Holy Ground
- Abbey Parsley
- Sep 16, 2024
- 2 min read
“We can’t change the battle of our day-to-day, of the devil’s schemes, but we can change the battlefield.”
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” Acts 7:33 NIV
You wouldn’t know unless I showed you the pictures, but there’s scripture written on the bare boards that make up our house. During the building process, as the rooms began to take shape, I went in the evenings when the laborers had gone home for the day and walked amongst the structure and prayed. I wrote scripture in each [not quite yet] room. I wanted God to saturate the walls of our home, I wanted Him to fill the place with His presence.
Our home has been finished several years, but when our family faces something difficult, a storm, I write scripture on post-it notes and hang them on the mirrors to reflect back at us. During those seasons, we need reminders daily, every minute, every second, of His goodness and promises. My daughter writes scripture on her full length mirror in her room, changing it periodically to suite the season she’s in.
I have a letterboard in the kitchen with scripture or a word from Him. My chair in our bedroom has a stand next to it with my Bible, many devotionals and prayer journals, brimming. My husband’s Bible? The same, next to his chair in our room.
In the entryway, the vestibule if you will, there’s a cute little church pew and a sign that reads “Please Remove Your Shoes”. We got it because we do like to attempt to keep our house clean (There’s a heart swell moment seeing all the teen friends’ shoes piled by the door. I digress. A devo for another time), but as I was scurrying around cleaning the other day, I looked at that sign with a new perspective.
This home, filled with prayer and scripture, is our Holy Ground. Jesus didn’t physically walk here, but He’s oh so present. We can’t change the battle of our day-to-day, of the devil’s schemes, but we can change the battlefield. We can teach our kids that what we fill our homes and lives with, will spill over. This is how we fight our battles.
Action Steps:
Walk around your house today, touching the couches, the chairs, the counters, the walls, your kids’ rooms, & pray. Saturate every square inch of that place. Invite God to be actively present.
Listen to “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” by UPPERROOM
Prayer: Father, there’s a flame lit. I feel it burning with importance about setting groundwork in my kids’ lives about knowing You, learning You, craving You. The importance of them coming home to a place that is so saturated with You that they can’t help but feel You. Help me to not grow weary in this pursuit. Yes and Amen.
Written by Abbey, Jesus-saturated mom of 3