A Truly Good, Successful Day

By Deb Demi

Editor’s Note:  I came across a blog that Deb Demi did awhile back that we’ve never run so I thought it would be a great to share it this week. 

I have a tendency to be a very task-driven person.  So to me a good day is one in which I get a lot of stuff done and have a lot to show for my effort.  And unfortunately I can measure the success of my day by physical productivity, not necessarily by doing what God values most.

A few months ago while I was shopping in one of my favorite department stores I became aware of an employee in the section that I was shopping in.  She was working very diligently hanging up clothes, rushing here and there to return misplaced items, being very intent on making sure that her department was in tiptop condition.  As she was in the midst of her tasks, a customer approached her to ask a question.  Instead of responding politely, she was very curt and answered in a snarl.  Another customer met a rebuke as she inadvertently returned an item to the wrong spot.  Immediately my judgmental heart began to say, "Doesn't she know that she's here to serve us?  If it weren't for us customers she wouldn't have a job.  Would her employer appreciate her diligent work if they knew how she was treating the customers?"

But almost as quickly as those thoughts entered my head, conviction came rushing in.  Suddenly I saw myself in that woman.  I saw myself at home diligently working at completing my endless lists of tasks.  I was reminded of the way that I snarled at one of my kids who asked me to help them get a drink… how I responded when I walked into a room that was a mess.  The way that I impatiently brushed off my husband's affection because I was in the middle of slicing bread…  How I saw cleaning the refrigerator as more valuable than playing a game with my kids…  Yes, I can be very much like that woman.

There is nothing wrong with me completing tasks and making my home a comfortable environment for my family.  But, when I forget why I am doing these things, I end up doing them for my own satisfaction rather than for my family.  My family becomes an interruption rather than the objects of my affection and I forget the calling that I have received… to love my husband and to love my children. 

Yes, when we put being loving towards our family ahead of checking off everything on our to-do list, we may not get everything done.  But as we trust God by doing what He has called us to do, He will be glorified and our family will feel loved.  And when those things happen, it will be a truly good, successful day.

Editor’s note:  This week we are sending off the folks who are launching the Brandywine Grace Church plant.  We all rejoice in what God is doing in our mission together in this new work, but we are also sending out dear friends and outstanding brothers and sisters who have contributed to the work of this local church in irreplaceable ways.  One significant example is Deb Demi.  Deb has blessed this church as a community group leader’s wife, through significant responsibility in our Compass home school program, in youth ministry and in her radiant example of godliness as a wife, mom, and woman of God.  Her numerous contributions to this blog have been creative and wise, and they resonate with godly humility.   The following is her last blog as member of CFC and it’s a great example of what she has given us over the past two years.  You may see her show up in the future as a ‘guest blogger’. 

By Deb Demi

I don’t like change.  When I’m comfortable, the last thing that I want is change.  In fact, the only things I really like to change are the position of my furniture or the color of my walls.

When we first began leading a community group about ten years ago, I remember feeling very sad that we were going to be separated from some of the people we felt closest to.  Then, when I saw the list of the people we were going to get, ones I didn’t know as well, I remember crying.  I couldn’t believe that it could possibly be God’s will for us to have these people who I hardly knew in our group.  Little did I know, however, that those people, to this day, would be my best friends.  

Then there was the time when that community group split three ways and several families moved out to West Chester.  We were left with seven people in our group.  I remember feeling discouraged.  If one family didn’t show up, it was just us and another couple.  How could this be God’s will?  However, in God’s sovereignty just two months later, because our group was so small, an entire Beta group found room in our group and in our hearts.  That group continued to grow to over 40 people and our lives were forever changed as we observed the amazing grace in these new believers’ lives.

We faced many other changes in the past 13 years that we have been at Covenant Fellowship.  And once again, I’m facing the challenge of change.  Our family is going on the church plant to Downingtown.  I’d like to say that I have been full of faith for the journey.  That immediately I remembered how God worked in the past, and then believed He was going to do another amazing work in the future.  But no, I cried once again.  How could I possibly leave the relationships that were forged over these years and begin to invest in new ones?  How will we fit in?  What will our kids think?  I was just getting comfortable with our new community group.

As I look to the past, why would I ever doubt God’s faithfulness to meet us where He leads us?  Although I’ve already faltered in my faith in this transition, I’m choosing to go forward in faith, pleasing God by trusting that He’s gone ahead of us.  Believing He’s preparing new, life-long friendships.  Believing He’s getting ready to show my family and me the power of the Gospel to transform lives. 

