A House of the Lord

I've had a lot to think about lately. If you've read my last several posts, you'll know that a lot of my thoughts have revolved around finding and buying a house. Well, we've found one and now we wait. Along with this waiting comes the involuntary spinning of hamster wheels in the room of my brain labeled "Decorating Ideas". I don't know if maybe I have an overdeveloped lobe associated with this type of planning or what, but even though I'm trying not to get my hopes up until everything is said and done, I already have the downstairs of the house pretty well mapped out... OK, ACUTELY mapped out; I know the type of flower I'd like in the vase that will be on the imaginary side table which I'll know when I see. I won't bore you with the details of these plans... in reality they will take a year or more to accomplish to their exact design (since I don't furnish on credit), the main purpose of today's blog is to talk about something far more important. I was lounging around all weekend watching TV (not really, I was actively watching General Conference) and my day dreams of my future house were redirected down a less traveled, but far better path... the one which will take my family and I were we want to be. Elder Gary E Stevenson, a general leader in the church spoke about how we can make our homes a house of the Lord. He took us on a virtual tour of our houses and asked us to view our own home through the eyes of spirituality. I liked the questions he asked and thought I'd include them. They really made me think of how I want our house to be.
Imagine you are opening the door of your home:
What do you see and how do you feel?
Is there love, peace, and is your home a refuge from the world?
Is it clean and orderly?
Can uplifting images be seen including appropriate pictures of the temple and the Savior?
Is your bedroom a place for personal prayer?
Is the kitchen a place to eat wholesome food together and converse?
Are the scriptures available?
Do you have a personal gospel study space?
Is the music and entertainment you hear offensive to the Spirit?
And lastly are the conversations you hear uplifting and without contention?
Basically our homes are of equal spiritual importance to the temple.
He pointed out that we all might need a little home improvement, but that he hoped we didn't need an extreme home makeover. He also reminded me that when we put these things as a priority, we are building a spiritual mansion that cannot be corrupted by moths or storms or weather.

I thought about this virtual tour and the areas that I need to improve. So now as I'm planning our new house, I try to think of how I can make it a house of the Lord.