By Ann Hutchison

My friends, today I went a-walking through country lanes with Bryce and my parents (photo attached).

As we did so, I walked past quite a few houses that I deemed my 'dream home'. I salivated over these houses and wished they were mine. 

Yep, a little material lusting went on this morning. What would your dream home be, I wonder? Mine would be old, British, in a country village, with a thatched roof, a rose-overgrown garden, and spacious .... Of course, way beyond what I could afford!

But is that really my dream home?!

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife (Proverbs 21:9, ESV)

And

Better a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened calf and hatred with it (Proverbs 15:17, ESV)

God tells me, through these verses, that the most precious thing that I could have -- house-wise -- is a home that has love in it. My dream home, then, should be a home with love. That's it.

That means love around the dinner table and an atmosphere of love within the walls. It means a home that a spouse and children want to come home to in the evening, because it 'feels' like a place of love.

Have I been undervaluing that? Perhaps I have.

Specifically, it means an atmosphere that is patient, kind, not self-seeking, not boastful, hopeful, rejoicing in the truth, bearing all things, and believing all things (1 Corinthians 13); and it means interactions between family members that ooze those qualities.

Ok, that last one is a noble idea, but easier said than done. What if you live with a particularly cantankerous family member? What if you're at the end of your tether and struggle with anger issues yourself?

Well, we're not perfect, so it's not going to be love, love, love all the time ... It might be very much a work-in-progress. I suppose the point is that LOVE in the home is far more precious than material possessions. God in the home is far more precious than having a materially nice house. And that dream is where our energy is best spent.

If you already have a home that is full of love, wow, rejoice and thank God: You already have your dream home! Who cares how many bedrooms it has, whether it has a garden, whether it has a thatched roof, what style it is ...... You already have the very best thing possible. 

And if you currently don't have a home like that, love goes out to you. I know that many in our community face a struggle there. We have all kinds of homes here at SUM. But these verses do bring to the fore an important question: Is it time to make a change? 

Well, that's all today. Is this a 'work in progress' in your home? Do you need prayer for this one? Reach out for prayer if you need to.

Much love

Ann