Homemaking Monday - My Annual Pre-Holiday Seasonal Deep Clean

Well, my friends, it's hard to believe but it is that time of year again, and by "that time", I'm referring to the shift in focus that seems to come naturally for me every year around August 1.  The garden holds my attention from March through July, but come August, I still start feeling the pull to begin preparations for the 'Ber Months, as I affectionately call them, and all the joy, hustle and bustle they can bring!

I've been quietly setting aside a few gifts as I find them here and there, well, since right after Christmas last year! But aside from that, all my foward thinking and prep doesn't really begin to take hold until what are often the hottest days of summer, although this year has been blessedly mild! Still, in most cases it is precisely the temperature outdoors that sets me to focusing once again on the indoors, and with the garden holding so much of my attention for several months, it is usually desperately in need of cleaning. 

Last year I got a late start on my autumn decorating, and it felt as though I had just put it all out and it was time to take it down and decorate for Christmas.  For the first time in over a decade I didn't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, which I know is typical for many, but it simply does not work for me!  2025 was a different year, our daughter was in a near fatal car accident in April, and by the grace of God walked down the aisle and was married in August, so there were a number of reasons I got behind.  But it made for a very stressful holiday season and I vowed that this year I was returning to my roots and getting back on schedule.

All this to say, over the coming month I'll be knees and elbows deep into my annual pre-holiday deep cleaning, and it begins this week.  It's going to be a bit of slow start, as we have a number of appointments already on the schedule this week, but hopefully I'll be able to knock a few things off the the list, and speaking of, here it is, if you're interested in this sort of thing, and if not, well, this may be at the forefront of my posts for several weeks, so maybe come back and visit me in September! :)

Rather than assign tasks to certain days, I decided to break it up into two phases with target goals for each phase to be completed.  Knowing that we have a number of appointments and commitments this month already, this works better for me.  There's nothing I hate more than having a to-do list for say, Monday, and then not checking off all the boxes, I'm a bit obsessive about those little boxes! This way I have a list of tasks that I want to finish in each phase, and the goal is to have all the boxes checked off by the deadline.

Phase I - Goal to be completed by August 13

Kitchen

- Project 1 - Cooking Area

- Project 2 - Food Storage

- Project 3 - Pantry and Cabinets

- Project 4 - Sink and Counters

- Project 5 - Finishing Touches

Dining Room

Family Room

Phase 1 complete! Decorate for Autumn on August 14-15

Phase II - Goal to be completed by September 4

Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

Office Craft Room

Front Porch

Even using this method this feels ambitious, especially when you consider that I can't completely abandon the garden and outdoors.  My commitment is 2x a week outdoors, and 3x indoors during August, not including days when we have appointments, which will interrupt one of those days and I'll have to prioritize which is more important to make up. But, even if I don't finish everything by September 4, I'm ok with that because the biggest project, the kitchen, will be done! I have the tasks for each room broken down, but I won't share those here, at least, not in this post.  But, I will be sharing my progress here with you over the next month, if you'd like to follow along. Maybe you've been inspired to get your house in order and start prepping early for the holidays, too, and you're certainly welcome to join! Nothing official, just comment and share your progress throughout the month, it would be fun to cheer each other on!

And with that, it's time I get to it, friends! I hope your Monday is blessed! I'll see you back here soon!

❊

Homemaking Monday: The History of the Homemaker's Apron

Most people don't think much about an apron anymore.

If they do, it's usually as a charming decoration hanging in a country kitchen or a vintage piece found at an antique shop. Somewhere along the way, the humble apron became little more than a symbol of nostalgia.

For centuries, though, it was one of the hardest-working items a homemaker owned.

Long before washing machines, stain removers, and inexpensive clothing, women tied on an apron each morning because it was as essential as a good broom or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. It protected precious clothing, carried the tools of daily work, and quietly became part of the rhythm of home.

The history of the apron is really the history of homemaking itself. As homes changed, aprons changed with them. Yet despite all the conveniences of modern life, I believe they still have something to teach us about faithful stewardship, hospitality, and finding joy in ordinary work.

