Building a Spiritual Atmosphere in the Home

The Dictionary defines atmosphere as "the air in a particular place or the apparent mood perceived in an environment." And "home" is described as "one's own dwelling place, the house or structure in which one lives; specifically, the house in which one lives with one's family; likewise one place."

As a result, the atmosphere of the home simply refers to the air or mood of a certain location in which one resides. Most significantly, spoken words shape the atmosphere of the home. Every home has an atmosphere, just as every other place does.

One of the things I look forward to as a single woman is creating a positive environment for my unborn children because the environment of the home can either build them up or tear them down.

Where did you grow up?

"The family you came from is not as significant as the family you will have," stated Ring Lardner. He's absolutely correct. The truth is that I have no control over the environment in which I was born. It was a good one for me. However, when I become a mother, I will be responsible for creating a healthy environment for my children.

I read a story of a gifted man who was imprisoned by the assumption that the environment in which he was born was created. According to the narrative, he feels weird about several things, and he thinks he feels awkward because his father often told him he was awkward.

His friend did try to dispel that notion by informing him that he was not at all awkward. But he believes he is because he was falsely accused.

Many of us have struggled with a variety of challenges in the past as a result of harsh words spoken to us. We believe we are not very good because someone stated so. We feel we are average people because someone once told us we couldn't do any better. Perhaps it was a teacher who saw our struggles and concluded that we would never amount to anything. How did those words affect you?

Here's the thing: many of us have been injured by torpedoes launched from people's mouths; people who know how to employ verbal bombs. It is sometimes done with sarcasm and other times with innuendos and gossip.

His friend did try to dispel that notion by informing him that he was not at all awkward. But he believes he is because he was falsely charged.

However, these experiences should help us work on ourselves to create the environment we want for our children.

Consider this: what will the environment of my home be?

What types of phrases will echo off the walls of my house and soak into the souls of those easily influenced people who live beneath my roof?

To summarize, words have tremendous power. It can be used for either evil or good. I adore the lyrics of a song about family called "God give us a Christian household." The first standard is as follows:

God give us Christian homes

Homes where the Bible is loved and taught

Homes where the Master’s will is sought   

Homes crowned with beauty Your love has   wrought

God give us Christian homes.

God give us Christian homes.

If you read through the lyrics of the songs, you'll agree with me that unfair words and unjust statements have no place in a Christian family.

Our words, as one writer once said, are like stones. With each word we speak, we are nothing more than stone-throwers. People treasure our words if they are beautiful. If our words create pain, people discard them—but only after they have dealt with the hurt caused by the words.

We should be deliberate with our words before they flood out. We should always ask ourselves before we speak, "Is this a productive or detrimental remark?"

And one more thing: the necessary transformation begins with us. It will not happen by luck or by magic. It must be decided and worked on before we finally decide to settle down because we can only produce what we have within us. We already know what will happen if we have negativity within us.

We will be able to control our mouths and use our words effectively with this capacity, just as the Bible says:

 “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook” (Proverb 18:4)

 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).

Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29)