I have to admit, I couldn’t wait to light my candle this morning. Funny, too, because often my husband will wake up and blow it out. He a little sensitive to the scent, I guess. But for just a little while, it’s on the table and I can see it’s flicker from where I’m seated on the chair reading. And I can feel the warmth it brings. (Not literally, friends, it’s just a regular sized candle.😀) Also, I love keeping uplifting music in the background with my youngest as we get ready in the morning. It definitely helps our mood. The overall morning makeover things we worked on last week have stuck with me. Then came our weekend challenges.

I’m guessing you’ve spent time thinking over some things like who we can share our refuge with and how we can be hospitable to them. Maybe you’ve thought of ways that you can create a little margin in order to invite someone new into your space? Or, like me, maybe you’ve thought of people that can just enter into your space without fanfare. Just because. This makes the most sense to me. It is the most natural. Hey, friend, we’re having tacos tonight for dinner. Want to come by? Hey, friend, I get off of work at 1:30 today and really need a pick me up. Want to meet me at the cafe? Let’s have a coffee. If you are already cooking something or are already planning to watch a movie, why not ask someone to join you? And remember, it doesn’t matter if it’s frozen pizza on paper plates. No one cares about that stuff. That’s entertaining. We’re aiming for hospitality.

I’m not the boss of you. I can’t make you do anything. These things are only important to you if you want them to be. But, I see us as a society of fast paced people involved in too many things who work too hard to obtain things that no longer give them joy. Our kids are in too many activities and barely know what it even means when we say use your imagination. And our health is steadily suffering because we don’t take time to enjoy our meals but instead hit the drive through several times a week because we don’t plan ahead. I see “slowing down” as something that encompasses all aspects of our lives. We need to stop doing so much and enjoy the things that we are doing. We need to learn or relearn ways to take time to really see the world around us and value it for what it is. I see making our home a haven and a refuge as a way to have a safe and calm and secure retreat from the world. And, a place to make our families (and others) feel at home.  This is why we are challenging ourselves this month! I want you to feel more relaxed headed into the holidays. I want you to have a peace in your home that is palpable. A calm that even outsiders want to know.

So because I’m not the boss of you and I can’t make you put these weekend challenges into place, I’m going to throw it out there and trust you to follow through. Take these few days of thinking, planning, and meditation and act on them. Plan to share your refuge with others, even if it’s a hot chocolate with the neighbor kids on the next snow day. Just keep the ideas rolling around in your head. How can you slow down enough to relish in the joy of including others in your life?

Tomorrow we are going to begin to discuss very, very practical ways to help us slow down. From calendar tips to meal planning to just plain saying no, we will get down to the very practical side of things in our quest to slow down.