Welcome to Tips & Tricks #1

CONSIDER HOME DECOR

I’m going to be coming out with weekly tips & tricks about how to make an Anglican home, so stay tuned!

Besides the outright Anglican things like the advent wreath I blogged about here before, there must be some ways to incorporate a representation of God into our daily lives. I was surfing a lovely Anglican Forum and found a mother asking for advice regarding how to bring her Anglican faith into her home. The excellent suggestions ensued, which I want to share with you!

Before I do, just a word on the purpose of these small additions to your home. These small things like colors and symbols do not take the place of our faith. They are also not empty symbols that become an act of legality. We live in a world of symbology: soldiers wear emblems, each country has a flag, each company has a logo! The emblems and flags themselves aren’t honored, but rather it’s the things they represent that are honored. The little things I’m going to suggest in creating an Anglican home are symbols of our faith to help remind us, bolster us, and encourage us toward that spiritual walk we each have with God through Christ His Son.

Reflect the seasonal rhythms of the church calendar by changing color schemes around the house. One family wrote that they rotate dish sets to reflect the seasonal rhythms. They had purple dishes starting in Advent, then took out the fine china for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts, then switched to red dishes until Ash Wednesday. For Lent, they used simple blue dishes, and then fine china again for Easter Day. After the Easter Day feast, they then switched to a green set of dishes until Advent. This mom even took it so far as to tailor the meals to fit the season (more simple during Advent and Lent, and big elaborate feasts on days of celebration). This does mean you would need to have room to put these extra sets, but I think it is a lovely way to get the kids thinking about a Christian way of life in contrast to the willy-nilly society we live in. It shows them that we are intentional Christians, and that our faith isn’t something to sneeze at.

Keep it simple. This isn’t an excuse to go out and buy a whole new set of everything from pillowcases to couch throws, but it does add a nice touch and a reminder for us to focus on the church themes as they come. You could have a corner of the living room dedicated to the church season that you decorate. Better yet, get the family involved in redecorating it as each season begins! You want to be able to easily take something out of a closet or put it back in storage without digging a tunnel in your basement or climbing up an attic ladder.

Some examples:

• Pillows for the couch
• Bed Linens
• Towel sets
• Small area rugs
• Table Runner
• Pictures for the walls or mantles
• Table Centerpiece