FFG -- Heat Up My Home!

My amazing friend Lori hosts Friday Farm Girls @ Heart every week;

please click on her button to visit her blog

and to find out how you can participate!

Snow from earlier this week

January is cold in Chicagoland.  Even as I type, my fingers are cold.  And my feet are cold.  (I need to go find my slippers.)  But since the thermostat is set at 70 degrees, I can't justify turning it up.  Why is it that during winter, we set the heat to 70 and I'm cold, and in summer, we set the air conditioning to 70, and I'm hot?  Hmm...

This morning I took a photo of our porch thermometer.  I don't think it's going to get much warmer today--warmer being a relative term, of course.  Today, my farm-girl heart is reflecting on thermostats and thermometers.  Bet you'd like to know where this post is going.  :)

It's really quite simple.  I woke up nice and toasty in my bed, since I was snuggled under the covers all night.  That's the warmest I'll probably feel today.  But 70 degrees inside isn't so bad.  I got up, showered and dressed, and made myself a cup of tea.  I'm glad we set the thermostat at 70.  Though I'm a little cold, I know that it's warm inside.  (And I can always go into the kitchen and bake something.)

Then I grabbed my camera and stood on the porch--no coat, no shoes--to shoot the thermometer.  Yes, I wanted to shoot it, too, but I knew that the thermometer was merely reflecting what the actual temperature was.  It didn't do anything wrong, or bad.

And there is the lesson I'm learning today.  The thermostat sets the temperature; the thermometer reflects the temperature.  I am a "thermometer" in that I am a reflection of Christ in my home.  But is my "thermostat" set correctly?  Am I focused on Him today?  Am I setting a Godly, warm tone in my home, that it may be a haven of rest and a place of safety for Fernando and the boys, a place where visitors feel welcome and loved?

These verses talk about light, not heat, but they are a good description of this concept.

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket,

but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16 nasb

Lord, help me set my eyes upon You, and help me plant my farm-girl heart firmly in my home, that I may reflect Your love and grace both within my little world and abroad.

Back to life,
Christine

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