Home: Creating a Sanctuary from the World

 Home. 
 Doesn't that word bring back so many memories? Hopefully good ones. For me, it's always been a sanctuary, a place where my family is, laughter, moments, and so much more. Maybe some of you grew up in a place that wasn't so, but that doesn't mean you can't create a place of your own.

  I've been thinking a lot about my own home and how am I making it a sanctuary from the world. Not only for my family, but anyone who enters in. Have you ever been to a place that you just feel so comfortable and at peace. A place where the spirit dwells. You may have hardships and trials... A friend once told me "We all have to go through our own Gethsemane." Hopefully we are making our Homes a place where those trials are supported with love, encouragement, gospel discussion, prayer and scripture study and NOT criticism or belittlement.  

  So how do we create a place where peace, love, and the spirit are felt. First, it starts with you!!! Yes, you! It's called the domino affect. Sometimes we are always waiting on others to start the peace when in fact it should be us. Don't be the one who brings contention but helps bring the spirit.

   Second, are we doing the ESSENTIAL gospel practices in our home individually and as a family. These include; daily prayer, scripture study, family discussion, FHE, keeping the Sabbath day Holy and Paying our tithing

Prayer: I can tell at the end of the day how my days go by the moment my knees hit the ground when I wake up OR if they don't hit the ground in prayer. It brings a spirit into the home because I am prepared and my family is prepared because we talked to our Heavenly Father asking for safety, peace, energy and patience to get through the day. Believe me.....it works! I have a 2 year old and an 8 month old and I need all the helping hands of Angels I can get...and I know they are there in my moments when calm and assurance comes and I know it wasn't from me.
- Also, pray as a couple. This not only brings you closer to God together but closer as a couple. It also helps us to forgive one another. There is power in prayer. You may start mad, but the longer you pray as a couple the more the spirit can work to soften your hearts and hopefully by Amen, it will end with a kiss of  "I'm sorry."
-It guides you in the direction you as a family need to go. When you pray as a family you are praying with those whose decision it affects as well.

Daily Scripture Study: (Individually and as a family): "The Iron Rod is the WORD OF GOD, that will safely guide a through"   Aka: Scriptures will safely guide us where we are to where we need to be as a family and individually. So, the more you read the more the guidance will come.....SO read on my friends, read on! Because we need ALL the help we can get!

Family Discussion/FHE: This helps create unity in the home as we learn together about one another, doctrine, plans, goals, and dreams as a family.
-Use this time to plan family outings and times that are spent together playing games, making food and just enjoying one anothers company.

Sabbath Day Observance: this is probably one of the MOST important ones. If we can't give one day to the Lord, then how can we expect to give the rest of the week and eventually our lives to him. Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy sets a tone for the rest of the week on have the spirit in our home. How you treat this day will ultimately affect the rest of the days that follow. So, put the sports away, the worldly music, the activities that can wait until tomorrow. Show yourself and your children that because the Lord is important to you that it should be important to them by keeping his Holy day, holy.

Paying your tithing. Your probably thinking how this has any affect on the Spirit of your home. When you pay a full tithe the Blessings of Heaven are poured upon you so much that there is not enough room to receive it...and those blessings go to you and your family which is, well, YOUR HOME! I have such a testimony of tithing. I look around my home and the Lord has blessed me with things to make my house a home for my family. Yes, some may be material matters, some may be the patience with children, some blessings come in forms of ideas, love, laughter, time, priorities, humbling moments and so much more. If you give some to the Lord (All he ask is 10%) Then he'll give you all you need and things you didn't even think you needed!!! He'll help you create a Loving Home...after all you are his child and he wants you to be happy.

Media. This can either make or break a home...and you are the ultimate decision to make that happen because YOU are the one that allows or brings it in. You can turn off the T.V, change a station, buy or NOT buy the movie. It is all up to you on whether you bring the spirit into your home or not.
   -When I first got married me and my husband decided on what kind of media was or was not allowed in our house. We decided that if our children cannot watch it then we don't need to either. What we see and listen to affects the spirit in our home...even if the earphones are in and it's only on the tiny phone screen...the spirit cannot dwell where violence, graphic images, language, innuendos, immorality and pornography are happening. This also is the same with music.

