Home is where the heart is.

There's that saying, "Home is where the heart is." On this lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon, it's easy to absorb the meaning of this. Our youngest grandson is napping in my bed, alongside Thoreau - our eldest pooch, and my sweet husband and our youngest pup, Bronte, are napping in the living room. I find myself in the middle of them all, tucked away in our office, lit only by a lamp as I drink in, both, the sweetness of the day as well as the quietness that I've always used to refuel my soul.

Sundays are perfect for that: refueling. Whether it's our soul, our kitchens for the week ahead, or our to do lists to help keep us organized before we hit the ground running on Monday mornings. Today, though, this thought is uppermost in my heart: if home is where the heart is, I hope my God feels pleased to call my heart his home on every day. It needs to be inviting, serving, generous, kind, warm, and comforting, and full of peace, joy, and love.

It doesn't mean that everything is always in perfect order, just a place He recognizes and knows that it is pure and following Him. It might be messy and all over the place but cultivate freedom, sometimes leaky but full of joy, at times distressed but always marked by stories.

Imperfect but inviting.

I often find myself eagerly {at times not so eagerly} scrambling to clean and prepare our own home for guests. As I age, I want this cleanliness MORE, but am willing to put in the TIME less, and yet I am WILLING, all because it signals that very soon we'll be in the midst of friends or family, there will be laughter, there will be warmth, there will be stories, good food, the closeness that comes from our treasured relationships.

When put in that light, there is no task too big or too troublesome to undertake if it makes that evening, that occasion, even more special.

How much more should I maintain my heart, ensuring that it always has the welcome mat out for the One who gave me life, who continues to rain blessing after blessing upon my life? While I strive here in my home to have a good-smelling candle burning and lots of things around that are pleasing to the eye and add creature comfort, I know these are not the same things He looks for in me.

He wants me to be hospitable, but is probably much more concerned with my hospitality to Him.

It's in moments like these, the quiet ones, when I sit and sift through the things cluttering my heart. Cleaning house isn't always fun, nor do we always want to take the time to pursue it, but...that feeling you get when it's all done - when you can sit back in those last few moments before your guests arrive and know...JUST KNOW...that what is to come is going to be memorable and possibly even life-changing.

Here's to heart-cleaning...

Until next time...

XXOO
Staci