Winter came down to our home one night…

Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow…

And we, we were children once again.

~Bill Morgan, Jr.~

A True Home

If we would have a true home, we must guard well our thoughts and actions. A single bitter word may disquiet the home for a whole day; but, like unexpected flowers which spring up along our path full of freshness, fragrance and beauty, so do kind words, gentle acts and sweet disposition make glad the home where peace and blessing dwell. No matter how humble the abode, if it be thus garnished with grace and sweetened by kindness and smiles, the heart will turn lovingly towards it from all the tumults of the world, and home, “be it ever so humble” will be the dearest spot under the sun.
~ Circa 1882

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!

Prayers That Prevail

A Most Precious Fragrance

"Behold, he prayeth."
Acts 9:11

Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in the lachrymatory of heaven. "Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle," implies that they are caught as they flow. The suppliant, whose fears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye; but "prayer is the falling of a tear." Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah's court, and are numbered with "the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high." Think not that your prayer, however weak or trembling, will be unregarded. Jacob's ladder is lofty, but our prayers shall lean upon the Angel of the covenant and so climb its starry rounds. Our God not only hears prayer but also loves to hear it. "He forgetteth not the cry of the humble." True, He regards not high looks and lofty words; He cares not for the pomp and pageantry of kings; He listens not to the swell of martial music; He regards not the triumph and pride of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow, or a lip quivering with agony, or a deep groan, or a penitential sigh, the heart of Jehovah is open; He marks it down in the registry of His memory; He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up therefrom.

"Faith asks no signal from the skies,
To show that prayers accepted rise,
Our Priest is in His holy place,
And answers from the throne of grace."

--Charles Spurgeon

~Reviving A Lovely Tradition~
A Common Place Book

There was a time when a sigh of lavender would rise to greet me whenever I opened the cover...a wisp of my mother's spirit returning to remind me of the day when she gave me this gift.
--Marianne Metcalf, March 30, 1835

During precious moments of solitude, ladies often retreat to a cozy sitting room tucked beneath the eaves, allowing time for quiet contemplations and to record sweet memories, fond remembrances and "notable observations" in the company of their own pleasant thoughts and harmonious reflections.

In earlier days, ladies often kept a journal known as a “commonplace book,” which served as a beautiful repository of the things they held most dear, and where memory and sentiment were mingled with joy and pleasure, and where happy thoughts, favorite quotations and little observations of life were contained. In these elaborately embossed volumes, which served as favorite objects of admiration and offered “pleasant recreation and leisurely amusements,” collections of written inspirations were beautifully recorded, providing a glimpse of the thoughts and beliefs that motivated the many famous figures and antebellum ladies throughout history who kept them. This quaint old tradition, originating in the 16th Century, was particularly favored in England during the Victorian Era, and often contained photographs of friends and loved ones, along with pressed leaves, dried flowers, and silken ribbons woven throughout the pages. And though some regarded the commonplace book as little more than a “sentimental trifle,” these beguiling mementos served as treasured heirlooms, recording bits and pieces of a woman’s life and leaving an indelible mark for all the world to remember them by.

Gathering Autumn’s Rich Jewels

The Harvest Home

To exult in the splendors of the seasons, ladies would often gather leafy branches in a glorious medley of patinas, ranging from rich glorious gold’s to deep crimson reds, to decorate the home and to celebrate the harvest. So universally regarded was this autumnal tradition, that in 1882, Mrs. J. R. Rees observed in Appleton's Home Occupations...

“It is needless to enter upon suggestion for the appropriate use of autumn leaves. They are universally known, and whether they serve as ornaments alone, or are used in combination with berries and burrs, they are always graceful, appropriate and beautiful.”

Preserving Leafy Branches

It is fortunate that both fruit and flowers have, at this season, a more lasting quality. Autumn flowers have more stamina than the fugitive flowers of midsummer and this allows me time to complete the harvest...

Leafy branches should be gathered which are 12-36 inches in length, which have just begun to turn in color. The stems should be split, three inches from the bottom, and placed in a bucket of warm water and allowed to remain there for approximately eight to twelve hours or overnight, with any leaves which are brown or wilting being removed. After the branches have soaked, a solution of glycerin and distilled water should be prepared, which will act as a preservative, keeping the branches beautiful for several months or even years.

And one cried to another and said “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of Hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory."

--Isaiah 6:3

--The Riches and Treasures of Home

A Christian Home
Oh give us homes, built firm upon the Savior,
Where Christ is Head and Counselor and Guide.
Where every child is taught his love and favor,
And gives his heart to Christ the crucified.

How sweet to know that tho his footsteps waver,
His faithful Lord is walking by his side.
Oh give us homes with godly fathers and mothers,
Who always place their hope and trust in Him.

Whose tender patience, turmoil never bothers,
Whose calm and courage trouble cannot dim.
A home where each finds joy in serving others,
And love still shines tho days be dark and grim.

Oh give us homes where Christ is Lord and Master,
The Bible read, the precious hymns still sung.
Where prayer comes first in peace or in disaster,
And praise is natural speech on every tongue.

Where mountains move before a faith thats vaster,
And Christ sufficient is for old and young.
Oh Lord our God, our homes are Thine forever!
We trust to Thee their problems, toil and care.

Their bonds of love no enemy can sever,
If Thou are always Lord and Master there.
Be Thou the center of our least endeavors
Be Thou our Guest, our hearts and homes to share.
Hymn by Barbara Hart