Today I received an email from a dear friend who works as a missionary up in the mountains with the native people of Panama. She lives alone and his given her life to these people. She doesn't even come home on furlough.
Patricia shares: "A friend from years ago used to say that when life got "heavy" it was time to bake cookies. Well, my version of baking cookies is decorating my house. I began by hanging some "primitives" (wood cuts) on the wall in my kitchen and a small grouping of birds--a rooster, a duck, a goose, and a something else. I put up some small ceramic figures from when my children were small. Then an angel apron "dancing" on one wall. Another apron, "Our Mom's the Greatest" on another wall. I then put a skirt-type apron (belonging to my grandmother) on my refrigerator so now my little fridge "wears" an apron!
"I put Christmas lights up everywhere I can get them. They're the little tiny lights, but they're old. Everything I own is old. I leave them on throughout the night and no other lights are needed. The place looks so cheery. They're beautiful and make me happy to look at them.
"I also put up a cloth angel on the kitchen wall. A friend gave me this years ago because it has red hair and reminded her of me. She "flies" next to the angel apron. I got inspired and created a small, white cloud that is dropping pennies from heaven in my kitchen.
"I sprayed a package of Christmas cookies (Christmas bells, stars, wreaths, and trees) with hairspray (to seal them) and created an arc of stars over my bird collection. Found (yet another) apron at the Chinese store and it now hangs on the wall next to the primitives.
"My house is SO happy!"
What a lovely idea. Now you may not (or may) like to decorate your home with aprons! I'd rather wear mine. But when things are getting a little dreary, why not try some creative decorating? You don't have to buy things. Find things around your home and things you haven't used for a long time. Get the children to help.
I love to change the decoration on the sideboard by our family table. It gets boring to see the same thing all the time. Sometimes I decorate with family photographs. Other times with greenery, flowers, ornaments, interesting things I can find around my home, or whatever ideas come to mind (see picture).
Be creative.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Picture: Currently I have a "motherhood" theme on my sideboard. You'll see it begins with a mother praying for a baby. Then she's pregnant, then her baby comes, and the child grows. In the middle is a beautiful ornament of a mother and baby.
I also have wild flowers, which I love-yellow and white on the left and lovely red ones too. On the right is a picture of the lovely poem:
Cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
And what's that little bird on the left? That's a kiwi reminding me of my original country, New Zealand. I am sure you know that New Zealanders are called "kiwis" because it is our native bird. It is a nocturnal bird and it doesn't have wings!