Simple Sanctuaries

I have been thinking about the word "sanctuary" lately. I looked up the definition this morning and was struck by two of the meanings. One was "a church or other sacred place where fugitives were formerly entitled to immunity from arrest". There are times where I feel like a fugitive on the run from fear, guilt, anxiety, and the trappings of the enemy of our souls. He is out to imprison and chain me in yet the Bible says that the Lord is our sanctuary! A sacred place I can run to and am immune from these accusations!

A sanctuary is also a place where "wildlife, esp. those hunted for sport, can breed and take refuge in safety from hunters" and "any place of refuge". When we moved into our current home, I was searching for a sanctuary. A place where I could take refuge from personal storms and lie down in safety. When I saw our home from the road, I knew it was the place for us. There is no better word to describe it than "sanctuary". Full of peace, room to breathe, and although in need of much work and love, it has strength and promise. A safe refuge.

And on even a smaller scale, I have a sanctuary that I retreat to daily for rest, reading, reflection, and connection with the Lord. It is "my" side of the bed with my bedside table. I have a few chairs in our home that I enjoy as well, but because of my height, my legs get tired of dangling. I love sitting on my bed because my legs can stretch straight out and not get tired. My bedside table keeps a photo of Mike and me (one of us cuddled up in a chair looking out at the ocean when we were engaged), a devotional/journal, chapstick, a coaster (for my morning coffee and my afternoon tea), a candle (to remind me to bring light into darkness), a clock, and a shell to remind me of the beach...another sanctuary in my life.

We all need sanctuary. We all need refuge...a safe one. Our Lord is our grandest sanctuary no matter our physical location at any moment. We can flee to Him at all times and anywhere. What comfort!

Our homes need to be sanctuary for our families to find rest and refreshment. We have the ability to create an unseen sanctuary daily in gracious, kind, encouraging attitudes towards our husband and children. We can also create sanctuary in our cooking comforting meals and having a daily dinnertime together . Through decorating our homes we can also create rest and peace by decluttering regularly, using pretty paint colors on our walls, keeping surfaces simple and clean, and adding beauty regularly through flowers, candles, fresh fruit in a bowl, using table linens, fresh throw pillows, etc. These are photos of an apartment that is only 382 square feet in yet is warm, inviting, and peaceful which goes to show that size doesn't matter! How inspiring!

We as busy women need our own special spots to find peace and refuge. For me it is my side of the bed and also my bathtub. I also have a front porch rocker that I retreat to in early mornings of spring and summer to drink my coffee. In our past house, it was the screened-in porch. Local gardens and coffee shops have also provided sanctuary for me throughout my journey.

We have the Lord, our homes, and special spots as sanctuaries...to name just three. Here are some practical tips on making sanctuaries real to us:

• Run to the Lord today if you are stressed out in the middle of Target or in bad traffic.
  
• Take a step to make your home a haven today by re-arranging furniture, picking out fresh paint colors, collecting some wildflowers, or cooking a simple meal. Use a tablecloth tonight. Play some classical music on the CD player while you clean or cook. Say a kind word to your husband. Tell your kids that they are great!
  
• Pick out a fresh special spot. Take a steamy bath, create a hot tea haven, or find a new bookstore filled with comfy chairs. Look for a natural retreat outside that you can visit frequently...drinking in creation clears the soul.
  

May you find and experience peace and refuge in a fresh simple way today.

Spring Green

I just love all of the green popping out around me. Our trees have all these beautiful green leaf buds and it's as if creation is about to explode with extravagant green at any moment. It makes me feel so alive and thankful for the Lord's elaborate use of color in His creation.

As I view the beginnings of spring green around me, it has made me evaluate more of my journey into the beginnings of green living. I have sought to be more eco-minded this past year and have enjoyed reading many articles, books, and blogs on "creation care". I want to be a wise and kind steward of the world the Lord has made and treat it with love and respect. It is to His glory and for our good that we take steps to walk lightly on the earth. Christians should be leading the way in environmental concerns, but sadly we consume just as much as every one else and tend to have either the "it's all gonna burn" philosophy OR "the world was created for my disposal" mentality.

