Down in my heart to stay

Despite all of the hustle and bustle of moving, this week has truly been joy-filled. The fellowship has been wonderful. Between lunches, planning meetings, emails, and Bible study, each day has left me smiling, laughing, and delighting in the blessings God has given me in friends. Seriously...right now, smile on my face. Can't make it stop. :)

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee
God of glory, Lord of love
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee
Opening to the sun above

My Father's house

The packing and moving is finally over! I'm so thankful to be living in one place as opposed to two right now. Also, the living room and kitchen are quite a bit bigger than what I remember, so I'm looking forward to inviting friends over soon. :) Despite the fact that this is my new home, it doesn't feel like it yet. I was completely expecting to wake up in the middle of the night and wonder where I was, but I was so tired that I slept straight through. Moving and reorienting the word "home" to fit this place has made me think about my true home--where I really belong: heaven.

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:13

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:2-4

These are amazing promises and I am so glad that I get to participate in them. Everyday I'm a little closer to it. As I go through day to day life and seek Christ more consistently, it becomes blatantly obvious that I don't belong here--that this earth is not my true home. I've noticed this not only in my own experience, but also by looking at what is going on in this world. My heart hurts a little every time I read a headline about war, genocide, abuse, the list goes on and on. This isn't how it's supposed to be, and one day God will fix all that.

Although, to be honest, sometimes it scares me. Maybe 'scare' is the wrong word... it makes me anxious. I think it's just the fear of the unknown that gives me a little pause and the uncertainty about what heaven is really going to be like. I know that God is true to His word and that he will do what he says he will do, so I have to keep handing that anxiousness back over and trusting Him. Much easier said than done.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21