For centuries, it was one of the most practical and indispensable tools a homemaker owned. Long before modern washing machines, inexpensive clothing, and stain removers, an apron protected dresses that had taken weeks to sew and were expected to last for years. It shielded fabric from flour dust, soot, grease, and garden soil, allowing a woman to work hard without ruining the clothing beneath it.

The history of the apron reaches back much farther than many people realize. Ancient Egyptians wore simple linen coverings while working, and throughout the Middle Ages, tradesmen and craftsmen of every kind wore aprons suited to their work. Blacksmiths favored heavy leather, while bakers, butchers, and merchants often wore linen or canvas.

As the centuries passed, the homemaker's apron developed into something uniquely its own.

By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many women owned several aprons, each with a specific purpose. There were sturdy work aprons for laundry day, gardening, preserving food, and tending livestock. Cleaner aprons were worn while preparing meals or welcoming visitors, and some women even reserved beautifully embroidered aprons for Sundays or special occasions.

An apron was much more than protection for a dress.

Its pockets carried clothespins, scissors, seed packets, handkerchiefs, and recipe notes. The wide skirt became a basket for gathering eggs, apples, beans, or freshly picked herbs. It served as a potholder, a towel for drying wet hands, and even a place for a tired child to hide his face after a difficult day.

In many ways, the apron became a symbol of hospitality.

When family arrived at the back door and found Mother wearing her apron, they knew supper was on the stove. The smell of fresh bread, simmering soup, or warm cinnamon often became forever connected with the sight of those apron strings tied neatly at her waist.

As household technology improved during the twentieth century, the apron slowly disappeared from everyday life. Ready-made clothing became affordable, automatic washing machines made laundry easier, and many women simply found they no longer needed one as often.

At the same time, the apron began to be viewed by some as a symbol of an outdated way of life.

I think that's unfortunate.

An apron never represented weakness. It represented work.

It spoke of meals prepared from scratch, gardens carefully tended, children comforted, and homes cared for with diligence. It reminded us that the countless small tasks of homemaking matter because the people we serve matter.

That is why I still enjoy tying on an apron before I bake bread, preserve vegetables from the garden, or spend an afternoon in the kitchen. It doesn't make me a better homemaker, but it does remind me to approach my work with intention. It marks the beginning of caring for my home in much the same way generations of women have done before me.

Perhaps that's why the apron has endured for so long.

It isn't simply a piece of fabric with pockets.

It is a quiet reminder that the ordinary work of home has always been extraordinary in its importance. While fashions change and household routines evolve, the calling to create a place of warmth, nourishment, and welcome remains much the same.

And maybe that's why the humble apron still has a place in our homes today.

 

❊

Homemaking Monday - A Familiar Favorite: Home Sweet Home

Today we'll pause to reflect on a familiar favorite, perhaps you know it, or at least the opening line?  But in case you've never read the complete work, I though it might be fun to share it with you today.

John Howard Payne wrote the lyrics to "Home, Sweet Home!" in 1822 while living in London. It was first published and publicly debuted as a song in May 1823 as part of the operetta Clari, or the Maid of Milan at the Covent Garden Theatre.  You can listen to a performance of it, here.

The song's American premiere took place at the Winter Tivoli Theatre in Philadelphia on October 29, 1823, and was sung by "Mrs. Williams." In 1852, Henry Bishop "relaunched" the song as a parlour ballad, and it became very popular in the United States throughout the American Civil War and after. The song was reputedly banned from being played in Union Army camps during the American Civil War for being too redolent of hearth and home and so likely to incite desertion.

Here is the poem, I hope you'll enjoy it!

❊ HOME SWEET HOME

’Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there

Which, seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.

Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!

There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!

An exile from home, splendour dazzles in vain;

O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!

The birds singing gayly that came at my call—

Give me them, and the peace of mind dearer than all!

Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!

There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!

How sweet ’tis to sit ’neath a fond father’s smile,

And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile!

Let others delight ’mid new pleasures to roam,

But give me, oh, give me the pleasures of Home!

Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!

There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!

To thee I’ll return, overburdened with care;

The heart’s dearest solace will smile on me there;

No more from that cottage again will I roam;

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like Home.

Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!

There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!