Maybe you’re facing change… changes in the church are affecting your relational network.  Changes in your income are affecting your budget.  Changes in your family are affecting your sense of purpose as a wife or mom.  Changes in your age are affecting your ability to do things you’ve always done.  May God grant us faith to accept what He has brought into our lives and look expectantly to how He is going to work it out for our good. 

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.  And I’m hopeful that the next time change comes knocking at my door – that I’ll embrace it with a smile!

Thank you Deb.  You make us smile in this change. 

By Deb Demi

Sometimes, I want my kids to be hypocrites.  Well, that's not really what I want, but sometimes I have a desire for them to look good and act godly even if it's just on the outside. When I see ungodly behavior or even a lukewarm spirit in one of my children, my heart can jump into fear mode.  When I don't see them raise their hands in worship...when they seem to have no desire for the Word...when they lack respect for authority, speak disrespectfully, arrive late to church, don't want to attend Cross Culture, or get into trouble...I can respond in fear rather than in faith. 

What does this fear look like in me?  I begin to worry and to feel hopeless - wondering if God will ever grip their hearts. Then in response to these feelings, I act as if God needs my help.  I abandon my trust in God and nag, manipulate, yell, plead, mope and sinfully compare instead.  And I trick myself into thinking that God will be sympathetic to my fear instead of seeing it as sin.

Obedient, respectful, and polite children might make our lives easier and less stressful…and that’s not all bad.  However, what we really want are children whose hearts are gripped by the Lord.  I don't really desire for my kids to look wonderful on the outside yet be far from their Savior. I don't desire for my kids to be motivated to act godly because I'm nagging and threatening them.  I want my kids to act godly because God has worked in their hearts.  My desire is that they would glorify God with their lives because of their gratitude to the One who has saved them.  But that gratitude can only come from God.

So what do we do when we're tempted to fall into fear?  

~   Look at Jesus' Example.  Even when His disciples did not seem to respond to truth, Jesus did not fall into fear but continued to do what God entrusted Him to do by faithfully teaching, training, encouraging and occasionally rebuking them. He knew that illuminating the truth was a work of God.  And, when the Holy Spirit did come and their eyes were opened, everything that Jesus had taught them suddenly made sense.  These hopeless-looking men became men who changed the world for Christ.  In the same way, our faith-filled efforts to train, teach, encourage and rebuke our children will not be wasted.  When the Holy Spirit opens their hearts to the gospel, they will remember the truths they were taught. 

~   Entrust Them to God.  As parents, we have a unique privilege to bring our kids before the throne of grace and entrust them to the One who is able to make blind eyes see (Is. 29:18), to breathe life into dead bones (Ezek. 37), and to bring a whole nation out of Abraham who was as good as dead (Heb. 11:12).  I'm walking in faith when, instead of using sharp words, I ask God to deal with their hearts and then choose to speak kindly. Instead of inwardly fretting, I can pray that God would do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine.

I know that God is calling me to greater faith for my children.  He is calling me to stop parenting out of fear and start parenting out of the strength of real faith.  As a result, I’m being called to fully entrust my children's hearts to His goodness, mercy and love. I wonder if He might not be calling you to the same thing.

Editor’s Note: For more reading on the issue of faith versus fear, here's an article by Carolyn Mahaney called "Effective Mothering is Born of Faith Not Fear."

By Deb Demi

Do you know the verse about hiding God’s word in your heart?  (Ps. 119:11)  The problem that I have is once I hide it, I can’t always find it.

Maybe it’s because I’m over 40 or maybe it’s because I have 7 kids (4 of whom are teenagers), but I have a hard time remembering things - specifically scripture.  I can still recall bible verses that I learned when I was in grade school and even ones that I learned in college.  Back then, scripture seemed to stick in my head.  Now, however, I’m lucky to remember a verse that I memorized last month. 

Maybe you’ve experienced this too.  You spend time memorizing a passage of scripture only to be unable to recall five words of it two weeks later.  Maybe you don’t even try to memorize scripture, because it’s just too difficult.  Before giving up on the idea of memorizing portions of scripture, let me encourage you!

