Natural Living

For a long time, I thought that natural living was for a particular demographic. I figured that unless I let my armpit hair grow and went to extremes in many areas of life I had no business living naturally. Recycling bottles and cans was enough to make me feel I was doing my share.

But over the past couple of years, I have become more aware of the need to be a good steward of my resources. I have become overwhelmed at the amount of garbage my small family of four puts out each week. I have seen glimpses of the chemicals used in our food these days and while I don't plan to go to great extremes, I do feel that I have a responsibility to my family and to God to be intentional about what we put into our bodies and into our planet.

It's funny how so many things are done simply out of habit or because everybody else does them. I have realized lately that many of these things are not what I want to do; however, since I didn't carefully consider them beforehand, I simply assumed they were right.

SO, here we go. I am planning to make some changes in our home. To do this, I am utilizing a book called "Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time" by Stephanie at Keeper of the Home. She outlines 24 baby steps to natural living. I plan to go through each section- 1-2 weeks at a time, and make changes as I feel directed. This is my journey.

A Lovely Refuge

The title of the blog is "A Lovely Refuge". You probably figured that out already, considering those words are printed in large font on the top of the screen. Good for you. But title actually has a purpose and a meaning.

"A Lovely Refuge" is what I desire for my home. I see a refuge as a place of rest, safety and shelter in the midst of chaos. I see a refuge as a place that recognizes and enjoys that which is lovely; lovely things that have been given to us to delight our senses. We have been given eyes to see, fingers to feel, noses to smell, tongues to taste and ears to hear. It is good and right that we engage our senses with all of creation. Moderation is important, of course, but we should appreciate that which is lovely.

And that's the core of this blog. I am writing about my efforts to make my home a lovely refuge, a place that provides peace to all who enter here. I am also writing about God's work in my life as He changes my own heart into one that is lovely and spurs me to act as a refuge for others. Whew. That seems deep. We'll see how this goes.