The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Psalm 126:3 NIV
How to Make Your Home Your Happy Place
I’m a homebody at heart. Are you? I love being at home more than any place on earth. But trust me, there have been many days when I felt my home didn’t spark enough joy.
In case there was any doubt, no home is always as perfect as our favorite Instagram or Pinterest photos tempt us to believe. The pretty photos in those little squares represent what we want our home to be like, at its very best. But when the other side of the camera zeroes in on a mess, stress, disappointment, or frustration, our joy can quickly deflate.
Years ago we needed to make some positive changes in our home. Clearly, everything wasn’t going to look perfect from every angle at all times. I wasn’t likely to have it all together, either, so our happiness couldn’t rest on having everything arranged just so. But in spite of the imperfections around me, I wanted my home to be my happy place.
As I began to be more intentional about cultivating the environment I wanted to live in, my home (and heart) was transformed.
Here are a few tips that made a big difference for me:
Become a joy-seeker. Give yourself a new mission in your home. You are a joy-seeker. Do you start the day thanking God for what you already have? It’s tempting to just sleep in to the last minute and then fly off into the day. Blessings are everywhere, but it is sure easy to overlook them when we only notice what isn’t to our liking.
Start off the day with a prayer of thankfulness. Look up Bible verses to inspire you to live each day with joy. Keep a gratitude journal and remember to thank God for His good gifts all day long.
A joy-seeker will turn into a joy-spreader. Modeling joy-seeking can help everyone in the home to end the day with a happier heart. Happy hearts make happy homes.
Set up a plan for success. I’m not the most naturally organized person, so I have to work on it. Rather than just feeling overwhelmed by the mess, or by how busy or tired I am, I find more joy in my home when I’ve set aside some time to realign priorities. Without a plan everything can quickly spiral in the wrong direction and soon I’m frazzled and frustrated.
What are the trigger points that stress you out? Identify the main offenders and come up with a plan. If you feel overworked or like your home is out of control, it’s likely that a more efficient daily schedule, a plan for housekeeping, or designated leisure time can make a world of difference in happiness levels.
Even if no one else is on board with my goals, a five minute cleaning frenzy by myself can make me feel happier!
Make your home a place of celebration. Comparisons can so easily bring happiness levels down. When I scroll through social media and see everyone celebrating their glorious highlight reel, my less-than-picture-perfect existence can feel downright depressing. In order to experience more joy in my reality, I started limiting my time scrolling through other people’s lives so I could invest more in celebrating the life and home God blessed us with. We have so much to be grateful for.
What do you want your own home highlight reel to look like? Change the focus from what others do, or what you don’t have or can’t accomplish, to what you want your family to remember today.
Make a celebration out of the ordinary days at home. You don’t need Pinterest-worthy experiences in order to live well. Laugh more, live more, stress less. Embrace the everyday opportunities God gives you to celebrate.
What would your happy home look like?
Leave a Comment
Leah Lambert says
Soooooo good! What a great thing to read in the morning!
Susie Wittwer says
Great reminders about those perfect Pinterest photos. Real homes are not that perfect at all times. But, yes, I want my home to feel good, comforting and comfortable and I want to make me smile. Most of the time it does all of those things. But there are times when life is SO busy and don’t even keep up with the basics of cleaning. At those times I feel a little guilty that I can’t “do it all”. That’s when I remind myself that I’m not superwoman and I just do what I can!
I so enjoy your writing! Thank you for sharing.
Melissa Michaels says
Thank you, Susie! ♥️
shelly says
Perfect! Thank you! Going to set up my a space in the spare bedroom for my home office tomorrow, and free up my dining room table for the first time in 6 months!
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Melissa,
If I try to tackle it all at once, I get like the deer in the headlights. Sometimes just clearing off one table, or organizing one drawer can feel like an accomplishment. I’m learning more to celebrate the little victories in my home. Amen to less time scrolling through others’ lives on Facebook, etc. More time for thanking God for my home and what I have and thinking about how I can bring honor to Him through it.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Melissa Michaels says
Thank you, Bev! You’re encouragement in the comments is always so timely. Thank you for blessing so many with your kind and thoughtful words. I see others have noticed, too (scroll through to see Dorethea’s comment to you!).
Dorothea Cassady says
Yes, this is a very special reminder to us all of Whose we are and Whom we serve. It is Joy that brings strength in the Lord. “…the joy of the Lord is your strength!” – Nehemiah 8:10
In addition to the in-spiring, in-couraging message from Melissa and all of your writers, though, I must also lift up Bev, whose comments I always “scroll” for as they are so full of wisdom and support for the other authors that her words are like frosting on the cake. Thank you, Bev; you and all the (In)couragers serve such a needed purpose for the Lord and you are Loved!
Melissa Michaels says
Amen to that, Bev is such a blessing!! As are you, Dorothea, thank you for your comment.
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Dorothea,
What sweet and kind words….you really made my day. The world is so full of people who always want to cut you down, I want to use the words God gives me to lift others up. Thanks for taking notice and appreciating my small act of kindness.
May you have a blessed week!
Bev xx
Angela says
Thank you
Clarita says
♥️Thank you for this encouragement God Bless you
Jasmine H says
I think the home is such a good reminder but I personally replaced home with myself. What cleaning/clearing of negativity do I need to do to have more “Pinterest” peace! Good read!
Cheryl says
Amen amen! I put a note on my coffee special tin – Good Morning Lord .. I give my self to you today !
it is a good reminder thru the day as I reach to make a cup! Bless You
Beth Williams says
Melissa,
I’m not a fan of Instagram, or Pinterest. I don’t waste time looking at other homes & doing comparisons. My happy home is two people & a small iguana living happy. Enjoying the pleasures God has blessed us with. When I am tempted to get down about life or my house-I make out a thankful journal. I write out each item no matter how big or small that I’m thankful for. You’d be surprised how many items you can come up with.
Blessings 🙂
Carol says
I have gotten to a point with my home where I am content with function over “beauty”. I have tried to cut down on the clutter but I am grateful for hot water to shower in, heat in the winter, food in the fridge. We don’t have company here so the scractched up parts of our furniture from our cats do not make me feel like I have to replace that furniture but just cover it up with a throw! The roof over our head protects us from the rain and I am thankful for an unexpected blessing that I received a few years ago that enabled me to replace our roof. Am also thankful that we have a garage big enough to hold our two vehicles and that although neither of those vehicles were purchased new, they are still functional!
rebeccajones says
I love looking at the ideas, I’m creative and enjoy seeing what creative people are doing. I love creating the little vignettes, whrther a few of my mother’s dolls or something from myangel colllection. I choose inspirational art. I used to decorate all the time, and I still like to, but I have scaled it back some and am trying to declutter after having extra family move in.