Making Your House Your Home

Making your house your home

“Spring Morning (Detail), 1875, James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot. Image from a page of the 2014 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

Making your house your home. Home is where my heart is content…

“The Crown of the house is Godliness.  The Beauty of the house is Order.  The Glory of the house is Hospitality.  The Blessing of the house is Contentment.” (Old Inscription)

Home

Home is where I lay my hat,

I let my hair down and I rest.

In no other place will I find,

so much of what in my life is the best.

Home is where I feel secure,

where I laugh and cry aloud.

I can dance and sing and shout for joy,

for there I am hidden as under a cloud.

Home is where my heart is content,

and forever there God promises t o reside.

For it is He who fills each room with the love,

peace and joy, that my heart happily holds inside.

Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

Making your house your home is not as easy as it sounds.   In the fast pace of living that we all experience to some degree or another, “home” sounds like something far off in the distance.  Is making your house your home, one filled with the appealing attributes described above really attainable these days?  Is it really even desirable?

I think for all of us, the answer is YES!  As humans we have basic needs:  comfort, security, love, and a sense of purpose and belonging.  Those needs must be fulfilled in some way in order to make us whole.  Making your house your home, is certainly a good place to start.  This holiday weekend many of us will be out and about traveling to visit loved ones, shopping for that perfect Christmas gift, and enjoying the excitement that’s in the air.  But isn’t it a good feeling to know that at the end of the day, you’ll get to return to that warm and cozy, welcoming place that you call home?

making your house your home

“The Red Vine, Matinicus Island, Maine,” 1916, George Bellows. Image from a page of the 2014 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

I encourage you to fill your house with beautiful things, so that your eyes are filled with delight and pleasure there.  Welcome others into your house for a time of sharing the good things that you have to offer them.   Take care of your house, keep it clean and in good order so that you can relax and rest peacefully there.  And in all these things, be contented to spend quality time there no matter what.

Lastly, and what I believe is the true key to making your house your home…invite God into your home and into your heart.  For when He is there, filling every room with the love that only He can give, your home will not only be your house, it will be in your heart.  And God will reside with you there for all eternity.

“The house of the righteous stands firm.”  Proverbs 12:7

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day

“Flower Study,” 1866, John Jessup Hardwick. Image from a page of the 2014 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

Thanksgiving Day

I Remember When

November 26, 2014

“So once every year we throng upon a day apart, to praise the Lord with feast and song in thankfulness of heart.”  Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day always brings me home again when I feast upon some of the tastiest memories of my childhood.  Breathing deeply in my reverie, O can almost capture the smells of the turkey slowly baking in the oven; the candied yams browning under a heavy blanket of ALAGA syrup; and the macaroni and cheese bubbling over onto the foil-lined baking sheet.  Oh, and just the thought of the buttery layers of the crescent rolls makes my taste buds dance with delight!  My eyes light up too, when I peek back at the sight of all of the finery decorating the table.  The fancy china, cloth napkins and crystal wine glasses carefully placed before each chair somehow made me feel regal and all grown up.  My, I feel as though I’ve gobbled up my Thanksgiving Day meal already!

There is more, however, that fills me up when celebrating this special day.  The time spent with my family and friends warms me more than any specially prepared dish ever can.   Along with my childhood Thanksgiving Day memories, I am grateful for the ones that I, shared  with those whom I love so dearly, will make this year…and I plan to hold onto them closely to enjoy for the rest of my life.

Wishing you and yours a very full and blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Peace and love,

Felecia

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On Going Home

On Going home

on going homeA Quote to Carry You

November 24, 2014

“Sometimes [going] home and sleeping in your childhood room is all the rejuvenation your body and mind needs.”  Alexia Danielle 

There is much wisdom in that simple statement isn’t there?  With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, I am sure that we can all relate to the simple pleasures of just going home.  An excitement like no other builds as we think about being around family members and friends that we don’t get to visit with often enough.  Going home and being surrounded by the things that are so much a part of who we are does trigger a sense of rest and relaxation deep within us as well.  This year I plan to spend the holiday with my two sister, Marjorie and Andrea, and I can’t wait to see them!  Are you counting down the days, like I am?

I wish you much rest and rejuvenation while enjoying the very best of times with your family and friends…and prayers for safe travels going home!

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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It Would Have Been

It would have been

Our wedding day, November 21, 1987…forever will I cherish that day and the many beautiful years that followed.

It would have been like all those precious moments we’ve lived together and shared through our special love.

It Would Have Been

It would have been so lovely to share our anniversary with you today.

I am sure you’d vividly recall how we spent each one, over the years, along the way.

It would have been such a joy for me to see you in your favorite black sweater.

My sweet husband smiling at me through candlelight…my, nothing could be better.

