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Have you seen all the gorgeous homes on Pinterest? They are picture-perfect!

The decor draws your eye to gorgeous statement pieces without a kid’s toy to be seen.

Stairways wind out of sight uncluttered by dirty laundry and dog hair.

Bathrooms contain a whimsy that calls you to stop and rest in a lengthy bubble bath. Meanwhile my own bathroom makes me moan in frustration at how quickly it is filthy again!

Laundry rooms on Pinterest make you consider the chore to be almost delightful. My laundry room often has sights and smells that just leave me nauseous.

Pinterest-worthy kitchens have all matching appliances that you can assume work properly. In my kitchen, I am just happy that my appliances are still functioning-hang in there a little longer, dishwasher!

 

The Craving For A Pinterest-Perfect Home

Perhaps you too have spent some time enjoying the beauty of homes featured on Pinterest and in home decor magazines.

Studies show that people are craving Pinterest-perfect homes. And are about to lose their sanity trying to get those results!

And I am no different. I too have spent hours of my life just scrolling through Pinterest comparing my home’s faults against the perfectness of the images on my screen.

The first year after becoming a homeowner, I filled several Pinterest boards with ideas that might work in my home. And spent about a year working frantically to get those results.

Each time I completed a new project, I found my frustration mounting. No matter how closely I would follow directions, my older home just didn’t catch the same glimpses of glory that matched those beautiful pictures!

Honestly, after about a year and a half of this frantic cycle of projects and frustrations, God used some circumstances in our jobs/finances to really make me take a step back. He allowed me to see my poor heart attitude behind all my efforts.

I realized I wasn’t creating a home.

Instead, I was trying to make a showcase that could never be touched or used.

In my pursuit to make everything pretty, I was falling short in every imaginable way. And I was making our lives miserable in the process!

Instead of picking the comfortable couch and chair set, I picked the trendy looking set. Rather than make our office area usable, I hid so many things in baskets and cases that we couldn’t even complete a simple project with ease. While our bedroom looked fashionable by day, we were itching and miserable from the “pretty” sheets.

After having to swallow my pride, God called me to make our house a home that honored Him. And one that was truly livable for my family.

Our beds have t-shirt fabric sheets on them and we sleep comfortably (also we ditched the extra piles of throw pillows.) Now our office area is fully functional but there are stacks of notebooks, binders, pens, and various wires visible to the naked eye. And that trendy couch is already ragged after just a few years of use. Currently, we are saving to purchase a sturdy, well-built couch that will serve our family’s needs for years to come…even if it is not the most eye-catching piece in the furniture store!

Do Christian Homes Have To Be Pinterest-Perfect?

Through the journey that God has been bringing me as a homemaker, I have been doing a lot of soul searching. And some of the questions I found myself asking included, “Do Christian homes have to look picture perfect? If my house doesn’t look that way, am I a bad Christian homemaker?”

Well, the short answer to that is no.

While we are called to be homemakers, there is nothing in the Bible that states that we must have spotlessly perfect homes.

Whether you are an immaculate house keeper or the clutter queen, there is one thing that is true for you as the keeper of a Christian home.

God is the One who should be the foundation and center of your home.

Psalm 127:1 states, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

Christian homes do not have to be the envy of Martha Stewart, Joanna Gaines or the moms in your MOPS group!

But Christian homes do need to have Christ as the center of their home.

Is It A Sin To Have A Nice Home?

Before we go any further, I want to address whether it is a sin for a Christian to have a truly nice home by the world’s (or Pinterest’s) standards.

Owning and keeping a nice home is not a sin.

However, letting pride rule in your heart because of your home can be a sin.

Allowing the maintenance and upkeep of a nice home and lifestyle to overtake your life can be a sin.

Creating an environment within your heart and your home that is not Christ-centered is definitely a sin.

Whether you are have a beautiful home or not, please make sure to guard your heart against making idols of your earthly possessions.

Remember these days in earthly dwellings will be over before we know it. Focus your heart on growing in your relationship with God. Make Him the priority and learn to develop healthy priorities in your life that will help you remain content with what God gives you.

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The Differences Between A Pinterest-Perfect Home And A Christ-Centered Home

As God has been working to weed the pride and discontentment from my heart concerning the condition of my home, I have found that there are some distinct differences that show up between Pinterest-perfect homes and Christ-centered homes.

Let’s take a look!

God and Your Family Take Priority

In a Pinterest perfect home, kids have to make sure they don’t mess up their mom’s beautiful living room set. Husbands find themselves tongue-lashed into completing projects. Whether by the words we say or actions we take, we send God and our family the message that they are not as important as the very house they live in!

In a Christ-centered home, kids are trained to love the Lord first. Husbands are shown the love and respect they need rather than hen-pecked through to complete chore lists. Priority is given to making the Lord welcome in every area of your family’s life.

In our home that means that we have special kids Bibles that are constantly left laying around after reading a story. There are Noah’s Ark animals that show up in Dad’s shoes as he leaves for work because the kids love turning his boots into their makeshift arks. 🙂 Our Bible study materials that we use during our daily devotionals are in plain site even though it doesn’t do much for the look of the room. Basically, if it is something that is helping our faith grow, I am learning to let it make my home look lived in.