Here are some ways I have become more "green" in the past few years:

• Switch from paper towels, paper plates, paper napkins to cloth bar mops, regular plates, and cloth napkins. I also view the switch as being a way to contribute greater beauty and aesthetic pleasure to my home
• Buy toilet paper and other paper goods made by recycled materials
  
• Use dishwashing soap, dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent that is eco-friendly. I have begun using Seventh Generation and am able to buy it at a great price through Frontier.
• Begun using vinegar/water, baking soda and lemons for natural cleaning and also the Method line of cleaners that you can purchase at Target
• Begun using rechargable batteries
• Recycle paper, plastic bags, cardboard, egg cartons, glass, plastic containers, newspaper, magazines
• Use cloth diapers. I only do this while we are at home all day, but use disposables at night and when we are out and about. Have you looked at how amazing they are now?
• Make my own wipes solution and use with baby washcloths
  
• Breastfeed Will
  
• Use cloth bags when grocery shopping. I have a great selection of cloth tote bags that I have found at local thrift shops. I go through the check-out and hand them my cloth bags immediately and most places gladly put all of my things inside. Then I don't have the additional hassle of storing/recycling a bunch of plastic bags and it makes my life easier. These are really cool ones too.
• Shop at Goodwill, thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales. You can find amazing treasures and you are keeping these things out of landfills and giving new life to something tossed away! Reuse!
• Donate to Freecycle or local charities
  
• Buy products with less packaging where possible.
• Reuse postal shipping materials we have received.
  
• Beginning to switch to energy-efficient lighting
• Turn off lights when not in room or when leaving the house
• Use a/c sparingly
• Use air dry setting on dishwasher instead of heated dry
• Use natural body care products
• Walk to church on warm Sundays
• Shop at local businesses/support local farmers. We have an organic farmer's market twice a month in our downtown area. We buy local raw milk and meats there.
  
• Turn off water while brushing teeth
• Beginning to replace plastic storage containers with glass
• Teach my children about environmental responsibility
• Have the children wear the same pajamas two nights in a row
  
• Consume less, produce more

Every man is a consumer, and ought to be a producer. --Emerson

For the summer my goals are to:

• Try to barter/trade items with other families
• Borrow/share items with other families instead of purchasing new
• Install a retractable clothesline outside
  
• Reduce junk mail
• Read magazines at the library instead of subscribing
• Read news on-line
  
• Use eco-friendly paint
• Use the bulk bins at my local natural foods store
• Start a garden
• Compost!!
• Buy a Diva Cup
• Switch my Teflon cookware to cast-iron cookware and stainless steel
• Begin using flex-fuel in our minivan

The main thing is to begin to take baby steps and figure out just one thing this week that you could begin doing differently or deliberately. It feels good to begin to live with a broader perspective of stewardship and ways I can honor the Lord in the simple choices I make. For me it is an act of simple worship to my Creator when I take care of His creation.

Go green this Spring!

Think Globally, Act Locally

Ten Thousand Villages is an inviting shop filled with beautiful handmade goods from around the world. They support fair trade and when you make a purchase you are helping to support Third-World families and communities. Instead of buying an upcoming gift for someone at your local big-box retailer, use the store locator to find one of these shops near you and buy something culturally interesting, one-of-a-kind, and reflective of personal creativity.

It is certainly easier to live our lives with blinders on or busy or without intention. But if we take the time to open our eyes, slow down, and think about the people of the world, our view of God and His heart expands, our service and love recreates, and our momentary trials do not seem as looming and dooming. Even checking out books from the library like Material World and Women in the Material World have made me realize all that I have been given and all that I want to give.

In our local living, we may actually be able to make a difference. Who knows if just by opening my eyes and responding with my heart I am able to affect the life of another dear mama across the world. Lord, may it be so.

The Poor Among Us

"If you are chosen in the heart of God,
you have eyes to see the chosenness of others"


"Where are the men, women and children who are waiting for us to reach out to them? Poverty in all its forms, physical, intellectual, and emotional, is not decreasing. To the contrary, the poor are everywhere around us and beyond--more than ever. As the powers of darkness show their hideous intentions with increasing crudeness, the weeping of the poor becomes louder and louder and their misery more and more visible. We who yearn for peace must strive to keep listening and to keep looking. We must not run away from this painful sight."

We must "trust that God gives us what we need to truly care for the poor that are given to us. We choose to trust that we will have the financial, emotional, and physical support we need, when we need it, and to the degree that we need it. I am convinced that we are people who are ready to help with money, time and talent. But we are often afraid to enter into the chaos surrounding situations of poverty, and we will remain paralyzed unless we dare to take new risks. If we need to have all our bases covered before we move into action, then nothing exciting ever happens, but if we dare to take a few crazy risks because God asks us to do so, many doors that we didn't even know existed open before us."

