Welcome to the LifeGiving Home Book Club!!! I am so excited to journey with you through this amazing book. Just a quick intro: My name is Christin Slade, and Sally and I met several years ago at the Allume Conference.
It has been such a gift to read and implement her gospel-centered message inside my home and my hope is to encourage you continue to as well. As we read and study The LifeGiving Home in community, we want to offer up encouragement and ideas for one another to put into practice within our own homes.
Within this next week we are reading through (or have read through) chapters 1 and 2.
A LifeGiving Legacy {Chapter 1}
In this chapter, Sally invites us to dream up what we want our home to be for those living within it's walls. If we could take a few moments to imagine what we want out of our homes, for ourselves, and our families, we can begin to paint a picture of a home which leaves behind a life-giving legacy.
Maybe dreaming it up is the easy part...but how can we implement that dream to make it a reality? That's what this book is going to help us do. But for now, let's dream.
Let's dream of mornings that have a rhythm. Afternoons full of adventure. Evenings spent close to family in conversation or lost in a great book together.
With today's fast-paced, technology saturated culture, creating a home which pours life into others is more challenging than ever before. But it's not impossible.
Sally says at the end of the chapter,
"Building well is a long process. None of us will ever be perfectly wise or mature or loving. Creating a lifegiving home, then, is a long process taken one step, one season at a time. In the process, I've found, the home itself becomes wiser and more valuable."
Please don't attempt to do everything listed in this book (or the LifeGiving Experience book). The idea isn't to burn anyone out, but to offer a buffet of variety and even spark your own ideas by sharing their own experiences. One or two ideas per month are plenty! Start small.
Made for Home {Chapter 2}
We long to be deeply known and, in the knowing, held. -Sarah Clarkson
Sarah paints such a beautiful picture in this chapter about the potential our homes have and how they can draw people in, family and friends alike--and even strangers. Our homes can be a tangible place for the gospel to come alive.
I used to believe that our homes and "making" our homes was not "spiritual", but I have learned so much about how pouring into our spaces and those who dwell within it is very much spiritual! To love is spiritual and by serving others through nurture and hospitality, we bring the embodiment of Jesus into our homes and into the lives of those we serve.
Sarah states so beautifully,
"His Kingdom comes in the way we celebrate, the shelter we make of our homes, the joy we put into what we cook and eat and create, our willingness to welcome strangers into our midst."
I'll be honest and tell you, cooking is not my favorite thing to do. I used to love it, but I've allowed it to become more of a burden to me than allowing it to be a blessing to my family. But there is something about food that brings people together...especially if you offer a little variety for multiple different palettes.
Admittedly, I love hearing, "Mommy, this is the best dinner ever!" from my children. But equally as much, I dislike hearing complaints about a food someone doesn't like or want. And with seven children, it happens almost every night.
These are some of the humps we need to overcome or roll with in order to keep our home in a state of giving life rather than breeding discontent. That's all part of building a lifegiving home.
We can make our home a place of restoration and a safe place to always return to. A place to look forward to, even after times of wanting to be away. It's always nice to come again.
Have you been held back, like I was, from making your home a lifegiving place? What can you let go of today in order to begin breathing that life into your home?
Next week we will be discussing chapters 3 & 4. I can't wait!! See you then!
Christin Slade