Growing a relationship with God is the number one priority you can have within your family. Make your home a place that fosters that priority rather than stifles it!

After you have established a firm foundation of loving the Lord, it will naturally follow that you train your kids to take care of what God has given us. This can mean cleaning up their toys, putting away their clean clothes and numerous other chores that lend to the maintenance of a home.

When chores and home maintenance is placed in priority after God, it won’t leave your family questioning if they should even be living in your home!

Open Doors Are Better Than Pretty Doors

Within the world of Pinterest, you will find millions of ideas for how to host your next party. You won’t ever be at loss about what drinks to serve, what color scheme to pick, or the perfect menu for any event.

Here’s the issue with this-the only time you are welcoming people into your home is when you are prepared for them!

Christ does call us to open our doors often. We are to welcome people into our homes. But not just when our homes look perfect. 

By far, this is one of the areas I struggle with the most. First, I struggle with just inviting people to my house-prepared for them or not. (I mean, I have young kids. Having people over takes a lot of energy that I just sometimes doubt I have!) God has been confronting me and I am finding ways to allow people into our home and lives better than before but there is definitely still room for growth here! 🙂

Second, I really struggle with the idea of someone (ANYONE!) seeing my house when it is below a certain standard. God calls us to welcome others into our homes lives and into our messes. Let’s not seek to hide our lives from others. Even if there is a stack of dirty dishes threatening to crash to the floor, please swing your door open and welcome the unexpected visitors that might show up.

Let’s not slam our doors shut because our homes may or may not live up to expectations set by staged pictures on the Internet!

Interruptions Are Welcomed

Speaking of interruptions… 🙂

Okay, my Type A personality loves having systems and to-do lists in place for everything. Pinterest is my go-to place to find ways to help me organize my home well. And I have found that having these systems in place has made my life easier in so many ways.

However, God wants me to first and foremost honor Him, not some system.

Of course, I can plan to wash dark colors on Monday, white colors on Tuesday, kitchen towels on Wednesday, etc. Having a plan is great. But when God interrupts those systems and plans, I need to submit to His schedule for my time.

Personally, this can mean that when I need to sit with my kids and sing a special Bible verse song and snuggle them through a rough day, I set aside whatever cleaning schedules and give them priority. If a friend needs a helping hand running errands, I lend that hand even if it means that I don’t get every item checked off my to-do list for the day.

Honestly, one of my favorite fiction books of all time illustrates this beautifully. The main character Christy and her friend Fairlight take a day off to go pick some berries further up the mountain. Christy is concerned that she is taking Fairlight away from her household chores. Fairlight sets the record straight by stating that there will always be laundry, dishes and cooking to do. There won’t always be days for her to join her best friend and children in an adventure on the mountain.

There is so much truth to this! Let God interrupt your homemaking schedules and plans. Make room in your schedule so that you too can joyfully drop the daily tasks from time to time and escape on an adventure of God’s making!

Contentment Is Nurtured

Pinterest-perfect homes are built around the idea that where you are at is not okay.

By comparison, Christ-centered homes nurture a spirit of contentment. Whether you have a mansion or a shack, you are content. God has given you joy in where you are at now.

Comparisons are the biggest contributors to discontentment. When you compare your home to those on Pinterest, you will find ways that yours is lacking. That home has a nicer looking kitchen faucet. Their patio furniture isn’t as faded. They have enough bathrooms for everyone in their family. Within a matter of minutes, we can find all the ways our homes don’t live up to some expectation we have made.

As you seek to create a Christ-centered home, guard against comparisons. If this means you don’t get on Pinterest to feed your dissatisfaction, that is okay. Ask God to show you every single area where you can weed out discontentment.

Instead find, ways that you can grow and build your worth in who are in Christ. Once you are grounded in Him, it becomes easier to let the comparisons fade and the contentment to abound.

Don’t let comparisons rob your joy for what God has given you!

 

True Joy Is Found In A Heavenly Home

Pinterest-worthy homes might have times of laughter. But this will be a shallow, fleeting laughter if it is not backed by God’s joy.

Within a Christian home, you will find times of laughter and times of utter heartbreak and sadness. However, underneath both, you will find an abiding joy.

This abiding joy is fueled by the knowledge that while we can enjoy our earthly homes, we ultimately have a eternal Heavenly home waiting for us!

Avoid placing your happiness and worth in your earthly home and situation. Homes get leaks and termites. Fires and floods can completely destroy these physical dwellings.

Instead, find your joy in the salvation that is your heavenly home! Remember, as a Christian, you get to spend an eternity with God in Heaven because of the work that Christ did on the cross to take away your sins.

When we keep our eyes on this beautiful Gospel truth, our true hope and joy will never be found within the walls of our home.

 

Your Turn

Christ should be the joy, the foundation and the central part of what makes our house a home.

What ways have you struggled to fight off the cravings for a Pinterest-perfect home?

How have you been successful at creating a Christ-centered home for yourself and your family?

Where do you turn for when you find discontentment setting in? Pinterest for an improvement project or God for an attitude and heart check up?

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

 

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