Tending to Hearth & Home ~ March

A Monthly Reflection on Stewardship of Time, Home, and Soul

Reflecting on March

I have never fully grasped why we start planning goals and reinventing ourselves in the dead of winter. I am not one of those fortunate souls who has boundless energy all year round. I am a cyclical being whose body and mind is firmly rooted in the seasons and in winter I like to sleep, snuggle and read wonderful books. Especially books about little mice like those of Brambly Hedge and loose myself in their beautiful storehouses wishing I had the fortitude and skill to boast such an abundant storehouse ~ alas I am a work in progress. But good news all round the spring has officially returned here in the UK and with her my desire to leave my comfortable hibernation.

As I rapidly approach my 43rd birthday I find myself seriously pondering what am I going to do with all the odds and ends of experience , learning and dare I say knowledge, that I have running around this brain of mine. And so it’s with the return of Spring and my personal New Year that I launch this series entitled ” Tending to Hearth & Home” a monthly reflection on the stewardship of my home, my heart and my soul.

In these posts I will be reflecting on the month gone by and sharing with you how I am stewarding the most precious resource of time that has been gifted to us. I think one of the biggest sins that we commit (certainly I am guilty of) is failing to see the beauty and grace that has been given to us in the seconds , minutes and hours that we can so easily squander. A more precious resource we have never been given. And so I preach to myself in this and hold myself accountable in the writing of these posts to honour the gift that God has given me in this life.

And so I hope you find joy , inspiration and a smile as we embark upon this journey of reflection together.

Spiritual Life

Sadly anxiety had become my master and as I closed out 2025 I knew that something needed to change.

The first thing I did was prayerfully ask God to help me seek some medical aid because as a woman who has been going through ‘perimenopause’ for around 4 years unsupported I had reached my limits.

God did not miraculously heal me he did however help me source a doctor a very good one at that who has supported me to find the right treatment. I started some HRT in December of 2025 a few weeks before Christmas. And as I stood looking out of my kitchen window feeling an odd sensation, one that I had not felt for some time, that of happiness (thank you hormone patches). I prayed a prayer of gratitude because after just two weeks of treatment I realised just how poorly my body had been and how badly I had been berating myself for all the ways I was a failure when in fact I was struggling with something that was not my fault but Eve’s, yes she who bit the apple !! That woman has much to answer for….

Now I am not assuming we would have been eternal baby making machines had Eve not sinned but we can acknowledge that the bible tells us thats sickness and death is a result of the fall. I do not believe God intended for women to suffer with their hormones as they do hence my blaming of Eve and yes Satan of course I know he is the culprit behind it all but I digress… the point being that the balance of my hormones has helped tremendously and with that the return of energy, sleep and an astounding clarity which resulted in me becoming acutely aware of the need to ‘refine’.

And with that my word for the year of 2026 ‘Refinement ‘ a powerful word for me as I am a hoarder of books, pens, journalling stickers and a myriad of courses and memberships paid for and never quite completed or utilised. I used my hibernation months of January and February to reflect and have acknowledged my ‘FOMO’ which I have only just discovered the meaning of and kicked it firmly in the backside because it is a noose around my neck (and bank account).

Is this a spiritual matter? Yes it is because I have allowed so many things other than God to be my aid in this life , to try and fill the emotional voids and deal with overwhelm and all thats resulted has been the burying of myself , God sets us free Amazon , Temu and cookie dough ice cream sandwiches not so much.

And so I have memorised the scripture in Joshua 1:9 this month because it takes courage and humility to admit you are wrong and then even more so to do the work needed to change and be consistent in those changes. And as I reflect on what I have let go in March I can with conviction say that my Lord and God has been with wherever I have gone.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 (English Standard Version)

Reading this month..

I have fallen in love with Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion, I read the first book and then found myself switching to the audio version which is absolutely the best way in my mind to enjoy this delightful series. Without a doubt this is the best audio book I have ever listened to. It’s even captured the attention of my boys who have found themselves giggling away and asking what happened next Mom. The narrator of the books is wonderful if you are looking for something wholesome , period drama without the smut this is the way to go.

I have managed to listen to all 8 journals this month as I cook, clean and sew. I eagerly await Journal 9.

Next on my reading list is Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis, I have been reading this as a slow read with The Scholé Classical Book club, its free to sign up for and meets the third Thursday of every month at 8pm UK time.

Norms and Nobility by David V Hicks by the far the most challenging on my reading list this month I am taking a slow read through this book with The Atrium a program run through Circe.

Listening to..

Watching …

The TV and I are often at odds these days as the quality and content leaves much to be desired but here are a few of the things I have enjoyed watching in March.

Ashley Buffa of Vocational Homeschooling is a no nonsense straight talking Momma of eleven who home educates. I have found her guidance to be direct and to the point. While I don’t find all of her content applicable I enjoy her content and am always encouraged.

I love a good period drama and indulged in the newer retelling of Howards End based on the novel by E.M Forster. I love the pace of this drama and there is a great focus on home. With much of the filming being set in the homes of the characters the visuals for me are just wonderful.

Loving this month…

I have a great appreciation for highlighters , and I am very specific about the types I use especially as so often they are for use in the annotation of my books. I found these wonderful click markers in Kenji. Where have you been all my life !! No more battling with lids just a click and we are ready to go and at 80 pence each what a bargain.

I have fallen in love with lego. My husband gifted me the Sherlock Holmes Book Nook for our Wedding Anniversary in January and the children decided to follow suit for Mother’s Day with Lego flowers. I love gifts like this that are crafty, take a little brain power but are not strenuous and leave you feeling so proud of the end result. These sunflowers are proudly on display in my prayer room, a beautiful addition to the decor in that room.

Home Education

We are both loving the renaming of our little classroom, St Lucy’s Lantern Academy. As Narnia fans we decided to theme our little academic world after our favourite book series the end of 2025 and have decided it is a change that will stay. My son likes being able to tell people he goes to school in his classroom at the bottom of the garden. I have corrected him and reminded him that ‘home education’ is the proper terminology but he looks at me and shrugs as if to say ‘semantics’. His beautiful mind is uncluttered by the ridiculousness of this world and it’s unending need rename everything to meet the sensibilities of some other group which the old terminology will offend.. I love this and if questioned on how I can justify such blatant unsociableness blame it on my autism!!

Not only have we named names our classroom but also our terms to suit.. Welcome to Narnia.

A brief overview of our year ;

Jan-March The Eternal Winter Semester

April – June – Aslan’s Springtime Semester

July-September – The Dawn Treader Semester

October -December – The Pair Caravel Semester

Three weeks on and one week for enrichment activities each month has proven to be a wonderful rhythm which we are both flourishing under.

Words of the month “catawampus’

• Meaning: It describes something that is not aligned, placed at an angle, or in disarray. It can mean both “crooked” (askew) and “diagonally across”. 
• Examples: “That picture is hanging all cattywampus,” or “The post office is catawampus to the library” (meaning diagonally across). 

A Final Thought

We must keep ourselves in check or risk ruin. Or imbalance. Or dysfunction. Or dependency. Of course not everyone’s problems are a result of plenty, but everybody benefits from self-discipline and self control.

Discipline is Destiny ~ Ryan Holiday