Even the humblest home carries God’s presence. Your daily tasks—sweeping, cooking, arranging flowers—are small acts of worship. The love you pour into your home sanctifies it.

"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." 

– PROVERBS 24:3–4


Lord, help me to see my home as a place of sacred rest, where Your love dwells in every corner and every act of care I give.

❊

Homemaking Monday - A Poem For Your Summer Commonplace- Barefoot Days

I've decided that in these sweet summer months, to keep my Homemaking Monday posts here simple, a verse, a poem or a special quote that reflects on the season, the home and homemaking.  We'll dive deeper in early September, but in these long lingering days there is much to savor. Let's give that space, and begin the week with this lovely little poem by Rachel Field, perfect for our summer commonplace!

❊ BAREFOOT DAYS

In the morning, very early,
That's the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And grass is cool between each toe,
On a summer morning-O!
On a summer morning!

That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe,

Such a summer morning-O!
Such a summer morning!

- RACHEL FIELD

Homemaking Mondays In May: The Theology of Homemaking A Four Part Formation Series — Week Four: Who You Are Becoming Matters More Than What You Do

I think I used to approach homemaking mostly as something I needed to do well.

Keep things in order.

Stay on top of everything.

Create a home that felt peaceful and looked cared for.

And while those things matter, they are not the deepest thing happening here.

Because beneath the routines and responsibilities, something quieter is taking place.

You are becoming someone.

Not all at once.
Not dramatically.
Not in ways the world would necessarily notice.

But slowly, through ordinary faithfulness.

Through the constant opportunities to lay down your own pace, your own preferences, your own expectations for how the day “should” go.

Through the interruptions.
Through the repetition.
Through the small daily choices to respond gently when frustration would feel easier.

And I think this is one of the hidden mercies of homemaking: it reveals us, but it also reshapes us.

It exposes impatience.
It softens sharp edges.
It teaches endurance in places we didn’t know we needed it.

“Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

- ROMANS 5:3–4

There are forms of spiritual formation that can only happen through staying.

Through tending the same spaces.
Through loving the same people over long stretches of ordinary time.
Through embracing a life where much of the work is repeated tomorrow.

And while that kind of life may seem small from the outside, God never treats formation as small.

Because He is not only concerned with what you accomplish.

He is deeply concerned with who you are becoming.

- Patient
- Steady
- Tender-hearted
- Faithful in unseen places
- Strong in quiet ways that no longer need applause to feel valuable.

Your home is not just something you are building, it is a place God is using to build you.

And maybe that changes the questions we carry.

Not:

“Did I get enough done today?”

But:

“Did I become a little more loving?

A little more grounded?

A little more like Christ in the middle of ordinary life?”

Because long after the laundry is forgotten, the meals are eaten, and the rooms are rearranged again, the character formed within you remains.

The work matters.

But who you are becoming matters even more.

If this idea of homemaking as spiritual formation resonates with you, these books pair beautifully with this week’s reflection:

The Life You've Always Wanted — A gentle, deeply practical invitation into spiritual formation through everyday life and ordinary habits.

The Practice of the Presence of God — A quiet classic about finding communion with God in simple daily tasks and hidden work.

Adorned — A thoughtful reflection on biblical womanhood, discipleship, and the beauty of a faithful life lived within the home.

Liturgy of the Ordinary — A beautiful exploration of how God meets us through everyday routines and repetitive moments.

They each remind us in different ways that spiritual growth rarely happens through grand moments alone.

More often, it happens quietly, right in the middle of daily life.

❊

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Homemaking Monday's In May: The Theology Of HomemakingA Four Part Formation Series - Part Three: The Hidden Cost Of A Quiet Life

 Homemaking carries a quiet cost.

Not in a heavy or regretful way, but in a real, honest one.

Because choosing a life centered around the home often means choosing things that don’t always feel easy to name.

Choosing to not always be seen, to not always be affirmed, to not always have something measurable to point to at the end of the day. 

And sometimes, if you’re honest, there is a tension there.

A wondering, a subtle ache to be recognized, to know that what you’re doing matters beyond the walls you’re inside of. And I don’t think that feeling is something to rush past or dismiss.

