My Love for Home

I have always been very clear and intentional about my love for all things related to homemaking. Had I been allowed to pursue my career of choice, homemaking would have been and remains my top pick and principled choice. My love for home developed early in my life and has been one of the most consistent forces for nearly six decades.

In some respects, it would be expected that I developed such a love for home and hearth at such a young age. I was raised in an environment where the three most influential women in my life were homemakers. It was a norm to which I was exposed early and often.

I have wonderful memories of visiting my grandmothers’ homes and being served homemade bread and butter pickles, pink apple jelly, fresh-baked biscuits, home-canned green beans, and many other savory, sweet, and lovingly prepared delights. These were women who worked in a garden, mended clothing, washed the clothes, put them out to dry on a clothesline, and then knitted, crocheted, and tatted intricate works of art in the evenings.

My mother was also a homemaker, but of a different sort. Mom was more of a mid-century-modern kind of gal, who loved to throw dinner parties complete with fine china, crystal goblets, and silver chafing dishes.

I am still obsessed with beautiful tablescapes decked out with linen napkins and shining silverware. She was a stickler for a clean house, and while I bemoaned polishing the baseboards and the tile in the bathroom, I have always been thankful for my appreciation of a clean and orderly home. And yes, I did say bathroom (singular). The ranch home where I grew up had one small bathroom and was less than 1,400 sq. ft.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

In some respects, my life was almost perfect. We were a typical American family living the American dream – almost. While I basked in the warmth of my grandparents’ farms, lovingly prepared food, and cozy, well-maintained homes, there was also the irony of dysfunction, violence, and trauma.

The same people who tucked me in at night were the same people who railed at one another and planted fear in my child-sized heart. The same people who promised to love me forever left my life by taking their own. The safety of my home was upended by sexual assault, angry and violent arguments, and emotional neglect. And it was in that paradox that I formed my understanding of the world and my place in it.

I firmly believe that only God’s grace and mercy allowed me to navigate my childhood and young adult life. I am incredibly grateful that I never harbored anger towards God, nor did I blame Him for my life challenges.

I have always seemed to understand that the nature of God is not one of anger, rejection, or punishment, and so it was always to God that I ran when the world exposed me to its ugliest self. And I do believe it has been God who helped me sift through my childhood experiences, allowing me to keep the ones most dear and heal from those most painful.

Why Home is so Important

You see, I love safe, loving, and God-filled homes because I know firsthand the benefits and pitfalls that come from our childhood experiences. The core of who we are, our beliefs, perceptions, and choices, stems from everything we experience and the people who fill our lives during those early years. I have spent a lifetime seeking and allowing God to heal all of my broken places, and now I come alongside those who have also been broken and wounded by the cares and traumas of the world.

As the epicenter of relational, emotional, mental, and spiritual health, the home is the most influential and character-forming experience from which people emerge into society. If you change the nature and tone of the home, you fundamentally change the process through which people develop, the values and life principles by which they pattern their lives, and their ability to form relationally healthy bonds.

HOME IS INDEED THE PLACE WHERE OUR HEARTS EITHER FEEL AT HOME OR SHATTER.

Over the years, my love for home, family, marriage, and faith has only strengthened. In the clarity of my experiences, I find great joy and satisfaction in helping others develop their personal sense of faith-filled homes defined by love, leadership, and biblical values. It is the most satisfying of roles and allows me to share many practical and faith-driven lessons I have learned with others.

Common Sense Homemaking is designed to be a safe, welcoming forum for teaching, leading, encouraging, and equipping homemakers to build Christ-centered homes that thrive on love, leadership, and eternal truth. I hope you will join me in this endeavor and recognize, as I did, the enormous influence homemakers have on the home, the culture, and the generations to come. 

HOMEMAKERS ARE WORLD CHANGERS.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy and the God of every comfort, who comforts us in every trouble, so that we may also be able to comfort those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” ~ II Corinthians 1:3

Heart peace, and love to you all,

Teresa

Seeking more guidance on home management?  You might find this article helpful.

The Seven Ingredients of a Well Managed Home

Homemakers: The Greatest Influencers in the World. 

Originally published under Chrysalis Connections, LLC, and updated in 2026 as part of the Natural Relational Health Institute rebranding and expansion.