Moving Towards Joy

Have you ever moved into a new home? I have. Several times, actually. And the truth is: I haven’t always celebrated those moves. 

Sometimes they’ve been ultra-stressful; sometimes they’ve been sad, like when I left my family, friends, and work behind, not to mention LA’s sunshine, to move to Montreal after Val and I were married. That one was really tough! (Not the being with Val part, but the cold-weather, no friends, distant-city part.) Thankfully, God has taught me that, no matter where in the world I am—a tiny trailer on a movie set, a snowbound rental apartment in the frozen tundra, or a house hugged by sunshine—I can always dedicate that dwelling, temporary or permanent as it may be, to God. 

That’s what our family did when we renovated our current home. After we tore it down to the studs, each of us not only wrote our names and Scripture verses on the structural “bones” of our home, but we gathered in the eventual living room to pray over the house and ask God’s blessing on each person who would ever come through its doors. 

When any of us dedicate our spaces to God’s glory (work and hobby spaces too!), He knows just how to help us make them places of warmth and joy and community, where others feel welcomed and He is celebrated. 

Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. EZRA 6:16 HCSB 

God, I invite You and others into my home, wherever “home” is. Guide me to dedicate this place to You and celebrate Your presence here with joy. 

Candace Cameron Bure 
100 Days of Joy & Strength 

Looking for more inspiration? You can find hope & encouragement in God’s Word every day with the new DaySpring Hope & Encouragement Bible now available for pre-order.