Friday 30 July 2010

Making a House a Home.... Imperfect Prose.


Making a house a home...

Isn't about perfect decor,
fixtures and fittings
cut and pasted from glossy pages....

It is about treasuring memories.

And turning them toward the light...


A house becomes a home slowly...
with the same kind of love,
that the old skin horse told the velveteen rabbit, turns toys real.
But only If they are truly loved till,
they become worn in ,
a little frayed around the edges...


A homely kitchen is not always gourmet...
But it is always good,
wholesome,
nourishing to both stomach and heart.
Even with the simplest of fare.


It fills a child with an aroma of memories...

And offers food for every sense....


Some days a posy of wild flowers will do,
other days (though maybe not so regular) roses from the one you love.
Sometimes an egg cup of daisies is the perfect thing.
Or maybe fresh cut flowers from a neighbour will grace the jar that cheers the kitchen sill.



Homemade and happy sitting on a shelf.
Reminds a house it is a home too...
It has a heart.

A lived in, loved through,
brimming full of colour and sound!
Making, baking, singing, and learning.
Reading and dreaming...


.... atmosphere...
Brings a home out of a house.

Putting your own unique mark on the furniture can help too :)
Poems written in golden thread and memory.

Light captured in the corners, beauty savoured in the ordinary, sacredness noticed in the everyday.

The learning how to see your own family story...
Weaving fragile and precious, through the days...

And a garden that doesn't have to be landscaped to be a little Eden...


Childhood lingers in both the fragrance of a rose and the clown wonder of a smiling sunflower.


Ragged overgrown gardens attract all kinds of wonderful wildlife anyway :)

And something for lunch maybe.

Old books passed down never put down long enough to gather dust!


And music...always music!
Even if it's "twinkle star" on repeat,
with fairy lights and dollies under covers.

Always creating, becoming, emerging till....
Our house takes on the creation of home and blessing for both those dear and the stranger too.

Not outer adorning, but inner knowing.

Antique collecting?

And the endless making of cosy corners to hide in....

Even the mess. Yes!
That never ending, silver sparkly wonder that four girls seem to unintentionally grow and scatter happy.
till somehow all my surfaces have a little glitter on them :)
Right to the darkest, quietest corners. Where in prayer, and stillness where we find ourselves,

each other...
and Him.
Within this place we call home.

Home isn't about the stuff that's in it. It's not about the sq footage, the location or the furniture.
It is about making a space that welcomes, that is honest, that reflects the heart of those who dwell within it's walls.
A home can't be cut out of a magazine. It is grown, like a garden from the rich soil of love....

My life is made up of imperfect prose and my home though imperfect is the centre of the story we share.

Hardly any of our furniture or appliances is new, and at any one time there will be something broken you can guarantee it :) Right now it's the fridge, swilling in its own meltdown :) And smelling slightly of rancid butter!

But what I'm trying to say is, it doesn't matter where you home is or how big it is. It can be beautiful. It can be a place of joy, and welcoming and togetherness and Love.

Enjoy reading more Imperfect Prose over at Emily's place friends :)



22 comments:

  1. such beautiful pictures - I'm quite entranced. Thank you for sharing your home with us.

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  2. I loved this. Thanks for the beautiful reminder of all that home is (and what it is not).

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  3. Your home is beautiful. You're right. It's the personal touches your put in it that makes a house a home.

    And those Beatrix Potter books? Wish I had that set. Gorgeous worn books.

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  4. What lovely photos and thoughts. (And old books are the BEST, in my opinion!) Your post reminds me of one of my favorite verses:

    "From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:26-28

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  5. Just lovely, Suzy. I needed this message.

    AND, I LOVE the vintage Beatrix Potter books. We have a full set as well!

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  6. Such beautiful words and photo's! Your home looks absolutely lovely! You have caused me to think and ponder what home is to me!

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  7. Your pictures are so lovely - and together with your words - they make me feel "home" - and - yes - nourishing my heart..thank you!

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  8. What a tour! Lovely space that is made with so much love! You and your family are beautiful.

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  9. This is so lovely. I felt the warmth and comfort of your home through your words and beautiful pictures. Home - it is that intangible something that welcomes and embraces. It is contentment and gratitude.
    You have a beautiful home.

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  10. homemade and happy... oh, suzy, i hope to come see this home of yours someday, with my son and husband and to taste this world of yours that you spin for us, so beautifully... i love visiting this online place of yours. it is one of life's great joys. thank you for linking today with me.

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  11. Beautiful pictures, beautiful words- they do truly capture what makes a house a home!

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  12. What beautiful images and perspective! It brings peace to my mind and soul, as I sit between stacks . . papers, books, boxes. Ten minutes ago clutter, but now evidence of life. Thank you. Thanks also for visiting me today. I look forward to visiting again :)

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  13. it's fun to look around our house, and to think of the clutter we've cleared out to make room for living, and to see the clutter we've added by living happily... you have very good clutter. i could snoop at your house for hours.

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  14. what a perfect, perfect, perfect thing for me to read today!
    i mostly enjoy "simple living"... but i took a weekend trip w/ the girls and we stopped at anthropologie and pottery barn and well, you see, it was hard not to long for the beauty and the just-so-perfect accessories.
    but i come home, to a half clean kitchen and 3 lovely messy boys and i'm HOME. home in the arms of the one i love and home in the chaos of littles and home in my savior's grace.

    love this post.

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  15. This made me homesick for my childhood home. It too was imperfect and a little "worn," but I wouldn't have traded it for the biggest mansion in the world. Truly loved the "cosy corner" photo - I would like to discover my daughter curled in a cosy corner like that someday. I think I would climb right in and ask her to tell me a story. :-)

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  16. Thank you for sharing that scripture passage Leslie.... it's beautiful!

    Oh yes, Emily, you are welcome any time :) A pot of tea and a slice of some of that apple cake :) Your little one would get so fussed over by my four girls :)

    Bless you for your sweet comment Misty :) In our saviours arms, and with those whom are dearest to us, we are always home aren't we :)

    Julie, yes, I love hearing the girls read to themselves (and each other ) in the cosy corners they create. It is one of the most enchanting things of childhood. Making dens on rainy days and filling them up with well loved books!

    Thank you all for your sweet comments :) They are much appreciated.

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  17. One of your very best posts ever!!!! You caused me to reflect on my family and our homes and they are indeed homes not just houses! God bless you abundantly! Cathy

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  18. Oh home is where the heart is and yours is beautiful what lovely imagery and coupled with perfect prose. Loved reading through all seeing all the beauty it makes my heart sing.

    Joanny
    http://thedowsersdaughter.blogspot.com/
    I came by from Emilys thursday

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  19. beautiful. and such a reminder that i need to hear. i have a wandering mind. so often i forget to love what i have and my mind wanders to what i want. but you delicately remind me...right here, right now is beautiful.

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  20. what amazing moments at home,
    it makes me feel like stepping into the perfect place, where comfort, love, and relaxations are near and within reach!

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  21. This is beautiful, We are moving it reminds me that we are not leaving our home, just our house. The home stays with us, always

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  22. Your house is much more than a home it is a haven for your soul, and it is marvelous. I am working on simplfying my own home and stripping it of everything except the things that truely reflect us.

    Thankyou for sharing,
    Kat @ for love of my oceans

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I treasure each and every one of your comments.
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At the moment I am going through a busy season of life with 5 girls under my wing! I may not always be able to respond immediately but please know that every word left here is read and appreciated deeply.
xx