Hello from Anita!😇
Paying attention to the news scares the daylights out of me. I am involved, I am concerned, I am sad. Â Although resistant as a rugrat refusing a nap, daily bible reading really does bring me peace.
It reminds me that God is in charge, not me. It gives me perspective.
Nations rise and empires fall, but God remains faithful to those who follow Him.
Evil  hasn’t changed much either compared to the ancient times recorded in the Old Testament. Sibling rivalry resulting in murder, wars that wiped out nations, men, even the good guys, continually succumbed to the dark side. King David, the primary poet of the Psalms, for instance, admittedly stole his top warrior’s wife, tried to cover it up and ultimately set him up to be killed in battle. No one was fooled. This hefty set of sins caused much heartache for David, although he was contrite and asked for forgiveness. He had a bunch of new material for the Psalms after that.
Chuck and I know, but sometimes forget, that everything we have comes from God…all the creativity that was poured into this place, our health, our family, our hopes and dreams. We’re simply caretakers passing through.
But, we need reminding.
Our plan in building the cabin was to have a refuge from the storm. I love to hear the rain on our sturdy tin roof and know we’re protected from strong winds, literally. But as we became ever more aware of the spiritual battles taking place on this earth, we realized that we needed more than a lock on the door.
We have to guard our hearts!
With all this rattling around in his head, Chuck invited the priest and pastor of our church, Fr. Kyle Clark to bless the log cabin that we’ve struggled to build over the last two years and haven’t quite finished.
Fr Kyle arrived in a Kia full of clergy! Dressed in clerical robes, armed with the sacraments for communion, he came prepared. He also carried a fragrant rosemary branch ( in place of  hyssop, which we don’t have around here ) to sprinkle the corners of all the rooms, and printed programs with the order of service.
Saintly reinforcements included Fr. Don and Ruth, as bright as the spring tulips she carried and Most Rev. Bishop Bobby Hall who was wondering where the dancing girls were, while his wife, Pat rolled her eyes. Chuck suggested we start by eating the decadent flourless chocolate cake, which I voted down.
This ceremony is a way to formally dedicate your home by asking for God’s favor and protection for all who enter. Fr Kyle began with prayer and blessing of the holy water.
Using my blue kitchen island to place the sacraments, was tangible evidence of the sacred taking place in the everyday. I loved that we began in the room where we spend the most time.
Fr. Kyle prayed for an abundance of heavenly blessing to sustain our lives and direct the desires of our hearts, that we may obtain mercy in the tradition of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. I don’t usually think of myself in that royal family tree or ponder the meaning of receiving a heavenly blessing while sitting at my kitchen table.
It could be as simple as not worrying and being grateful!
The formal prayers developed in the Anglican liturgy are familiar to us, repentance and requesting God’s majestic presence, which seems like a tall order for someone dressed in a tshirt  and tennis shoes. But God does surprising things, showing up to feed the common people and walking on water.
Other Christian traditions may approach a house blessing more casually, with the same goal in mind, but less formally. We Christians who practice an orthodox faith are more comfortable handling the power and might of our Creator like we would if the Queen of England dropped by, we like prayers that sound like poetry.
It’s what we wanted to say anyway, just better.
We recited responsively Psalm 51, 46, and 65 as we walked from room to room plus outside to the concrete foundation which we hope will be a first floor bedroom/ living area some day. Then we visited the garden and even the barn with munching horses ! Fr. Kyle shook the rosemary branch filled with holy water into every corner of each room.
And like all good gatherings, we ate the cake with whipped cream, made coffee, but drank wine instead and told stories to make each other laugh. I’m pretty sure Jesus pulled up a chair too.
Blessing a house is a wonderful way to invite the Holy Spirit in and shut out anything that’s not of God. We feel even more loved by our community of fellow Christians who cared enough about our little world to drive way out to the middle of nowhere and celebrate our new home with us!
I’m counting on Jesus to be a permanent resident, even if I’m not on my best behavior.
Anita, by your sharing this personal story of your recent house blessing, you invited your readers to peek into the sacred remembrances of God's covenants and His covenantal.promises with Man. You have reminded me of the hope I have through Christ's redemptive work, which I so needed after a major upset, two days ago, with my much younger sister. I can't tell whether she pulled "a David" or I did, or we both did. But today self-condemnation has fully lifted. Your blog is the icing on the cake. Thanks so much!
Love it!
So many times we substitute Christian orthodoxy for Christian convenience…it’s easier to say a quick prayer to God to bless our house and move on with life.
But when we do this we cheat ourselves of the richness of our faith and lose the importance of understanding why we believe what we believe. Reading scripture (God’s promises from ancient times) that align with our prayers provides is powerful and provides the understanding.