Regina 
All of us have gifts swirling in us, and they long to get out. And you know that sweetness of desire fulfilled when some dream or lingering hope is met with opportunity in real life. Some gifts are well worn and well used. Some remain unknown even by close friends, but one thing I know, we are better for it when we use all that the Lord has given us, both in terms of spiritual gifting and talent as well. He expects us to be wildly fruitful, and why not? He put His Spirit in us to accomplish this work after all.
If you’ve been reading here on the blog for a while you may have noticed that I have this love for making home beautiful. At one time I considered pursuing a side opportunity in interior decorating, oh if this homeschooling mom had all the time for all the things, but I do not. I am perfectly ok with that too. I turned down some requests and let it go. But I did not let go of “making home.” The thought of helping some sweet friend reading, perhaps, see how she can make the most of her square footage, the decor she already has delights me. Sometimes people ask me how I keep home as I do? How I put things together? I share this sometimes of Instagram (smiles_of_grace), but I never have right here. If we have nothing else in common, Lord willing, we all have a place we call home, and if you’re like me you desire that place to be as much of a refuge as possible. I don’t want to talk to you only about decor and style, but also about how to make home the place you desire it to be.
It can feel overwhelming looking at images online and seeing what you want home to be and realizing that your own home isn’t there yet. Our goals when we think of home can add up to right pillow placement, paint colors, and the like if we let it, but home is far more than that.
Home is a temporary place of refuge for those who will, in Christ Jesus, live forever.
Realizing this frees us up from the attachment to material possessions that plagues culture so and allows us to view home for what it really is. Our temporary placement in which we were placed to rest, to share most of our meals, to feed the hungry, lead others to Christ, be a refuge to a weary soul offering both Words of truth and perhaps some appetizers. Home is ministry. The ministry of support, submission, and encouragement to your own husband, the ministry of loving and discipline a set of beautiful children, the ministry of inviting others in for times of refreshment and healing, without question, home is ministry. The ministry of your home might look different than mine, and that is perfectly fine and well. But do not miss the fact that the culture you create in your home ministers. Some of our homes are cultivating exactly what we do not want. Remember home is more than just the walls of the house. Some homes are cultivating discontentment, because thanksgiving is rarely spoken or given. Some cultivate impatience, we’ve hurried and worried until everyone else caught our heart about things too. And some cultivate peace. It is not primarily what you own that cultivates your home; it is what you do with it. Obviously these attitudes are neither taught by having things or not having them, but the wise person of means understands one’s thoughts and attitudes toward possessions certainly tell the story. We do not all have to be just alike to fulfill God’s calling over our lives. Some homes are bigger, some smaller, some homes have grand fixtures and some simple, the point here is not what you have but how you use it and how it might best be used. This is worth thinking through deeply for it will shape how you spend, how you’re able to give or not give, etc.
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
We are all very blessed to have four walls and roof to cover our head and the Scripture plainly tells us if we have the bare minimum we should be well content and abundantly thankful. In the wealthy west it can be easy to discount Scriptures that caution us about how we use wealth and warn us concerning how we display it, the wise resist the urge allowing the Scripture to test them. I encourage you to read and re-read the passage above, because…
The righteous long for pure hearts more than posh perfect houses.
At the exact same time, there is godliness in caring for home and making it a truly beautiful place to live.
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3-4
This week we will take a little look into how we can better position of ourselves to be ready to use our homes the way that the Lord desires, AND we will also look at how we can keep them beautifully too. BOTH are honorable pursuits but our focus should rest on what makes our home minister grace to those around us most effectively.
