Making home a holy place part II

            It is because I really liked this article that I had to write more about it. For now, I will be focusing on television, music, and books. I can't tell you enough how many times I have stopped reading a book because of its vulgarity. Music that are extremely sexual and vulgar makes me mad! I enjoy a lot of different types of music, my favorite is heavy metal and classical (I know, two opposites but I love both equally). I am picky though in what I listened to and if I feel comfortable hearing certain songs loud then I know it is good to listen, I know of some people who listen to music and as soon as someone is close by, they lower the volume as if ashamed of what they are listening to and who could blame them? many songs are shameful, old and new songs. Some people think that music nowadays are bad but I have heard music from the 60s or 70s that are equally bad too. There has always been good and evil, therefore there has always been good and bad music.
     What about TV? there are so many shows out there that are family oriented, funny, and uplifting... there are also many that are... the opposite and not even funny when they try to be. Then why watch them? why waste our time on things that are not going to be uplifting? I am not saying I don't watch TV, in fact, my husband and I enjoy of a little "date" almost every night by watching a show on netflix or movies. The thing is, we have the power to choose what comes into our homes and what doesn't. We literally have remote control that enable us to "switch" the channel whenever is needed and to turn it off when TV is not needed.
       Like brother and sister Mouritsen (refer to the article) said: "We don’t feel it’s necessary to have religious or classical music playing constantly. We find it helpful to have appropriate music playing much of the day and evening; it produces the calming, cheerful effect as only good music can."
         It is plain that we are not required to only listen gospel music or classical music but choose wisely. What more about books??? just because it is a book doesn't mean that we can read anything we want. As I mentioned before, there are many books out there that are simple unreadable to me. Also, think about it. Movies and books are almost the same thing, movies, shows and TV are just representation of books that have been written, so... no, books could be equally evil if we let it be as TV, if we let it be.
          I have come to realize how hard is to be become and exemplary woman, mother, wife, person. There are so many things that threaten our families but I am so glad that WE  have the power to choose! I am truly grateful for good TV, good movies, good music, and good books. Thanks to people with amazing talent we can appreciate and enjoy all the things listed above. I don't have words to express how thankful I am towards my Heavenly Father for inspiring people to do good and to show it through their talents so that we can enjoy them too. As I said in part I of this topic, let's keep our houses clean... this time not only dust but from evil things!

Making home a holy place

        I love cleaning but I guess, is not so much the cleaning as it is to have a clean house and be able to feel the spirit. I have 2 young kids that love getting their toys out and that is fine but there is a big difference between toys scattered and dirt scattered. I see toys in the floor and it doesn't bother me, as long as the kids are playing with them, but it bothers me when there are crumbs on the floor. It doesn't take long to clean up a room or to vacuum. I vacuum the living room twice a day and each time it takes 2 minutes. I sweep the kitchen floor few times a day, usually after we are done eating and when the kids go to bed, again it takes few minutes to do this. It feels really good to have a house that smells good and feels good. 
         http://lds.org/ensign/1980/01/making-home-a-holy-place?lang=eng&query=clean+homes This is a really good article that pretty much summarizes how cleaning:
1 - Home beautification and orderliness

"Just as we feel the Spirit of the Lord in the clean, orderly surroundings of a chapel or a temple, we can more easily invite the Spirit of the Lord into our homes by making them clean and orderly. No home, no matter how costly, is beautiful if it isn’t neat. Even an impoverished home can be beautiful if everything is orderly. We find an increased spirituality and reverence when our home is clean.

Parents and children should all help keep a home clean, inside and outside. We have tried to make housecleaning more of an attitude than an event. We try to generate pride in our home, which prompts a more constant awareness of the home’s condition. When we clean thoroughly, father is responsible for major parts of the process. When the children see him helping, they have a greater desire to do their part." 

      With that said, let's keep our homes clean and organized! let's not accumulate things that we don't use, let's keep the dust out of our homes, let's keep our homes as a sanctuary and we all can start by cleaning!