a guest post

lettering via this lovely blog

I shared this quote with J the other day. It’s my new favorite and had inspired me to throw some things out. A little while later I found this in my inbox along with permission to share with you all… A guest post by my main man: 

The past month has been somewhat of a whirlwind.  When I think back on all the projects and uneasily categorized undertakings of October and early November, my body gets tired, and my heart finds itself more at peace.    The truth is, along the way I have viewed a lot of the construction and cleaning as work that I had to do.  I did not enjoy all of it, and it was very difficult at points to take pleasure the intermediate results.  (Unfortunately, I am far too inclined to view “work” and “play” as distinct, rather than letting myself believe they can be one and the same.)   Now that the majority of the projects are complete, however, I have a clearer understanding of what role our house plays in our life.

You get to hear from my wife most (read: “all”) of the time.  She is lovely.  (As you no doubt can tell from the content of this blog, Whitney has a unique ability to meld creative, visionary elements with what I refer to as the real world, in which I tend to operate exclusively.  A lot of people assume she simply has a God-given talent, which she most certainly does, but it is a skill she has crafted through relentless trial, error, and fearlessness.)  She is the one that shared with me the “rule of thumb” quoted above.  Of course, I did what I tend to do, and I thought about it a bit too much.

In our home, we adhere to a fairly common set of practices—we lock doors, maintain the yard (for the most part… we don’t spray it, so it is probably more accurate to say we maintain our weeds), have a cleaning routine, decorate for the holidays, etc.  At our core, though, we have begun to think of our house as a direct extension of who we are and the way we view our life.  I do not mean that from a strictly decorative point of view—we all want to style our home consistently with our personal taste.  I mean we want every room, every object in our house to reflect the lifestyle we strive to live.  One of purpose.   One of simplicity.  One that recognizes the transitory nature of this world.  One of investment, rather than entertainment. 

This is tough for me because I am particularly materialistic.  More so than Whitney.  I enjoy stuff, and I lack the organizational skills to effectively hide the fact that I enjoy stuff.  I do not believe that materials, or the money that purchased them, are inherently evil.  I am, however, keenly aware that the items you find in my house come together to paint a clear picture of what I view as my life’s purpose.  (There are many dangerous, legalistic stances you can take here.  We have a television because we value gathering with friends and family to enjoy each other’s company and think Monsters University serves a role in that, not because we long to be entertained.  It is still unnecessary.  I have guitars because sometimes I cannot communicate with words the beating in my chest.   I still get caught up in wanting the latest and greatest and forget that no amount of skill and no number of amps and effects make me a better husband, father, friend, or follower of Christ.)

For me, this is where the headline quote comes into focus.  Keep only those things that are useful to the purpose of your life.  Keep only those things that communicate beauty and the author of all things beautiful.   If I am going to live in my house,  if I am going to invite people into my home and, by extension, my life, if my home is where I am going to raise a son and show him what it means to chase after the heart of the Father , I should take seriously the message that my house communicates.  For all the manual labor over the past month, I feel I am doing that better than I did before.

Plus, the projects make Whit happy, and the results help keep her relaxed in our home as she raises my freakishly adorable son.  She is beautiful, which means I would like her to stay in my house with me.