Forgiveness: No one is perfect. Sometimes it is hard to forgive those who have wronged you especially those who are living in the same house. But give it to the Lord and use the atonement to it's fullest. This will allow the spirit into your life and into your home. A weight will be lifted off your shoulders and you will be happy.

Service: Serve those who are in your home. When you serve those you love the most you start to see them differently. You start to love them more and see them as God see's them. Service is the Charity: which is the PURE love of Christ. Wow, having the Pure Love of Christ in your home is something I hope we are all striving for. It allows us to forgive easier and to look over imperfections that we all have.

    I hope we can all create an atmosphere in our home where people are loved; especially those who live there. Where the spirit can dwell and we are happy. May our homes always be filled with love and laughter and if they are not....let us make it that way.


From my house to yours
-Amy Horikami

A House of Order is a House of God: Tips on keeping it clean

     A while back I was talking to my youngest brother about cleaning. He told me that no one really likes cleaning and I responded quickly with "I DO!" He laughed and said "Except Amy!"pointing at me and smiling.
  I thought about it and it's not necessarily that I LOVE to clean, but I love the feeling that it brings into my home and how it makes me feel; stress free! I even joke with myself that I'm a "clean weirdo" and my husband often asks why I'm vacuuming the floor again? Now, I'm not perfect and my house doesn't look like a picture from Home and Garden's Magazine everyday. I do have a one year old and a second on the way so I stay pretty busy with that and other activities. I'm also blessed with a husband who picks up my slack and does the dishes when 9 pm rolls around and I hit a wall and become a "zombie." (Pregnancy and taking care of a one year old all day will do that to you).
     But I mostly get it done and my house is clean. Some might say, "It's because you only have one kid," or "wait till your second comes, then you'll see." Others may say "You are a stay at home mom so you have time."
     Not necessarily. I've lived with roommates, seen other girls dorms and it wasn't exactly clean haven and they were single!
   My point: if you want a clean house you need to make time....and if you don't have time; keep reading;

Go through everything and De-junk! I don't know how many times I've held onto stuff and said
"I'll eventually use this." and years go by and Nope! Still not used.
Items to go through:

• clothes
• kitchen items
• shoes
• clothes that don't fit
• Decorations you don't use
• Fluff
• More fluff
• Papers
• Junk drawer
• toys that never get played with
• furniture that doesn't get used and is wasted space
• books
• movies you don't watch
• posters
• crafts

(Now doing this will create a mess; but sometimes you have to make a mess to clean)

-We want everything in our house to have a purpose or help in organizing that purpose

LESS IS MORE!!!

   Organize: Before you even start to clean make sure everything has a place to be put away. Seriously, go buy some organization totes for crafts, kitchen ware, decorations and those things you don't use everyday but still use. A place for everything and everything in it's place. Once I did this cleaning my house has become so fast and easy.

 Change your Attitude and Find joy in cleaning. When I was about 17 and in Sunday School my teacher told me that there was an old man who hated washing dishes, but the dishes still needed done. They weren't going away and someone had to do them. So, instead of getting a bad attitude he started to tell himself that he loved washing dishes. At first it was hard but overtime he soon became to enjoy doing dishes. I took that to heart. My house needed clean so I can either do it angry or happy. So, your saying I'm supposed to be happy while scrubbing that toilet? Sure.....which leads to my next point
 Find Purpose: If you don't have a purpose or an end goal with something you are doing than it really makes it pointless. So, why do I clean my house? Here's my reasons

• I'm happier (When I'm surrounded by clutter or mess I get stressed) But if it's clean; I'm a better mommy, friend, and wife to my husband
• I like the way it looks and makes me feel
• The spirit is present in my house...a House of Order is a House of God and I can receive promptings better and am more willing to serve others since I've already done my part for my home.
• I have more time to do other activities (Since I've organized I know where everything is and can get straight to the activity instead of searching around for it)

Teach your children. Even though my little girl is only one I still sing the clean up song when she is around and I'm picking up toys and putting them back into her play bin. She might not get it but she see's my actions and starts putting toys in the box with me...and sometimes takes them out again :) 

Make it a family effort! Get everyone involved...It not only makes everyone responsible, but it teaches them good cleanliness as well. My husband helps me with dishes and laundry and things when I need it. I also respect that he works full time and goes to school full time, but he's willingly to help me when he can and I let him know how much I appreciate that.

