you are welcome.

happy monday sweet friends. 

how was your weekend?

mine was lovely... a little thrifting & football will do that for ya. 

so, today i wanted to share a little about something the Lord has put on my heart recently.

it's about opening up our home. your home.

to those around us. our neighbors. our friends. our family. 

the Lord commands us to let our light shine... and the best way to start is in our homes.

this is our fifth house since j & i have been married. 

and we hope that it's our 'forever' house. but we also know God makes His own plans - as we've experienced many times before. 

but i am really wanting to nest here. and settle in. and make it home for our family.

and i want to start by making our porch welcoming. to everyone. i want our house to be that city on the hill - and for me - that starts with having a welcoming porch.

one of the reasons we bought this house was the front porch. i just had to have one. 

to sit on & mingle with neighbors passing by. 

for the kids to read on.

to watch a thunderstorm roll in on.

and this house has that very porch.

and it doesn't take much to make it feel welcoming, does it?

 start with a welcome mat {target has amazing ones - ours is from bed bath & beyond.}

and a wreath. pinterest has SO many ideas for great wreaths. they don't have to be seasonal, but at this time of the year they pretty much always are.

my girlfriend makes awesome door hangers. i'm still waiting for my texas one. {hint, hint.}

i want anyone & everyone that drives by our house to think we are an open book. our door is open. come in. have coffee. play. share.

that may sound weird to you. does it? 

but i strongly feel that we are called to this life. to be the light. to love on others. to include everyone. 

and i think that starts in our home. 

and sometimes it's the easiest place to forget about and the hardest place to share with someone.

why is that? 

i've found that it starts with wanting to pretend like i'm someone i'm not.

i tend to perform. to put on an "i have it all together" act for those who i don't know as well as some. i mean. let's get real people. i do not have it all together. i never will. and those people who look like they do? they really don't. 

right? 

right????

 it causes anxiety in our home. i'm messy. my husband is neat. but when it comes to having people over, i want it to look perfect. and y'all... that's the wrong priority. 

how do you think that makes people feel? when they walk into my home and i fret about the pillows be fluffed when they sit down or when our kids get nerds stuck in the carpet that i worked tirelessly to clean? 

it makes them feel like it's about the performance - about me - not about them. 

i don't like that. it disgusts me, actually. and i'm working hard to change it.

i want my home to be about others. and pointing them toward Christ. i want it to be glorifying to Him and i want people to feel welcomed and loved. and to leave feeling filled up. wanted. and included.

and honestly, who cares if you have a front porch? you may not. it's no big deal. it's not the point. {although, i do love my porch. can you tell?}

the point is - is your home welcoming? i'm talking from the outside in. 

are your blinds shut & lights turned off so that no one thinks your home? 

or is it a bright light? 

a city on a hill - inviting someone to knock on your door & ask you to visit?

think about it. pray about it. and let's start to welcome others in our homes together.