What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us… In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. – Romans 8:31,37

One of the great challenges of this “new” home is making things fit. We may have more in the way of square-footage than ever before (officially 2,200), but there is very little storage (no attic, no garage).

In consequence we rent a unit where we keep all the Christmas decorations and a lot of stuff that is going to need to make a case for itself soon or it’s going to show up in some salvage store within a few short months.

Christmas may have made this house really shine, but I am glad to see the family photos back on some of the mantles. Rebekah is always tweaking and rearranging and I particularly like the current display over the fireplace in our front entry.

I’m not sure that we have an official “favored” location, but this display certainly sees the most traffic. At my paternal grandparents’ home there absolutely was a hierarchy and everyone knew about it. I even remember a visit where one of my cousins walked into the living room, gasped, put a hand to her mouth, and exclaimed, “we finally made it back onto the piano!”

My grandparents had room “on the piano” for all four of their children’s families. But it was not unusual to see temporary (and sometimes longterm) demotions to an end table, a bookshelf, or even the dreaded exile “behind the potted plant.”

I couldn’t help but think about “the piano” this morning when the men’s Bible-study group reviewed some of the highlights from Romans 1-8.

“We are God’s children,” Paul points out. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…”

With God we’re not exiled behind the potted plant we are on the piano, front and center, right there with Jesus.

That is a stunning image. Walk into God’s house. Check out the family photos. We are right there with Jesus.

In love, and because of love – DEREK