Thursday, June 29, 2006

Environment
our conversations, attitudes, behaviour, response or lack of response, hardness or compassion, our love or selfishness, joy or dullness, our demostrated trust and faith or our continual despondency, our concern for others or our self pity -- all these things make a difference to the people who have to live in our environment.




From pg 209 of the paperback edition, Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer

Chapter 14 of Mrs Schaeffer's book is simply stupendous and should be read often. While she introduces the concept of *environment* by making an analogy to a new art form, what she really wants to delineate is the environment of one's own home, which is not new. I call that *atmosphere*, something which is fairly intangible, but not too difficult to put into effect. We all do it whether we want to or not. Mrs. Schaeffer continues her essay by comparing and contrasting ways in which to create this hidden art form.

This entry is copied from my xanga site where I announced my Father's Day tribute, five entries recounting a few of the many things I learned from my father.

I'm on a mission to collect and read all of Mrs. Schaeffer's books. I just checked out of the library, Affliction and The Tapestry.

Which ones do you own and like the best?

1 comment:

  1. I "discovered" Edith (and her husband) when I was a fairly new Christian, around 1970-ish. My daughter was just telling me yesterday how much she appreciated the influence of the Schaeffer's on the way I live and the awy I raised my children.

    I used to have all of her books but I've "loaned" some and never received them back (one being The Tapestry, which is now out of print).

    I have:

    Hidden Art (original hardback version of The Hidden Art of Homemaking)
    What Is A Family
    A Way of Seeing
    L'Abri
    With Love, Edith
    Dear Family
    Christianity Is Jewish
    The Life of Prayer

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