Remodel Your Home Into a Center of Gospel Learning

"The new home-centered, Church-supported integrated curriculum has the potential to unleash the power of families, as each family follows through conscientiously and carefully to transform their home into a sanctuary of faith. I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your Sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining." -President Russell M. Nelson, "Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints," October 2018 closing remarks 

These words of President Nelson had a really deep impact on me when I heard them.  I knew he did not mean "remodel" in only one way, but I felt impressed that we needed to make our living room a beautiful space.  I was literally thinking of the temple and how it is not just a spiritually uplifting atmosphere--it is also a physically beautiful space.  

This thought persisted, and those two phrases "transform your home into a sanctuary of faith" and "remodel your home into a center of gospel learning" kept playing in my mind for months.  I talked about it a lot with Allen and we decided to save up to "remodel" our main living area, about a year after this talk was given in November of 2019.  

We replaced our broken front door, installed new flooring (with generous help and instruction from our brother Rich!), and purchased a pretty, white shelving unit that fit perfectly, making better use of our small space.

Look how small that room is!

We could never have done it without Rich--he came for three
days and taught Allen how to install flooring.  It was so kind!

Fast forward four months from when our "remodel" was complete.

We were sitting in our "new," peaceful living room, as Truman and Brigham blessed and passed the sacrament, during the beginning days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

I felt an overpowering, confirming witness that our Father in Heaven had guided us to "remodel" our home--and that physical, temporal spaces and spiritual, holy spaces can actually be one and the same.  We did not go into debt for this remodel, and we took our time and performed the labor ourselves--to transform our living room into a living ordinance room . . . without ever guessing that we would be partaking of the sacrament and renewing covenants for many months in that very space.

We bought this end table at a thrift store and
Allen sanded and repainted it.  It ended up
becoming our sacrament table.

Allen preparing the sacrament.  Truman is 18 and Brigham 15

Our Father in Heaven speaks to us so subtly, so personally.  I am grateful that I allowed the words of the prophet to pierce my understanding and sink into my heart, leading to a course of action that I never would have thought could even come from heaven.

Remember when Oliver Cowdery said "Here were days never to be forgotten" about those early days of translating the Book of Mormon?  That's how I feel about those sacred Sundays during the pandemic--they were "truly a delight" as President Nelson promised.  As awful and scary and serious and unsettling as that time was--we felt peace each week as we worshipped together at home, and not only on Sundays.

Reflecting on this experience fills my heart with such gratitude!  It also reminds me, five years later, that I need to care for my physical space and clear out clutter, because "all things unto [God] are spiritual" (Doctrine & Covenants 29:34).  

I am so grateful for prophets on the earth.  Listening to their words, with my ears and with my spirit and with my heart, continues to bless my life and help me to feel peace, even in the middle of such a tumultuous world.

January 2020
New floors, rugs, shelving, and TV.  Couch, chairs, 
basket, lamp, tables and curtains from the thrift store

February 8th, 2025

Sugaring Off: making our own syrup from sap!

I'm basically Laura Ingalls.

My dad found out last summer that you could make syrup from the sap of a box elder tree.  He immediately told me, because my house and yard are lousy with box elder bugs.  I took some time in the fall to confirm that the tree inside my chicken coop is, in fact, a box elder, which tree belongs to the maple family . . . who knew?

So I bought a book (2016 review #2) and some "spiles" and waited for the right conditions: temperatures warming up to the 40s during the day, and dropping below freezing at night.  We had three weeks of such weather from the end of February to the beginning of March.

I could probably still get some sap out of my tree, but after three weeks of "sugaring off," I'm beat.  We got two quarts of syrup.  I took the spiles out of the tree and will wait till the sap run next year to do it again.

I can't think of making maple syrup without thinking of The Little House books.  It was fun to do what I have read about dozens of times.

They could eat all they wanted, for maple syrup never hurt anybody. There was plenty of syrup in the kettle, and plenty of snow outdoors. As soon as they ate one plateful, they filled their plates with snow again, and Grandma poured more syrup on it…They all ate till they could hold no more, and then they began to dance again. 

My spile kit from Amazon

I measured the girth of my tree at four feet high.
More than 24 inches around means I could have
three or four spiles.

It was so much fun!

And so delicious!  The doughnuts were definitely my favorite.

Nature's goodness.