It is already Thursday- and still no mediation this week.

It is my fault.

But by way of explanation, I offer you some thoughts on renovation. You see, the beginning of this week was dominated by work on Paul’s new kitchen. Taking an empty, barren space, and starting to create a place of sustenance, of hospitality and creativity.

Which is, of course, a very spiritual thing. Here are a few things that Paul and I came up with as we were working-

• Houses are essentially simple things- dig a hole, pile some stones, and frame them with wood. But we make them so complicated, and invest such power in them
• Of course, it all starts with the foundations
• Renovation requires destruction of some of the old, and preservation of other bits
• It also always takes longer than you think- and will test you in ways you did not expect
• It goes a lot easier if you have others who will work with you- particularly those with skill and experience.

But we are called to live in a way that stands in both celebration and in critique of our culture- and to do this, we have to also understand the Zeitgeist– the spirit of our age.

To understand how we came to idolise property acquisition- and to seek an empty lifestyle whose meaning was found via Ikea. All those makeover programmes which would have us believe that happiness is found in a tin of expensive paint and a new bathroom suite.

These things are good. But there is so much more that is better.

And in case you ever doubted it- the challenge this week is to take a look at where you live, and to deliberately re-imagine the spaces in which you spend much of your life.

There are lots of ways to do this-

• To consider how they might be used in new ways
• To be grateful for shelter and comfort again
• To take an aspect of the space you live in and use it to deliberately turn to God
• To consider whether it might be time to clear out, and perhaps to bless others
• To consider whether it might be time to bring people in, to share the space

Take one room at a time.

Ask God to open it up for a while as a temple.