Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / The House in the Middle of the Forest Conversation 15 – Part I: The Atmosphere Inside the House

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The House in the Middle of the Forest Conversation 15 – Part I: The Atmosphere Inside the House · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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Welcome to Pomoja Podcasts, the place where stronger
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lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts
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are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are
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shaped through ordinary conversations that become
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extraordinary encounters with God's truth. One
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conversation, one story, one revelation at a
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time. Well, here we are. the final window. If
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you have been with me since our very first conversation,
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thank you. Thank you for allowing me to walk
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this journey with you. My prayer is that these
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conversations have done more than simply encourage
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your marriage. I pray they have drawn you closer
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to God's heart and reminded you that marriage
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has always been His idea. When my father first
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shared with me the story of the house in the
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middle of the forest, I honestly thought he was
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simply giving me advice about marriage, a warm
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house, a dangerous forest, windows that should
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remain closed. It sounded like a simple story,
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but the longer I lived and the more I reflected
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on those words, the more I realized there was
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so much more hidden inside that story than I
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had first imagined. Conversation after conversation.
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We opened another window and every window revealed
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another truth. Sometimes those truths were encouraging.
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Sometimes they were deeply challenging. Sometimes
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they forced us to stop and honestly examine our
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own homes. But every conversation was moving
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us in the same direction, even when we didn't
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realize it. And today, we finally arrive at the
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last window. Not because there are no more lessons
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to learn. There will always be more to discover.
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But because I believe this final window explains
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why every other window matters. There is something
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remarkable about every window we have explored.
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The window of words, the window of comparison,
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the window of secrecy, the window of influence.
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None of them begins with the intention of destroying
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a marriage. Words usually begin with frustration.
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Comparison begins with dissatisfaction. Secrecy
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begins with something hidden. Influence begins
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with someone welcomed. Different beginnings.
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Different stories. Different dangers. Yet all
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of them quietly lead to the same place. They
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change. The atmosphere inside the house. And
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perhaps that is the greatest lesson we have been
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discovering throughout this entire journey. No
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marriage falls apart because of one conversation.
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No family drifts away from God because of one
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decision. No home suddenly becomes cold overnight.
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The atmosphere changes long before the house
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begins to fall. That is why we must guard what
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enters our hearts. What enters our conversations?
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What enters our relationships? And what enters
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our homes? Because every window is an invitation.
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The question has never been whether something
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will enter the house. The question has always
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been who or what are we inviting in? As I reflected
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once again on my father's story, I realized something
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that had been there. from the very beginning.
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He never spent much time talking about the forest.
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He talked about the house. He never tried to
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make me afraid of what was outside. He wanted
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me to understand the value of what was inside,
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because people never protect what they do not
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value. The people living in that house understood
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that something much more valuable than the forest
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already existed inside their home. They weren't
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simply trying to keep danger outside. They were
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preserving the warmth. They were protecting the
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peace. They were guarding the life they had built
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together. Then another thought came to me. What
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if the warmth wasn't simply the result of good
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communication? What if it wasn't simply the result
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of commitment? What if it wasn't simply the result
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of learning how to resolve conflict? What if
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there was something even deeper, something without
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which none of those things could truly survive?
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Because every Christian home may have love. Every
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Christian home may have commitment. Every Christian
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home may have dreams for the future. But what
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is it that gives life to all of those things?
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What creates the atmosphere inside a Christian
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home? What makes one house feel different from
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another? What is it that fills one home with
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peace while another slowly grows cold? I believe
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the answer has been quietly waiting for us since
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the very beginning of this story. Because there
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is one final window, one that explains every
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other window we have explored. I call it. the
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window of God's presence. Because a house without
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God at its center is a house with every window
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open. What creates the atmosphere inside a Christian
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home? That last question stayed with me. What
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really creates the atmosphere inside a Christian
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home? Because if the atmosphere can change, then
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something must be changing first. Homes do not
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become cold by accident. Something happens before
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the warmth disappears. Something changes before
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the windows begin to open. And perhaps that is
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where so many marriages become confused. We spend
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a lot of time trying to fix what we can see.
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The words, the attitudes, the arguments, the
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distance. But what if those things are not the
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problem? What if they are simply telling us that
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something much deeper has already changed? As
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I continued thinking about my father's story,
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another question came to my mind. What kept that
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house warm? My father never answered that question,
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at least not directly. He simply described the
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house. It was warm. It was safe. It was different
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from everything surrounding it at first. I thought
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the warmth was just another detail in the story.
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Now, I don't think it was. I think it was the
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story. Because warmth never happens by accident.
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Someone has to keep the fire burning. Someone
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has to protect it. Someone has to make sure it
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never goes out. Then another thought came to
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me. Maybe that is what happens inside every Christian
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home. Nobody wakes up one morning and says, today,
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I no longer want God in my home. It doesn't happen
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that way. It happens quietly. Little by little,
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prayer becomes less frequent. Not because we
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stop believing, but because life became busy.
