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Stephanie Rische

Blogger and Writer: Capturing Stories of God's Grace

July 22, 2015

A Place to Call Home

ManchesterMy husband, Daniel, and I just bought our first house together, which means I’ve been thinking a lot about home lately.

When we started the adventure of scoping out open houses and looking at realtor.com and making our list of would-likes and must-haves, it felt rather daunting. We knew a house is just a bunch of lumber and drywall, but it seemed so much weightier than that. It felt like where we lived said something about our future, our hopes and dreams, our very identity. That’s a lot of pressure for a piece of real estate.

My friend Brooke told me about this quote she heard somewhere: “Our homes are characters in our stories” (more on that here). And my apologies for the terrible pun, but that sentiment really hit home for me. We weren’t just finding a place to put our stuff or go to sleep at night; we were finding a spot that would become a key part of our story for the next undetermined number of years.

If there’s anyone who knows about longing for home, it’s Brooke. Last summer she and her family packed up their essential belongings, rented out their house, and bought a mobile home so they could embark on a yearlong, 48-state tour of the country. Her home has been on wheels for the past year, meaning that in some ways her home is always with her, and in some ways she’s never home. She knows what it’s like to have roots and to tear them up, how freedom is the other side of loneliness, and how home is both the place and the people.

I think God hardwired us to long for home—to want to put pieces of ourselves into the soil of a place, to make memories there, to let the love and the laughter soak so deeply into the walls that they are heavy with moments and days and years.

But here’s something else I’m learning: our desire for an earthly home is never going to be enough to fill the longing in our souls. Even if we manage to find the perfect paint swatches, line the walls with just the right decorations, and fix all the leaky faucets, it won’t be enough. That longing for a haven, a place to truly belong—that only comes when we make ourselves at home in Christ.

I’ve always loved this psalm, but it makes more sense to me now:

Lord, through all the generations
you have been our home!
—Psalm 90:1

It seems appropriate that this psalm was written by Moses, the wanderer. The guy who grew up with a family not his own and in a country not his own, the guy who spent forty years exiled in the desert, the guy who led his people to a Promised Land he never got to enter. I have a hunch this nomad never really had a place to put his feet up and get comfortable in.

But still, he found home. He learned the lesson we all need, whether we’re putting down roots or pulling them up: When you make your dwelling in God, you will always find home.

***

You never know where you’re going if you’re going by faith. If you’re going by faith, you’re always a stranger in this world, because your home is God.
—John Ortberg

Question for today: What’s something you wished you’d known when you moved into a new home? What’s something you learned from moving to a new place?

In honor of my recent move, I’m giving away a copy of Home Is Where My People Are by the talented and charming Sophie Hudson! It’s a wonderful book about the unexpected places and people that make up home, and what God teaches us along the way. To be eligible, tell me about your moving experience in the comment section below. I’ll give a free copy to one randomly selected commenter.

20 Comments Filed Under: Home Tagged With: dreams, Home, Home Is Where My People Are, new house, Psalms, Sophie Hudson
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February 20, 2015

Friday Favorites

friday_favorites_header1

For book lovers who love coffee and coffee lovers who love books . . .

These descriptions of what famous authors would do when ordering coffee is one of the funniest things I’ve read in a long time. They’re all great, but I especially liked this one: “Charlotte Brontë goes up to the counter for a cup of tea and Reader, she orders it!” If Authors Ordered at Starbucks

For anyone who’s still recovering from Valentine’s Day . . .

Great thoughts about love and marriage from Beth Moore. A Valentines Post: I Believe and I Don’t

For word geeks . . .

Although there are at least a million words in the English language, the 100 most common words account for over half of the words we use. This cool site lets you type in a word and find out its ranking. The Long Tail of the English Language

For anyone who is wondering if the little things they do matter . . .

This is a beautiful post by Christie Purifoy about the unexpected hospitality God gives to us. “I think that the very quietest hospitality might just be the hospitality God extends to each of us.” Love Prepared Table

For anyone who longs for real connection in their life . . .

I love it when worlds collide, and this is a beautiful collision: on this podcast my friend from college interviews an author I work with. How cool is that? Sophie Hudson talks about her new book, Home Is Where My People Are, and they discuss good stuff like female friendship, what makes a place home, and the journey of faith for the “good girl.” God Centered Mom

Leave a Comment Filed Under: Friday Favorites Tagged With: Beth Moore, books, Christie Purifoy, English language, God Centered Mom, language, Literature, Sophie Hudson, Valentine's Day, words
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March 22, 2013

Friday Favorites

For grammar geeks…fri1

I do love me some punctuation. Here are some new marks for those situations when a semicolon just isn’t enough: Obscure Punctuation Marks That Should Really Get More Play

For sports fans…

I’ve seen a lot of fine moments in basketball, but this is most heartwarming thing I’ve ever seen happen on the floor of a gymnasium: When Both Teams Win

For book lovers…

This memoir by Melanie Shankle will make you laugh and cry: Sparkly Green Earrings

For tired moms…

This is for all my friends who do heroic mom-things day after day: Burnout Is a Thing

For folk music/bluegrass fans…fri3

I recently rediscovered this album, and I’ve been listening to the song “Still” on constant repeat: Marty Feldhake’s Fences and Fields

For anyone who loves someone with special needs: This article by Amy Julia Becker is a heartwarming reminder that all people are stamped with the image of God—a fitting way to acknowledge Down Syndrome Awareness Day: Missing Out on Beautiful

For anyone who is looking for a miracle…

This is a beautifully written story about how miracles tend to come in unexpected packages:

A Tuesday Kind of Miracle

1 Comment Filed Under: Friday Favorites Tagged With: Amy Julia Becker, basketball, books, Down syndrome, Friday Favorites, grammar, Lisa-Jo Baker, Literature, Marty Feldhake, Melanie Shankle, Mental Floss, miracles, mothers, Sophie Hudson, special needs, sports
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