Whenever I have a house or apartment for any long time period in the future, I hope God provides at least one room aside from my room to function very well as a bedroom. It doesn't need to just be a bedroom--if needed it could be a library and/or office and bedroom, or a private den I don't need to keep open for company during the day....
Following are some of my hopes and tentative plans for the room.
The room:
-Few adornments
-Nice adornments
-Walls painted a restful color
-A big rug under the bed (if the floors are wood)
-Lots of natural light
The bed:
-afforable (and used, likely), and nice
-old sheets (likely ones from garage sales that have the advantage, aside from being inexpensive, of sometimes already being worn-in!)
-a fluffy, very inviting comforter (probably more luxurious than the sheets)
Other furniture:
-day seating that turns into a bed
-a bookshelf
-a chest?
The bookshelf:
Following are some of my hopes and tentative plans for the room.
The room:
-Few adornments
-Nice adornments
-Walls painted a restful color
-A big rug under the bed (if the floors are wood)
-Lots of natural light
The bed:
-afforable (and used, likely), and nice
-old sheets (likely ones from garage sales that have the advantage, aside from being inexpensive, of sometimes already being worn-in!)
-a fluffy, very inviting comforter (probably more luxurious than the sheets)
Other furniture:
-day seating that turns into a bed
-a bookshelf
-a chest?
The bookshelf:
-real wood
-probably medium-small
-laden with theology books of many kinds
-containing children's books
-topped with a vase and, if I have room to grow plants outside, a few flowers in appropriate seasons
-if large, perhaps holding some blankets and spare bedding as a chest might
The chest:
-contains some extra blankets (don't want the guests to get cold and not know where to find blankets!)
-perhaps it or the bookshelf holds a few games bought at garage sales, maybe some crayons or Tinkertoys, crossword puzzles for the older crowd
Other accessories:
-probably medium-small
-laden with theology books of many kinds
-containing children's books
-topped with a vase and, if I have room to grow plants outside, a few flowers in appropriate seasons
-if large, perhaps holding some blankets and spare bedding as a chest might
The chest:
-contains some extra blankets (don't want the guests to get cold and not know where to find blankets!)
-perhaps it or the bookshelf holds a few games bought at garage sales, maybe some crayons or Tinkertoys, crossword puzzles for the older crowd
Other accessories:
-something for clothes in case of long stays, unless my big shelf should be big enough for this
-alarm clock
-at least one reading lamp
-a few medium/large pictures
-a crib?
And now to the purpose of this room: for missionaries needing refreshment, other saints, neighbors, people in need of a place to stay for a bit. I hope to keep it beautiful and comfortable, providing refreshment, tranquility, shelter. I hope to foster theological conversations, edifying discourses, communion between souls. And yet I hope people will feel free to retreat to this room at some point during a visit to re-energize, reflect, have some space, have some quiet family time if applicable. I hope that iron will sharpen iron, generating new realizations, new ideas, new resolves, deepened awareness of God. I hope that my room will greatly help me to make my home into a mission field, should my future find me not a missionary in another land.
I'd also like to tuck at least one cot into somewhere inconspicuous in the room or somewhere else (e.g., in a large closet), providing decent bedding if a family or group should visit. If I have to stick cots in the family room when a family visits, so be it! They can be folded and pushed out of the way during the day :)
And I plan to keep on hand spare shampoo, nice unopened soaps if found on clearance at a really low price, a bottle of lotion.... I want the place to say, "Welcome! Stop and stay awhile." I don't want the place to put too much emphasis, though, on worldly necessities themselves; so I plan to keep things somewhat simple and exercise moderation in decor in all parts of my house, including this. Still, I want to make sure the missionary's room is nice enough to express love and thought. (This is one reason I like the soap idea--small gestures like that can say a lot to a visitor. And my house will be simple enough that items like the soap and down comforter won't make it appear highly plausible that I spend a very high amount of time and money merely to enjoy transient items.)
-alarm clock
-at least one reading lamp
-a few medium/large pictures
-a crib?
And now to the purpose of this room: for missionaries needing refreshment, other saints, neighbors, people in need of a place to stay for a bit. I hope to keep it beautiful and comfortable, providing refreshment, tranquility, shelter. I hope to foster theological conversations, edifying discourses, communion between souls. And yet I hope people will feel free to retreat to this room at some point during a visit to re-energize, reflect, have some space, have some quiet family time if applicable. I hope that iron will sharpen iron, generating new realizations, new ideas, new resolves, deepened awareness of God. I hope that my room will greatly help me to make my home into a mission field, should my future find me not a missionary in another land.
I'd also like to tuck at least one cot into somewhere inconspicuous in the room or somewhere else (e.g., in a large closet), providing decent bedding if a family or group should visit. If I have to stick cots in the family room when a family visits, so be it! They can be folded and pushed out of the way during the day :)
And I plan to keep on hand spare shampoo, nice unopened soaps if found on clearance at a really low price, a bottle of lotion.... I want the place to say, "Welcome! Stop and stay awhile." I don't want the place to put too much emphasis, though, on worldly necessities themselves; so I plan to keep things somewhat simple and exercise moderation in decor in all parts of my house, including this. Still, I want to make sure the missionary's room is nice enough to express love and thought. (This is one reason I like the soap idea--small gestures like that can say a lot to a visitor. And my house will be simple enough that items like the soap and down comforter won't make it appear highly plausible that I spend a very high amount of time and money merely to enjoy transient items.)
2 comments:
Lindsay,
Thank you for visiting my blog and for your encouraging words!
As someone who lives in a tiny apartment, I can tell you our rooms most often serve a combined purpose. For example the living room is also the dining room (we have a folding table), and one of the bedrooms is also the working room/office. It takes some creativity with planning and decorations, but works great eventually!
Thank you for your words, as well! The information about apartments is good to know :)
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