House of Peace
I love coming home. Home is where peace and happiness reign. Close your eyes, can you see it? Snuggled in your bed. I imagine those cold winter mornings and me running to sip hot cocoa and eat three delicious cookies.
Home is where everything from the outside world shouldn't be able to penetrate. That's why it's essential to keep your house happy. A friend once told her husband, "Happy wife, happy life." However, her husband responded and said, "Happy spouse, happy house." That quote always makes me smile because it's true — where you live should be a refuge. It should be a place where you find peace, family, rest and joy.
It breaks my heart when the pains of life enter the home. It should be a joy to leave school, work or an event and know you're coming home to a place of love.
There's no place like home.
The bible says in Matthew 6:21 (King James Version), "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." My heart is with God and my family, and they are home because what makes a house a home is the people in it.
It's the relationships you have with your siblings, parents, grandparents, roommates, friends or whoever you live with that make it desirable to come home. Yes, sometimes my family gets on my nerves, and there are times when I want to get away from them, but I never want to leave them. When you have good relationships, it makes the atmosphere pleasant. After a long day, you look forward to coming home.
When it's good, God can dwell. When it's chaotic, God can't abide. His presence can't stay in your home, which then allows the enemy to enter through the cracks and broken doors.
As Christians, the scripture admonishes us to "live peaceable with all men" in Romans 12:18 (KJV). That includes the people in your house. Do your best to get along with your family. Ask God for His wisdom and ask Him to change you and watch God work. You'll sense a shift in your home, and the peace of God will fill your place.
During this holiday season, and following, please make your home a place of peace, love, happiness, joy and most of all, Jesus. Ask God to help you make the atmosphere in your home better, even if it's only your room.
Where you lay your head and kick up your feet is one of the most important places because that's where you are 100 percent yourself. There's no hiding in the home. Make it special. Make it a sacred place where the spirit of the Lord can dwell. Let His presence enter in and watch Him change your house into His home. I promise you; you'll never want to leave.
