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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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Home is (blank)?

Mother’s Day has a way of centering thoughts on home, doesn’t it?

For some it’s the home of their youth where boo-boos were kissed and stories were read.

For some it’s a beloved home-state where the soil smells like childhood and dreams.

For me, at it’s simplest—it’s where my people are. My four guys who bring the blessed mix of beauty and chaos that claims home to my soul.

But, at it’s most true—Home is Him.

An excerpt from my welcome page reads:

I’m a middle-aged woman who spent much of life chasing roots…looking for the belonging my soul craved. Not knowing a familial sense of belonging, I longed to be enough.

As you might imagine, my heart holds a tender place for others who’ve also known the hunger for roots.

Over the years, the Lord has spoken belonging over me, whispering into my famished heart that—He is my Home.

Some days, I’m still a little girl searching for home—then Jesus shows up and reminds me I’m welcome, I’m claimed, I belong. Because He said so.

And, just like that, in the midst of chasing roots, I’m touching Sky…keeping company with the One who placed Heaven in my heart so I’d search for Home—and find Him.

What about you, friend? How do you fill in the blank? Home is ________?



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Comments

  1. Liz says

    May 18, 2017 at 6:58 am

    Home is where the Army sends you…. LOL That’s what we say here. I truly believe this nomadic lifestyle helps keep me longing for my true home in heaven. Blessings, friend!
    Liz recently posted…Word Nerd Wednesday – TabernacleMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 18, 2017 at 11:59 am

      Praying for you as you set out on another adventure, friend. May the army send you to a beautiful place to call home. ((xoxo))

      Reply
  2. Bev @ Walking Well With God says

    May 18, 2017 at 7:04 am

    Brenda,
    I love this excerpt….beautiful. I would have to agree and say Home is where Christ is. I have moved around the country and I have made several houses my earthly “home”. Each home has been an oasis from the battering of the world and is a place where Christ was worshiped as King. Ultimately, my true “home” is in heaven with Jesus. There will always be a homesickness in my soul…a feeling that something is lacking or not quite as it should be until I am finally “home” in my Savior’s arms. Until that time, I wholeheartedly agree that home for me is Jesus and with the family and friends that walk through my door and choose to do life with me. Good thought provoking question for today. YOU are home to me….what a blessing you are. You are the hands and feet of Jesus in motion here on earth!
    Blessings and love,
    Bev xoxo
    Bev @ Walking Well With God recently posted…Why, I Think, God Says What He SaysMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 18, 2017 at 12:02 pm

      Bev, you bless. Thank you for such sweet words I don’t know that I’m deserving of. Praying for quick and full recovery on your foot, friend. One week down! ((xoxo))

      Reply
  3. Michele Morin says

    May 18, 2017 at 7:25 am

    Home has become surprisingly important to me — I pictured myself rootless and single, but God had big surprises in store. In my pile of books is a treasure by Jen Pollock Michel called Keeping Place. She writes about the meaning of home, and I can’t wait to begin reading!
    Michele Morin recently posted…Laughter on the Pathway of LamentMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 18, 2017 at 12:04 pm

      Oh, I can’t picture you rootless sand single at all, Michele. Interesting. 🙂 I’ve not heard of that book, but it sounds like one I need to read. Let me know what you think of it. ((xoxo))

      Reply
  4. Joanne Viola says

    May 18, 2017 at 8:31 am

    Home is where I am loved and that is surely where He is. I am also grateful that home is wherever my family may be. Precious to think on today. Th
    Joanne Viola recently posted…Scars and StoriesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 18, 2017 at 12:05 pm

      Where we’re loved. Yes, amen, Joanne. Love is home’s foundation, isn’t it? ((xoxo))

      Reply
  5. Tyra says

    May 18, 2017 at 10:55 am

    Home is….safety
    Tyra recently posted…Would You Dare?My Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 18, 2017 at 12:06 pm

      I like that Tyra. Thanks for sharing! ((hug))

      Reply
  6. Janis@Heart-Filled Moments says

    May 18, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    Home is where my family and friends are. Where I find strong, loving Christian fellowship. Sometimes my heart has been torn because my extended family are in California (my birth place). But I know that where He has planted me is where my true home is. Always in Him.
    Blessings,
    Janis

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 19, 2017 at 7:20 am

      I understand that feeling of displacement, Janis. When we lived outside the south for a decade, I always longed for the familiar. It’s such a blessing when we’re able to get to that place of being home where He’s planted us. Love your perspective. Thanks for sharing, lovely to meet you. ((hug))

      Reply
  7. Julie says

    May 18, 2017 at 9:25 pm

    Home is where I am loved just as I am. What a heart-warming post-Brenda!
    I hope your Mother’s Day was good:)
    Julie recently posted…5 of the Most Important Lessons I Learned Last YearMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 19, 2017 at 7:22 am

      ooh, loved just as you are. –Love that, Julie. Thanks for sharing, friend. Hope your Mother’s Day was great as well. ((hug))

      Reply
  8. Lisa/Syncopated Mama says

    May 18, 2017 at 11:44 pm

    Home is happiness (oh, not all the time, but it just feels right to give that answer.) I hope you’re having a great middle-of-May!
    Lisa/Syncopated Mama recently posted…Friday Frivolity – Museum EditionMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      May 19, 2017 at 7:23 am

      Your home does seem happy, Lisa. All the fun things you do with your little girl. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. ((hug))

      Reply
  9. Jeralyn Egger says

    May 19, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    Home is becoming my identity as His daughter. I’ve had the head knowledge of that spiritual truth and now I am living the heart experience of my adoption…Abba! Daddy!.
    Jeralyn Egger recently posted…Hijacked…My Profile

    Reply
  10. Maree Dee says

    May 19, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    Home is where I feel loved. Your question has perplexed me because our home we reside in isn’t what I had expected or planned. I envisioned a calm, loving environment where people want to be. But quite honestly it isn’t always like that. So home is a place in my heart where I feel loved, where I find God.
    Maree Dee recently posted…How To Run The Race When Life Gets ToughMy Profile

    Reply
  11. Linda Stoll says

    May 19, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    mmm …

    Home is wherever HE is.

    That’s where I feel safe and warm, rested and loved.

    Thanks for this powerful question to consider, friend …
    Linda Stoll recently posted…On the Necessity of Marking Unsettling AnniversariesMy Profile

    Reply
  12. Lux G. says

    May 19, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    Hope is where love is. 🙂
    Happy Friday!
    Lux G. recently posted…I’m Too Old For This ShitMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lux G. says

      May 23, 2017 at 3:39 am

      *Home. 😀
      Lux G. recently posted…Dear Future HusbandMy Profile

      Reply

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Every-which-way I turn, I sense it: Heartache. Su Every-which-way I turn,  I sense it:
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