I’ve decided to do a weekly feature for the next little while called, ‘Making your Home a HAVEN!!’  I know not super original yet it works.  I tried to find the origin of the saying, but, came up empty handed.  If we look at the word Haven we get the definition, ‘a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary or a sheltered seaport.’ It might be worth looking at the word sanctuary, ‘a sacred place or a shelter from danger or hardship.’ Is your home a shelter, safe from danger or hardship???

This is something I have been thinking about over the last few weeks, I don’t know if it is latent nesting left over from being pregnant, or if I am early for spring cleaning but it is time to do some work.  In reality between the craziness of all Joel’s appointments and my appointments before Samuel was born, add in a newborn now, and the busyness that brings, and our home is lacking in the haven department.

I want a home that is tidy and organized and is inviting.  I want my home to welcome guests whether they are expected or a pleasant surprise.  Even more than having a home that is orderly and perhaps pleasing to the eye I want a home that is full of peace.  I want a home clean of spiritual garbage.  I want when people stop into my home to experience God’s healing balm in this place.

If a haven is a place safe from hardship what if you are going through a hardship… like say cancer??? Does that mean your house can’t be a haven??  I think with God we can have a home that is a haven no matter what kind of storms are raging around us or even in us.

I hope most of you have far less work to do than myself but I invite you to join with me to clean house and soul over the next few weeks.  I have so many ideas that I have had a hard time deciding where to begin.  I decided for week one I would deal with the stuff on the surface.  CLUTTER, you know the piles of papers, the pile of things I need to mend, the piles of clothes the kids have out grown, homeschool books, papers from the hospital my list goes and on.  My challenge for you is to look around find those spots that are drop zones and make war on the clutter beast!!!

Now there are also things that clutter our hearts, “Create in my a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” – Psalm 51:10 This can be a tough job because it isn’t like the stuff dropped at the back door that we trip over.  Some of it we justify or have ignored it so long that we don’t even see it.  Some of it might be kind of ugly and we don’t want to own it.  Thankfully when we clean our spiritual house we don’t have to work alone.  We can call of God to blow open the doors of our hearts and shed his light on it.  To sweep out all the corners of our heart and then to fill it with His Spirit!! Ask God to search your heart, and show you what kind of clutter is in the way. There is time for deep cleaning with God and if He leads you there, great, but I am just asking you to start with the clutter.  Ask Him to reveal what things are dropped at the door of your heart that you have been tripping over.

One more suggestion when you walk into a room, entry way etc. Pray, ask God to help you deal with the clutter, ask for wisdom on how best to use that space, and then ask Him to use that space to His glory.  There is only so much we can do in our homes to make them into a haven but God can turn a modest tent into a sanctuary just imagine what he can do with our homes.

On Saturdays I’ll post how I’ve done each week and  I will try and have my new challenge for each week up early Monday morning.  I really am hoping some of you will join with me in Making our Homes into HAVENS!!

Oh, I forgot to mention I made a button for linking back here, and I am trying out the linky thing hope it works.