Melissa Michaels
About the Author

Melissa Michaels is the NY Times Bestselling author of Love The Home You Have and The Inspired Room book. Her blog, The Inspired Room, was voted Better Homes & Gardens Readers' Favorite decorating blog in 2014 and 2015. Melissa is a church planter's wife and a mom to three human kids and...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Yes, we do need to take the time to really notice what God has provided for us! It is so easy to be so busy or tired or stressed that we miss the beauty right in front of us. Blessings back to you, Bev!

  1. From a fellow pastor’s wife, I am grateful for this post. I have learned to see chaos as evidence of life and beauty and love in my home, but I’ve been resenting the noise lately. Thank you for helping me see it as part of the same package of gifts God has given.

    • Hi Kelly, yes the noise is the hardest part for me too. Right now my dog is barking and I’m just trying to remind myself he is a blessing hahah. 🙂

  2. My husband and oldest daughter traveled all week, and while I crave a clean and clutter free home more than anything, I missed the dirty socks and books they leave laying around. A little bit of a mess is truly proof of a full life:)

  3. God is the inventor of Beauty, and he placed within us a desire and ability to see Beauty around us. I am with you that the beauty I see around my home isn’t necessarily outward beauty, but the sentiment I have attached to that object. My father’s lunch bucket, that he carried every day for 30 years. A toy that lived on my sons carseat for his first year. Drawings my daughter made. Art prints my husband and I collected when we were trying to make a home. It’s the memories that make them beautiful!

  4. “I want to embrace a beautiful life, whatever that might look like in this season of life, as a gift from God.”

    Yes! This post really resonated with me. Just this week my husband and I sat down in our living room, which was mostly clean, but there were a few stray toys left on the coffee table. It was a sweet reminder to me of this season of life, a time with young children at home. A happy, vibrant family. The children were tucked in bed, resting peacefully. I know that one day I will miss the little toys that get scattered around the house. For now I will cherish these tangible reminders that love, children, and a family live here! This season is a gift from God.

  5. A good reminder for this weekend. I’ve been hiding from my list today. You’ve encouraged me to check off some tasks, and then put the list in the drawer for Monday!

    Thank you!!!

  6. your message is so timely. after having a serious surgery 6 wks ago( no cancer thank you, Lord), i am now overwhelmed with a need to clean up, declutter, give away. we have lived in our home 27 yrs; and our children are all grown with children of their own. so i ask myself, why do i have this?, or what is the purpose of that?. once an antique dealer, i grew accustomed to snatching up every yard sale/ what’s it worth?? item. and now they all are here( well whatever didn’t sell when i close shop) i am always inspired with pictures that show a nice collection or rememberence but sparsly spaced . things becomes more meaningful after the threat of a bad disease, we focus on the same…less is more, and what really counts in this life? simplicity, in decor, life and most of all my relationship with my Lord, simple and real, not cluttered up with extra “stuff”
    Lord bless you for sharing this today!!
    because of His Great Love,
    barbra

  7. Thank you, Melissa– this resonated with me in so many ways. I felt like you’d been given a glimpse into my life, right down to the past struggles with anxiety. Our home is simple and often crowded and noisy, but there is so much beauty and joy in the living of the life God has given us. Thank you again for this sweet reminder!

  8. Just love this Melissa. And so agree (and wish I had agreed sooner in my years of raising my kids and stressed less about the mess). Signs of life are a beautiful thing. I remember envying my friends who had picture perfect homes. My house was certainly lived in looking! And now, as I face a lot less mess, I do indeed sometimes yearn for the days filled with noise and chaos…they were also filled with the blessings and love of a home bursting with the gift of family. I’m on the other side of much of this. You might appreciate…http://www.circlesoffaith.org/blogs/2013/5/13/being-on-the-other-side-of-the-journey.html. Blessings!

  9. This is a great reminder. Thank you. Beauty can be found, we just need to see it, even in the smallest most mundane detail.

  10. I see beauty all around me. I enjoy our fish tank with 8 little fish in it swimming, beautiful wall hangings given to us by friends, but mostly I look out our windows and see the beauty that God put there for all to enjoy!

  11. Thank you for helping me appreciate the books strewn all over my living room! I realize now that it’s an indicator of learning . Proof of growing spiritual and theological wisdom. Evidence of my husband preparing for ministry and proof of my own digging for gems.

    Thanks also for this: “But God is still good and worthy of praise, even when difficult things happen.” While things are relatively sunny right now, I’m grateful for this clear reminder that no matter what disrupts my idea of good, God is absolutely good and utterly deserving of my worship, regardless.

  12. I absolutely love that you say beauty is in how we choose to see things. Its as if over time I’ve come to see more and more things through God’s perspective rather than the worlds perspective, and so much beauty has opened up to me in ways I never imagined. While it takes more time, finding the beauty in God’s creation that we are not always aware of is a fun adventure.

  13. Yes! the smell of good coffee is definitely evidence of God’s goodness!
    Great post , thank you!

  14. I am a bit older than you “girls” 😉 and it does my heart good to read your posts., especially about the seasons of life! I no longer have the mess and/or clutter strew about ( except for my husbands socks) OR the noise., unless my children & grandchildren are visiting. There are days when I am so lonely for that season once again! Other days I catch myself and say “listen to this, Darlene….this is what quiet sounds like…remember when you longed for this day!” Then I bask in what has become familiar peace rather than unfamiliar.
    Gods grace is all around us. He gave us seasons of life for a reason.
    I am here to tell you grab the craziness, mess & noise for all it’s worth, …sometimes we need reminders of how blessed we are, at this very moment…no matter what season we are in!! A blessed Sunday to all of you!

  15. What a wonderful article. It reminded me of what my father said about us girls while growing up. He preferred neatness and quiet, but he tolerated messiness and noise because of his love for us and his love for God who gave us to him.

  16. Thank you for the words of encouragement and reminder of God’s gifts to us. I too am in a later season~~~no more children under foot and clutter of toys. For all of you in the early season with young ones still with you, enjoy every minute of the time you have. It goes by far too quickly. God is faithful and He will see you through all the difficult times and bring you to the season of peace and quiet to enjoy memories made during the chaotic years. God’s blessings to you all!

  17. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, this reminds me of my life sort of when I was younger, being one of six children in a home full of love and our worship at our local Baptist Church. Life was so different then and I think in some respects better. I’m a terminally ill cardiac patient and have just received information that my life will end from now until 2 years, 4 months. I thank God everyday that I am still here. You never realize how precious life is until you receive news like this.

    • Thank God for you Melissa. This is a wonderful article. It has blessed my life and taught me to look and take things God’s ways and learn to praise Him regardless.
      To you, Captain Gerald, I just want to encourage you to keep up the faith that is in you through Christ Jesus! Believe on the report of the Lord rather than that of the doctor’s. His report says you are healed in the Powerful Name of Jesus. He will sure do it because He is faithful and watches over His Word to fulfill it. Well dear brother in Christ I am sure you are well versed with these Biblical truths, l too, and it shall come to pass in your life in Jesus Name.

  18. Just wanted to say God Bless you and your husband as you go forward in your church plant. Also, I hear what you say about clutter. I have been trying to recycle/donate/throw out some of the items in my home that have accumulated in the 35 years my husband and I have lived here (and it’s just been the two of us) partly because I don’t want to leave that task to someone else when my time in life is over and when I donate items I hope that the person who gets them will get use out of them, especially clothing and shoes.