Creating a God Centered Home: Practical Tips and Ideas

Jennifer Parr (: 00:00

Hey sis, hey winning women, welcome to another episode. Today's conversation is one that I've been wanting to do for a while just because I feel like it's something that we all as women long for and that is peace. I think we long for purpose and we long for just presence, like being present in our everyday lives. The other day someone asked me, Jennifer, what was your childhood like? And...

Many of you know that I'm originally from Nigeria. My family was born and raised there. I'm half Nigerian, half Sierra Leonean. And I think naturally people assume that we were poor. We didn't have a lot of money. But there is one thing that I will say that when I think of my childhood and I think of the memories I have, the presence that we had in our home equated to happiness, equated to joy, equated to fulfillment and just contentment.

And it made me think, what will our kids say when they grow up? Or someone asked them, what was your childhood like? And not only did that convict me, but it reminded me of how important our environment, the home that we create is so important for everyone that's in it. And so whether you're single and you're creating a space of your own, maybe you're raising littles, I feel like no matter what stage of life you're in, as women, the atmosphere of your space truly matters. So today I'm going to be sharing five

practical ways to invite God into your space. Five ways to create a God-centered home. And this will show up in your routines. This will impact your relationships. Because I truly believe that a God-centered home isn't a home that looks perfect. Ugh, I am so over trying to have a perfect home. I'm actually really tired of seeing like perfection all over social media. This idea of perfection is not what it means to have a God-centered home.

A God-centered home is not having a space that looks good on Instagram or for you to post about, but we'll talk about how your presence is important and how God's presence can show up in everyday moments in your home. So the first tip, the first practical tip on how to create a God-centered home is to create a spiritual atmosphere. So what does that mean? Well, a spiritual atmosphere in your home sets the tone for everything else. And no, I'm not talking about

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lighting incense or just creating the mood in your home with music, even though music can alter the feel in your home. To create a spiritual atmosphere, you also don't need a seminary degree. You just need intentionality about a few things that I'm going to talk about. So the first thing that I encourage you to be intentional about, and that is your prayer. Start with prayer as a rhythm, not just a reaction. I feel like if you're a believer, you're taught how to pray.

Sometimes you're even taught when to pray, but you're not really taught how to make prayer a rhythm. Sometimes we're even taught that prayer can be reactionary and that we have a conversation with God or we pray to God whenever we need something. I grew up with praying parents, but not praying out loud in the home. We prayed at dinner and we prayed before we went to bed. I'm sure my mom encouraged all of us to pray when we got up in the morning, but I'm not sure how often I did that because most of the time

I was rushing to get out of the house. But as I grew up, and even in my adult years, I thought that that's what prayer was. That it was quiet and it was just between you and God, and no one else needed to know about it. But what if you prayed before work? What if you prayed before you went into the office or before you started that meeting? What if you prayed before that big decision? Our kids have been asking so many questions lately about everything they hear.

Whether it's on the news, whether it's from their friends or even things they see, whether it's on social media, which they don't have social media. But sometimes my daughter likes to get on my phone and just browse. I've got to figure out a way to change my password again so that she stops doing that. But regardless, kids are going to hear things and they're going to see things. And our kids have been bringing a lot of those discussions into our home. And it's a good thing because we're able to talk about it. I mean, even decisions like them wanting to

get a new puppy. I've made it normal to say, you know what, let's pray about that. And I'm not just saying it to be dismissive, but even in the small moments or even if they're having a tough day or I'm having a tough day, simply shifting the focus to prayer and actually praying about it creates a spiritual environment in your home where prayer is seen as a response. Prayer is seen as preparation. Prayer is seen as a pause.

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Prayer is a rhythm and it's not just praying whenever we need something. So that could mean praying with your kids before school. That could mean praying with your spouse before big decisions that you all are making or that you're making. That could mean starting your day off with prayer. If you can make the phrase, let's pray about it, a normal sentence in your space, then that is one of the many ways that you can create a spiritual environment in your

Another way that you can create a spiritual vibe in your home is to create a Bible study rhythm that actually works for you. Why does it matter that it has to work for you? It's because if it's too daunting, if it's too much, we're just not going to do it. You don't have to be a 5 a.m. girly. Shout out to those who wake up at 5 a.m. in the morning, whether it's by choice or the baby's waking you up. But either way, if you don't wake up in the morning, you can still be creative with making Bible study a rhythm.

I've seen creative topics like Bible and brew, which simply just means that you're having your Bible study while you're brewing your coffee. Another rhythm for Bible study could be scripture Sundays. Like I'm not trying to make these sound overly spiritual, but these are just rhythms you can create so that Bible study becomes more of a rhythm and becomes more frequent. So scripture Sundays means maybe every Sunday you reflect on the verse for the week. I've seen a rhythm called midday pause with Psalm and prayer.

Honestly, you really don't have to spiritualize it. It's just a way that we're saying, God, I want to spend time with you. And maybe you're struggling with creating that time. So making it a rhythm makes it just so much easier because it's something you don't have to think about. Bible and brew means you just try to spend time with God while you're making your coffee or you're drinking your coffee in the car or on your way to drop off. Scripture Sunday just means you have a day that you dedicate to reflecting on the verse of the week.

