So…the debate between texture and clutter began because of a pillow. It was given to me by a dear friend as a wedding gift. My house was EMPTY. We didn’t realize that buying furniture was really more like ordering furniture that would come in three weeks. I moved the ironing board into the living room to make things look more like “home.” It was that bad. The pillow was definitely going on my our bed. Shantung silk with tiny, silver beads hand-sewn on the front. My husband hated it: “Shards of glass?! On a pillow?!”
I hated letting go. I liked it. After several years of sharing a home, we finally have a general rule for the “stuff” in our tiny house. Texture is good. Clutter is not. A functional pillow that gives a great punch of color to a neutral couch?Texture! Love it!! A pillow covered in “shards of glass” that gives a great punch to the face? Clutter. Gotta go. This particular pillow now resides on a couch that never gets sat on- in my mom’s basement. 🙂 She can’t say no to a cute pillow-clutter or not. I adore her.
I won’t make all the parallels, and forgive me if every thing I say comes across in the form of a children’s sermon. People’s lives are much like my tiny house. There is not much room. When you get a piece of their life, make sure your activity is rich in texture cause people don’t generally come back to clutter, and if they do, they shouldn’t because life is precious! Take the time to find the perfect “pillow” to add pizazz. Is it functional? Is it fun? Does it serve a purpose in your main purpose?
Example…for all of you story telling learners…
Our pastor skypes in missionaries before we pray for them. This is a great way to add texture to a very predictable service of prayer without taking away from prayer-the main purpose of the gathering.
Evaluate the programs you offer. Does the effort you put into it add texture to the big picture or clutter it up? Look at the programming you decide to keep. Use the extra time you have (because you no longer have to plan for “Bring your Aunt’s-Brother’s-Sister to church Day”) to add texture to your events. You can add texture with decorations, media, role play, a mission project, a guest speaker, etc. Let your programs develop over time. Can you imagine decorating an entire house in one day? Get your core pieces (things that don’t change) then throw in some easy/trendy texture! But, don’t hold on too tight! Old trends=clutter!! 🙂
amber sugg 