DWELL...HOME DEFINED "Heart Is Where The HOME Is."

"Home is Where the Heart is." It reads this way on every piece of artwork, it's engraved on jewelry, blankets, found in literature across genres...and yet it seems "They" whoever They are, have it all wrong. Defined: "Prov. People long to be at home.; Your home is whatever place you long to be." When is the last time you have been so overwhelmed by God's love that neither location nor your circumstances had any sway in preventing the tears from streaming down your face? No, really, if you know me at all I'm really asking, and I haven't walked away, but am standing right here anticipating your answer. Lately, it seems, a rush will come over me and I will be left with the silent streaming tears, the ones that leave you breathless, or just a single reminder tear when it comes to who He is, His movement in my life, His faithfulness, provision, and relentless love. He is my portion and I am His...HOME defined. ALL Caps, not without purpose. When was MY last time? Drum roll please...TODAY! I wrote, "The music began to play and no words yet spoken, I grabbed hold of my necklace with my right arm in full surrender...looking up at you the tears began to stream down my face BECAUSE HE IS FAITHFUL :) I love you and He overwhelms me at the thought." On the receiving end; my best friend Emily Goswick. Job 12:13-14, in an effort to display the all-knowing Great I AM, reads, "“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released." What remains standing is of Him, and with great purpose it is sustained. ALL wisdom, power, counsel, and understanding are His alone. As women, we tend to think, we want what we once had...only to cheat God even in our thoughts of the MORE our Builder has in mind (Hebrews 3:4) I choose today, to abandon that thought and strive never to swerve and return to it again. I've known best friends walking out on me, their circumstances having nothing to do with me...left wondering if I'd ever have _____ again. In due time, God rebuilt relationships with all but one...a new normal, but never the same. Galatians 6:8...my daily reminder. Just one of those THIS IS WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT moments..."And thank you so much for SEEING and for ENCOURAGING. You're a wonderful best friend and such a huge blessing! Love you sweet Brooke! So much!" ~Emily Goswick. Sometimes your mission takes you beyond borders, to the streets, the inside of a jail, a classroom etc. AND sometimes simply to your face in your own home. Prayer warriors do exist "I'll pray for you," is far too common a practice that passes through the lips and comes up empty as a promise. BUT not so with God..."So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me EMPTY but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 Does your word mean something...by His example? Her word does. I love that God has blessed me with someone who challenges me spiritually, who is equally intentional, carrying a mutual give and take, the one on the other line of the I just have to tell someone kind of calls, who matches my silly within...(oh the things her amazing husband puts up with in us), lives what she speaks, truly unmatched talent, and SO SO good for the soul. I am so undeserving of such love and yet He finds me worthy. This woman ministers to me daily with her life, and yet she is constantly thanking ME for ministering to her with MINE. Who am I? Linger and listen to your HOME. ...and Oh the stories she tells with her lyrics as she did to me listening in to her grandpa's song. LIVE A LIFE WORTH TELLING STORIES ABOUT...and just maybe someone will be singing your story, following your footsteps, praising God for your presence.... in your absence. If you don't have people in your life that move you to lift Him higher(an MVP: Someone who MOTIVATES your character, VALUES your soul, and PRAISES your journey), it's time to find new friends :) With her music I can work and worship my Father in Heaven without saying a word. Choose not to linger and listen....and you are doing a disservice to yourself and cheating your heart out of the more God has for you. Life with Emily really is like being reintroduced to BEAUTIFUL defined on a whole new level daily. SO blessed by our friendship handpicked by God's design. With Emily I am HOME. She is human, fails daily, swerves from time to time, should be crucified like me, for her thought life alone...and yet she lives out her knowledge that JESUS in her is greater than _________. What God has built no man can tear down. When the spiritual outweighs the social, you have found a good thing. When together you press into Him and desire to embrace Acts 2 living, you have found a God thing. God reminds me each morning that He has this...and I can rest in His grip. With Front Door Treasures, prayers that deliver, and delivered encouragement, African Community Laundry (don't ask), the sharing of meals, the therapy of cooking, cleaning, and serving...I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of ME Philippians 3:12 "food for thought." Jeremiah 29:11, so true, He does know the plans He has for you. It is THIS voice that draws me closer to my Father in Heaven on my morning drive to work. It is THIS voice that keeps me sane as a teacher. It is THIS voice that encourages me in word and action. It is THIS woman who reflects the love of God and marks every life crossing her path for the better. Daily she seeks her EVERYTHING, so with Him reigning center stage in both of us...her words have WEIGHT with me. Desiring NOTHING from me; I lavish generously, hilariously, ridiculously, inexplicably. Sound familiar? She is my constant, my best friend, and I am hers....HOME defined. Beautiful inside and out...for me, the IN stands out. She is Heaven's advance in my eyes. Not all rewards must we wait on Heaven for. Like being caught without an umbrella. HOME defined. ALL Caps, not without purpose. Some of you know that I have a huge heart for kids. And whether she grows close to me beneath my heart, or claims me from another soil...the first little girl has a name. My best friend loves to have me tell the meaning behind the daughter I pray by name for. In fact she sends me texts just to say she's praying for Lyra, and I'm pretty sure she already has designed her room in chalkboards. Her name is pronounced like you are saying lyric, because her mother has written them for years through her poetry. In the Bible David worshiped God with the Lyre no matter his circumstances...and I strive to do the same. Her middle name was once going to be Grace because many believe that grace ended at the cross, but it truly is empowerment for everything in life. I wanted it in the middle, as a reminder of His relentless love. BUT I can't write what I haven't lived. So in August 2014 I will begin the process of adoption, alone it will be on paper, but if God so chooses together "process" will look like huge investments in the form of prayer FIRST...paper later. With me as her mom, no matter domestic or international her name will read Lyra Emily-Grace Leffelman. God assures me it was by design :) So dry those tears Emily Grace Goswick. Yes EGG you can have fun with LEG all you want in the waiting for a more permanent 4th letter. Hyphen, not without purpose. HOME is not a location for me. It is a state of being, a sweet spot, an inexplicable peace. It's a noticing of my Builder building, an embracing of gifts given, and abundant living. It's my state of being, at the thought of Revolution Church, babies, adoption, mission work etc. It's not about the soil, and far more the grains of sand He knows to represent the number of my thoughts. It is the HOME within my heart that causes my heart to beat fast, revisiting those three kinds of tears. It is HOME that plants you face first in the ugly cry, that is so beautiful. It is HOME that follows heart. If your heart is not right with God, and you are not in a right relationship with Him, I promise that you will never know HOME defined. In marriage he will know I will settle for no less than HOME. He is FIRST because I can't bare the sound of LAST...my life crashing like the waves upon the sand. So, I choose to DWELL. To live as a resident. To exist in this given place or state. To fasten my attention. To speak or write at length; expatiate. ...and expatiate I have :) I just EXPATIATED all over my computer screen.