It would have been such a thrill for me to be held tightly in your arms.

To hear you whisper, “I love you” to me; words written on our hearts like sparkling, silver charms.

It would have been like all those precious moments we’ve lived together and shared through our special love.

Although I’ll never get to be with you again here on earth…I am full of hope, my dear, sweet one, that we’ll join each other in heaven above.

Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

I dedicate this poem to my precious, late husband, Stephen Cullen Weber.  He made my life so full and complete over the almost 27 years we’ve shared in marriage.  I cannot express fully with words what joy, contentedness and honor I’ve had the privilege to experience during that time.  I was given so much and I am so grateful for that.  Going forward I can only promise that I will do all that I can to share what I have now, with those around me whom I love so much.

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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Old Things Become New

old things become new

Photograph courtesy of Martin Watson

Old things become new when we allow them to grow.  If we keep them in the past, what they can become, we’ll never know.

“No one sews a patch of un-shrunk cloth on an old garment. If they do, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.  And people do not pour new wine into old wineskins.   If they do, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.  No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”  Mark 21:22

Old Things Become New

Old things become new

when we allow them to grow.

If we keep them in the past,

what they can become, we’ll never know.

Old things become new

not always by what we do.

When you yield your life to God,

it’s amazing how He’ll transform you.

Let not your fear, nor your pride,

nor old ways of living hold you back.

For God is good and His love is sure,

trusting in Him, nothing at all will you lack.

Old things become new,

I challenge you to let go.

For your heart needs to be emptied,

so in it His treasures can truly overflow.

Felecia R. Weber 2014, OntheWingofaDove.com

We place an immeasurable value on the things that fill our lives.  However, they don’t always prove their worth.  I wonder what would happen if we really did let go of those things…and prepare for what could become new.

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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On Love and Loss

On Love and Loss

on love and lossA Quote to Carry You

November 17, 2014

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”  Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

On love and loss…I believe that losing someone can be the catalyst for loving others more deeply.  One thing that I’ve learned after having lost my dear husband, is that life does go on…whether we choose to accept it or not…and it waits for no one.  Another thing that I have realized is that, losing a loved one does not have to be a time of emptiness.  It can actually be the fullest time one can ever experience.  When we move forward in love, bringing the love that we had for our beloved along with us, letting it saturate our lives, our loss becomes a beautiful bounty that we can share with those around us.

When the time comes for you to experience love and loss…may it spawn a harvest of love that never ends.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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A Still Small Voice

still small voice

Photograph courtesy of Ray Flanagan Photography

A still small voice…it seems the times that God speaks to me the loudest is when His voice is the smallest.

“And he said, ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.’ And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and break in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12

Tumultuous times can leave us feeling like we are in the center of a fierce storm. The roaring of waves and the clatter of thunder and lightening can be deadening.  Our emotions are tossed to and fro and seemingly the entire cloud-strewn sky comes crashing down on us before we ever reach the shore.  A still small voice…really?

Yes…it seems the times that God speaks to me the loudest is when His voice is the smallest.  What happens after we are shipwrecked?  When all is quiet and we awaken from the daze.  At that point we are broken, and in desperate need of mending.  Those are the times when that still small voice can truly resonate within us.  Although the fragments of our situation are scattered around us, we are poised to receive what God has to say; and His wisdom abounds. 

As the creator of the universe, God can calm any storm that threatens to turn your world upside down.  All nature and mankind are ultimately under His command.  He needn’t shout; He needn’t make a ruckus…His still small  voice is all that is needed.  It is up to us to listen to Him.

“Can you hear His still small voice?  Do you seek it during the storm?  When all else fails, and the pieces fall, listen for Him; He will instruct and inform.”  Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

May you always listen for God’s still small voice…and may His truth speak volumes to your heart.

 

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Noise – What’s in a word?

noise

“A Woman Passing a Cafe,” 1895-97, Maurice Brazil Prendergast. Image from a page of the 2013 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

Noise – What’s in a word?

Loud, bang, clamor, clatter!

Noise! It’s made up of so much chatter!

Chaos. Madness. What is real? What is fake?

All this noise; I’m not sure how much more I can Take!

Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

Noise can be interpreted in so many different ways depending upon so many different circumstances. It can be a friend or a foe.  Sometimes it’s a warning to stop!  Other times it is the nudge we need to get up and go!  Many times, for me, being surrounded by noise makes me feel connected to the world.  The hustle and bustle of all that is around me keeps me moving, productive and energized!  When I am in a pensive state of mind, longing for peace and solitude, noise plays a different role.  During those times, my favorite “noise” is gentle and calming; like the low, enticing hum of a cello, or the gentle cooing of a mourning dove beckoning me from a night’s sleep.  On and on it goes…noise…

What’s in this word for you?  If you care to tell me, please do.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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