home is where the heart is...

if i told you how many times i rearrange my house and furniture, you'd think i was a crazy person. aaaand maybe i am to some degree. my husband probably thinks i am, anyway. he's usually the one that either has to come home to a tornado of a mess because i'm moving stuff everywhere, or he has to help me. well. he doesn't HAVE to... he knows that i'll totally move stuff around without him. and he just laughs and says, "you're crazy, little one", then takes the other side of a table or chair and helps. he's also my official picture holder ("jay, move it a little to the left.... a liiiiiittttle more. ok, too far... a smidge to you is a mile to me! ok, hold it! perfect!"). aside from just liking my house to look nice, i also want it to be inviting. for who? for you! 

it's not enough for things to be just functional for me. i like things that are thought out, not to merely do what it's basic function is, but to be beautiful, to be safe, to be inspiring, to be comfortable, etc. i don't have a huge budget to work with. most of the things in my house have either been passed down, thrifted or craigslisted (and now, thanks to some facebook mamas, we also have peninsula buy sell trade. have you ever noticed how wacky people can be about the supposed and unspoken facebook ediquette?) and it doesn't bother me one bit. makes it fun and seem like treasure hunting. you may come into my home and not realize the time that i put into arranging it in such a way that would hopefully seem warm and beckoning... i don't know, maybe you do... but in any case, my heart is for people to come in and not only feel the peace of God in our home, but a huge Manalli hug in every space made available to them. no, it's not about the things i have. stuff is just stuff. i'd be lying if i said it'd be the easiest thing in the world to give up my home if i had to, but honestly, it also wouldn't be the hardest by far. so my aim isn't to showcase our possessions. and of course, i never want to assume that i have the best taste in decor either where everyone is like, "omigosh, that mariya knows what she's doing." it's to just simply make you feel WELCOME.

i could go into the whole, "and speaking of feeling welcome, how do you arrange your life and heart to make the Lord feel welcome there?" but. i'm not. i kinda did. just now. but for real. i'm not going to go there. 

one of my dreams has always been to have people in my home.... in the kitchen, in the dining room, on my couch... talking, laughing, crying, praying, worshipping, watch movies etc etc etc, feeling free to be themselves and feeling free in general. can people cry at my dining room table, can people fall asleep on my couch, can people find my cups for a drink of water? do they feel acceptance? do they feel the love my family has for one another by us doing life in these walls?  

part of that dream is fulfilled every week on a thursday when burning ones, our young adult home fellowship, comes over and fills our home and our heart. it's one of the best feelings to know that when God says he can use me, he literally meant he can use all of me, including my home.