This past year, I have memorized Romans 12, Romans 5, 2 Peter 1, and I just finished committing Romans 8 to memory word for word.  I’m not telling you this to pat myself on the back.  Each of those passages took me at least a month to learn.  I’m not a great memorizer.  And, when I just tried to recall Romans 12 – I only could remember two verses (the ones I learned in college).  So, you may be asking, why bother memorizing at all if in less than a year – you can’t remember anything?

Here’s an example of why I will continue to hide God’s word in my heart:   For the past three months (!)  I’ve been memorizing Romans 8.  Every day while I dry my hair, I say the verses aloud from the beginning of the chapter (several times), and try to add a new one.  Then, when I’m driving in my car or lying in bed at night or taking a shower or when I first get up in the morning, I meditate on the chapter as far as I know it.  For the past three months, I’ve been immersed in the gospel promises laid out for us in Romans 8.  Through memorizing and replaying, I did what I rarely have time to do in my quiet times – I meditated on and practically applied these amazing verses on a daily basis.

Though I can’t recall much of what I memorized earlier in the year, when a verse is needed, I know if it’s located in one of “my” 4 chapters.  And, I know that it’s still hidden in my heart somewhere, because when I try to relearn portions of one of the chapters, it comes back almost instantly.

So what are you waiting for?  Find a passage to memorize.  Don’t bemoan the fact that you may not retain it forever; revel in the fact that as do the work of memorizing, your soul is being fed.  Even if you can’t find it next month, you can be confident that God’s word is hidden somewhere in your heart!

“The Word is forgotten but they are still doing their work secretly and the spirit feeds on them and grows strong.”  Françoise Fenelon

By Deb Demi

It started out with a simple (or so I thought) idea...

Tired of looking at the old, peeling, ugly wallpaper covering our kitchen and family room, I decided to take on the task of stripping the wallpaper and repainting.  But to my surprise, this “simple” task has been anything but simple.  The wallpaper pulled off the paint underneath it, the paste left on the wall in some places seemed inches thick, and scraps of border refused to budge.  And just when I thought that it couldn’t get any more overwhelming, Jeff decided to take down a wall and rip out the carpet in our dining room.  So not only is the wallpaper partially stripped leaving ugly, paint-stripped, paste-gooped walls in my kitchen and family room, there’s a big chunk of drywall missing in our dining room wall along with bare plywood floors.  I hope you get the picture.  My house is a mess right now.

Looking around, it would be easy for me to fall into despair.  However, what keeps me from discouragement and unashamedly able to live in my house is the vision that I have for what I want my house to look like.  As I strip and scrub the walls, I have the hope that soon, it’ll look much better than it did with the old, peeling wallpaper.  But before things look better, I know that I have to undergo this time of disarray.

At the same time that this construction has been going on in my home, the Lord has also been doing some extra “remodeling” in my soul.  Although the Lord is always at work in our lives, there seem to be seasons when we can feel the “construction” more acutely.  Lately I’ve been more aware of sin in my life, I’ve been experiencing failure, and I haven’t been able to keep all my plates spinning.  My inadequacies loom large revealing that I am not “done” yet.

One evening as I was tempted to wallow in my internal mess and disarray, the  Lord reminded me that just as I have a vision for my home, He has a vision for what He wants to accomplish in my life.  He is lovingly stripping me of my self-sufficiency, revealing my inadequacies and showing me where I’m not depending on Him.  Although at times the work that He is doing in us can look messy, we can be confident that He is using the painful, ugly-at-times process to deepen our relationship with Him.  When we can’t see what He is doing – when all that we can see is the chaos, we can trust that we are being conformed to the image of his Son.  And unlike my construction project, God is not daunted by the amount of work that it’s going to take nor does He lack the skill or time or vision. 

How is God at work in your life?  Are you in a season of heightened “construction”?  Or maybe your teenage son or daughter is in an obvious construction stage.  Be encouraged.  As painful as it may feel, embrace the work that He is doing in you being confident that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

By Deb Demi

I can’t believe I almost let something as silly as weeds in our yard ruin an opportunity to reach out to our neighbors. 

Even though we’ve hosted a neighborhood ice cream social for the last 2 years, insecurity and fear began to attack as I thought about doing it again.  “How could we possibly have people over when there were so many weeds in our backyard?  What about that ugly deck that never got stained?  My furniture is so mismatched!”  But through the encouragement of my children (and the neighbor children) along with the prompting of the Holy Spirit, God used the 3^rd Annual Ice Cream Social to accomplish His purposes.

