	Bob Hostetler > Writing

The House Blessing

by Bob Hostetler

We weren’t even in the market for a new house.

My wife, two children, and I had lived in our first home less than three years and, while the house seemed to get smaller every month, we had decided that we wouldn’t be in a financial position to even consider another home for several years.

But God changed all that.

I had been writing, full-time, for nearly three years. My “office” was a four-by-six corner of the master bedroom (which was only 10x12 to begin with). My “library” was comprised of over twenty boxes in the attic, which I could enter only by unfolding a ladder in the narrow hallway, climbing the ladder, pushing open the attic “door” (a piece of plywood), and hoisting oneself through the opening in the ceiling. While I had written six books in that “office,” I was scheduled to begin an extensive writing and research project at the end of the summer that would have required frequent trips to the attic. It was clear that such limitations would severely hamper my ability to finish that project on time.

Meanwhile, my wife and daughter, who both enjoyed looking at homes and attending open houses just to stay informed and involved in the market, discovered a home that seemed to meet all our needs—within our price range! They came home that summer afternoon full of excitement, urging me to set up an appointment to view the house.

I resisted their entreaties at first, but eventually their insistence paid off, and I agreed to look at the house—only to mollify them. When I stepped into the house, the first sight which greeted me was a ten-by-twelve room with ample windows and a niche in one wall that was perfect for a floor-to-ceiling bookcase: a room just waiting to be used as an office.

As the tour of the house continued, a conviction rose within me that God had personally brought us to this home. That conviction only grew in the ensuing weeks, as our second bid on the house was accepted, and our former home was sold through a combination of truly providential circumstances. The day before fall classes started for our two children, we moved into a home that had been graciously and generously provided to us by God, as had our first home.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, my wife, two children, and I decided to do something we had never done or seen done before, though we had moved into six previous homes or apartments together: we invited a few close friends and family over for a “house blessing.” We wanted to honor God, who had trusted us with a wonderfully generous gift, and we wanted to let everyone know where our home came from and how we intended to use it.

So, we developed a “House Blessing” ceremony specifically for our home, one we have since shared with many of our friends and families. It may not be exactly suitable for every home or family, but our hope is that others may be able to use it or adapt it to express their gratitude and devotion to God, no matter how humble or palatial their home may be.

1. BEGIN OUTSIDE ON THE DECK:

(Friend or family member) pray:

God of Israel, as you led your people into the land of Canaan with the promise, “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance,”[1] we claim this land and this home in your name, not as property that belongs to us, but as a trust from you. We thank you because it is “beautiful for situation.” [2] Thank you for the beauty of this place: the trees, the grass, the sky, the birds. Let the beauty of your creation that surrounds us here always remind our family of your glory and your love.

Keep safe all who live and all who visit here . May your Spirit shield them from the Enemy like the walls of Jerusalem guard the city of our God; make this home “a threshold of the city bright and fair.”[3]

Kids begin at center of the back fence, and walk around the perimeter of the property; adults separate into two groups at the deck and walk around house to the front porch; all (kids & adults meet on front porch )

2. PORCH: Robin touches the plaque on the front porch and prays:

God, be in all our comings and goings in this house; I ask you to please take your position, not as a guest, but as the head of this house.[4]

3. STUDY/HOME OFFICE: Bob prays:

Lord, I want to thank you for my study. I can’t thank you enough for these things that you have provided: the books that line these walls, the shelves on which they rest, the computer, these windows, this floor space. Thank you for the comfort and the functionality of this work space. Thank you for making all this possible. Please help me, as I work here, day after day, to do all my work heartily,with all my might, as unto the Lord, and not unto men .[5]

4. LIVING ROOM: All join hands in the living room as (friend or family member) prays:

Loving Father, thank you for this room, for the music, the laughter, the warmth of the fire, the fellowship, the comfort that we enjoy here. I pray that your presence will always be welcomed here, that no music will be played on the stereo, no programs viewed on the television, no conversation spoken in this room that would grieve or offend your Holy Spirit,[6] but that just as the prophet Zechariah foretold a time when even the horses’ bells and common household pots would be holy,[7] so let everything here be consecrated to you.

5. KITCHEN/DINING ROOM: (Friend or family member) touches the refrigerator, stove, cabinets, etc. and prays:

God, there will be many meals prepared and enjoyed in these rooms. Thank you for the skills of those who will prepare them and for the love that will go into the tuna casseroles, spaghetti, beans and cornbread, roast and potatoes, chili, chip cookies, carrot cake, and so many other delicious and nutritious dishes yet to be shared in these rooms. I pray that, as the fragrance of those meals fills this house, so too will the sweet fragrance of your love [8]and this family’s love for each other.

6. FAMILY ROOM: Hostetlers read responsively:

Bob: Thank you, God, for giving us a family room!

Aaron: Thank you for the games we’ll play in here.

Aubrey: Thank you for the friends we’ll be able to host in this room.

Robin: Thank you for the pictures of our family that decorate these

walls, and the love they represent.

Bob: Thank you for the conversations we’ll share.

Aubrey: Thank you for the comfort we’ll enjoy.

Aaron: Help us use this room to draw closer together as a family,

Robin: and let the entertainment we choose always be fitting for children of God.

7. AARON’S ROOM: Aaron stand in the middle of the room as (friend or family member) prays:

Lord, what a great room you’ve provided for Aaron. Help him to realize that it is a gift from you.

I pray that he will sleep well here,

that he will feel safe here,

and that when the time comes for him to leave for college,

that he will take with him many memories of a warm bed and clean sheets, good times, good books, of praying with his Mom and Dad, of seeing the seasons change through his windows. Surround this room with your protection and let the young man who sleeps here be filled always with your love.

8. AUBREY’S ROOM: Aubrey stand in the middle of the room as (friend or family member) prays:

Father, what a blessing it is that you’ve provided this room for Aubrey to call her own. I pray that every night as she closes her eyes in sleep, you will remind her to thank you for this—and her many other blessings.

I also pray that years from now when she leaves here for college and perhaps becomes a wife and mother herself, she will be able to tell her husband and children stories of a happy adolescence, of how she grew to womanhood in a loving family and a godly home, and that those stories will be filled with memories of quiet times of prayer in this room, of long hours of reading, of restful sleep that comes from a clear conscience and a safe and loving place to live.

9. BOB & ROBIN’S ROOM: Bob & Robin stand in the middle of the room as (close friend or family member) prays:

God of love, we stand in the middle of this room, with its space and comfort and its wonderful view, and we remember that during their years of marriage there have been times when Bob and Robin have had to sleep on rollaway beds, camp cots, pullout couches, and two double beds pushed together in college. We remember that they have counted their blessings in rooms much smaller and much more modest than this, and our memory increases our gratitude.

You have blessed them in so many ways, and we ask you today to continue to bless their marriage, bless the love they share, bless the commitment they’ve made to each other, bless the marriage bed and keep it pure and undefiled,[9] and make their marriage a continual testimony to the love that exists between Christ and his church.

10. BENEDICTION: Bob reads:

In the circle of this home, Lord, your presence here is needed,

For that fragile circle bends when Your word and will go unheeded;

In the circle of this home, Lord, be our strong foundation;

For we need your wisdom here in every situation.

In the circle of this home, Lord, your love is dearly wanted,

So we’ll never take your grace, our lives, this home, for granted. Amen.

[3] Arthur Smith Arnott, from the hymn, “Home is Home, However Lowly”