The Aroma of Home & Autumn

If smells could be a love language, they would be mine!

Spring and summer prompt crisp, clean and floral scents.  But autumn and winter scents have to be my favorite. 

Just so you know, this is totally NOT what my neighborhood looks like.
It was about 95 degree here today! 

This weekend, take some time to bless your family with the gift of autumn scents.  Here are some ideas:

1)  Bake apples with cinnamon and cloves as a side dish at dinner.

2)  Buy a new air freshener or candle in an autumn scent.  Glade is featuring "Country Spice" and "Harvest Medley."

3)  Simmer potpourri on the stove.

4)  Bake loaves of pumpkin bread.  One to save and one to giveaway.

5)  Make apple butter as a family and serve on homemade biscuits.

6) Bake molasses crinkle cookies  (my Dad's favorite).

7) Build a fire in your fireplace.

8)  Make a pot of split pea soup. 

9)  Serve hot spiced cider with dinner.

10)  Buy some pumpkin or spice scented hand or body soap for the family.


What are your ideas for bringing the scents of fall into your home?  Or what is your favorite thing about this month?   Post a comment and I'll pick someone at random to win  a Starbucks gift card so you can get your own Pumpkin Spice Latte!  I'll announce the winner on Monday.

In His Love,

Glynnis

Can I live a simple life?

I love the idea of simple living.  In spite of my busy and complicated life, there are simple habits I try and build into my  family's day.   Mostly they center around our home as a gathering place for meals and times with friends. Yet I sense there's greater simplicity I could incorporate into my life. 

That's why I'm drawn to some of the Amish practices.  I'm not alone.  At the most recent She Speaks, an agent and a publishing representative both said that "bonnet fiction" is the best-selling fiction in the Christian market.  Maybe in our information-overloaded society, many of us are longing for the simplicity of family, home and community.

Which is why, when Revell sent me a preview copy of "Amish Peace" by Suzanne Woods Fisher, I was happy to read it.  In each chapter, the author selects a nugget of Amish wisdom to explore.  Then there are questions at the end, and a fact of Amish life.

The chapter on scooters intrigued me.  I didn't know Amish use scooters.  They can't ride bicycles because that could potentially take them too far away from home.  But scooters are okay. How did this happen?

The Amish use something called "selective modernization."  When something new enters the Amish community, the elders give it a period of probation, weighing out its long-term effects on the community.  "Church leaders consider where a change could lead the younger generation.  They try to see beyond the immediate benefits of change to the effects it could have down the road," Fisher writes. 

I really like this way of thinking.  But I'm sad to say I've had a severe lack of discrimination when it comes to new technology.  I've seldom considered how it would affect my family, or my community, in the long-run.  I've only seen the convenience or the entertainment value. As a result, my life is greatly complicated by new things to learn, equipment to break, replacement items to buy, and mediating fights over who gets to play what game and when.

Probably the only decision I've  made where I've disregarded technology is in not getting an electric can opener.  I realized that if we ever lost power, I would be frustrated.  Plus, I figured opening a can might burn a few extra calories (spoken like a true non-athlete).

I'm not saying I would ever get rid of my computer; I'm called to a life of outreach to this generation.  But I am challenged in the very best way to consider how to incorporate simpler habits, simpler processes and simpler equipment into my life. 

Can I live a simple life?  Probably not.  But I can take my time and consider the impact of something new before I invite it into my home and family's life.

Trickles tend to become streams, and streams become torrents.

Amish Proverb

In His Love,
Glynnis

The Value of an Honest Day's Work

Today is Labor Day, and I've got a few thoughts to share, plus a story about my grandfather. 

Honest work is honorable work as far as I am concerned.   America was founded by men and women who were willing to work hard.  Even though today we celebrate the American worker, I wonder if our country is losing sight of the value of an honest day's work.

For our nation to be strong, and continue to raise creative, productive workers, we must value and reward hard work - not penalize it.  God honors hard work.  Read the book of Proverbs to see wise statements about work.  Here are two:

Proverbs 14:23, "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."
Proverbs 31: 17, "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks."


My grandfather exemplified the value of hard work.  I'd like to share something I wrote about him a few years ago for a Labor Day devotion for Proverbs 31.  I hope you enjoy it, and that it inspires you to embrace whatever work God has placed before you.

He was a quiet man; a hard-working Texan who believed that an honest man could always find an honest job. Living in the Pecos Valley of New Mexico, teetering on the western edge of the great drought, compounded by the Depression, my grandfather, Bert Sinclair, always found work.


