Random word: castle


I am starting something new this year and I have to thank Mary for this brilliant idea!! I will be using a word generator to pick a word to write about. If you would like to try it yourself, here is the link to the word generator that Mary recommended.  

Todays word is Castle.

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Castle: a large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and often a moat. Usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble.

My home is not as big as a castle and it isn't surrounded by a moat (which of course would be heaps of fun but rather impractical), but I do like to think it is a place that protects us from attacks and shields us from the worlds violence and sadness. However this is becoming much more difficult. There was a time when our homes provided all the defence we needed against outside intrusions and influences. We could locked the doors, closed the windows and we felt perfectly safe, secure, and protected in our own little castle from the outside world. The physical walls, doors and gates of our homes can not longer protect us from unseen invasion from the Internet, the mobile phones and television. They can penetrate our homes with just a few clicks and keystrokes. Whilst all this technology is wonderful (and I use it often) we need to use it with care and not let it rule our lives and our homes. 

Many families with young children are now limiting the amount of access their children have to the internet and mobile phones and many are also reducing the amount of television being watched. We do not need to be constantly bottle fed the 24/7 news especially when much of the news is manipulated and fake or just sensationalism. 

We need to keep our homes peaceful and calm and not driven by social media, mobile phones and television. Modern technology has its place but should never control or take over our lives.

Our castle is our place of sanity, a place where we can escape the world, a place where your husband (the lord of the castle) and  yourself (the lady of the home) want to come home to and not be bombarded by the horrors of this world. 

As homemakers it is our responsibility to create a place like this and fortify our homes against the nasties that are in the world. However, this does not mean creating a prison. Prisons were found beneath  castles and certainly were not inviting or pleasant places to be. A castle on the other hand is a place where you can come and go, invite friends and family over and have wonderful times. It is a place of welcome for Christian and non-christian alike. It is place of joy and not a place where you shut out world and everyone else as well. 



I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

John 17:15-18


Comments

  1. I love castles! Have fascinated me for years. Went to one in Romania, bit sad I didn't see more, though some of them have so much opulence it is outrageous!

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    1. Never been to one, but would love to one day :)

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    2. On Friday I am doing a little more on castles!!

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  2. I am fortunate to live in Scotland, and in close proximity to more than a few castles. They have always fascinated me, and I often think of the type of lives the people inhabiting them experienced.
    Recently, I have made a conscious effort to try to "shore up" our own "castle", as I've found so much of the news very hard to bear. If I spend any length of time thinking on it, I end up feeling upset and unsettled.
    It is right Jo, that we limit the amount of this negative/harmful information constantly fed to us by all forms of modern communication if we want to continue to keep our "castles" secure.

    Blessings,
    Christine

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    1. My mother's family came from Scotland in the early 1900s and my grandfather use to call me his little "lassie", I use to get so cross and say, thats not my name, its Joanne!!!!

      Scotland is one place I really want to visit on day and see all that beautiful scenery and castles! My husband is from Wales and he often tells me about the castles he visited as a child, or ruins of castles as many are these days.

      Our own castle is our last place of shelter these days from government and the like and even that is beginning to be torn down. I have limited the amount of news I watch as everything just looks like one big mess and its depressing.

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  3. Great message. I haven't had cable TV since I was married over four years ago. At first we were too poor, but now we've realized that we don't miss it. We keep Netflix and that's it. I'm only mentioning this because we have a daughter now and I love the example that sets for her. We don't try to weed the world completely out of our homes, but our emphasis is firmly on God, academic work, and chasing dreams. I hope she catches on as she grows up and starts pursuing her own hobbies and interests alongside us.

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    1. We have Netflix and we find we hardly ever watch TV these days which cuts out the painful advertisements which we don't enjoy at all and the endless rubbish that we have on TV. I usually watch a 5pm news and generally the first 15 mins to see what is happening in the world and I select a news that is more serious and doesn't contain sensational rubbish. Like you, I don't want to be completely removed from the world, we do need to know what is happening, but I just want to pick and choose. Sounds like you have a great balance for your daughter :)

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  4. Love your blog and a great, fun read!

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  5. Castles have a lot of interesting history surrounding them. It is good to defend our homes/castles from the too-many intrusions of the world these days. :-)T

    Thank you for using my idea and for the link. :-)

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  6. Hi there! Visiting you today from JES's link up.

    A wonderful morning read, thanks for sharing. It's so true, especially nowadays: our homes are our castles, providing us with safety, security, privacy and peace for ourselves and our loved ones.

    Poppy

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