Home Again

So, good news.  May is more than half over.  When did that happen?  

April was an extremely busy, travel-filled month for me that it just flew by without me hardly noticing!  I may have been away more than I was home.  

Just to give you a glimpse into my craziness:

It was a colorful month of driving, flying, and making wonderful memories with people who are so special to me, and I wouldn't trade the living-out-of-a-suitcase feeling I had for four weeks for anything.  BUT.  I'm super glad to be home.  To have slept in my own bed for a whole week straight.  To not have any travels on the docket for a solid month.  

Though I'm sure by the time my next outings roll around, I'll be more than ready to tackle some new adventures....

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Spoiled Rotten

I. love. surprises.

I'm not really sure why, but something about being caught off guard with something that someone has planned for me just warms my heart in a special way.

Lately, I've enjoyed several wonderful surprises.  My heart has been so full.  It was my birthday last weekend, and there were a few planned festivities - a birthday dinner with my friends, a trip to Florida to see my family.  My birthday would not be without celebration!  

But in addition to the celebrations I knew were coming, my week was peppered with wonderful surprises!  The kids at my church sang to me and gave me birthday balloons.  My boss's family surprised me with cupcakes and gifts before I left for Florida.  My boyfriend sent me flowers at my parents' house since he is in Afghanistan and couldn't be there to celebrate with me in person.  My little brother drove down from Orlando to spend the weekend with us.  I got a box of delicious birthday cookies in the mail.  My dad took me on a shopping outing (He said it was to buy my birthday present, but I think it was more just to spend the afternoon with me.).

My not-so-little-anymore brother who for a surprise visit!

Balloons from my dad!

Birthday flowers from my boo!

I felt so spoiled.  There wasn't anything crazy extravagant involved, but I just felt so loved.  The little surprises and ways people made an effort to help me feel special on my birthday and the days surrounding it just blew me out of the water.  Maybe I'm just more nostalgic than usual these days, but I think this will be a birthday week I treasure for years to come.  

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Come on Over!

It's one of my favorite phrases. I like saying it, and I like hearing it.  I love spending time with people I love.  I especially love spending time in their homes or having them spend time in my home.  Someone's home says a lot about them, so sharing these environments help you know people better.  My closest friends are the ones with whom I feel most at home, and I hope they feel at home with me.

I think this has a lot to do with the ministry of hospitality, which I feel like is a topic that I have come across over and over lately.  I've found that when there is a theme that becomes recurring in my life, I need to push pause and pay it some mind.  

I think this recurring concept of hospitality is related to my border-line obsession with the concept of home.  I love home.  I love my home (all of them).  I love visiting other people's homes.  I want a big house someday to make into a home.  

I've lived in a bunch of different places, so all of them have become home to some extent.  Clarion, Pennsylvania was the first place where I got to really settle down long enough to love a place and the people there, so it gets home status.  My parents live in Fort Myers, Florida, and if "Home is where your mom is," then it gets called home.  I have lived in Lynchburg, Virginia since I was a freshman in college (with the exceptions of a few summers), and now I've lived in the same house here for going on five years (shout out to ChezMK!), so this place is home.  Saying "I'm going home" could easily indication me going to any one of these three locations.

ChezMK - Home with my wonderful roommate

I have dreams of a future home.  Something I really, really want is a house.  A big, old farm house that I get to make my own and share with people I love.  And decorate it really cute and comfortable.  With lots of white furniture.  And tons of pictures.  And my little brother's paintings.  And my mom's quilts.  And plenty of purple.  But not too much.  And at least one window seat.  And sunshine in the windows.  With white, flowing curtains.  And a big dining room table.  With lots of chairs.  And a china cabinet full of white dishes that don't match.  And a front porch.  With rocking chairs.  And a porch swing.  I haven't thought about this or anything. 

All that to say, the place you call home matters.  But what you do with it matters more.  Home is an opportunity for ministry, the ministry of hospitality.  When we show hospitality, we have a chance to live the Gospel.  John Piper says:

Our homes need to be open.  Because our hearts are open.  And our hearts are open because God's heart is open to us.

As a lady, I think I have a unique opportunity to show hospitality. At least, I should make it a priority to ensure that my home is a welcoming place for guests.  Not just because I'm a girl but because I love Jesus.  Maybe it's just a little easier because I'm a girl.  In her book on biblical femininity Radical Womanhood, Carolyn McCulley says, as she discusses how our culture debates a woman's role at home:

The point of being a keeper at home is to provide a haven for a godly family to thrive, to offer hospitality to fellow Christians and non-Christians alike, and to provide a place for the church to meet. (p. 104)

She goes on to say:

No one will find fulfillment in the latest applications or gadgets that run a home. Nor will one find lasting fulfillment in attempting to decorate and entertain like the lastest hospitality doyenne.  Material goods and self-glorifying domestic perfection are definitely not the heart of the home.  The heart of the home is found in the relationships nurtured there and the comfort offered to one another--comfort we have first received from God, the Father of compassion, and then share with one another. (p. 115)

Ouch.  I can often get caught up in the desire for domestic perfection that I can forget that what I have in hostessing is an opportunity to love like Jesus loves not show off my latest crock pot recipe or apron-wearing cuteness.  It's less about a perfect-smelling candle or appropriately coordinating serving dishes than it is about sharing the comfort of home with people I love.  

I'm abundantly thankful for the people who continuously open their homes to me and the chances I have to open my home to others.  I desire to be someone who not only welcomes people into her home, but also takes advantage of these times to serve as Gospel-ministry.  

So, come on over! 

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A Weekend Later

Weekend projects are fun and rewarding.  A short time commitment (two days usually) and a sense of accomplishment (assuming the project gets finished).

My weekend project:  repainting my porch rockers.  

I got these lovelies a couple years ago, and they have gotten lots of good use.  There are few things I enjoy more than a cup of tea and my Bible study on my front porch, sitting in the sun with a good book in the afternoon, or chatting with a friend in the evening.  I have loved them as long as I've had them, but I decided that since the paint was mostly chipped off, it would be in all of our best interest (mine and the chairs', that is) for them to get a new coat of paint before the winter rolled in.  

I found some new cushions on sale a few weeks ago while I was out shopping with my mom.  A trip (or two, cause I might have underestimated how much paint I'd need) to Lowe's for some spray paint in a coordinating color later and I was ready to go. 

Here's the end result.  Lovely.  Fresh.  Clean.  Favorite.  Complete with new fall flowers.

Bring on the cooler weather and another cup of tea!

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