To make a home is to practice the love and delight of God in tangible ways, to welcome others into the comfort we have received, and to see God’s presence in the beauty and mess of both everyday and exceptional moments. The spiritual discipline of hospitality can powerfully awaken our delight in God.
Stephanie Rousselle welcomes her friend Christie Purifoy, author of a stunning new book “A house to call home.” Christie has generously endorsed Stephanie’s new book, “Awaken Delight.” Together they unpack how making a home—whether grand or simple—is an overflow of God’s love and presence in us.
True hospitality starts with receiving. The desire and ability to make others feel seen and cherished comes from first experiencing the love of God. Before hospitality can overflow onto others, we must learn to be at home with God, rooted in His delight in us. Christie says, “it starts with the home that we’re cultivating with God, in your own place, whatever that looks like for you. Start there and then let it be this fountain that flows.”
Hospitality is not about impressing people with perfection, but about making space for Christ to be present to ourselves and our guests. In that way, hosting is imitating Jesus, who makes His home in us and invites us to abide in Him. God’s beauty and comfort are received in tangible ways—through a cozy chair, a beautiful garden, or a shared meal for example.
Home is not made in isolation. Truly memorable gatherings are communal efforts. The most “heaven-on-earth” experiences in hospitality come not from doing everything alone, but by allowing others to contribute their unique gifts. Community is the body of Christ, where everyone offers and receives comfort, blessing, and meaning.
While it’s tempting to focus on making things look beautiful, genuine hospitality puts people, presence, and meaning above appearances. Christie says, “A pretty picture does not a home make...it’s got to be a place for life.” Prayer, listening, and time spent together matter more than an immaculate home. Hosting is about making the table a safe and restful space.
Hospitality thrives in daily routines. Baking pizza, sharing breakfast, or simply inviting someone to sit with us become sacred when it flows from a well-ordered life with God. As in the life of Jesus—who shared picnics and quiet moments—holiness is found in the ordinary when we are present to others.
Home is a place of comfort, even amidst hardship. Christie shares how a personal dream—a home library—became a deep source of God’s comfort during a family crisis. This illustrates the way God meets us in practical, physical spaces to remind us of His presence.
Just as parents rejoice when children enjoy their gifts, God delights in blessing us. Our ability to delight in homemaking, beauty, and hospitality is an earthly practice for the joy of heaven, mirroring God’s own hospitality.
Creating "home" is a spiritual practice deeply rooted in Christian hospitality, personal delight in God, and the beauty of ordinary life.
Some thoughts worth pondering
1. Hospitality Flows from the Home We Receive
2. Jesus as the Center of Hospitality
3. The Power of Community
4. Beauty and Meaning Over Perfection
5. Ordinary Moments as Sacred
6. Making Home in Suffering
7. God’s Delight in Us
A Question to Ponder: How might you cultivate a deeper sense of “home” in your life with God—and let that overflow onto others?
MORE ABOUT "AWAKEN DELIGHT" BY STEPHANIE ROUSSELLE
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." This is God's promise to you in Psalm 37:4. But many believers quietly assume it's just a poetic suggestion, or it doesn't really work here on earth.
In Awaken Delight, Stephanie Rousselle invites you to rediscover what Scripture actually means by delight in God. It's not emotional hype or religious performance, but a steady satisfaction rooted in who God is.
Through biblical theology and practical rhythms, you'll learn how delighting in God
- reshapes suffering
- quiets restless striving
- anchors your identity in God's unshakable delight of you
Learning to delight in God is the quiet revolution that reshapes how we endure pain, love others, and understand our own hearts.
Awaken Delight is a theologically grounded spiritual formation book for thoughtful believers who feel spiritually fatigued and are ready to embrace the reality of Psalm 37:4.
More at https://www.gospelspice.com/awakendelight
MORE ABOUT “A HOUSE TO CALL HOME”
There’s a curious alchemy that transforms a house into a home over time. As we tend to our dwellings with love and intention, something unexpected happens: we discover that the homes we’ve been caring for now have the capacity to care for us.
Inspired by the life of the particular house she knows best, Christie Purifoy offers reflections and practical suggestions for anyone who longs to create a place for rest and healing, for wonder and welcome. Amid insights on the true meaning of comfort, you’ll find decor inspiration, thrifting tips, and homemaking traditions.
Your house can be a haven. It can grow into a sacred place. Care for it well, and year after year it will say, “Welcome home. Always.”
More at https://www.christiepurifoy.com/a-house-to-call-home/
Christie Purifoy is a writer, an avid gardener, and a grateful, self-proclaimed placemaker. Her books include A Home in Bloom, Garden Maker, and Seedtime and Harvest. Christie cultivates beauty for herself and for others at a Victorian farmhouse called Maplehurst in southeastern Pennsylvania.
More at https://www.christiepurifoy.com/
DISCOVER THE BOOK BEHIND THE PODCAST | "Awaken Delight" by Stephanie Rousselle
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 isn't a poetic suggestion — it's a promise. But many believers quietly assume it doesn’t really work, or it's not really possible here on earth.
In Awaken Delight, Stephanie Rousselle invites you to rediscover what Scripture actually means by delight — not emotional hype, not religious performance, but a steady satisfaction rooted in who God is.
Delight in God isn't a mood to manufacture; it's a relationship to receive.
Through biblical theology and practical rhythms, you'll learn how communion with God reshapes suffering, quiets restless striving, and anchors your identity in something unshakable.
Delighting in God isn’t sentimental optimism. It’s deeply rooted in Christ, Jesus.
It’s the quiet revolution that reshapes how we endure pain, love others, and understand our own heart.
Awaken Delight is a theologically grounded spiritual formation book for thoughtful believers who feel spiritually fatigued and are ready to embrace the reality of Psalm 37:4.
More at https://www.gospelspice.com/awakendelight
Purchase the book, "Awaken Delight" by Stephanie Rousselle: https://a.co/d/0bqhUb5J
- Kind words from Jennifer Rothschild, Bible teacher, Author, Speaker, Podcast Host, Founder, Fresh Grounded Faith: “Stephanie helps us awaken to and experience true delight. It is a rich mix of God’s delight in you and your delight in him. This is the life you were made for, the life your soul deeply longs for. So, the table is set. Pull up a chair and let your heart sit alongside Stephanie. As your delight in God wakes up and becomes fully realized, you’ll find a satisfaction in Christ that makes you want more and more.”
- Kind words from Amanda Jenkins, Lead creator of THE CHOSEN's literary content: "I have yet to meet another person quite as eager to intimately know Jesus as Stephanie is. Her enthusiasm for the beauty found inside a thriving relationship with her Savior is downright contagious. Indeed, Stephanie’s joy and faith and commitment to growth—along with her love for really good food!—will implant themselves in the hearts of readers. Lucky readers."
- Kind words from Os Guinness, Theologian, Social critic, Author, The Call: "Stephanie addresses one of the greatest needs of Christians today. Knowing God is not knowing about God, but knowing Him genuinely and with desire and delight. She does so practically and helpfully, and in a style that sparkles with a verve and joy that is distinctively French."
- Kind words from Pippa Gumbel, Pioneer, The Alpha Course; Author, The Bible in one year with husband Nicky: "Stephanie’s love of God is inspiring and infectious. Her book is an invitation to share in that delight and to come to know God in new and wonderful ways."
More at https://www.gospelspice.com/awakendelight
Purchase the book, "Awaken Delight" by Stephanie Rousselle: https://a.co/d/0bqhUb5J
Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!
