Monday, 11 September 2006
Dear Girls,
Being a Beautifier
Part of learning about being visionary daughters is learning how the Bible describes daughters.
Psalm 144 is an exciting chapter of the Bible which describes how daughters can be a blessing. Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, the authors of the excellent book, So Much More, recently shared about this verse on their website: www.visionarydaughters.com.
In Psalm 144, David is praying for God’s blessing on the homes of the righteous. He asks the Lord for a number of things and in verse 12 he asks this:
Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants,
And our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace;
So what does this mean to be corner pillars fashioned as for a palace? A pillar is a support for the roof isn’t it? But a pillar is more than framework or crossbeams. As well as having a support role it also has an ornamental role. It helps to create an environment of beauty doesn’t it? It is graceful and plays a big part in establishing the atmosphere in the palace.
This verse teaches us that as daughters our role is to be a support to our parents. And it indicates to us what a big part we can play in influencing the atmosphere in our homes.
What sort of a home would you love to live in? Do you dream of being a part of? That you would like to create one day?
When I think of the sort of home I enjoy and would like to create one day these descriptive words come to mind: Light. Beautiful. Happy. Laughter. Colour. Kind. Smells wonderful. Clean. Orderly. Friendly.
You can help to create such an environment in your own home. Do you know how?
The environments in our homes will be influenced by all the senses. Can we look beautiful? Can we smell beautiful? Can we feel beautiful? Can we taste beautiful? Can we sound beautiful?
If I walk around with a scowl on my face I won’t look beautiful. My scowl will influence the environment in my home and the people around me. It might influence them to be sad or angry or impatient or short-tempered.
On the other hand if I smile nicely I will look beautiful. My smile will influence my home and the people around me. It may cause them to feel happy and to be pleasant, kind, friendly and patient.
The types of homes we create can be influenced by something this simple! The more we smile the better. The jollier we are the better! Our voices can influence the atmosphere in our homes too. We can be whiny or we can be soft and gentle with our voices! And as we influence the environment it will also influence the people around us.
What about our homes? Can we help them to look beautiful? Can we help them to smell beautiful? To sound beautiful? To feel beautiful? To taste beautiful?
There are practical things we can do to make our homes lovely places. We can keep our things orderly. We can help to keep our homes clean. We can make things like lavendar bottles1 or pomanders2 which will help our homes to smell nice. We can cook great tasting meals and make lip-smacking treats. We can learn how to play beautiful music or pick out sound tracks which will make lovely sounding background music in our homes.
At the end of Psalm 144, King David says,
How blessed are the people who are so situated.
So when we as daughters learn how to be pillars fashioned for a palace…when we learn to be a support and to add to the beauty of our homes this is a blessing. It blesses our parents. It blesses our families. It is a blessing to us too!
For the Greater Glory of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Genevieve Smith
Issacharian Daughter
1. This web page gives instructions on how to make lavender bottles. http://www.allfreecrafts.com/nature/lavender-wands.shtml
2. This web page explains how to make pomanders. http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel1462
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