Stay at Home Because You're Well Day | JOY for Today

Home is a place we long for, a place that welcomes rest, offers encouragement, and strengthens us to face our tomorrows. This type of home is the source of unending JOY, the kind of joy that you carry with you wherever you go.

Stay at Home Because You're Well Day | November 30th Annually

JOY for Today Offerings:

• Did You Know... Facts about home.
• Wolfe Stew Connects To feeling at home.
• Bible Verses and Quotes About home.
• Activity Suggestions Read books, listen to music, improve your home, discuss questions, and challenge your family.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS: 

• The First Day of Advent (The Sunday Nearest November 30th)
• St. Nicholas Day (December 6th Annually)
• Worldwide Candle Lighting Day (December's Second Sunday)

Did You Know:

1. Housewarming was originally about warming a house? Before electricity, neighbors would bring firewood to new homeowners and light a fire in the fireplace. The practice was not only to warm the house but also to ward off evil. (PJ Fitzpatrick)
2. Americans move an average of 11.7 times during their lifetime? By the time we reach 18, most of us have moved twice already. By the age of 45, most of us have moved six times and have three more moves in our future. The top reason we move is to improve housing conditions, followed by family, jobs, and "other". (Invest Guiding)
3. Multi-generational homes are an increasing trend in the United States? Since 1971, the number of multigenerational households has quadrupled with no indication of the trend reaching a peak. The most common reasons given for this choice were affordability and caring for family members. Most families living in multi-generational homes consider the experience convenient and rewarding.  (Pew Research)
4. In 2022, the number of homeless people in the United States reached an all-time high? Since 2017, homelessness has experienced a 6-percent increase overall. The majority are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander males who are not chronically homeless, veterans, or unaccompanied youth. Gender expansive individuals are experiencing homelessness at a rapidly increasing rate. (Endhomelessness.org)
5. Most Americans prefer to age in their own home? In 2021, 77% of adults over 50 shared a desire to stay at home as they age. This number, 77%, has plateaued for more than a decade. (AARP)

We'd Love to Know:   

Which fact about homes are you most likely to share?

Wolfe Stew Connects

Before the Mr. and I ever married, we constantly reassured each other that where we lived did not matter. As long as we had each other, we would be content. We would be home.

And we can feel at home wherever we are because home is not a place; it's a feeling. When you're home you feel welcomed, encouraged, and strengthened. While people and the environment both play their role in contributing to feeling at home, the truth is that home lives in your heart. 

Because home rests in your heart, you can stay at home even when you are not in the physical four walls you return to at night. You can stay at home even when you are at work, amid tumultuous circumstances, and surrounded by people who despise you. 

How? Because you know your home is in heaven. You know this home can never be taken from you. You know this home resides within you and will never leave you. So, you can stay at home no matter the circumstances, because you know it is well with your soul.

In response:

1. Define what home means to you personally. List what you need to feel at home. What is missing from your list? How might you obtain it? Could God be the answer? Search scripture and pray to find out.
2. Consider how your words and actions can lead others home by studying the concluding poem in Proverbs with us. Last week, we thought about ways to speak with wisdom and truth while rising to glorify God. Next week, we will redefine being well-spoken from a perspective of wisdom and start thinking about what it means to be Godly.

Bible Verses and Quotes 

Bible Verses 

• And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15 KJV
• And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. Matthew 7:25 KJV
• And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Matthew 12:25 KJV
• He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 KJV
• In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 KJV

Quotes

• "It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of one's home." - Charles Dickens
• "Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms." - William J. Bennett
• "I don't care if we have our house, or a cliff ledge, or a cardboard box. Home is wherever we are, together." - James Patterson
• "The folly of people's not staying comfortably at home when they can!" - Jane Austen
• "My home is in heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." - Billy Graham

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote would you display in your home?

Activity Suggestions

Read a Book about Home

• PreK-2 Home by Carson Ellis. A short, artistic exploration into various homes ranging from realistic to imaginative. Follow up by inviting learners to illustrate a home for a real or imagined character of their own.
• 3-4 The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Four siblings with recently deceased parents and whose only remaining family is a grandfather they cannot trust, head out on their own. The only home they have is each other. The start of a 161 book adventure.
• 5-6 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Join the Wilders as they homestead in their log cabin near the Big Woods for a historical perspective of home. The first book in a 9-part series.

Sing Songs about Home

• "The House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert
• "My Front Porch Looking In" by Lonestar
• "The Father's House" by Cory Asbury
• "Where I Belong" by Building 429
• "Home" by Chris Tomlin
• "Big House" by FCCHB Kids-Youth

Improve Your Home

• Give it a good cleaning, even if it means tackling one space.
• Organize an untidy area.
• Fix something that needs repairs.
• Serve someone else.
• Commit time to a goal that brings you JOY.

Discuss "Would You Rather..." Questions

• Live in a mansion with people who annoy you or a shack with people you enjoy?
• Pick a book or a song that reminds you of home?
• Share a favorite meal or pastime from your home?

These questions are unique to this post. If you would like three "Would You Rather...?" questions for every November day, download this Wolfe Stew PowerPoint or get it (for free!) at our TPT store.

Take on the Family Challenge

Together discuss what each person most enjoys doing when they are home and feeling well. Take time to engage in everyone's preferred activities throughout the week.

We'd Love to Know:

What three words do you most associate with home?

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow. 

Your Partners in JOY Finding,

Sample these related posts:

To learn why we need home.

To look well to the ways of your household.
To discover at-home business opportunities.

To remember that you are never alone.

To know peace by uniting on what really matters.

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.

Photo Credit: "Coming storm in Alpe di Siusi" by Matteo Grando at Unsplash.