“Sometimes that's what prayer is —simply inviting God to join us where we actually are, not because He isn't already here but because inviting Him reminds us it's true.”

Emily P. Freeman, Simply Tuesday

This post is inspired by Valerie Woerner’s House Prayers Worksheets: Prompts to pray for each room throughout your house. She’s taught me, “Prayer is the front line, the first defense - not a last resort.”

Combined with collected quotes from authors, I’ve created a space where I’m reminded of perspectives & suggestions on how to have less house. More “home”.

I’m praying over my home. & perhaps you’d like to do the same.

Here’s to taking care of our things. & each other. Here’s to forgiveness & joy. Patience & truth. Clean hands. Clean hearts. & just maybe, a clean home.

porch/driveway

• the season of life you’re in

• the patience & willingness to allow room for growth

• people to feel welcome when they enter

• take captive every thought

• smooth mornings

• resist hurry

• step in the shoes of others/understand

Your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy & power & detail & dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen. You & your family & your friends & your house & your dinner table & your garage have all the makings of a life of epic proportions, a story for the ages. Because they all are. Every life is.

You have stories worth telling, memories worth remembering, dreams worth working toward, a body worth feeding, a soul worth tending, & beyond that, the God of the universe dwells within you, the true culmination of super & natural.” Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines

living room

• joy & laughter to fill the space

• good conversation

• the people who will come over

• the influences we let in (ie. TV, books, etc.)

There is beauty in the lived-in & loved-on & used-just-about-up. Myquillyn Smith, The nesting place

dining room

• gratefulness

• helpful hands

• family conversations + communication

• learning to listen while others speak

More last-minute invites, more dirty dishes. More inconvenience (more joy). More mayhem, more adventures. Less time to myself, of course. Less energy. But energy is like manna, isn’t it? More arrives in the morning, doesn’t it?

Best not to save it for later. Erin Loechner, DESIGN FOR MANKIND

kitchen

• healthy relationship with food

• nourishing others — both their hearts & their bellies

• discernment in making good choices

• creativity & joy

• God’s provision

• clean hands & a pure heart

You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients. Julia Child

master bedroom

• rest

• energy

• prioritizing marriage

• romance

• good communication

• good sleep

kid’s bedroom

• may my child accept Christ

• gentle, kind spirit

• rest for kids/energy for mama

• development + learning

guest bedroom

• loving + serving others well

• being a good steward of what has been entrusted

• willing to give

• God-sent friends/family

God is in the business of creating places for his people. He is the original homemaker. So here we are in the gap somewhere between the garden & the city... Let's move forward with creative purpose to make a home that serves us well, so that we, in turn, can welcome & serve others well. Myquillyn Smith, cozy minimalist home

bathroom + closet

• self-care

• cultivate contentment with what I have

• cultivate contentment with the body God gave me

• freedom from negativity

Here is the secret to subtraction. It doesn’t matter what you remove. What matters is that you stop adding it back. Erin Loechner, Chasing Slow

hallway

• grace + patience

• bridge builder/connector

• walk in the light

• strong legacy

• purpose + direction

Don't sacrifice the good to chase the perfect. Emily Ley, Grace, not Perfection

office

• strong margin for work + life

• focused + unrestricted work time

• equipped to graciously handle failures & successes

• surrender finances

• God’s creativity

• favor with God & with man

• ways to continue providing for my family

I don't want to get to the end of my life & look back & realize that the best thing about me was I was organized. Shauna Niequist, Present over perfect

laundry

• find delight in the mundane

• eyes open for ways to serve my family

• living clothed in God’s armor

• washed whiter than snow

& realize that as long as we all choose to walk around clothed, the laundry will never really be finished. Myquillyn Smith, The nesting place

back yard

• living with a lightness to your step

• adventure

• enjoyment of the simple life

I want my everyday to make God glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift. Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines

garage

• take care of what God has provided

• declutter heart/mind

• physical home (please, please don’t break)

• repair what needs fixed

• complete what is undone

• teachable spirit to keep growing

Well, you know me by now. If it holds no purpose, it holds no place. Ever the practical. There’s a balance somewhere, & I haven’t yet struck it.

But. These are the folks I live with, & these are the folks I love. A bit of grace, then. ERIN LOECHNER