What Is It That Makes a House a Home?

My Hyde Park at Tulsa Hills community is one of the stops if you're checking out the Parade of Homes in Tulsa this week. Four beautiful new houses are being featured -- houses with touch faucets, heated bathroom floors, geo-thermal energy features, high-end appliances, and so much more that makes a right-sized house so welcoming.

My post today, however, isn't about homes in the sense of mortar, brick, wood and stone. It's about human lives -- the people -- the families that live in those homes. I started thinking "What if there were a Parade of Homes that we could look at -- one that exemplified "family values" and a place where God's love and character showed Him to be the CENTER feature of their homes? You walked into THAT home and the atmosphere was warm, welcoming and you just wanted to hang out there.

We often say "God is our #1 priority!", and while that sounds really top-notch in terms of ranking order, I remember what my husband and I considered to be our main core value and non-negotiable. It was that God had to be right in the CENTER of our home and family. When a decision was made, it was based on what God's opinion would be. When a little "tiff" (my kids called it "Mom and Dad are having another 'discussion') would arise between my husband and I, we couldn't let the "tiff" last for long, because our CENTER always (sometimes later than sooner) drew us back to harmony and peace.

Our CENTER meant we prayed together, laughed together, listened to each other, helped each other, encouraged each other, forgave each other and gave each other lots of hugs. Did we always get it right? No, but because our CENTER was our non-negotiable, we did course corrections and soon came back to our CENTER. Most certainly, if we made God our CENTER, then, who knows, just maybe others would be drawn to make Him their CENTER, too.

“....but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.

Character is Doing the Right Thing

Day 256 of Photo Inspirations -- Character is Doing the Right Thing

When I was just a little girl, my Mom and I were at the grocery store and I saw a wrapped candy bar on the floor at the cashier’s check-out stand.  I snuck it into my pocket.  I figured “Finders Keepers”! But as we walked out of the store, my Mom saw my hidden “stash”, and she turned me around and marched me back into the store to admit the error of my ways.  That day I learned such a valuable lesson in honesty and it has stuck with me to this day – so much so, that if the cashier gives me too much change back, I’ll quickly let her know.

And then, there’s the grocery cart dilemma.  Do I go ALL THE WAY to the grocery cart corral and put my grocery cart where it belongs, or do I just slip it in-between some cars or on a curb?   If I wasn’t parked close to the corral, that’s what I would do.  But then the day came when I was walking away from leaving my grocery cart in one of those care-less locations, and when I turned to walk away, I saw it rolling quickly toward a car.  Thankfully, I recovered it before it hit.  That day I learned the values of integrity and character.

J.C. Watts, former politician, said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught”.  And that is so very true.  Character is the one thing no one can take from us. It is what we hold dear to us.  It is a non-negotiable core value.

Some folks pay little attention to doing the “right thing”.  They tell their kids to tell a caller “I’m NOT home.”  It’s okay for a little white lie here and there.  It’s okay to put something they’ve changed their mind about in another location in a store (i.e., a head of lettuce in the laundry detergent aisle).  It’s okay to “fudge” on their income taxes.  It’s okay to take office supplies home from their place of employment.  They rationalize that they’re not getting paid what they deserve anyway.

Never has it been clearer to me, that character should take the highest priority when it comes to being trustworthy and credible to our children, our peers, our neighbors, our constituents……but most of all….to God.  He has a front row seat in our lives. Our actions DO speak louder than words.  It makes Dad so proud of His kids when He sees them “doing the right thing when no one is looking."

Fact is – DAD is ALWAYS looking.  And even if there were no consequences, no laws, no fear of any reprisals for our actions, when we do the RIGHT THING in any situation, I expect that He beams from ear to ear with pride and joy about His kids!

Proverbs 20:7 “The one who lives with integrity is righteous; his children who come after him will be happy.”

Don't Be Ashamed of Your Story

CHAZOWN is a Hebrew word for vision, purpose, destiny -- and it's what God had in mind for us when He created us. Each one of us was placed on earth for a unique purpose that's solely ours to fulfill. I was once a participant, but this weekend I was a veteran volunteer at the Chazown experience at LifeChurch.tv Jenks Campus. What a tremendous opportunity it is to discover what God had in mind when He made us. As a volunteer, we casually walk about the room to answer questions and give practical explanations to attendees, because "we've been there".

Yesterday, a man signaled for my help. He couldn't figure out what his core values are. I asked to see his timeline (those are the people, experiences and events -- good and bad -- that played an important role in our life). Immediately, my eyes fell on "Mom & Dad divorced". My immediate response was "Mom & Dad divorced -- what about the core value 'compassion'? Could you possibly be more compassionate to a young person when you hear that their parents divorced, too?" He had an "Aha" moment. The lights came on for him. He got it. The pains of our past and present may seem isolated at the time.....but God has a way of making those things turn out for good....not only for us....but for those we are called to inspire and help.

St. Paul so aptly put it...."That I might comfort others with the same comfort that I have been comforted with." II Corinthians 1:4. What does your past look like? Full of hurt, disappointment, rejection, defeat? But you survived it....by the grace of God? Could it be that those hurts and tests and messes are the very things that God desires to use to catapult you into a teaching/consoling/caregiving ministry -- or, at the very least to be more compassionate to those in your world? And then, for sure, we'll be able to say "Indeed, ALL things really do work for my good....." Romans 8:28