By some standards, he worked menial jobs. Bert worked on highway construction, in landscaping, as a butcher and always as a farmer. In addition to those day jobs, there was a personal kitchen garden to maintain to feed his family. The drought gave new meaning to “dry as dirt.”

As backbreaking as the work was, Bert pressed on with a positive attitude. At the end of a hard day’s labor, he relaxed at home, surrounded by his five children who vied to wash Daddy’s dusty feet for a penny. And in the country evening stillness, my grandfather picked up his Bible and read the words that guided his daily steps.

Bert’s life of integrity and simple devotion to love and provide for his family, left a godly legacy of the dignity of work. This Labor Day as we honor those whose work makes America strong, it’s good to pause and remind ourselves of God’s view of work, and the value therein.

There’s a tendency to think of work as a negative consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin. In Genesis chapter three, God told Adam that because of his disobedience, he would toil painfully in order to eat. But that’s not the first reference to work.

In the second chapter of Genesis, after God created Adam and Eve, Scripture records, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15 NIV). Work was Adam’s first responsibility. In fact, it would appear to be the first “call” of God on someone’s life.

In our society, it’s easy to devalue certain types of work as beneath us. But the Bible doesn’t differentiate between jobs. In Scripture, all honest work has inherent value. Paul wrote the book of Colossians to the believers in Colossae, who consisted of men and women from all walks of life, including slaves. It was specifically to those slaves that Paul gave this word: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24, NIV)

Not only were those slaves likely responsible for the lowliest of tasks, but they were doing it against their will and with no hope of relief. In this midst of this undesirable situation, Paul reminds them that their work has value because they are working for Jesus. What an amazing paradigm shift!

In whatever work you do today, seek to find greater meaning in it. Work is not a punishment, but an opportunity to serve God with faithful diligence and grateful heart. Even though you may not stay where you are forever, do your best today with dignity.

I’m proud of the heritage of hard, honest work my grandfather left. His quiet dignity resounds in the hearts of his children, grandchildren and their children. Burt Sinclair won’t be found in the annals of Texas or New Mexico history. But his legacy of commitment to God, his work and family I’m sure must be recorded in the book of life. That’s a legacy of dignity worth passing on to my children.

In His Love,
Glynnis

Building a Christian Home

Today I've got an article running on At the Well. It's a monthly column I write titled "Creating Home," and it's for young women who are setting up their own homes - whatever that looks like. Today I've written about establishing some practical habits for growing your faith. If you are visiting from At the Well, I'd like to welcome you to my blog. If not, please check out my article here.

As I wrote this article, I thought about my friend, Mary DeMuth. Mary is the author of many non-fiction and fiction books. However, one of her first books was titled, “Building the Christian Family You Never Had.” It's a wonderful guide for parents who didn't have Christian role models and are pioneering this area of their lives.

Mary has agreed to answer a few questions on this topic and give away a copy of her book. Keep reading for instructions on how to win.

Mary, I’m sure you established a practice of prayer for your family. In addition to that critical component, what were some of the other practices and habits you established as you were creating a foundation of faith for your family?

I read a lot of parenting books and asked a lot of questions of other parents who I admired. I made a lot of mistakes, asked forgiveness a lot, and threw myself at Jesus’ feet, hoping for help and wisdom. He often helped me know what to do as I parented.

What is one of the greatest challenges you have faced in maintaining a Christian home? How have you handled that challenge?

Engagement in the world while still maintaining the purity of my kids. We parents tend to swing toward one or the other, but I see it as a great balancing act. We need to engage with folks outside our doors, folks who differ, folks who might be searching, or needy or hurting. Yet, we also need to help our kids maintain their innocence by protecting them. It’s messy. But so important.

I’ve rested on the Gospels as we’ve navigated this, realizing that Jesus sent His disciples out into the world, yet discipled them and held them close. An interesting dichotomy.

If you could give one piece of advice to a young woman starting her own home, what would it be?

Don’t rehash your failures at night before you go to bed, berating yourself for all your failures. Instead, confess your shortcomings and let Jesus give you a new, fresh day. For so long I beat myself to a pulp, telling myself I was such a failure as a mommy. I learned, finally, to give myself the same grace Jesus gave me, but it was a long journey. I spent far too much time cowering in my own inadequacies.

Mary, I know you have more than one blog, where would you like me to direct my readers?

My main blog is http://www.relevantblog.blogspot.com/

To win a copy of Mary's book, simply leave a comment on my blog. Mary will select someone at random to win on Thursday. Please make sure we can contact you to let you know you have won.

In His love,

Glynnis

I'd like to congratulate "steffisue". You were selected to win Mary DeMuth's book. Please email me privately with your mailing address. editor@proverbs31.org