Phase 2 of The House Behind The Trees ~ The downstairs #TeelsBuildaHouse

So we are starting the downstairs ... I HATE to say basement because we had a basement in our old home, where you opened a door and went down stairs separated from anything else. It was a finished basement complete with a bedroom, craft room, family/game room and we spent a lot of time there ~ our oldest son moved down there in jr high and stayed through high school ... until we finished the master suite in the attic then he moved back up to the bedroom floor with his brother and sister.  So here our downstairs is open to the rest of the house, you can see through to the outside from the top of the stairs going down because we have a wall of windows down there as well.  We really didn't plan to have a kiddo down there but since we are having to do a switch-a-roo with rooms (I'll explain later) he is moving home soon and will be downstairs. Anyhoo, our downstairs will house our main family room, our middle sons room, a full bath and kitchenette.  I thought it would be fun ...

Do You Want to Win the Respect of Others?

“So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders...” 1 Thessalonians 4:12

When others look at our lives, what do they see? Does our daily life win the respect of others? As believers in Christ, we are His representatives here on the earth ~ we are called to a higher standard. The way we live our lives should bring glory to God the Father, but does it?

Notice the key verse doesn’t say, “Go out of your way to do something major so that everyone will respect you.” And it doesn’t say, “Win a gold medal or Pulitzer prize so that people will glorify your Father in heaven.” Rather, it says that our daily life should win the respect of others. That simply means that we should always take the high road and live a life of excellence, always try to do the right thing even when no one is looking, always looking for and trying to find a common ground in order to be a peacemaker, and going out with an attitude of faith and thanksgiving.

We will become like whomever we spend the most time with. If we spend time with negative minded people, we will have a hard time being positive, we will be negative ourselves. However, if we will commit to spending time with God the Father every day (preferably from the moment we wake each morning so that we can start our day off on the right foot), we’ll develop His character AND we’ll win the respect of outsiders all while bringing glory to our Father in heaven!

Father, today I dedicate every area of my mind, will and emotions to You today. Help me live my daily life as an example of Your love. Let me honor You in all I do so that my daily life wins the respect of others in Jesus’ name! Amen.

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