These days, new homes are more than brick and mortar \u2014 they\u2019re smart, sleek, and filled with more buttons than a space shuttle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Case in point: Carl\u2019s daughter, Amelia, and her husband, Terrell, recently moved into their \u201cforever home\u201d here in Austin. With their kids off to college, the basketballs and pool toys are packed away. Instead? Think heated bathroom floors, touch faucets, geothermal efficiency, high-end appliances, and a view so private, curtains aren\u2019t even needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And let me tell you \u2014 the home is beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that Carl and I offered to dog-sit just to stay there. That\u2019s saying something, considering our dog days are blessedly behind us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as dazzling as this modern marvel is, what really stirred me wasn\u2019t the view \u2014 it was the thought:
What if we could stroll through a \u201cParade of Homes\u201d\u2026 not based on square footage or stonework, but on the heartbeat inside?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if, instead of ultra-modern layouts, the prize homes were those where God is the Centerpiece?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where decisions are run through heaven\u2019s filter, not just the group chat.
Where family values are more than framed quotes \u2014 they\u2019re lived.
Where laughter is shared, forgiveness is quick, and peace lives like a long-term guest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joshua 24:15 puts it plainly: \u201cAs for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.\u201d Not just occasionally. Not just when company\u2019s coming. But always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our home, God isn\u2019t our #1 priority \u2014 He\u2019s the center. Because when He\u2019s the center, everything else gets its proper place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do we always get it right? Of course not. But when we drift (and we do), we circle back to our center. He never moved \u2014 we just needed a course correction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proverbs 3:6 reminds us, \u201cIn all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And maybe \u2014 just maybe \u2014 when others enter that kind of home, the kind where grace is thick in the air and peace flows like sweet tea on a porch\u2026 they\u2019ll want a home like that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forget granite countertops \u2014 give me a home with God at the center. Because when He\u2019s the centerpiece, everything else falls into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
These days, new homes are more than brick and mortar \u2014 they\u2019re smart, sleek, and filled with more buttons than a space shuttle. Case in point: Carl\u2019s daughter, Amelia, and her husband, Terrell, recently moved into their \u201cforever home\u201d here in Austin. With their kids off to college, the basketballs and pool toys are packed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18699,32084,1769,20774,1392,3864,32081,1382,32083,323,31280,40,3810,1077,7959,44,32082,8412],"class_list":["post-22411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-as-for-me-and-my-house","tag-centerpiece","tag-christian","tag-dogs","tag-facebook","tag-family-values","tag-forever-home","tag-forgiveness","tag-god-is-the-center","tag-grace","tag-hearts","tag-inspiration","tag-joshua-2415","tag-laughter","tag-parade-of-homes","tag-peace","tag-prize-homes","tag-proverbs-36"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22413,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22411\/revisions\/22413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}