Simplified Decorating: Does your home BLESS or IMPRESS?

I love looking at beautiful, magnificent homes and architecture. But when it comes to buying a home, I must be a glutton for punishment because I'm always drawn to the fixer upper. I love looking at a home, room or space and seeing past what it IS to what it CAN BE.  I love the “diamond-in-the-rough”, the over-grown, thrown away, and overlooked.  I feel that way about people, so I guess it just spills over into my taste in homes.  When we bought our current home, it was quite a looker (and not in a good way).

After a year and a half in our home, we've made great progress: painted the interior and exterior, installed a new roof (yes the last one was  blood red), cleared 40+trees, laid new tile in bathrooms, changed out light fixtures, installed stone fireplace surround and mantel, etc etc.  But one of our biggest and most expensive projects yet to tackle is our floors. We have 5 different types of hardwood flooring in our home.  NO, that was NOT a typo…I said FIVE!

Do you have anything like that in your home?  The one goofy thing that you're stuck with for a while (or maybe forever)?  Maybe you have less than desirable flooring or1980's laminate cabinets like me.  Maybe you feel your home is too small, too outdated, too messy, too disorganized, too (FILL IN THE BLANKS) to be a blessing to anyone!  I have found myself thinking …why would they want to come here when their house is so much cleaner, or newer or nicer than mine.

This kind of thinking is so harmful because it causes us to miss out on the blessings God has for both us and others. A dear friend once told me that our homes are meant to bless and not to impress.  God has done a HUGE work in my heart over the past 2 years in this area.  While I still love to decorate, I do it to create a warm place to welcome friends and family, not to create a showplace.  And though my floors are goofy and mismatched, I still welcome friends over for coffee, dinner, playdates and parties on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis.

After all, when I think back on my time in this house, it won't really matter the color or condition of my flooring.  What will be remembered will be the laughter, tears, memories and meals shared with friends and family.  So my question for is: ARE YOU USING YOUR HOME TO BLESS OTHERS?  Is there a mother's group, friend, family member who would be blessed by an invitation into your home?  Are there areas of insecurity or perfectionism that you need to surrender to God in order to be a blessing to those around you?

Have a great weekend and be a blessing. I'm off to make a pot of chili, cornbread and peach cobbler for some friends that are visiting tonight. If you're in Knoxville, come on over friend! Many blessings…
Laura