    

Have a schedule: Some chores don't need to be done everyday and can be done weekly. Things that have worked for me are having specific days for laundry, bathroom, mopping and other task that don't necessarily need to be done everyday. That way I don't feel overwhelmed like I'm cleaning all the time

Tips and Tricks:

-Do a ten minute tidy after all the kids are in bed! 10 minutes at night is worth an hour in the morning! -Set a timer and see how much you can get done!

-Fold laundry and put away as it is fresh from the dryer; then you won't have a huge pile of clothes and taking it in small spurts will actually save time and you won't feel overwhelmed. I'll be honest: laundry is the hardest thing for me to get done....It get's clean; it's the folding that get's me! 

                                                          

-Cook simply! (What does this have to do with cleaning?) During the week I cook simple meals and try to use as little dishes as possible. Which is why I LOVE the crockpot! I try and do a nice, large meal at least once a week. But simple not only saves time on cleaning, but money as well. Win-Win for me.

- Realize your house won't be perfect all the time and remember to enjoy the moments you have with the ones you love. 

     
    

A life of Blessings -Amy Horikami

       It often hits me how blessed I am to be where I am at and all the things I have.  Mind you, I just finished college and my husband still has almost 2 years to go. We are by no means in a house of our own or have the fanciest car or furnishings. Yet; I have everything I need and so much more, my house is fully furnished, I have food in my refrigerator, clothes on my back and I married the most wonderful, kind, patient man who is a gentle giant (He’s 6ft. 7in.). He works so hard for our family going to school full time and works full time to provide for us. I have a beautiful little girl and a second on the way. I give all these blessings to the Lord…and here’s a little bit of my story on how that reliance has made me who I am.

       Throughout my life I have learned to rely on the Lord for all that I need. I have also learned the value of hard work and becoming self sufficient. Both things that the Lord has asked us to do.  But it all started when I was young and my wonderful parents who made sure I knew. My mom is a true woman of faith and taught me the reliance on the Lord. If I ever needed anything she would tell me to pray to our Heavenly Father and he would provide it in a means I can afford and then to actively seek what I needed. We never grew up rich but we had all we needed and I knew it was because of my mom faith and my dad’s hard work.  But relying on the Lord that didn’t mean sitting down and waiting for it to pop into my hands…it meant getting to work; this is one thing my Dad taught me and he is such a good example of that. He has always provided for our family no matter the situation.  

        With this philosophy: I’ve worked since I was 15 as a lifeguard and found opportunities to increase my knowledge and eventually became a water aerobics instructor. That’s when I’ve learned the value of money. I don’t remember what I bought with that first paycheck, but man was I excited! Later my mom encouraged me to buy some food storage with my money. She told me that you can’t eat furniture and it’s good to start now. I didn’t think too much of it till college….I bet I was the only one who had food storage in College!  It was confirmed by every roommate I had too! But I learned quickly what a blessing it was. I made some yummy food and shared with roommates and always had enough. That 25 lb. bag of flour for $8 made more homemade pizza, cinnamon rolls and other stuff than I can count. I was also grateful I knew how to cook and a mother who taught me the basics of cooking, sewing, gardening, and family members who blessed me to get by. 
       It soon became a pattern in my life. I learned to live within my means. I had to distinguish my needs between my wants. Use what I had, be frugal and rely on the Lord. 
      I also wanted to learn. If I didn't know how to do something I would either ask my mom or look for resources to teach me. I wanted to be a self motivator. 

