Sunday, February 27, 2011

Haven: Day One

It's Sunday evening and the week ahead seems to be looming - I feel behind before I've even begun. Are you with me?

In a very spur of the moment decision - it seems that a Haven week may be just the thing! My house has been and continues to be in need of attention and I can feel my stress level rising. I know that I need God's help and to be focused on His plans for my home this week and I hope some of you will join me!

My focus for this week will be focusing on Quiet Time, tidying and catching up in my home and creating some fun. What will your challenges be?

For tomorrow (Monday):
* Start your day with God, share what you learned in your Quiet Time and focus on these thoughts throughout the day.
* Create a fun breakfast! Take whatever you were already going to have and think of a way to make it special. Eat in a special place. Light a candle. Use special dishes.
* Do something to bless your nest: tidy, clean up a problem area, complete a project you've been putting off - choose what works best for your home.

I also have a few errands to run and we have ballet/tap dance.

Hope you will join me! Take pictures and tell us about your day - link up below:


13 comments:

Sandra said...

Love the idea of a haven week. Right now, I'm pondering what that would look like around here. :-)

Mom said...

Great idea! Haven is one of my favorite words to use to describe our home. (Haven sounds a lot like heaven, doesn't it?!?)

Though we don't do this during the week due to time constraints, Dad has been building a fire in the fireplace on weekend mornings and we've been eating breakfast by the fire. Very cozy!

The Jesus Calling book has been a real blessing -- each devotion seems to be directed right at whatever issue(s) I'm dealing with that day.

Keeping up with the "clutter" is my daily task -- much easier now that there are just two of us, but an ongoing challenge.

Have a great week! Love, Mom

Lauren(from Savannah) said...

Monica,
I was thinking exactly like your mom about haven and heaven. When I first saw your blog title I thought it said heaven and was thinking how cool would that be to read someone's blog from "Heaven... day 1".
Sorry off topic but thought provoking.

petrii said...

Monica,
What a beautiful idea!! I love the idea of a Haven Week. I will be thinking of some ways to do this and will try to link up and post tomorrow. I am finishing "Love is a Verb" posts today.

Thank you for this opportunity.

Have a Blessed day,
Dawn

angie said...

Last night in bed, I was telling my husband about all of the upcoming spring tasks that loom. Often I can get ahead of myself with worrying about too much to do in too little time.
I appreciate this emphasis on "making your home a haven" this week. I need to be reminded that doing so encompasses more than just doing the cleaning and laundry. Taking the time to make my family feel like this is their haven should be my goal!
I'm looking forward to the topics you will select for the rest of the week.
I am reading Ann's book, so I plan to look up some verses regarding giving thanks.

LynnMarie said...

Great idea - Haven Week. I am painting rooms and at the same time, spring cleaning them so when we finally get rid of the snow and the sun warms up the ground, I can be outside enjoying it and not inside cleaning up from the long cold, snowy winter. In that way, my way our home will be ready to enjoy with company.

Phyllis said...

Thank you so much for this. It is an answer to my prayers! I have taken your suggestions and they have gone very well. Thank you so much. I am so looking forward to tomorrow's assignment!

Shannon said...

I will absolutely join you! This is just what I need this week!

Heather said...

This has been my focus for the last couple days, so it was fun to see that other ladies are blessing their families & homes too this week. :)

I read a post by the Nester about ways to improve a room, and one of the tips that stood out to me was removing clutter. It's amazing how clean & fresh everything feels when I tackle those problem areas!

I'm also shopping for some sheers to cover up our blinds in the living room, and I made a spring wreath to hang on our front door today. I love how cheerful and bright spring colors are!

Looking forward to hearing about your fun & tidying this week! Thanks, Monica!

Valerie said...

Hi Sweet Friend!

You know how much I love when you host "Haven Week". I am so looking forward to your future posts this week!

Aaaah, clutter! It's a constant battle...the devil trying his darndest to create chaos out of the order that God wants for our homes!

Blessings,
Valerie

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

Hi Monica, This is a great post ;) :) There's so much to do...and not enough hands ;) :) That's okay, because that means I always have fun projects to work on :) :) Right now, I j ust like to keep the ki tchen table neat. It's got a lovely Battenburg lace table cloth and some other vintage items all nicely placed there. When I see that every day, I feel a sense of calm and beauty, too :) :) Have a lovely week. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

pippasmum said...

I love this idea!!! I am wanting to focus on making things very special in our home right now and this gives me a good way to go about doing that. Thank you, Monica!

Laurie said...

I needed to read this. Thank you!