed. I hope to discover what "home" really is to me and why God has wired us to desire "home" and how God reveals himself through the little blessings of "home" here on earth until we meet Him in the ultimate "home" in Heaven.

I want to discuss the expectations of newly married women as they struggle with the expectations of "creating a home" immediately after getting married, why is it that no one seems to care that we as young women might have just left the college dorm room life and entered into marriage with the responsibilities of "keeping a home"? I have struggled with how to deal with making my house a "home" for me and my husband, Josh. After being married over 2 1/2 years now, I think it's important to dive into the expectations of women and how they are required to create a new and different "home" environment, with new traditions, new decorations, new meals, new clothes and curtains to sew (that is, if you've ever sewn before!!--I know I hadn't!), all with zero dollars in the bank account, and doing it while combining 2 completely different cultures (one from the home you grew up in, and one from the home your spouse grew up in).

I've found that what you call "home" are the things you are passionate about and the people you're passionate about. And the best part about your "home" is that it can mold to your personality and your style. There's no cookie-cutter description of "home". It's not necessarily the cover of Southern Living, nor does it have to be like the show "John and Kate Plus 8". "Home" is you and the person God made you to be. Discovering that will be the fun part!

Please feel free to share with me your "home" triggers and new ideas I could try and experience as this blog continues. I'm excited to go on this journey myself and share it with whomever would like to share in it with me!