If you’re like me – wanting to do something with the neighbors, but somewhat intimidated, fearful or hesitant - here are a few thoughts that might help:

1. Take a leap of faith.  If you feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something with your neighbors (co-workers, play group moms…), send out an invitation.  Once you do that, you’re committed!  After Jeff and I came up with a tentative date, we confirmed it with 2 of our neighbors that we already had a relationship with.  Then, about a week or two before the event, I made up some simple invitations and had my kids deliver them to all the neighbors on my street.  Whether I felt ready or not… it was going to happen.

2. Involve your kids. At the beginning of this summer, my kids started asking us when we were going to have our ice cream social.  We talk to them about sharing the gospel with the neighbors and showing God’s love to them in tangible ways.  We involve them in giving out the invitations, setting up the yard, and praying for our conversations to be fruitful.  When the social was over, several of the older kids asked us how it went… wondering if we had any spiritual conversations. 

3. Don’t be afraid to have the neighbors bring something.  When we lived in Lansdowne, we had an annual Christmas party.  The neighbors each brought an appetizer or a dessert.  For the ice cream social, we provide the ice cream and asked them to bring a topping or two.  People enjoy contributing.

4. Don’t be discouraged if the turn out is small.  Out of the 30 some families that we invite to our ice cream socials, we only get an average of 6 families.  At first I was discouraged, but then realized that with less people we could have more intimate conversations and build closer relationships.  At our Christmas party we only had 2 consistent families, but would always end the evening playing games and singing Christmas carols around the piano. 

As much as I went into the event fearful and self-conscious, God blessed our evening.  No one even seemed to notice the weeds in our lawn or our mismatched furniture.  Our unstained deck probably made them feel relieved that we weren’t someone else to keep up with. 

After the ice cream was eaten and the kids were playing football in our yard, one of our neighbors (in front of everyone) asked Jeff and me if we were going to Alpha this fall.  Without our initiation, the conversation amazingly turned to a lengthy discussion of Alpha and Christianity.  Interest was definitely piqued.  We now have a very open door to invite these neighbors to Alpha.

So, if you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you to do something with your neighbors, give it a try… whether it be an ice cream social, a harvest party, a Christmas get together or just a family over to dinner…take a leap of faith and trust God to do His work!

By Deb Demi

Recently I took my 12-year-old daughter shopping for clothes.  Because of our very limited clothing budget, we carefully searched for items which were on sale or clearance.  As we shopped, I watched her pull out item after item she liked, look at the price tag and then put it back.  She had to deny herself many times.  I was a bit saddened.  Though my heart’s desire was to bless her with what she desired, I knew that I didn’t have the resources to do that.  This experience happens often with my other children as well.  As long as what they want will not harm them, my innate desire is to bless my children.

As I was beginning to wallow in my limited resources, the Lord graciously spoke to my heart.  “Do you realize that you’re my child?  And just like you have the desire to bless your children, I have an even greater desire to bless you!  My resources are unlimited!  If what you wanted was best for you, would I not lavishly give it to you?”  Though this wasn’t really a new revelation, I suddenly realized that if He, having even more desire than I do to bless His children, wanted me to have something I desired, Almighty God with His unlimited resources and power and perfect love would provide it.  Yet, because my Heavenly Father also has infinite wisdom, He gives and withholds because He knows the eternal implications of each desire. 

So knowing that God is my good, all-powerful, all wise, perfectly loving, infinitely wealthy Father with a heart to bless His children, why would I ever be discontent with what He gives me or with what He chooses to withhold?  When there is something that I desire, instead of falling into self-pity, feeling envious, or thinking that life is unfair, by God’s grace, I can reflect on this Gospel promise – God is my Father.  Because of all He has graciously given me in Christ, I can be confident that if there is something He has not provided it is not because He doesn’t love me or lacks the resources, but because out of His love and wisdom He knows what will benefit me most. 

Not only does the fact that God is our Heavenly Father comfort us when we’re desirous of material things, we can also believe that He knows when and if it’s best for us to have that child we’re longing for, that spouse that we desire, a position at work we feel we deserve, or a child to be saved,…  If we don’t get what we ask for or even walk through a trial or hardship, we can believe it’s because His Father’s heart is truly blessing us by working some greater purpose for His glory and our good. 

Are you resting in the truth that God is your Father? 