It's really more about consistency, not the clock. to help with this, I've created a three-step simple Bible study method called the Win Bible Study Method. The W, the I, and the N stands for something so simple that you can remember it. And if you would like to download that, you can click the show notes and download the Win Bible Study Method because even if you have five or just 10 minutes, this method helps you spend time with God in an effective way.

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So as you're thinking about making Bible study more of a rhythm in your home, I want to add that you shouldn't hide your quiet time from your kids. I know we like to create these curated spaces and corners, which I'll talk about later in this podcast, where we do our Bible studies. have these spaces that we read. They're tucked away. They're decked out. They just look cute and feminine and all the things. And while that's cute, let your kids, let your spouse.

Or even your roommate or a friend catch you reading the Bible or journaling. You're showing them that God isn't just talked about, but you're actively pursuing Him. So yes, invite your kids to your devotional time. Even if it's simple, you could suggest reading a verse together and maybe they can draw what it means. Or you could ask your kids, what do you want to pray for today? Maybe you could ask them, what do you want to thank God today? These are just simple questions of how

You can invite your kids into your devotional time. And not only do they start to see Bible study as a rhythm, but they start to create these rhythms on their own, which leads me to another way to create a Bible centered home. And that is to weave faith into everyday life. So did you ever grow up in a home where your parents or grandparents sat you down and said, hey, we're going to have Bible study time? Mine didn't. But even if they did,

Did that make you excited to study the word? I mean, I can't imagine kids getting super excited when parents or grandparents say, hey, we're going to sit down and study the Bible for an hour. I wish kids were like that. I wish adults were like that. But the reality is there's just something about sometimes sitting and studying the Bible that doesn't make people excited. I mean, it's hard for me to even get our kids to study their words for the week or study their math problems.

So we have to get creative if we're trying to weave faith into our everyday life. While I do think it's important to have designated time to study the Word, I have found that some of the most fruitful conversations have been when it's weaved into our daily life, when you don't have to wait for that dedicated devotional time. Sometimes this happens in everyday moments, like school drop-offs, like dinner, like discipline. The other day I was picking the weeds in front of our house and

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I was talking to our neighbor and somehow faith got weaved into the conversation. This could be car rides. You could post a verse on your fridge or your chalkboard and when people come into your home, they see it. Maybe it prompts discussion. Weaving faith into your everyday life is making faith conversational. Also, when you weave faith into everyday life, sometimes it means you're modeling repentance and grace. That means when you mess up,

You apologize and be the first to apologize. When Alan and I have intense fellowships, that's what we call our minor arguments. And if we have those in front of the kids, we also make sure that we apologize to each other in front of the kids. Let your kids and your spouse just see humility, not perfection. This creates a home of grace. This creates a home that is not built on shame.

And it creates a home where faith is a part of life, not just something that you say that you are or that you believe in. Another way to weave faith into everyday life is to create a worship environment. First off, it takes me forever to clean, but I tend to clean a little faster when I have a good playlist going. Sometimes I'm jamming to my reggae music. Sometimes I'm jagging to my Afro beats, but there's nothing like when I have my worship music playing.

I get those dishes done and sometimes by the end I'm in tears. When I start with worship and I create a worship inviting environment, it shifts my posture. I may start off doing those dishes mad because I'm having to wash dishes again, but by the time I'm done and I see a clean sink, having worship playing in the background has reminded me throughout the process that God is in the details. So maybe you keep a family worship playlist or you let your kids build one with you.

But whatever it is, just creating a worship environment helps weave faith into everyday life. So we've talked about two ways that you can create a God-centered home, and that is by creating a spiritual atmosphere. And then another way is to weave faith into everyday life, which is modeling repentance, apologizing, having conversations, not waiting for that designated devotional time, but just weaving conversations about faith in your everyday life. And while it's important to make space for faith in everyday,

Jennifer Parr (: 11:59

There's also value in shaping the physical environment around you. So let's talk about the tangible side of things. Let's talk about your space, your schedule, your rhythms. And the third way to create a God-centered home is to shape your environment with intention. Have you ever noticed how much your surroundings impact your spirit? A cluttered home can lead to a cluttered mind. A rushed morning, which I feel like is every morning, can lead to a reactive day.

So part of creating a God-centered home is looking around and asking, does this bring peace or does this help me focus on what matters more? I like to call it decluttering with purpose. First off, I love a good declutter, whether it's the end of spring or beginning of winter, removing physical clutter is so gratifying. So maybe that means decluttering your room or decluttering your screen time.

