The Art of Keeping A Fine Home

But it should be understood that for every wife the first duty is the making and keeping of her own home. Her first and best work should be done there, and till it is well done she has no right to go outside to take up other duties. She is to be a "worker at home." She must look upon her home as the one spot on earth for which she alone is responsible, and which she must cultivate well for God if she never does anything outside. For her the Father's business is not attending Dorcas societies and missionary meetings, and mothers' meetings, and temperance conventions, or even teaching a Sunday-school class, until she has made her own home all that her wisest thought and best skill can make it. There have been wives who in their zeal for Christ's work outside have neglected Christ's work inside their own doors. They have had eyes and hearts for human need and human sorrow in the broad fields lying far out, but neither eye nor heart for the work of love lain about their own feet. The result has been that while they were doing angelic work in the lanes and streets, the angels were mourning over their neglected duties within the hallowed walls of their homes. While they were winning a place in the hearts of the poor or the sick or the orphan, they were losing their rightful place in the hearts of their own household. Let it be remembered that Christ's work in the home is the first that he gives to every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres will atone in this world or the next for neglect or failure there.

--J.R. Miller “Homemaking”

Perfect Grace and Beauty True

May I try to tell you, dear girls, how you can indeed be your brother's guardian angels? Show them in your own lives at home the perfect grace and beauty of true, noble and lofty womanhood. Strive after all that is delicate, all that is pure, all that is tender, all that is holy and sacred in their divine ideal of woman. Show them in yourselves such perfect loveliness that they will turn away ever after from everything that is unlovely. Make virtue so as they see it embodied in you, that they will always be repelled by vice. Let them see in you such purity of soul, such sweetness of spirit, such divine sanctity, that wherever they go your influence will hang about them like an armor of defense, or, like an angel, hover above their heads in perpetual benediction. Be as nearly a perfect woman, each one of your through Christ's help, as it is possible for you to be. Then when temptations come to your brother there will rise up before his eyes such visions of purity and love that he will turn away with loathing from the tempter.
--Homemaking

The Cozy Warmth of Friendly Conversation

I knew by the smoke that so gracefully cur'd above the green elms that a cottage was near, and I said "If there's peace to be found in the world, a heart that was humble might hope for it here."

Dear Friends,
We were blessed by a most delightful occasion a few evenings prior, when we visited some dear friends who live in a lovely old home, seemingly untouched by the passing of time, and filled with the cozy warmth and provincial charm one would expect from a quaint old cottage. We chanced upon their acquaintance some years ago, and since that time, these treasured friends have occupied a special place in our hearts, reserved for those dear old souls with whom we share a kindredness of spirit and a common affinity for things of old!

As we approached the home, we were met by our dear friends who graciously invited us into their little back porch, which overflowed with baskets and milk pails and all manner of old fashioned country amenities and miscellany! After a warm greeting, we were welcomed into their old fashioned kitchen where a kettle of soup simmered on the old wood cook stove, and fresh homemade bread waited in a lovely enamel vessel, ready to be sliced and served with freshly churned butter made in an old time butter churn!

After serving us a cup of hot tea, our friends invited us into their warm parlor where we enjoyed a delightful afternoon of friendly conversation, turning our attention to the curiosities of the day, and sharing favored secrets for making homemade bread, ripening fresh cheeses, and the many charming methods for keeping home the good old fashioned way.

In the evening, we were blessed by a sweet invitation to join our friends for supper, and enjoyed the simple abundance of a delicious meal consisting of homemade vegetable soup with home canned tomatoes, fresh homemade Dill Bread and sweet creamery butter! It was the end of a most delightful evening, and one we will forever cherish in our hearts as one of our fondest memories!

From My Heart To Yours

Dear Friends,
Perhaps at no other time does one feel the newness of life than at the dawn of the blessed new year. As if waking from a long winter's sleep, the first day of January seems to carry within it, a hope for all things bright and new, while bidding a fond farewell to sweet remembrances and happy days gone by. To celebrate the occasion, a pleasant and enduring custom still favored today, is the writing of a handwritten letter to commemorate the loving ties that bind treasured friends one to another. These precious epistles, overflowing with loving memories and heartfelt sentiments, are reserved for those dear old souls who have sewn seeds of joy into our hearts and blessed our lives with gladness. Written in our best penmanship, we send greetings and salutations to friends both near and far, and remember those thoughtful deeds of kindness so graciously bestowed in former days of yore.

During these coming days, won't you join us in this lovely old ritual, and take a moment to cherish those around you with a gift they will treasure for a lifetime! You'll be so glad you did!