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  1 John 3:1

By Deb Demi

Are you looking to deepen your friendships, experience more biblical fellowship and at the same time be encouraged in your walk with the Lord?  I have found that all of these things and more can happen through praying together with other women.  Here are two specific ways of praying together that have blessed me.

A Weekly Prayer Group: The first way is by being involved in a weekly prayer group.  A little over two years ago, I began to feel a desire to pray regularly with some other women for our husbands and children. After sharing this with one of my friends, she too thought that it was a good idea.  We sent out some e-mails, found a home to meet in, and set a day and time.  So for over 2 years now, a group of about 5 – 10 women (16 of us in all) have been meeting at Lolly DiMaio’s house every Friday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.  We try to start the meeting promptly after grabbing a cup of coffee, of course. 

Instead of sharing prayer requests, we jump right in by praying our requests.  Once a request is prayed, usually others join in by continuing to pray for that request.  We try to keep our prayers short and allow them to bounce around like popcorn.  Often someone will have a prophetic word or Scripture to share, there are usually tears, and we always leave deeply encouraged as we lift our needs up before our Heavenly Father recounting His faithfulness, His power in our weaknesses, and His goodness.  Even though some of us barely knew each other two years ago, through prayer, we have formed very special bonds.

Extended Prayer Times:  Not only is a weekly prayer meeting a good tool in building friendships, extended prayer times can strengthen our relationships in our community groups.  The first time that I mentioned to our CG women, that we were going to try to pray together for an hour, they looked at me a little skeptically.  If praying together for an hour seems daunting to you, try the following:  Come up with six categories such as praise and thanksgiving, confession of sin, husbands, children, church/leaders, and the lost.  Pray aloud according to the subject bouncing back and forth in no particular order. When 10 minutes pass, someone can move you on to the next category.  Before we knew it, we prayed for over an hour.  We learned about each other’s burdens, we cried together, and we confessed our sins before one another.  And, after praying our requests and burdens of our hearts, the context for our conversation flowed into deep and meaningful biblical fellowship.

How about you?  Who is it that the Lord is calling you to pray with?  Not only is prayer an effective means through the Gospel to bring your requests before the throne of God, it is a tool that the Lord will use to deepen your relationships and encourage your soul.

By Deb Demi

Sometimes my life can feel like a roller coaster ride.  I find myself going up and down emotionally depending on my circumstances.  When things are going well, I'm happy and at peace.  When difficult circumstances enter the picture, I get depressed, discouraged and joyless. 

One day when I was feeling particularly down, the line of the hymn "The Solid Rock" came springing into my head  "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteous."  It was like the Holy Spirit turned a light bulb on in my mind.  No wonder I go up and down so much; my hope is so often built on my circumstances, not on Jesus' blood and His righteousness (the Gospel)!

For example, one desire that I have is that my kids would respond in a godly manner.  It's a good desire.  However, I know that my hope is built on that desire rather than on Christ when I get discouraged or fearful when they are not living up to my expectations.  On the other hand when my kids are doing well, I can be elated and even prideful because what I've hoped for happened.  In either case, my hope may be built on my circumstances rather than Christ.

It's one thing to know that your hope should be built on Christ alone, but actually transferring your hope from your circumstances to Christ is the challenge.  How do I hope in Christ, rather than in the outcome of my expectations?

For me to hope in Christ means that I have to look past my circumstances, almost as if they were transparent, and ground myself on what I know about God.  Sure, my circumstances may not look good, but I know that my God is faithful, sovereign, all-powerful and because of the Gospel I know that through Christ, God loves me more than I can imagine and will cause all things to work out for my good that He has a purpose for each circumstance that He's allowed in my life that He is actively at working accomplishing His perfect will even when things look dark, and that He answers prayer.  The truth about God from the Word of God has to become more real and tangible to me than even the circumstances that I'm walking through.

Our circumstances will constantly change and our expectations will sometimes be unmet.  But when our hope is fully grounded on who God is (by reading and meditating on the Word) and the riches of the Gospel, our emotions don't have to roller coaster up and down.  On Christ, the solid rock, we will stand!  For we know that all other ground is sinking sand.

 "Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."  1 Peter 1:1

Pastor’s note:  I thought Deb’s insight on seeing our circumstances almost as if they were transparent was especially rich.  Eyes of faith see through circumstances to the loving and wise God behind them.  And he is always there.  