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The Bible remains closed. Not because we rejected
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God's word, but because we convinced ourselves.
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We would read it tomorrow. Worship becomes occasional.
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Not because we stopped loving God, but because
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other things slowly became more important. Church
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becomes another activity on the calendar, instead
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of the place where our hearts are refreshed.
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Nothing dramatic happens. Life simply moves on.
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The children keep growing. Work keeps demanding
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more of us. The bills keep coming. The schedule
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keeps getting fuller. From the outside, everything
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still looks the same. But inside, something has
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changed. The fire isn't burning like it once
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did. And when the fire begins to fade, the atmosphere
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begins to change. Peace slowly gives way to tension.
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Patience becomes harder to find. Forgiveness
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takes longer. Conversations become shorter. Silence
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becomes more common. Not because we no longer
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love each other, but because the warmth that
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once filled the house is no longer filling every
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room. Then I realized something. The greatest
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danger was never that someone would open a window.
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The greatest danger was allowing the fire inside
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the house to slowly go out. Because once the
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fire is gone, the cold doesn't need permission
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to enter. It simply does. What cold has always
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done. It fills every place where warmth no longer
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exists. And perhaps that brings us to another
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question. What is the fire that every Christian
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home must protect? That last question stayed
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with me. What is the fire that every Christian
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home must protect? The more I reflected on my
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father's story, the more I realized that I had
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been asking the wrong question. I kept asking
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what kept the house warm, but perhaps the better
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question was who kept the house warm. Because
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warmth has never simply been the result of a
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fire. Warmth is always the evidence that someone
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is present and caring enough to keep that fire
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alive. Think about your own home for a moment.
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You can walk into a house that is beautifully
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decorated, filled with expensive furniture, and
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perfectly organized, yet something immediately
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tells you that it feels empty. Nothing has moved.
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Nothing is broken. Everything is exactly where
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it should be, but the atmosphere is different
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because presence changes everything. As I continued
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thinking about that, I realized that this has
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always been God's design for his people. Throughout
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scripture, whenever God's presence filled a place,
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the atmosphere of that place was never the same
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again. It wasn't the building that made the difference.
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It wasn't the walls, the furniture, or the appearance.
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It was the presence of God dwelling there. Then
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I remembered the words of Joshua. As for me and
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my house, We will serve the Lord. For many years
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I understood that verse as a family commitment,
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but I now believe Joshua was declaring something
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much deeper. He had already decided who would
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occupy the center of his home. He understood
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that every house has something at its center,
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and whatever occupies that place will eventually
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shape the atmosphere of everyone who lives there.
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Some homes are built around success, others revolve
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around careers. financial security, personal
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ambition, or comfort. None of those things are
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evil by themselves, but none of them were ever
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meant to become the center of a Christian home.
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God never intended our marriages to revolve around
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those things. He intended them to revolve around
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His presence. That realization changed the way
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I understood every conversation we have had throughout
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this journey. The words matter, communication
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matters, trust matters, forgiveness matters,
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every window we have explored matters. But none
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of them can create the atmosphere we have been
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talking about if the presence of God is no longer
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at the center of the house. That is why Jesus
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said, apart from me, you can do nothing. He wasn't
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simply speaking about ministry or serving Him.
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He was revealing a principle that reaches every
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area of our lives. We cannot produce through
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our own strength what only His presence can produce.
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Peace is not something we manufacture. Grace
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is not something we manufacture. Forgiveness
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is not something we manufacture. The atmosphere
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of a Christian home is not something we manufacture.
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Those things become the natural fruit of a house
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where Christ is welcomed, honored, and allowed
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to remain at the center. And perhaps that explains
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why homes rarely fall apart because of one single
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event. They begin to drift when something else
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quietly takes the place that only God was meant
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to occupy. As I reflected on everything we had
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discovered, another passage of scripture came
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to my heart. It is one we have all read many
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times, yet I'm not sure we always notice what
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Jesus is really teaching. In Matthew chapter
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7, Jesus tells the story of two houses. At first
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glance, they seem almost identical. Both houses
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were built. Both represented someone's dream,
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someone's investment, someone's future. From
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a distance, there was nothing to suggest that
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one would survive while the other would collapse.
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Then the storm came. I have always found it interesting
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that Jesus never said if the storm comes. He
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said the rain fell, the rivers rose, and the
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winds blew against both houses. The storm did
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not choose one house and avoid the other. It
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came against both. That tells me something important
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about marriage. Following Christ does not exempt
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us from storms. Loving one another does not exempt
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us from storms. Being called by God does not
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exempt us from storms. Even building your home
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with sincere intentions does not exempt you from
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storms. Every house will eventually be tested.
