Random Thoughts {And a Thank You} on My Return Home

“Every traveler has a home of his own,

and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.” 

~ Charles Dickens

Though I enjoyed my trip to visit far away family and friends (my homeland, dear reader!), I am happy to be homemaking once again! During the last month, I was beginning to feel like a bird without a nest and that God-given instinct to keep home was feeling quite quenched!

The first few days back I found myself washing curtains, hanging them on the line and replacing bedding with the new colors and needs of the season. Our pantry was sorely in need of maintenance and lists were made of items that needed restocking. Cleaning products were quickly created from essential oils, medicinal tinctures were prepared and our storeroom pantry is ready to service our family once again. I hope to do a little tour of our pantry soon also.

A dear reader (and may I say friend?) sent these beautiful bits of goodies to me this summer (shown in these pictures). I had to photograph them for her as a special "thank you". The package smelled of lavender and was packed with lovelies to craft with, sew with, play with and gift-give with! Thank you Angela for all the love you placed in that "old fashioned letter"! 

I would also like to thank everyone for the kind comments that were left when I was away! Next week, I plan to do a little giveaway as a "back to blogging" celebration. It will be of a book that I really love and look to for homemaking inspiration and projects! I hope to have you all join in :)

"And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee."

~ Psalm 39:7

On a sad note, the latest scandal in the papers (and over the last few years) with men who professed to follow God has been weighing heavily upon me. With each ugly event, you wonder, who can be trusted? Like the law shows us our need for grace and a Saviour, so these broken people shout out to me that there is none perfect but our Lord. He is the only one worthy to put our complete adoration, trust and hope in (and not in the latest author, Christian celebrity, or homeschooling and church leadership).

"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

~ Matthew 24:13

Perhaps this is why I quote the dearly departed more often than the living as they have finished the race, fought the fight and endured unto the end. We can not become complacent dear readers! This earthly life is an ongoing battle and we must stay strong and on guard as keepers of the home.

"After all, the mistress of the home determines the general atmosphere under her roof; her emotional state sets the standard and the tone."

~ Elizabeth George, Beautiful in God's Eyes

With this in mind, however, my focus will not be in the latest scandal or the ugly news, but in the environment I can control, my little cottage. We women can determine the thermostat in our own worlds. We can frost it with love or focus on the cold and negative. My desire is to set the tone of warmth with security, coziness, kisses and lots of homemade goodness! What about you?

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.