I have recently finished Jen Hatmaker’s book, For the Love. Ladies, I am a changed woman! I am so thankful I was able to start and finish this entire book, because I rarely see the last chapter of books of my choice these days. It is funny and honest and authentic and AMAZING.
While reading through it recently, one tiny little phrase left a longing mark on my heart. She casually mentions “a Sacred Home.” She doesn’t even go into any detail on what that means to her. The context was a just a brief mention of the phrase. But when I read those words, my heart leaped! I took the words from their context and put them right into the context of my life. And I believe that my home will be forever changed. What a perfect goal, right? To have a Sacred Home!
I did a little bible journaling on my Sacred Home discovery!
I began to write down all the things that came to my mind when I pictured a Sacred Home. Immediately, I thought of dear friends of mine who have that aura, that beautiful spirit when I am in their home.
What does it look like, feel like? My list began to look something like this: peaceful, calm, forgiving, love, gentle, God… As I stared at my list a lightbulb went off in my head almost immediately–THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT! A Sacred Home is a home where I, my family, and any guests can see and feel the fruit!
Can it be that simple, Lord? “Yes, simple–but not easy” was His answer! Of course, I already try and make my house these things but until now I never made the connection to the fruit. So of course it isn’t easy. If it were easy then everyone would love and never want to leave their peaceful home!
By definition the word sacred means “devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated; pertaining to or connected with religion.” I love this. Literally, having a sacred home means living in a place that is dedicated to our purpose as Christians! Oh my stars…what a dream, right!
My dear friend Jillian says this about her home:
It is so important for me to have scripture–whether quickly jotted down on an index card or a beautiful piece of art–everywhere. They are constant reminders to me to get my attitude in check. Since sitting down and reading scripture is so difficult to do sometimes, I make it to where I can meditate on it while doing dishes, washing my hands, folding laundry, walking in and out of the house, etc.
My prayer for us, dear reader, is that we can find the fruit in our day. The Lord has given us all the fruit of the spirit. We ALREADY HAVE love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control inside us. But we must remember to access it. We don’t need to pray for patience, we already possess it. We don’t need to pray for gentleness, it’s already running through our veins. I usually forget that, right? So on days when it seems like you don’t have any goodness left, remember that the Lord has already supplied you with enough.
So, a Sacred Home…a home dedicated to my amazing Lord in Heaven, where living out the Fruit makes my days a little lighter, and a little deeper, and a whole lot more like Christ.
As a gift, I created a bit of scripture art for your home to get you going! Enjoy!
If you have any ideas that help you center your home around Christ, please share them with us!
- Peace,Faith & Trust - June 27, 2018
- To Do: A Sacred Home - December 5, 2017
- For Everything There is a Season - September 22, 2016
I wish I could be so creative! Any tips for getting started?
McKenzie is so great at this. She actually put on a couple of Bible Journaling workshops for us last year to help people get started. She also wrote a post on getting started – https://creatingagreatday.com/openyourbibleletsgetstarted/
I love how she explains it because it brings it back to the basics. Enjoy!
[…] To Do: A Sacred Home – December 2, 2015 […]
Wow! Now I need to take some reflection time to figure out what my sacred home looks like!
A sacred home, I want that too! Thank you for the thought-provoking post! I’ll need to spend some time digesting this!
Living in a sacred home sounds dreamy, but you are so right, not easy!
“Literally, having a sacred home means living in a place that is dedicated to our purpose as Christians!” Wow, that is so very true!! Awesome post!!
I love this, Kristi and McKenzie. As wives we are the heart of our homes and our spirit whether it be good or bad is the kind of spirit that will be in our homes.
I love this intentional idea of striving to create a sacred home!
In regards to the fruit of the spirit I often have to remind myself that I have self control, joy, peace, etc. It’s amazing how you can access these qualities by faith.
Thank you for sharing your words and your art. Bible Journaling has become an amazing way for me to connect with God and commit His words to my heart and mind.
“But we must remember to access it!” Yes! The fruits of the Spirit dwell within us, but often times our human habits trump. Ugh! This has really got me thinking! I need to pray over my home…make an intentional effort to allow the Spirit to dwell in our home too! Thanks for sharing!
This is one of my favorite subjects to read about. I love how everyone encourages us in different ways on how to live purposely by following the ‘fruits of the spirit.”