I have this dream of inviting all the Ringing Bell readers
to my house at Christmas, and we’d sit around sipping mocha punch and swapping
stories. But practically, that’s not possible, so I thought I’d do a little
home tour of our living areas this week.
A few caveats first. I’m obviously not a designer, just a gal who for
years has made do with what she has. The most resourceful people I know are
those in ministry, because we’ve learned to make art from what we
already have. I love what
Ann Voskamp writes, “We get to make beauty, we get to leave loveliness, we get to
make art for all who come in our wake―so they get to wake to wonder.” As a pastor’s wife, most of what I have has been gifted to me, handed
down, homemade, repurposed, found at a garage sale or plucked from final
clearance at TJMaxx. I “shop the house”
as the Nester says and try to make things feel fresh.
This is not a grand home, just a parson’s house.
For Christmas, I intend to keep Jesus ever before us, so
each room has a nativity of some sort.
My house was built in the sixties and with the exception of
an enclosed garage and an added sunroom, it has had few changes to the original
footprint. So, that means little rooms instead of one big open space.
I surround myself with colors I like rather than what’s
trending at the moment, which puts me a little off the center line.
And I deal with critters, lots of critters, so part of the
house is off limits to felines. The Lab Lucy goes anywhere she wants. What can I say? She doesn't tear up things.
Almost everything I use has a story, but I’ll try to
restrain myself and not diverge too much in what already is a long post, so
here we go.
When you enter our home, there’s a tiny foyer, but front and
center is a nativity set my husband gave me many years ago when we were dating.
Fortunately, the baby Jesus has never been lost, and a parade of cats has not
broken any of the pieces . . . yet.
In my living room, I had a big tree ornamented with my angel collection, but it began
losing needles, so it had to go. I brought this smaller tree from another part
of the house. I actually wanted a flocked tree, but the budget wouldn’t allow,
so I used flocking spray and sprinkled snow on it. Then I hung a few angels and
some birds I’d had for years and couldn’t use in the other part of the house, because
they have feathers on them (Cats love, love, love feathers of any kind). So now,
I call this my wings tree. And of course, another nativity, also a gift from my husband.
My table is semi-set for this weekend, and since the cats
can’t get in here, it stays that way. And I love those little star twinkle lights I found this year. They're on a timer.
In the kitchen, I’m ready for hot chocolate drinkers with
this set up and I love this cracker jar my dad gave me long ago. I put cookie
cutters in it.
This Christmas village started when the kids were small and
I was given a gift certificate to a Christmas store. It has been added to
through similar gestures through the years. It's pointless to add more snow as it has a tendency to drift when
the cats nest in it. In fact, if you look closely you can spot a sign my son made for the village when the
cat Misty, who we called "the terror of tiny town,” used to frequent it. She’s
old now, but Wilbur has taken her place as the new tormentor of all who dwell
in the village. A recent addition is the origami tree on the department store made for me by a young friend. I'm noticing now that a few of the trees have been moved by cat visitations.
Lambs nestle in a bowl my mother used to make bread in.
This year I changed up the sofa in the den with pillow covers I’d never used and one of my two new purchases this year (the other was the star lights), the gilded print pillow in the middle (on clearance). I added the brass bowl I’d found at a garage sale and filled it with red ornaments. Carl standing guard.
Our tree is decorated with ornaments given to us through the
years, collected through our travels, or made by the kids. A man famous for his
needlework and a woman who was one of the first people I met in this community
when I moved here made crocheted angels and snowflakes on this tree as well as
the one in the living room.
Another crèche made by a friend. I love it.
The woman in our church are card makers extraordinaire, so I
made a garland of handmade cards we’ve been given through the years (a little blurry picture, sorry).
Even though the kids have flown the coup, I still like to keep a few kids things around. Makes me happy. I always have a basket of children’s books for
perusing.
These carolers remind me of my years of directing choirs.
We'll skip the kitchen cabinets which need painting and a worktable in my office covered in Christmas doings.
But I will show you one more thing―upstairs in my daughter's room, we hang all these ornaments on her chandelier. Some handmade by a dear neighbor who has passed on, some
by an artist we love, and some sea creatures from the days when she had fish
(thankfully that phase has passed). This
crazy assortment makes me smile.
It reminds me of this wild love that God has for us and expressed
by sending his Son Jesus. With that in mind, may your Christmas be especially blessed!
"There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, 'Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.'
At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:'Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him'" (Luke 2: 8-14).
"There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, 'Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.'
At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:'Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him'" (Luke 2: 8-14).