This is Your house...where the lost and the lonley bring their burdens and their cares

In November of 2012 I purchased a house.  It was so exciting to move in and get the house set up.  I started right away and dedicated the house to the Lord.  I found the song online "This is your House" and sang along to the the song as a prayer and a commitment.

My house has and always will be God's house.  It was such an incredible way that He provided it to me and who He used to help me on the house hunt and even the timing of the purchasing.  I have never regretted this decision and I still catch myself sitting alone in my home and thinking...wow!  Do I really get to live here!?

But a house without others can be a struggle to be a home.  I have an open door, come on over policy.  I continue to use my house for Bible study meetings, game nights, sleep overs, and fellowship nights.

I've recently been going through a personal struggle of lacking in community.  I have learned that I have to be proactive to invite others over or invite myself over into their homes.  God created us to be in community and I'm seeing more than ever that I need to do that.

I received my foster care license 6 months ago (July 2014) and have not yet had a placement.  I have thought about having a roommate recently.  I started praying about my need for community.  Also how prone I am to selfishness when I live alone.

As I have prayed the passage 1 Peter 4:8-10 continues to come to mind.  It probably helps that two of my decorations in my home have this passage on them.  They were hand made gifts from two of my brothers & their wives.  Offer Hospitality.

This weekend God used a social media to make me aware of a young girl that needs a place to stay.  I don't know her and there is so much of a danger to let a stranger come and live with you.  Yet that is fear.  I know how to take precautions and I know how to lovingly set boundaries.  I even know how to have a sit down chat with expectations already in hand.   So why am I being so hesitant?


God gives us blessings so we can bless others.  This gal not only needs a roof over her head, she needs the Lord Jesus in her life.  She needs careful provision and love as she is in the transition mode of childhood to adulthood. 

What better way is there for someone to come to know Christ than for them to live with someone who loves Jesus and loves them with the same love?! 

Have I said yes yet?  No I haven't.  But I have reached out to meet this young gal to get to know her a bit and for me to continue praying and being open for God's direction.  Perhaps in the next week or so things will be made clear about how I should proceed. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwR60Grw8pE

1 Peter 4:8-10 (ESV)

⁸ Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: