The Gathering Place

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What exactly is a “gathering place?”

Some may think it’s the family room.

And it can be.

Some may think it’s the dining room.

And it could be.

Some may think it’s the parents bed!

And for families with young children, 9 times out of 10, it is!

But what I’d like to encourage us all to do is have a PLACE – a designated place – set aside for the gathering together for a very special purpose – PRAYER.

When there is a place in the home that is considered, “The Gathering Place,” it is a space or a room that everyone in the home knows is the place for family prayer. The place for gathering together to be with Jesus in His Word and in prayer.

As we read the Gospels, and we see Jesus — we always see a gathering. People gathered to hear Him, to talk with Him, to see His miracles, to touch Him, to spend time listening to Him. People gathering together to be taught by Him and to watch and learn from His ways. All throughout His earthly ministry, we see recorded time and time again — gatherings. The gathering of people around Jesus. What a wonderful example this can be to our children, families, and friends by having a place in our home just for the coming together for the same purpose – gathering together to be with Jesus in prayer.

The movie, the War Room, challenged many of us in having a designated place for our own “closet” prayer.  But for Rip and I, our kitchen dining area IS our gathering place. It’s where we start into our day.  With turkey bacon sandwiches and OJ, we first start our day gathered around that table for prayer.  It’s where we go as a family, too, when the prayer needs of others needs to be presented to the Lord in prayer.

I never call that sacred space the kitchen table…the breakfast nook…or the eating area. For us, it’s “The Gathering Place.”   Now, we do enjoy some delicious meals around the kitchen table, and we sometimes open the mail and add up receipts in the nook. BUT, when I walk into that very special space of our home, I’m more thankful that it is our Gathering Place. Our chosen place for prayer.

As a family, how about designating a space or room in your home that can become known as, “The Gathering Place.”

Maybe considered making a little sign to hang in your Gathering Place. What a GREAT conversation piece it would be…for folks to come in your home, see the sign, ask about it, and you get to encourage THEM to go back to their homes and find a similar sacred space.

In our Gathering Place, we have the table my dad built when I was a young girl. It was our kitchen table for a while in our home, and I love that we now get to gather around it several times a day. The white bench is chalk painted with the Annie Sloan Pure White paint and clear wax. The desk chair was my mother in laws and I love that it sits right at the end of the table, because it can swing around to visit with the folks in the family room. The black iron chair at the end of the table is one happy I found at an antique store in town! I love the collectic-cottage look! The box on the table full of fall favorites came from my Rip. He came home one day and a wooden box in his hand and said, “I thought you’d like this box, baby. It’s old.”  Give me old, odd and end pieces and it’s amazing what the result can be! Rip built the window seat and I found great pillows at TJMAXX, Walmart and Ross.

Happy HOMEMAKING y’all…and find that Gathering Place in your home for you and your family! What a memory you will be making and I’m sure, passing down to your kids, too.

*For more on homemaking, join me in the NEW Homemaking Series, “It Ain’t About the Fancy, But the Fun!” Become an “Interior Inspirations Member” to be a part of the new series! Click on Member at the top of this website, and it’s pretty simple from there. 

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lisa rippy

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