Home Harvest

What makes a house a home? Don't worry, I am not going to start every blog with a question....but what is it? For me it is of course, my family...but also the things around me that I love, my things...my crystal, quilts made by women in my family I never knew, the smell of my family, you know when you have been gone a long time, you could walk in blindfolded and you would know you are home just from the smells surrounding you. In our case, when we come home from a short trip, that smell is the litter box but never the less...pets.

Our House has a house and he is wonderful! He is "Houser." He just turned two years old and it was a good birthday for him. That first year of being a "puppy" if you can call a 165lb Great Dane a puppy was rough on our family...we were crate training him, which I recommend but he was so hyper and his size was a factor. We did end up in the ER at one point with staples for my youngest child after being plowed over on the front step. But the second year saw improvements in this wonderful four legged friend and he is now a part of our home. He guards us well and he loves us all so unconditionally. He longs for our touch to the point of annoyance at times and is truly (wo)man's best friend.

So, what makes my house a home? Everything we are, everything we have, everything we think and everything we do...piles of mail and papers from the backpacks, lunch boxes piled on the cabinet at the end of the day, bed-time prayers, my husband's keys always in the same spot, the Auburn flag flying in the fall, the empty bed room waiting for Ellie...we are constantly building our home into a safe place for our children. A place where they will want to hang out and bring their friends...like we did when I was young.

But what if tomorrow it was all gone? What do you have left but the love of Christ? I am trying daily in all things to ask myself really, what would Jesus do? The other day I drove by an underpass and there were several homeless people under it. They had set up camp. For a few weeks, I had been toying with the idea of making sandwiches with my children and taking them to a park known to have homeless in it. We're so busy with this life, I haven't done it. As I drove by, I thought, wow they look like they could use a sandwich, but they don't look as safe as the group in the park. My kids were in the back seat and I kept driving and they never knew any different. I'm sure Jesus would not have driven by. Now, I know that Jesus would not have PTA or gymnastics or any of the other things that crowd our schedules. But does the work of the Lord have to be limited? Can we not serve the Lord in the PTA and at gymnastics by proclaiming His name every chance we get? The Lord is so good to me and I want everyone to know that. Including the homeless in the park. So, on Saturday, 11/3, My children and their parents are making LOTS of sandwiches and we are going out in search of just one person who will listen to the Gospel. This is the season of Harvest.