      Just a recent example happened in my life. I’ve wanted a nice dresser for my room since we are adding a new member to our family soon and need a little bit more closet space. I knew my budget and had a prayer in my heart. So I started to look on Garage Sale websites and at Deseret Industries because I knew that was in my price range.  A lot of them were way above my price range in the $100’s and the ones that I could afford were falling apart. I didn’t mind painting or redoing something but I wanted the drawers to work.  So I kept looking. Now, I wasn’t stressing but just when I was out and about I would look at dressers and just see what was there. About a month later I had a feeling to look on one of the Garage Sale websites to see if anything new popped up since I haven’t been there in a while. I scrolled down a little and there was a $15 dresser that was beautiful! No one had commented yet and so I quickly did and asked if I could get it. Then all of a sudden a whole list of people started commenting to be “in line” in case it didn’t work out. My family helped me get the dresser and now it’s in my room as one of my blessings from the Lord.

Now, some people may say “That was just good timing,” or “ It was just a coincidence.” I tell you NO! I feel the Lord prompts us even in small nudges to “check” something or go somewhere or call someone for a reason! The spirit prompted me at the right time and moment to check the website. It was a blessing I followed because if I didn’t, I know I wouldn’t have gotten that dresser.

           It’s not about the dresser though. To me it’s all about relying on the Lord and getting to work and then relying on his timing. I told my mom the story and how I have been searching for a long time and her reply was, “the Lord has to work through people and sometime people are slow!” I got a laugh out of that one. But it’s true, sometimes our blessings are through others and the Lord knows that. He also knows who to prompt and he knows when and where it’s going to happen. I didn’t need the dresser right then and there but maybe the Lord put the thought in my mind early so that when the opportunity came I was ready. We just need to have that faith that everything will come through no matter the situation. Now some blessings I have received are immediate or just when I needed them. Some aren’t even part of what I thought I wanted. Some things I wanted didn’t even come at all only to find out that I either didn’t need it or something better opened up.  We just need to rely on him and continually seek and search for what we need.  Along with that is living a righteous life so those blessings do come. When I am living the commandments and doing all I can to be close to the Lord such as paying my tithing, daily prayer, scripture study and church attendance, making my house a home, I can see the blessings more in my life than when I don’t obey.

     Just like the story of the dresser. There has been so many blessings in my life just like that. All the way from marrying my husband to having income come in right when we needed it. 

I've also realized that after all I can do....I just need to hand it over to the Lord!

But there is a pattern I’ve seen that helps me.

·         First, we as a family pay tithing. When the Lord says the windows of heaven will open and pour you out a blessing that there will be not enough room to receive it; he means it! I’ve been blessed and I know it’s because of this principle.

·         Second, I live within my means and budget. I don’t spend more than I have and stay out of debt. My husband works hard for our money so I try to respect that. I shop sales, I make sure I have enough food for my family and extra (food storage), and I ask him and we discuss big purchases.  

“51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy….”

·         Become Self Sufficient  . I’ve learned I can’t rely on others to get the job done; the only one I can rely on is the Lord and me. He can’t help me if I don’t do anything. To me this includes; spiritual, money, food storage, family, home. Yes, the lord works through others but I’m not waiting around for things to happen. Because by the time it happens I may have missed the opportunity.

The Lord blesses me as I’m doing the work and striving personally. He even said so in “26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.”

·         Serve Others. The Lord works through others and that “other” is ME! I try to find opportunities I can to help those in need. When promptings come I try my hardest to follow. I know the Lord has sent many people in my life just when I needed them.


·         Live the Gospel. There is no better way to live. The principles that Heavenly Father has set for us to live only brings happiness and true freedom into our lives.  I find we only fool ourselves when we go against its teachings. While immediate happiness is so short the Gospel brings an eternal joy that cannot be taken away.

·         Thank the LORD! For EVERYTHING!!!  I always say, “It’s such a blessing!” and it is! The Lord has given me everything and I notice it daily, or try too. Thank him in your prayers and for everything in life. He can move mountains as long as we have faith.

·        Remember:  YOU ARE BLESSED!!!!!!! Everyone is blessed differently because we all have different situations. But I realize if I look at my life and what's around me I am blessed as well. The key is to Rejoice in others blessings.

Last, but most Important: Rely on the LORD's TIMING! This is the hardest and most faith trying, but it works.

Now, by no means am I perfect! Hahaha…I sure have my days and doubts and trials; my husband could probably tell you. The Lord sure blessed me with a kind patient man to help me be better. But I just want you to know that when you rely on the Lord, anything, I mean anything.……is possible.