My Home

Okay so once again I am going to go a little country but just here me out on this please.

Okay so I want you to sit and think for a minute (I would say close your eyes but then you wouldn't be able to read this). I want you sit and think about one simple question.....Where are you most at home? Basically where is this world do you feel the most free and the most safe from the world around you. Okay you thinking about it.

For me there are four places that I get this safety and the feeling of being home. And here they are....
1) The house I grew up in on 1626. I close my eyes and I see it all, I feel the happiness and the togetherness that the house represented to me. I see the love of family and a bond that will never be broken because of that house.

2) My house that we moved to after the house above. Why that house, well because that is 16 years of my life that are kept in the house. I think of how those walls  saw me cry my eyes out when a boyfriend and I broke up, or how they saw me and my best friends giggle and laugh until our sides hurt. That house saw everything that has made me who I am today. I miss sitting on the back porch steps and looking at the stars as I pondered whatever was on my mind that night.

3) The beach. The beach is one of the places where my home is in terms of my relationship with Christ. I am at home when I hear the crashing waves and I know that just like the waves wash away the footprints in the sand, so to does God wash away my sins and my hurt.

And finally

4) Camp Capers, a place that I grew up. I went to summer camps there, retreats with my parents, Vocare and Cursillo weekends. When I close my eyes I can smell the distinct smell of the cabins. I can hear the laughter and fun that I was always able to have there. I can picture sitting outside looking up at the stars and talking to those close to me about what matters most in life. I can feel the way the stone felt under my feet in St. Francis chapel. I can feel the wind in my hair and somehow know that that is the holy spirit talking to me.

So those are my homes.....but what does this mean? Where exactly am I going with this?

Before I keep going I want you to listen to two songs. (don't worry I will post the lyrics too) Both are new favorites of mine but they help bring my point across.

"Where My Heart Belongs"

Every now and then I go back in time
to that little red house on Oak Mont Drive
Next to that big magnolia tree,
a wide eyed girl running wild and free
That's me

Me and my brothers in the Georgia sun,
running through the yard with the sprinklers on
Lazy dog lying in the cool green grass
Never thought life would fly so fast
It don't last

I still hear that old sweet song,
a simple melody calling me back home
where the love grows pure and strong
That's where my heart
That's where my heart belongs

Skipping stones and kicking cans
Stealing my first kiss by the lemonade stand
I can't forget those southern nights
Fallen stars and fireflies
Felt so right

I still hear that old sweet song,
a simple melody calling me back home
where the love grows pure and strong
That's where my heart
That's where my heart belongs

Those family days are all but gone
Everybody moved out, everybody's moved on
When I'm all alone and feeling like

I'm stuck in the middle of this crazy life
I just close my eyes
and I can hear that old sweet song, 
a simple melody calling me back home

I can hear that old sweet song,
a simple melody calling me back home
where the love grows pure and strong
That's where my heart
That's where my heart belongs

And then Home 

Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. oo-oo-oo-oo [x2]
Aaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa. aa-aa-aa-aaaaaa [x2]

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. oo-oo-oo-oo [x4]
Aaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa. aa-aa-aa-aaaaaa [x4]

Okay, okay I know that was a lot but I have a reason for it. Look back at the places you thought of. Or if you didn't think about yours look at mine. They all have something in common. They are where your heart takes you, they are were you feel safe and for me that means that those places are also where I feel closest to Christ. Now there are others that I didn't name (St. Stephens nature trail for example) that are also home for me and I know there are others I mean look at the second song. "Settle down, it'll all be clear.....just know you're not alone, Cause I'm going to make this place your home." Doesn't that sound like a promise from God. I mean he has the power to make these special places in our hearts more then that, He can make them a Home for me and Him to live in forever. God helps us find these special places in order to help remind us that he is always there. 

Even the first song shows that... "I still hear that old sweet song, a simple melody calling me back home where the love grows pure and strong That's where my heart That's where my heart belongs" Your heart knows when these places occur. It knows when God is present and in times that you need his presence most your heart and mind dragging you back to a save home where your heart belongs and as a place to heal. 

Think about it, when you are worried or upset, do you not close your eyes and try to escape from the world. And when you do escape is it one of those places that you mentioned above. OR have you ever been emotionally hurt but when you travel back to one of your "homes" you get a sense of healing and help that you have never before experienced. I bet you have and I bet you loved every minute of it, because let's face it how could you not love time with Christ and with God you loves you more then we will ever know possible. 

And a home with God doesn't have to be a house. I mean two of mine are but then there is Camp Capers and the beach. it just depends on where you are safest and happiest. Look up quotes on homes...."Home is where the heart is" how true is that. A home is where ever you make it no matter what. 

So look around and close your eyes. Where is your home with Christ? Where do you escape too? 

Love you all and God Bless!