But I do think it’s something to gently bring before the Lord. Because He never asked us to live for recognition, He asked us to live before Him.

“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” 

- MATTHEW 6:4

There is a kind of life that is built mostly in the unseen, and it requires a different kind of surrender.

A surrender of being known in the ways the world measures it.
A surrender of being noticed for what you carry.
A surrender of needing proof that it matters.

And yet…nothing done with Him, for Him, or through Him is ever lost, even when it is never named out loud by anyone else.

It is still seen.
It is still held.
It is still forming something eternal in you.

If this idea of the “hidden life” resonates with you, these books sit beautifully with this week’s reflection:

Every Moment Holy — Douglas Kaine McKelvey
A collection of liturgies that help you see ordinary moments as sacred ground.

Garden City — John Mark Comer
A thoughtful look at calling, work, and what it means to live faithfully in your actual life.

To Hell with the Hustle — Jefferson Bethke
A gentle pushback against constant striving and the pressure to be seen as productive.

Sacred Rhythms — Ruth Haley Barton
A deeper invitation into spiritual practices that form a steady, anchored soul.

They don’t rush the tension away.

They help you sit with it… and slowly see it differently.

❊

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Homemaking Monday's In May: The Theology of Homemaking:A Four Part Formation Series - Week Two: Formation Through Repetition

There are days when the repetition of homemaking feels almost unbearable.

You wash the dishes, and by evening the sink is full again.

You fold the laundry, and tomorrow there will be another pile waiting.

You sweep the floor, wipe the counters, make the meals, straighten the rooms—and sometimes it can all begin to feel like a cycle that never truly ends.

And if we’re honest, I think part of what frustrates us is that we long for completion.

We want progress we can measure.

We want visible results.

We want something we can point to and say, “There. I finished it.”

But so much of homemaking refuses to stay finished, and maybe that is why it forms us so deeply.

Because Scripture is full of rhythms that required daily dependence.

Daily manna.
Daily bread.
Daily surrender.

When God provided manna in the wilderness, He did not give His people enough for months at a time. He gave them enough for that day.

Enough to teach them trust.
Enough to teach them reliance.
Enough to teach them to return to Him again tomorrow.

I think homemaking carries a similar invitation. Not just to complete tasks, but to become faithful in the returning.

Returning to serve.
Returning to nurture.
Returning to tend what has been entrusted to you—even when it feels repetitive.

And over time, something quiet begins to happen in us.

The repetition exposes our impatience.

It reveals our resistance.

But it also slowly builds endurance, steadiness, and faithfulness in places that comfort never could.

“Let us not grow weary of doing good, 
for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” 

- GALATIANS 6:9

I don’t think spiritual discipline is formed only in prayer closets and Bible studies.Sometimes it is formed while standing at the kitchen sink again.While making another meal. While tending an ordinary life with consistency when no one is applauding you for it.

And maybe the repetition you want to escape is the very place God is building your faithfulness.

If you’d like to explore this topic more deeply, these books pair beautifully with this week’s reflection:

Liturgy of the Ordinary

The Common Rule

Habits of the Household

Domestic Monastery

Each one offers a gentler way of seeing the rhythms, repetitions, and sacred routines of everyday life.

❊

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Homemaking Monday's In May: The Theology of Homemaking:A Four Part Formation SeriesWeek One - Homemaking Is Not Small Work

I used to think homemaking felt small because it was small.

Small tasks.
Small moments.
Small, ordinary days that seemed to blur together.

But I’ve been slowly realizing, it isn’t small, it’s just hidden.

The world has trained us to measure significance by what can be seen, applauded, or scaled. But the Kingdom of God has always worked differently.

Jesus spent thirty years in obscurity before anyone called His name.

Most of what God does in a life happens where no one else is looking.And somehow, that includes this life too.

The folding.
The wiping.
The returning things back to order over and over again.

None of it feels like it’s “moving anything forward.”

But Scripture quietly tells a different story:

“What you do matters—not because it is seen, 
but because it is done unto Him.” 

- COLOSSIONS 3:23–24

There is nothing insignificant about faithfulness.

Nothing wasted about a life poured out in quiet obedience.