Posted by Deb Demi

If you’re anything like me, staying focused while praying can be a struggle.  Minutes after I begin to pray, I oftentimes find that my mind has drifted off on an endless rabbit trail of unrelated thoughts.  Though praying will always involve discipline and faith, the Lord has graciously given me a tool that has made my prayer time more effective, more enjoyable, and more gospel centered. 

To stay focused, I keep lyrics to worship songs and hymns before me as I pray (usually while walking on the treadmill).  My prayer time begins by choosing a song and singing it aloud before the Lord.  After I sing/pray a verse, I continue by praying aloud my own thanksgiving, praise, and requests related to the lines of the song. 

For instance, one song that I’ve been using for quite some time in praying for my children is “One Pure and Holy Passion” by Mark Altrogge.  Instead of using the word “me” in the song, I replace it with “them.”  So I sing (aloud), “Give them one pure and holy passion.  Give them one magnificent obsession.  Jesus give them one glorious ambition for their lives, to know and follow hard after You.”  Then I may pause between lines and pray that they would fully grasp the gospel, that they would hunger after God’s word, and that they would not desire anything that the world has to offer them more than Christ.

Not only is alternating singing and praying through hymns and gospel-centered worship songs valuable for praying for my children, songs with rich lyrics provide a valuable context for meditating on the gospel while helping me to verbally give thanks to God for all that He has done for me.  Through others’ carefully crafted words, I’m reminded of who my hope is in.

Recently I sang/prayed through “Be Thou My Vision”, “Rock of Ages”, “In Christ Alone”, and “One Pure and Holy Passion.”  By using these songs as a backdrop for my prayer time, I had no trouble praying for 30 minutes.  My focus was directed away from me and my needs and toward giving glory to God.  The songs provided a springboard, enabling me to pray more effectively for my husband, children, neighbors, and CG members.  The extended time of prayer it afforded, allowed me to quiet my soul to hear God speak, and by singing and praying aloud, my mind did not drift.  I left my prayer time feeling that I not only brought my needs before the throne of God, I was able to reflect on the gospel and truly worship God.

Though I don’t use this prayer method every day (sometimes I pray through scriptures or a prayer list), I think that praying through depth-filled worship songs can be a tool that can spur us on in our praying.  Why not give it a try?

By Deb Demi

Whiffleball season has begun at the Demi Compound (as Kimm Harvey affectionately calls our home). Already three big dirt spots have appeared replacing the once green areas that were sown last fall. I'm gearing up for the onslaught of neighborhood kids who will take over our yard in the coming months. How does one prepare for such an invasion?

About 17 years ago I read a book by Karen Mains which changed my perspective on hospitality – especially in showing hospitality to kids. In the book she told a simple story about carrying a load of laundry down the steps. As she nudged her away around her daughter and her friend who were seated on the stairs, she heard her daughter's friend say, "I love to come to your house. Your mother doesn't yell all the time the way my mother does." She also shared about how, when in high school, her girlfriend said to her, "Does your mother always sing around the house like that – like I heard her singing when we were talking on the phone yesterday?" When Karen answered that she did, her girlfriend looked at her with envy and said, "You're so lucky!"

After reading those stores, so many years ago, God began planting the desire in my heart to cultivate a home where even kids would be welcomed - that they would experience something different - the love of Christ.

I know that it's a miracle of grace which causes me to love having the house where the neighbor kids hang out. The Holy Spirit helps me to think when the kids are outside making bare spots in our grass, coming in for drinks or using our bathroom (when their own houses are only yards away) that we may be the only Christian family that they will ever see. With that in mind, I want to represent Christ to them. I want them in my home to see how Jeff and I interact, to hear the music that we have playing, to smell a home-baked meal, to overhear our conversations, or even occasionally… my singing.

Thanks to the intentional leadership of my husband, our kids are aware that they should be looking for opportunities to share the gospel with these unsaved friends. We pray for our neighbors together as a family. And, through our relationship with these kids, we're developing relationships with their parents. We don't think that where we live is an accident or that our home is ours but that it's God's instrument to be used as He desires.

Yes, there is a cost to this type of hospitality… handprints on the walls, cups outside on the porch, popsicle wrappers in the yard, fingerprints on the sliding glass doors. But, by faith I'm believing that just maybe God will use the experience that they had in our home to draw them to Himself. Compared to that hope, I can live with a few dirt spots in our lawn.