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The question has never been whether storms will
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come. The question has always been what the house
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was built upon before the storm arrived. That
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changes everything because most people judge
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a house when the sun is shining. God reveals
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a house when the storm arrives. The storm does
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not create the foundation. It reveals it. It
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exposes what was already there. And perhaps that
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is why some marriages surprise us. We look at
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them and wonder what happened. But maybe the
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storm didn't destroy the marriage. Maybe it revealed
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what had quietly been happening beneath the surface
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for years. That is a sobering thought. It reminds
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us that foundations are built long before they
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are tested. You do not prepare the foundation
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while the storm is raging. You prepare it while
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the skies are still clear. As I thought about
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my father's story one more time, I realized something
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that had never occurred to me before. He never
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told me whether storms came to that house in
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the middle of the forest. He didn't have to.
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A house standing alone in the middle of a forest
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will inevitably face rain, wind, cold, and seasons
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of uncertainty. The remarkable part of the story
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was never the absence of storms. The remarkable
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part was that the house remained a place of warmth
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in spite of them. And I think that is exactly
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what Jesus was teaching. The strength of a house
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is not measured by the storms it avoids. It is
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measured by what remains after the storm has
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passed. As I finished that thought, I became
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very quiet because I realized I was no longer
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thinking about my father's story. I was thinking
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about my own. As I sat there reflecting on everything
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we had discovered throughout this journey, I
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became very quiet because I realized I was no
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longer thinking about my father's story. I was
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thinking about my own. For years, I have shared
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these conversations with you as someone who has
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been learning from the wisdom my father passed
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on to me. But somewhere along the way, I realized
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that God was not simply reminding me of a story
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from my childhood. He was helping me understand
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the story he was writing in my own marriage.
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Before Giselle and I were married, I spent time
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seeking the Lord. I prayed. I fasted. I wanted
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to know that I was not simply making a good decision,
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but that I was walking in God's will for my life.
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During that season, The Holy Spirit opened my
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eyes in a way I cannot fully explain. He gave
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me a deep conviction that Giselle was the woman
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he had prepared for me. It reminded me of the
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moment Adam saw Eve for the very first time and
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said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh
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of my flesh. It was more than emotion. It was
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more than attraction. It was the quiet assurance
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that God himself had brought us together. That
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conviction became the foundation upon which we
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built our marriage. Like every young couple,
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we had dreams. We believed the future would be
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beautiful. We imagined building a home where
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Christ would always remain at the center, and
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where our children would grow up knowing his
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love and his faithfulness. And for many years,
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that was exactly our desire. But then life happened.
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Responsibilities increased, expectations changed,
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pressures came from directions we never anticipated.
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We discovered, just as every married couple eventually
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does, that building a home is very different
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from celebrating a wedding. There were moments
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when we misunderstood each other. There were
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moments when disappointment entered our hearts.
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There were seasons when the demands of life became
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louder than the quiet moments we used to spend
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in God's presence. None of it happened overnight.
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There wasn't one single event that changed everything.
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Looking back, I now realize it happened exactly
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the way we have described throughout this entire
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series. Little by little, small compromises,
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small distractions. Conversations that should
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have happened, but didn't. Prayers that became
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less consistent. Moments with God that slowly
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became less intentional. From the outside, our
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lives probably looked the same to everyone else.
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But inside the house, the atmosphere had begun
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to change. I didn't recognize it immediately.
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Neither did she. Because atmospheres rarely change
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all at once. They change so gradually that you
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learn to live with what once would have broken
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your heart. And that may be one of the enemy's
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greatest strategies. He rarely tries to destroy
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a Christian home in a single day. He simply tries
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to convince us that one neglected prayer doesn't
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matter. One unresolved disagreement doesn't matter.
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One day without seeking God doesn't matter. until
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one day we wake up and wonder why the warmth
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we once enjoyed seems so difficult to find. That
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was the moment I finally understood my father's
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story. The greatest danger was never the forest
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surrounding the house. The greatest danger was
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allowing the fire inside the house to grow weaker
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without noticing it. There comes a moment when
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every conversation stops being about someone
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else, and quietly, without even realizing it,
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you begin to see yourself. As I reflected on
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my father's story, I thought I was simply remembering
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the wisdom he shared with me many years ago,
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but I wasn't. God was holding up a mirror. I
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began to see my own house, my own marriage, my
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own journey. And that is where this story becomes
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deeply personal. Because there was a season when
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Giselle and I discovered that knowing the truth
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about marriage and living it faithfully are not
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always the same thing. Like every couple, we
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face storms. We experience moments of disappointment.
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We watch the atmosphere inside our own house
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begin to change. But what happened next? changed
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our lives forever. It reminded us that no marriage
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is beyond the reach of God's grace and no house
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is beyond restoration when Christ returns to
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the center. That is the story I want to share
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with you in our next conversation. Until then,
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may the Lord bless your home, guard your hearts,
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and may His presence remain the fire that fills
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every room of your house. God bless you. We'll
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see you in our next conversation