Home

I love being home. There's just something refreshing and "easy" about sleeping in your own bed, eating out of your own refrigerator and having access to all of your own things. 
Sure, being home requires much more responsibility - the dishes, laundry, cooking - but the pay off of normalcy is refreshing.
Ah yes. . it's good to be home!

I've just arrived back from 11 days in Sydney, Australia. I'll admit, Sydney is one of my favorite places in the world. I love it as much for it's sandy beaches and towering city buildings as for it's delicious food offerings and amazing shopping options. But even more than that my children and I fell in love with the lovely people. 
It is certainly extraordinary in every way.

Now I'm home - no windswept beaches in Dallas, just warm baths for little boys. No bustling city streets right outside my hotel or majestic Opera House view outside my window, just a backyard scattered with toys and an old swing set.
And no, the amazing Hillsong church is not the one I'll be attending this Sunday and I won't be gathering for a women's conference filled with thousands from every corner of the globe. I'll be at my own church - local, fabulous, familiar and sweet.

This is home - familiar and cozy and wonderful in all the most extraordinary ways. I'm so glad to be here.
Amazing how even the most lavish and wonderful of places cannot compare with your own place. Somehow God puts a grace upon it that draws you in and compels you to rest like you wouldn't anywhere else in the world. 

So many great things about home. Here's the list of what I'm grateful for today. What's yours?

Family.
Friends.
My bed.
My fluffy socks.
Familiar jogging path.
Home church.
Cooking for my family.
My favorite spot on the couch.