Welcome to a community of women who strive to Let Him In.
You are listening to episode 7, Creating a Sanctuary
Hey you guys! This is Kelsie Millet and I am your host here on the Let Him In Podcast, where
my intent is to have these episodes full of thoughts, impressions and ways for you to easily let God into your every day.
Good morning friends! Today we are a week into this series. One week in. I hope you have been enjoying it so far. I have been having so much fun diving deeper into these topics with you. If you have enjoyed the podcast this far, or have had any takeaways that have been helpful I would love if you would pause the episode right now and leave a 5 star review for the podcast. It helps the podcast so much in getting seen as it is growing to get out there to more people. This small act of service would mean the world to me!
So, I have been extremely excited to talk to you about today’s episode because this is something I am so so passionate about. From the time I was just a little girl I was sketching out these mini floorplans for my dad for my bedroom of how I wanted my furniture rearranged and where I wanted pictures hung. I remember at one point I was only allowed to move my furniture only so many times in a year because I was constantly coming up with new ideas.
I went on in high school to do an interior design internship and later graduated with my degree in Interior Design from Utah State University. Design has truly been in my blood my whole life. My soul thrives on creating spaces that spark joy, peace, contentement, excitement. I feel like if you don’t feel those types of feelings in at least a couple rooms of your home we need to make some changes!
I understand that maybe you don’t have the financial resources, maybe you just simply feel overwhelmed by design, maybe you just haven’t intentionally spent time and energy into your home because other parts of your life have taken priority. All of these reasons and a ton of others are totally valid.
I do want to make a point that I hope you remember. I will always cheer you on to create a beautiful space with colors you love, and furniture that excites you with textures that make you feel cozy. Because I truly believe that everyone deserves that. But, that is not the only thing that creates a feeling in a space, and it is not the only thing to consider when we are talking about creating a sanctuary, it is only one part of the equation.
There is tangible energy in a room. I am sure you have walked into a space where you can feel tension from a fight or awkwardness after an embarrassing moment that has happened, excitement from a celebration getting over. Energy exists in a room, period. This energy can be affected by a lot of things, but the largest controlling factor of energy in a space is people.
We all bring energy into our homes whether we want to or not. So since that part isn’t a choice, since we know that energy is going to be brought into our home, we may as well choose what that energy is going to be.
So in my mind there is this equation that helps us to create a sanctuary in our home. One part can stem from the actual design of a space which I am very passionate about, but today I really want to focus on that other half of the equation which is the energy of your home.
One way to control the energy is by thinking and considering the 5 senses in your home. What you are smelling, tasting, feeling, seeing, hearing, these are all going to impact your energy.
How do you feel when you walk into a room and your favorite song just happens to be on? Or when you come into the kitchen and smell your favorite dinner cooking? How do you feel after a family member comes and gives you a hug? Or your daughter runs up and gives you a picture she drew for you that you then put on the fridge.
I would guess that you feel some type of an actual change inside. These situations can and do affect how you feel and what energy you are then putting into the room.
So now that we know this. We need to step back and create a list of things that fall into these different categories of the 5 senses and bring them more into our everyday lives and into our homes. This may just be what your journal prompt for today is.
Ok, but before we wrap this up there is one other crucial part of this equation. I want to start with a couple of quotes to help paint this picture. These quotes all came from different LDS talks that I will have linked in my show notes.
Brother Wilcox, an associate professor at Brigham Young University said, “The temple, he explained, is a spiritual sanctuary. “We can go there and escape the cruelness of the world and the pollution of the world and the evil of the world. … Our spirits feel like they’re going home.”
“Ezra Taft Benson, said when he was weighed down with a problem he would go to the temple, where he could put himself into an environment where he could receive personal revelation. What a blessing to have a place where we can do that, to have a place to escape the world.”
“The early Saints were told to make the temple they were building “a house of prayer … a house of learning … a house of God.” (See D&C 88:119.) In the same way, we should make our homes havens of love where we and other family members can grow and learn to love, serve, understand, and forgive each other.
Regardless of who lives in our home, we need it to be a place of refuge where we can feel the Lord’s Spirit and practice living gospel principles.”
We have amazing access to temples, and these are places that are considered a sanctuary. These are places we go to receive personal revelation. I think the final part of the equation to create a sanctuary in our homes is by creating a home focused on a place where God can dwell.
What would happen if we could create that same peaceful environment that we find in the temple in our own home? What would happen if we felt that our home truly was an escape from the world? That our spirits actually felt like they were coming home just as much as our bodies do.
I think our own home at that point would become a sanctuary very close to what we feel inside the temple. And I really do think it’s possible. Easy, probably not, possible. Yes.
I think eventually I may need to do a follow up episode to this one because I think we are just scratching the surface with this topic. But I really hope that I got your mind thinking about your home in maybe a little bit different way. And how we all have a lot of choices that we make each day that affect the energy in our home but also the spirit of our home and how each of these play a big part in creating a sanctuary.
JOURNAL PROMPT/QUESTION: What can you add to your home to make it even more of a place for the spirit to reside? Consider both the 5 senses and what you may need to take out of your home for it to be a place that God would want to dwell.
Leaving you today with hopefully a little more stillness, an open mind and a desire to connect with God.
Show Notes:
One Comment
This is a great episode and great food for thought. Thank you so much for your insight and teaching.