placemaker, widow, musician, homesteader, writer, thought gatherer, flower-obsessed, homeschooler, creative, linen collector, homemaker, dog friend, gardener, beloved, cultivator of comfort and beauty
I'm Gabi...
Because we all feel the tension of living in a broken world
I think it's pretty obvious the last few years have left us all feeling a bit out of sorts. We feel the tension of change -not all of it good- that seems to be coming our way. Global challenges, domestic affairs, media reports, strife--wars and rumors of wars...at times, it's all too much. It's easy to feel the weight of brokenness that plagues this world.
But what if we could still find whispers of Eden, even this far after sin devastated the world? What if we answered those inviting whispers with an anchor of deep roots into a place, very much like a tree, and tended beauty that we could cultivate and nurture? What if we could shape a home and have it shelter our hearts and minds with comfort and hope?
We can cultivate a place of peace and rest for the glory of our Creator and for the hope of the eternal.
I think we all have a longing to anchor roots--a return to a deep knowing in an often shallow and nutrient-robbed soil. As women, our gifts to nurture place--regardless of its size or its breadth--is a unique gift to us, a gift given to us by our Creator. We are all creatives--made in the image of the One who created all things. Because of this, we can create places of beauty and rest that nourish the hearts and minds of those whom the Lord has called us to steward.
we need only try for restoration
C.S. Lewis once said, "Homemakers have the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career." I love that quote--it is a reminder, that even in the mundane of laundry and dishes and taxes and baby high chairs, we are in the business, of restoration and hope, even amidst broken things. We are the light bearers, the hope for a generation not yet ready, the creators of peace in places where His people dwell.
You can root deep into place and be nourished.
I know, it's sounds like a cliche, but it's true. What a privilege to be a mother, a homemaker, called to cultivate place, in such a time as this! We can create places of wonder, hope, and peace where the Lord has placed us, and be nourished. The size of the house, whether rented or owned or the neighborhood, whether urban or rural, doesn't matter--we become the peacemakers when we step into the high calling of homemaking. We can create beauty and rest for our families and shelter those we love by reflecting the truth of God's goodness to us, even in our brokenness. We can shape our place with love and grace and allow our soul, and the souls we love, to finally exhale.
There is eternal worth in choosing the holy pursuit of home.
I am a placemaker for the eternal.
I didn't always know about motherhood and homemaking, but from early days, I knew about making places of beauty and comfort. From my college days in a tiny apartment on a shoestring budget to a city home, and now an rural dwelling, surrounded by goats, ducks, chickens, bees, and gardens, my desire for cultivating a place of nourishment and peace can't be separated from the eternal. In my dwelling, regardless of whatever is going on out in the world, I tend a growing of what He calls good, however imperfectly it is on this side of heaven. My family finds a soft place to land, where our souls can go gently here, where we can bear and mirror light for one another. It is simply an imperfect house, on imperfect land, with imperfect people living within, but with deep roots to love one another in mercy and grace.
God invites us to live as placemakers.
When my husband passed away a few years ago from brain cancer, I didn't know which way was up. One day of deep sorrow and grief melded into another and another. The days were so dark, there was so much strife and anguish going on within the outside world, and despite the ongoing needs of homemaking and homeschooling, the days often felt without hope and life. It was in that wilderness that I felt the Lord renew a call for returning to place--an invitation to anchor deep roots, not just in my home, but within my small community. It was a gently whisper of being remade, and all I needed to do was be still and accept the invitation to live a rooted life.
What could come of tending beauty and peace in our homes?
In a season of vast, seemingly hopeless wilderness, the Lord began to call me again to what was lovely, only this time, I had new eyes and a new awareness that I never had before. As all of our days our numbered, and His call on my life to be a mother and homemaker, I began to sink deep roots into the place where He settled me. I began to go gently with myself and the world around me. I renewed the dreaming and the hoping and the making new of life and comfort and peace in my home. I returned to our days of life-giving books, of pages and pens, brushes and color, and seed and soil.
we are all gardeners and called to cultivate
As a mother and placemaker, most of your days, like mine, are dedicated to the tending, the making, the keeping. It is the reminders of our initial call to stewardship in the garden of Eden. He is the life-giver, we are the gardeners. The errands, the laundry, the scattering of toys, the pile of dishes--it is the work of the garden. It's the work of cultivating place. What has been planted in us from the Creator, as mothers, is the purposeful work of stewardship for the eternal. We can bring beauty and light--mirrored reflections of a God of light. We do so in love, without counting the cost, as He makes place with us.
“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.”
~ Louisa May Alcott
I'm all about
Home, freedom, dogs, sun-dried linen, the sound of my cello, family, vegan cooking, rest, the smell of fresh rosemary, woven baskets, farmer's markets, books, story-tellers, my son's laughter, always flowers
I'm not about
Late nights, small talk, spiders, rushing lifestyles, skinny jeans, hopelessness, busy schedules, bananas, clutter, one-size-fits-all, scary movies, traffic jams
Be encouraged to create place for all that is precious in life.
Motherhood
Homeschooling
Slow Living
Homemaking
THE PRIVATE PODCAST SERIES FORĀ FAITH-FILLED WOMEN.
5 Daily Habits for a Life-Giving Home
Cultivate peace and lifeĀ for your family as a homemaker so you can finally stop living in anxiety and overwhelm.
LearnĀ the 5 daily habits every homemaker needs so you go from overwhelmed, frazzled mother to the life-giving placemaker the Lord has called you to be.
Learn the 5 Daily Habits for a Life-Giving Home