Guest Post: From the Heart of a Homemaker

I am really excited about this guest post.  I spotted this post on my friend, Chelsea's blog and really wanted to include it here.  Thankfully, she was more than willing to let me share it.  Chelsea and I met a while after we had moved to Idaho.  We became insta-friends but she and her husband ended up moving shortly after they got here.  Thankfully, she is not too far away so her sweet baby girl can  (someday) have a play date with The Lion.  I am grateful for the short few months we were in the same ward with them and the friendship that developed! 

A little while ago, Jason and I were talking about some of the little things that make home, home. 

One of the things Jason mentioned is having a lot of baked goods around the house.  (what a guy!  haha the way to their hearts, really is  through their tummy!  haha) I felt like, "Shoot, I can do that!" and after stepping up my game a little - well, let's just say it did not go unnoticed - I realized, it is such a simple thing, but it really does add a taste of home, and makes a difference.

I mentioned this to his mom last time we visited and she showed me this AWESOME little booklet that they had used at a Relief Society activity on this topic - filled with several quotes that are just too good, not to share.

Here they be:

The Gift in the Kitchen Table
"Food is so pleasurable and powerful that it plays an essential role in creating a home that works.  For your home to feel solid, meaningful, dignified, and warm, you must have the means and skills to produce good, nutritious food, to dream up pleasant menus, and to set the table and serve the food in an attractive manner that is familiar and comfortable to (family and) guests."

--Cheryl Mendelson Home Comforts:  The Art and Science of Keeping House

"I thought I was just cooking casseroles and soups but I have created the venue, the reason to gather because I prepared a meal to share with my family.   Something special happened."

--Julie B. Beck

"Family mealtime traditions nurture our families physically, mentally, spiritually and socially."

--Stephen R. Covey

"Create loving mealtime traditions.  Make dinnertime a family commitment.  It is important for family members to make an effort to be home for dinner, if possible.  Put time, effort and enthusiasm into creating the sacred place, the reason for your family to gather...There is something about a kitchen table."

--Marianne Jennings

"Let us make our kitchens creative centers from which emanate some of the most delightful of all home experiences."

--Barbara B. Smith

"I wonder why I don't just send them to their rooms with a chicken pot pie and Wheel of Fortune.  I don't because I am giving them the gift of the kitchen table."

--Unknown

Nurture
"Mothers who are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children, can be a powerful force for strengthening families when they use mealtimes to gather loved ones.  They follow the example the Savior to calm, teach, and help their families remember important things as they feed, cultivate, educate and rear at the consecrated tables in their homes."

--Julie B. Beck

"To solidify important spiritual teachings, the Savior fed people physically.  When teaching his higher law to 5,000 people, he filled them with loaves and fishes (Matt 14:15-21).  Before his atoning sacrifice, he called his disciples not to a final meeting but to a last supper.  Then he taught them to "love one another, as I have loved you,"  (John 13:34).  Each week, we are nurtured by the Lord as we partake of the emblems of his atoning sacrifice, represented by bread and water - to essentials of life."

--Julie B. Beck

"The kitchen table nurtured.  It was my constancy amid the insecurities of crooked teeth, more freckles than skin, and geography bees on state capitals."

--Marianne Jennings

"True power is found in the hands of a worthy nurturer, especially at mealtimes."

--Unknown

Celebrate
"After our whole family has survived another day, with all of its up and downs, we come together in teh evening and celebrate together.  We don't have to wait for birthdays or holidays to be happy together.  Life is short!"

--Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard

"It's important to bring a cheerful attitude to the table.  I think my children will forgive me if I overcook the meatloaf as long as I don't forget to bring my sense of humor to the table."

--Unknown

"He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."

--Proverbs 15:15

"I believe families who laugh, last."

--Unknown

She also shared with me this SUPERB talk by Shirley R. Klein, given at a BYU devotional.  (Protect Our Homes, Renew Our Powers is the link!)  I absolutely loved reading this talk - in fact, I read it twice just to glean any other gems I might have missed the first time.

She talks about protecting our homes, and how the seemingly simple habits and rituals we create in our homes, (simple as mealtime), create a firm foundation and safe haven for our families.

Two of my favorite quotes from this article, (although it's ALL good - you should really read it!) were:
"The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around them."

--President Spencer W. Kimball

"Everyday events in our home can seem so simple that we overlook the importance of them - like the children of Israel who were smitten by a plague of snakes.  To be healed they just had to look at the serpent of brass on a pole, (see Numbers 21:8-9), but because it was so simple, many did not do it.  In 1 Nephi 17:41, we read, "Because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished."  Everyday activities in our homes may be simple, but because they are simple, frequent, and repeated they offer important opportunities to build individuals and families.  Begin now to form habits of recognizing the sacred nature of everyday life."

--Shirley R. Klein

I especially love this last quote - I had never applied this scripture to my life in this way.  But I think it is so true!  I think a lot of times we don't think things like a home-cooked meal, eating dinner together, and helping out to clear the dishes are really that important, or influential - "that's too simple, that's not really what we need to heal us as an individual, as a family, as a society" - and we don't do it.  But in doing this we are underestimating the power and influence of a true homemaker - with all her casseroles, laundry folding, story-telling and kissing bandaged knees included.  Because really it's not about the casserole, the laundry, the bedtime story or the bandaid - it's about building individuals and families.

I believe that by these small and simple things, great things are brought to pass.

--Occupation:  Homemaker...I take my job seriously...and I Love It!