These are quotes from "Finding My Way Home" by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Live Life Together

On Tuesdays my sister and I try to get together in the afternoon to either bake, cook, sew, scrapbook, make cards, make gifts, or just something crafty. We also use the time to plan, coordinate schedules, and share ideas. The children all play together while we do our thing. Yesterday we started making these adorable library tote bags for children. These are made from dishtowels (I found some great ones by Martha Stewart at Kmart) and I got the tutorial on how to make these at Randi's blog. These are going to be my birthday gifts for children this year coupled with a new book inside.

I think it is so important as women to make time for other women. It is as simple as just going for coffee, going on a local excursion with the children, or getting together in our homes for "visiting" and maybe even doing something productive together. I read this wonderful article a while back about making a priority of the focus of getting together not necessarily about the children's needs for friends but about our needs for a friend. We need each other! We can complete home projects together, help each other clean, bake goodies or bread, garden, sew....anything that would be more wonderful to do with another. It moves us from our individualistic mindset and says "I need you and want you in my life".

As Americans we pride ourselves on doing it alone and carrying the weight of our responsibilites alone. It is demeaned in our culture to ask for help or have a need. We shy away from an interdependent community mindset. I just wonder if we would be healthier and happier if we lived life together. And there is nothing like another woman who can empathize with the unique roles we play in our homes.

So dear mamas, who can we invite into our homes to live life with us this year? There are certainly emotional risks involved and a humbling choice to embrace vulnerability, but I know that the rewards of laughter, intimacy, support, and encouragement will be multiplied many times over! Not to mention a honey-do list that, with a friend, just may vanish :)

Holistic Moms Network

I had read about the Holistic Moms Network for many months through many different places and was so excited that a chapter has been started in my town! This is a group for like-minded mamas to find support and information on:

• Organic Food and Healthy Eating
• Breastfeeding
• Natural Childbirth
• Environment Issues/Conservation
• Alternative Health Care

and many more aspects of natural living and parenting. Walking to the beat of a different cultural drum can be lonely and this offers a place of support for those of us who are doing what we believe is the most natural way of living as a family.
Check out the website and see if there is a chapter near you!

My Library Finds

Like many of you, I just love the local library. The anticipation mounts as I pull our green minivan into the parking lot. As we walk up to the door I literally shiver at the thought of what treasure I might unearth today!!! The kids take off to find their respective gold mines. For Sam, it is "Ricky Ricotta and His Mighty Robot", comics, space themes, Berenstain Bears, and community workers. Katie's hunt includes books on "beautiful things"...dolls, friendships, teddy bears, bunnies, flowers, ballerinas, and princesses. John beelines for books on amphibians and wildflife...snakes, frogs, lizards, scorpions, and penguins.
My seek and find ended with the following titles:

• Spiritual Simplicity: Simplify Your Life and Enrich Your Soul by David Yount

This is another wonderful book on simplicity with practical how-to's and lifestyle changes/mindsets to adopt.

• Laura Bush: an intimate portrait of the first lady by Ronald Kessler
• A Can of Peas: the story of a small town and a season of hope by Traci DePree
• Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit by Henri J.M. Nouwen
• A PBS Videorecording called "The War on Boys"

Description: "Journalist and political commentator Fred Barnes investigates the changed concept of how boys should be raised and the heavy price a generation of young men--and society as a whole-- may well pay as a result. The program examines equality in the workplace and in education; the disproportionate number of boys diagnosed with ADD; the fact that violence and suicide among teens has increasingly become the province of boys more than girls; and whether the advancement of women in virtually all areas of society can be achieved without a retreat, in some way, on the part of men"
Should be interesting!

• Where God Begins To Be: A Woman's Journey Into Solitude by Karen Karper

This book is an inspirational gem! It is a little over 100 pages and is a delightful read of a nun-turned-hermit whose journey with the Lord led her to a life of poverty in primitive Appalachia. It will make you laugh, wonder, and think freshly about finding the Lord in the simple things of life.

Libraries foster our sense of community. It's fun to meet other people there and feel a part of a larger whole. Using a library also reinforces sharing...we must learn to wait our turn, take care of communal property, and return promptly. Libraries are for everyone regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic status, etc...we are all the same and on the hunt for greater knowledge, wisdom, laughter, connection, inspiration, and retreat through the world of books. What a wonderful place to get our children in the habit of frequenting!

What jewels did you pick up from the library lately?