Maybe the problem isn’t that homemaking is small…maybe it’s that we’ve only learned how to recognize what is loud. And this life—this home—it speaks in a much quieter way.

But God hears it.

Every single part of it.

And maybe this is where the shift begins.

Not in changing what you’re doing…but in learning to see it differently.

Because if this work isn’t small, if it actually holds weight in the Kingdom—then the question becomes:

What is God doing in you through it?

What is being shaped in the quiet repetition of your days?

I’m starting to realize…

the hiddenness isn’t just about where this work happens.It’s about what it’s producing.

And that changes everything.

(We’ll talk about that next.)

If you’d like to explore this more deeply, these are a few books that have quietly shaped how I see this life:

The Hidden Art of Homemaking
this one reframes creativity and beauty inside the home in a way that feels both freeing and grounding.

Liturgy of the Ordinary
it helped me see how God meets us in the most repetitive, everyday moments.

The Life We’re Looking For
this one gently pulls your attention back to presence, especially in a distracted world.

Adorned
a reminder that the way we live inside our homes carries a kind of quiet, discipling influence.

None of them are loud.

But all of them will gently change how you see what you’re already doing.

❊

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A Holy Reordering: Recovering Peace Room by Room – The Hidden Foundation of the Homemaker’s Heart

Before a single surface is touched, we enter the first room. It is unseen, it has no square footage, yet everything in the house flows from it.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

— Psalm 51:10

David did not begin with external reform. He began with inner renewal.

As homemakers, especially those seeking a faith-filled home, we are often overstimulated, overextended, and quietly anxious. We manage schedules, meals, conversations, digital input, expectations — both spoken and unspoken. And without realizing it, we carry that internal noise into the rooms we inhabit.

A hurried heart produces a hurried home.
A resentful spirit creates tension in the smallest exchanges.
An anxious mind makes even orderly spaces feel unsettled.

We cannot scrub our way into peace. We must receive it — and then steward it.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

— Proverbs 4:23

Everything flows from it.

The tone of your voice in the morning.
The way you respond to interruption.
The patience you extend at the end of a long day.

The home is an overflow. A peaceful home is the outward reflection of spiritual renewal.

This is why Lent invites examination. Not condemnation — examination. A gentle asking:

Where has clutter gathered quietly in me?
What emotional residue have I not addressed?
Where am I striving instead of abiding?

The 17th-century bishop Francis de Sales counseled:

“Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.”

A holy reordering begins with that patience.

❊ Today’s Lenten Home Reset Practice

Choose one small area — a drawer, a corner, a basket — and tend to it slowly. As you do, pray Psalm 51:10 softly. Let the physical act mirror the spiritual invitation.

Not frantic purging.
Not performative productivity.
Just alignment.

You might whisper:

“As this space is cleared, clear what does not belong in me.”

Because the goal is not an immaculate house. It is a settled spirit. When the heart is steadied, even modest spaces feel like refuge. When the inner room is tended, the outer rooms begin to follow naturally — not from pressure, but from peace.

So before the day gathers speed, begin here.

Stand quietly in that unseen room.
Let the Spirit name what has been crowding your interior space.
Receive mercy where you expected pressure.

This is the real beginning.

Not a reset that lasts a weekend.
Not a burst of motivation.
But a reorientation.

If the heart is tended, the home will follow.

Join me next Monday as we continue our Lenten homemaking series and turn our attention to The Kitchen — the place of nourishment, conversation, and daily offering. Together, we will explore how Christian homemaking rhythms in this space shape not only our meals, but our hearts, and how ordinary tasks can become acts of faith-filled home stewardship.

Until then, begin with one quiet act of order. Clear it slowly. Pray honestly. Guard your heart.

This is where we begin.

Room by room.

Heart first.

❊

Homemaking Monday - Beginning March 2!

I want to begin by saying that this post may feel a little different from my usual tone. It may even come across as more direct than the encouraging, uplifting atmosphere I strive to cultivate here. But what I am about to share feels important, and it needs to be said.

For years, I have struggled to post consistently in this space. Recently, I realized that struggle was rooted in fear. That ends today.

