Making Your Home a Haven ~ Fall Challenge Is Back!

Hello everyone....Just wanted to pop in really quick and say hello and to let everyone know that my twin sister and I had a wonderful birthday fulled with friends and family... I have been taking care of my eldest daughter who was accidentally hit in the eye by a basketball while playing with some of the neighborhood children she is doing fine just a bit of a black eye but the doctor said she would be fine no vision problems, (I asked her was she trying to catch the ball with her face or hands lol) and I have been  also taking care of my middle daughter because she was stung by a yellow jacket on Sunday while we were outside just taking a walk after church and it just landed on her and well you know the rest. She swelled so bad that we had to take her to the hospital but she did not have any breathing problems just swelling of the arm she was bite on, and they give her Benadryl and some cream to rub on the spot and off we went back home. Well all Sunday night she did not rest she said that she was itchy all over and so when daylight come I take her to the pediatrician's office and she was covered in hives, the doctor (he was so nice) said that it was a delayed reaction from the yellow jacket bite and he give her a shot (ouch) of Antihistamine and told me to watch her at home and that I could give her more Benadryl later in the afternoon. Well she is so much better and my hubby and I along with the doctor have cluded that my poor sweet girl is allergic to yellow jackets (I don's know about wasps and bees because she has never been stung by them and this was the first time she was ever biting by a bug other than a fire ant or mosquito. Please continue to keep my family in prayer.Well enough catching up .....I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be joining in with Courtney from Women Living Well and other women again this year with the Making the Home a Haven Challenge. So here is Courtney introducing this challenge once again to each of us...Please if you get a chance stop by and visit this wonderful woman of God that has a huge and loving heart for God and family......

This is straight from her blog which I have link too so that you all may visit her wonderful blog....

Last year we did this challenge, and an overwhelming number of you have been requesting it again! So it’s back and I’m excited to get started! Each week I will give you one practical tip and one spiritual tip that you can do to create a haven in your home.

Is your calendar full? Do you feel a tense, rushed and even panicked at times? Do you feel like the rest of the family is feeling the same way?

I believe we can create a physical environment, as well as a spiritual environment, that can bring peace, harmony and a sense of calmness to our homes if we are willing to be intentional.

So let me introduce you to the “Making Your Home a Haven” Annual Fall Challenge.



This challenge will begin next Monday, October 3rd and run through the month of October. Check out the video and topics below. If you would like to join me and you are a blogger - I invite you to place the wreathe button on your blog and be sure to link up your “Making Your Home a Haven” post on our Women Living Well Wednesday Link-Up this Wednesday! If you are not a blogger, leave a comment in the comment section to let me know that you would like to join the challenge. Here’s a few more details included in last year’s video:

Here’s the topic schedule for those who want to link up each week:

October 3 - Go buy an extra large candle and light a candle everyday in your home. I will be starting mine in the morning! But you can start yours at dinner time. Do what makes sense for your family. I will be placing mine in the kitchen – the main hub of my home. Each time the candle catches your eye, say a prayer for peace in your home.


October 10 – Play soft music everyday in your home. Choose worship, classical or another form of peaceful music that the family enjoys. Focus on using peaceful words and maintaining peaceful relationships. Remind your family to avoid seething anger, tattling, criticism or back talk. As the wife/mother, work on gentleness this week.

October 17 – List a few of the spots in your home that make you visually stressed because of all the clutter.Now go buy something for that spot – like a basket to put it all in! Work on cleaning up clutter – throw things away and encourage the children and your hubby to do the same in their bedrooms or offices or work areas this week. While you’re at it – clean up some clutter in your spiritual life. What gets in the way of your peace spiritually?

October 24 -Keep the candle going, the music playing, and add some tender moments with your family. Have a pillow party in the family room and get out every blanket and pillow in the house and be cozy with the kids or your hubby! Even if you live alone you can do this. Enjoy a cozy evening of hot cider and caramel corn. Give a 5 minute back rub to every single person in your house…and for a double challenge- try to give one every day to each family member! During your tender moment with the family, ask them how they feel about this challenge. Are they enjoying it? Is it helpful? Is there anything they would change. Give your family listening ears. I think you will be blessed by the positive feedback you will receive!

October 31 – Focus on the kitchen, the heart of the home. Cook things with pleasant aromas. Pick a meal the family can cook together – include everyone in a task and take pictures so everyone can remember moments in the kitchen together – test tasting, being creative, laughing and loving. Remove discontentment with your home or family and give thanks to God for the home God has given you to in which to create a haven for your family.

Jesus said in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled.”