Guest Blog: Making Your Home a Haven (Week 3)

Courtney from Women Living Well shares yet another great challenge in her Making Your Home a Haven Challenge.  This is week 4 and I have really enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, I am expecting a baby and can't cook right now, but I love the idea of bringing your kids into the kitchen. -Rejoicing in the Present

This week’s Challenge: Focus on the kitchen, the heart of the home.  Cook things with pleasant aromas  like homemade bread, pies, and cookies.  Don’t wait to have a reason to make something special – do it simply to show love to your family. Invite your kids and/or hubby to cook along side of you – make memories in the kitchen – test tasting, being creative, laughing and loving. Remember the importance of dinner time around the table as a family. Work on showing love to your family this week.  

This is such a fun time of the year for cooking.  The holidays mean we have reason to be in the kitchen! But sometimes all the kitchen work can be overwhelming. Let’s face it we eat over 1,000 meals a year (that’s counting breakfast, lunch and dinner) - and if you have a family you provide all those meals for – and snacks too – cooking can become a chore.


When I first had children, I dreamed of them cooking along side of me.  Then reality set in.  Bringing my kids along side of me in the kitchen was more work than I expected. They were messy and needed constant instruction – “stir slowly”, “stay away from the hot pot”, “be careful with the knife”, “don’t wipe your hands on your shirt”, “stop eating the dough”, “one at a time on the stool” and the list went on.  At some point, I threw in the towel literally and sent them off to play or watch Curious George so I could get dinner on the table in a timely fashion. And my dream bubble popped with the reality that inviting my children into the kitchen would be a sacrifice.

And here’s where “Making our Home a Haven” comes into the equation.

It is only when we as women learn how to lay down our lives for those in our home, that the home will begin to thrive. 

When we learn that creating a culture of love means sacrifice on our part - our homes will transform from being a shell – to being a place of hospitality, the breaking of bread, laughter, training, deep talks, loving embraces and fun memories.
Bringing the kids into the kitchen has been hard for me – but it’s worth the memories!

It starts with following Jesus – laying down our lives and our desires - so we can bless those who sleep under our roof.  And as we learn to lay down our lives – we model to our children how to lay down their lives for others.

We aren’t responsible for every home on the block…just the one God has given us.
God has given us one home to turn into a haven for his glory.
One home to use to shine brightly for him.
One home to subdue, manage and cause to flourish.
And when one home is flourishing – the souls that pass through that home are forever touched and changed by the work of your hands.

Keep your candles going this week  and add in some soft music and tasty treats full of love.
Edith Shaeffer reminds us of how deeply food can bless those we prepare it for:

“Food cannot take care of the spiritual, psychological and emotional problems, but the feeling of being loved and cared for, the actual comfort of the beauty and flavour of food, the increase of blood sugar and physical well-being, help one to go on during the next hours better equipped to meet the problems.”

Chime In: What are you cooking this week? And do you bring your kids into the kitchen with you? Do you have any tips to help other moms manage little ones in the kitchen?  We’d love to hear them!

Walk with the King,