Being a homemaker and making a home has been the most fulfilling role of my lifetime. It is all I ever aspired to be as a young girl. I have been blessed to serve as a stay-at-home wife, mother, and homemaker for most of my adult life, and so it is only natural that this will remain the primary focus of what I share here.

Before I begin creating again with consistency, I want to make something very clear.

This space has never been—and will never be—a place that shames or judges women who, by choice or circumstance, are not full-time homemakers. My hope is that the ideas and resources shared here will encourage women in every season: stay-at-home mothers, work-at-home mothers, women employed outside the home, young single women dreaming of one day keeping a home of their own. This space is for you.

That said, I do hold personal convictions regarding the importance of mothers in the home. Those convictions will naturally shape my content, the books I read, and the resources I share. I believe God has entrusted me with both a gift and a message, and I will no longer allow fear to silence that calling.

Some may consider my beliefs old-fashioned. I am at peace with that. While I do not embrace the rigid patriarchal models that were popular in some evangelical circles in the early 2000s, I do believe our culture is experiencing the long-term effects of generations of mothers leaving the home for the workforce.

I also recognize that today’s economic realities often leave women feeling they have little choice. There have been seasons in my own life when I worked outside the home. Most of the women in my family do. I understand this personally.

I wholeheartedly support women finding creative ways to contribute financially to their households. I do the same. Many young women today are beautifully balancing marriage and motherhood while earning income from home—through baking, small businesses, social media, writing, or other creative avenues. The possibilities truly are vast.

And yet, deep in my heart, I remain convinced that the consistent presence of a mother in the home shapes families in ways that no full-time position outside the home can replicate. I believe it is worth considering whether that life might be desirable—or possible—for more women than our culture suggests.

More than anything, I want to help remove the stigma surrounding homemaking. I want to encourage women—especially young women who may feel they have chosen an unpopular path—to take pride in their role as daughters, wives, mothers, and grandmothers who build homes with intention.

The choice to remain at home, work from home, or work outside the home is deeply personal. Each woman must walk her own path with wisdom and grace. I ask only that we extend that same grace to one another.

If you find yourself here and occasionally disagree with something I share, I encourage you to extend generosity of spirit. Perhaps another post will resonate more deeply. However, if over time you discover that the heart of this space is not aligned with your own, then it may simply not be the right place for you.

I will not dilute my convictions to make this space more broadly palatable. I have done that before, and it cost me both joy and clarity. This is my space. Staying home was—and remains—my choice. If yours is different, I respect that fully. In return, I ask for the same respect.

In the past, I allowed bullying and shaming to reshape my voice and diminish my desire to share. That will not happen again. While respectful discussion is welcome, hostility and shaming will not be permitted here.

And now, on a much lighter note—

Beginning Monday, March 2, and every Monday thereafter, I will be launching a weekly series called HOMEMAKING MONDAY: A weekly space devoted to strengthening the heart, faith, and calling of the homemaker.

While many of my posts already center on home life, Homemaking Monday will be a dedicated space for encouragement in your calling. I plan to share poems and reflections on home, curated articles and resources, and one homemaking-related book each month.

I am not quite ready to call it a book club—but if you would like to read along, I will be posting the schedule for the remainder of the year later this week so you have plenty of time to gather the books. If there is enough interest, perhaps we will make it official.

I am genuinely excited about this new rhythm and look forward to sharing from my decades of experience as a wife, mother, and homemaker.

For today, I will leave you with one of my favorite poems about home.

❊ HOME INDEED

Draw up a chair and light a light
And find a book to read.
The heavens are dark and wild the night
And home is home indeed.

The louder seems the winter's ire
Tonight, the brighter seems the fire,
For when the wintry storms begin
The more the comfort here within.

The wind is at the windowpane,

The wind is at the door.

It shakes the house and shakes in vain,

For loud the chimney's roar.

And higher leaps the crimson blaze

In winter than in summer days.

The more the weather is unkind,

A greater joy within we find.

The fields in springtime call us forth,

Their rosy paths to roam,

But when the wind is in the north,

We pluck the rose at home.

Perhaps God sends the wintry hours

To show that there are other flowers,

For when a roof and fire you need,

Ah, then a home is home indeed.

- DOUGLAS MALLOCH

❊