Does this item or does this routine help or hinder the kind of home I want to build? A perfect example of declaring your screen time that I've implemented recently is I try not to get on social media before nine o'clock. So when I wake up in the morning, sometimes it's natural to reach over, turn off your alarm that's on your phone and just open up your emails or open up social media. I try to wake up now. I'll go for my walk. I'll grab some water. I try to drink water before coffee, but

I try to minimize that habit of checking emails and getting on social media before nine o'clock. Why? Because I end up in the doom scroll. You know the doom scroll. And that is where you're just scrolling and scrolling and consuming and consuming. And next thing you know, 30 minutes has gone by. One hour has gone by. So decluttering with purpose means, yes, you could be decluttering your space, but decluttering your screen time is just as important.

to help shape an environment with intentionality. You can also establish life-giving routines, which could be like Sabbath days. You could have tech-free nights as a family where no one gets on their phone and you just play games. You could take a family walk together. You could have a slow morning by starting your day with a walk. I call them soft starts. Soft starts are just mornings so that I can reset and start my day in a calm mode.

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This brings me to the fourth way to create a God-centered home, and that is through hospitality and mission. This simply means extending your home to others. I don't want to hear you say, I'm a private person. No. Privacy is important. Yes. Having a home that you can come home to that is a retreat is important. Yes. But God did not create women to do life alone. And I'm not talking about having a spouse, but I'm talking about community. I'm talking about friendship.

I'm talking about fellowship. These are all important to women. These help women thrive. So whether you live alone or you may be living with family, your home can be a place of ministry. Start by serving those who are closest to you. That means your kids. That means your spouse. If you have a roommate, even yourself, you can serve yourself by taking care of yourself, taking care of your own space and soul is an act of stewardship. And when I say hospitality, I don't mean

Pinterest kind, but I mean the kingdom kind. Because that's less about having a theme or having that five course meal to invite people over, but it's more about just having an open heart, having an open door, letting your home and letting your space be a place where people feel safe, people feel seen, and maybe they can encounter the peace of God. And don't forget to celebrate God's faithfulness along the way. So

Whether it's at a dinner before bed or in a text to a friend, just ask, where did I see God today? Let your home simply be a space where others feel God's peace. And as you do this, guess who will see this and model it? Your kids, your spouse, your roommate, your parents if they're living with you. Somehow our house has become the designated house in our family where whenever it's the holidays, people come over.

We love it. Guests can see the joyful Jennifer and the, welcome to our home. But if they had any idea of the stress it took for me to get our house ready for them to come, they would be surprised. So I've changed it. I want to teach our kids to serve at home first. And I want to teach our kids that service matters. So we assign age appropriate chores to talk about how serving one another is a form of love. That comes from Galatians 513.

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That way our kids help invite others into our home by creating a space. They help with chores. They help with what it means for people to feel loved when they come into the presence of your home. So far I've given you four ways to create a God-centered home. So now there's one more piece that holds it all together and that is speaking life with your words. This one may be the most underestimated, but I do believe that it's the most powerful. Your words shape the spiritual climate in your home.

A God-centered home isn't just built with decor or routines, but it's built with truth. What you say to your children, what you say to your spouse, what you say to your roommates, what you say to yourself, sis, that matters and it matters so deeply. So let your home be filled with words like, God is with us. Girl, you are growing. This house is a house of peace.

I'm proud of you. And we're learning together. These are just a few phrases that add so much strength into your presence. And it's not just what you say, but we've talked about this, ladies. Your tone matters. How you say it matters. You can walk into any room and as winning women, you have the power to shift that space. You have the power to shift the way people feel just by your tone.

So let that be a reminder that even if your home feels loud, even if your home feels busy like ours, even if your home is not perfect, which is perfectly fine, your voice can call it back to peace. How you talk to your spouse matters. How you talk to your kids matters. How you talk to yourself matters. So let's quickly recap the five ways that you can create a God-centered home as winning women, and that is...

Create a spiritual atmosphere. Weave faith into your everyday life. Shape your environment with intention. Extend your home to others. Remember, hospitality matters and your tone matters. Speak life with your words. You don't have to have this all perfectly. Matter of fact, just pick one and start with that as the focus for this week. I truly believe that when God is centered in your home, then everything else begins to fall into place with more peace.

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more clarity and you will just feel more purposeful. Let's pray together. Lord, thank you for reminding us that our homes, no matter how loud they are, no matter how quiet they are or messy, can have you at the center of it all. So we open our doors to you again. Come into our routines, Come into our conversations, come into our thoughts, our relationships, and help us build an atmosphere where peace is protected.

Where truth is spoken and love is felt deeply. And when we're tired, Lord remind us that your strength is made perfect in our weakness.

When we feel unseen, Lord remind us that you are the God who sees us. And when we don't know what to say or how to lead, Lord remind us that your spirit gently guides us. Teach us to be women. Teach us to be winning women who protect what matters, to pursue what's holy and plant seeds of faith in every room that we walk into. And with that, Lord, we dedicate our homes. We dedicate our space. We dedicate our hearts to you. In Jesus' we pray. Amen.

Amen.

If this episode encouraged you, would you take a second and just share it with a friend or you could leave a review? It just helps more women in this space feel seen in this season by pointing them to this podcast. And if you're looking for simple tools to build a God-centered home, check out the Wynn Bible Study Method. And this is free on my website, jenniferparr.com, where you can click the show notes. But it's a great way to stay rooted in truth, no matter what your day looks like. Thanks for spending time with me today. Stay grounded, stay surrendered.

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Keep building what truly matters. Go win this week and make God proud. Bye for now.