H.O.M.E

Isaiah 32:18, “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”

Some time back I read something that caught my eye.  However on this occasion I was drawn to one word in particular, “home.”  And this time home was written as an acronym. 

Honor the Lord
Obey His Word
Minister to one another
Establish walls of truth

Thinking on these words I realized that home means so much more than a building where you reside with other people that happen to be related to you.  It is more than a place where you eat and sleep and ‘hang out’ together.  After reading it I also had the desire to work to make my home all it could be.  Like the Army recruiting slogan from a few years back said, “Be all you can be.”  No matter what is going on in your life, what background you have, or what problems you have or had with a little effort and a lot of prayer you can have a home where these four things abide.

Honor the Lord– Honor the Lord with all our hearts.  When we honor Him it shows throughout our home and outside our home.  We can’t just talk the talk. The honor must come from down deep in our hearts and souls, and then and only then will we be changed and the difference noticed by our family. 

Obey His Word– Obedience to God’s Word.  Being submissive to and respecting our husbands, loving our children more than ourselves, sacrificing our desires and wills by putting those in our family first will show God’s love in a tangible way that will impact their lives more than any planned lesson will.  Yes we need to seek out those teachable moments but more of what our family feels and sees and learns comes through how we live our lives. 

Minister to one another– Ministry is important but we should never seek to minister  outside our homes before ministering to our own family first.  We are the hearts of our homes.  Our desire should be to our home and family first.  Ministering to the needs of your family first before looking for outside ministry is more needful though if we were honest it usually happens the other way around.  

Establish walls of truth– Establish a place that is safe.  When your husband has a tough day or a child’s heart is hurting, they need to feel safe within the bounds of home.  The walls of home should beckon to our family and allow them to feel safe and loved when the world comes crashing in.  Walls built on God’s truth bring safety and security for our loved ones by offering a place of rest.

Remember also you cannot do it alone.  There will be some days you will rise to the challenge and overcome and other days when you seem to take a backwards step, or two, or three.  Yet God’s grace is sufficient for it is made perfect in weakness.  Lean on Him and trust in Him.  Ephesians 1:17 is a good scripture to pray:

                             God of my Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,

may you give me the spirit of wisdom and

revelation so that I may know You better and that

my heart will be enlightened and may know the hope

to which You have called me.”

Over the next months I hope to dig deeper into each area of the H.O.M.E.  I hope you will take this journey with me as I seek to learn more about becoming the wife, mother and woman I desire to be and I know God is calling me to be.