WEBVTT

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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

00:17:34.230 --> 00:17:38.769
seeking the Lord. I prayed. I fasted. I wanted

00:17:38.769 --> 00:17:42.369
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

00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:54.000
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

00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:14.759
more than attraction. It was the quiet assurance

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that God himself had brought us together. That

00:18:18.250 --> 00:18:21.609
conviction became the foundation upon which we

00:18:21.609 --> 00:18:25.529
built our marriage. Like every young couple,

00:18:25.910 --> 00:18:29.549
we had dreams. We believed the future would be

00:18:29.549 --> 00:18:33.210
beautiful. We imagined building a home where

00:18:33.210 --> 00:18:36.809
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.

00:18:47.750 --> 00:18:51.789
Responsibilities increased, expectations changed,

00:18:52.609 --> 00:18:55.509
pressures came from directions we never anticipated.

00:18:57.170 --> 00:19:00.750
We discovered, just as every married couple eventually

00:19:00.750 --> 00:19:04.210
does, that building a home is very different

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from celebrating a wedding. There were moments

00:19:08.089 --> 00:19:11.509
when we misunderstood each other. There were

00:19:11.509 --> 00:19:14.289
moments when disappointment entered our hearts.

00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:18.259
There were seasons when the demands of life became

00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:21.259
louder than the quiet moments we used to spend

00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:25.180
in God's presence. None of it happened overnight.

00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:29.359
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

00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:41.299
series. Little by little, small compromises,

00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.980
small distractions. Conversations that should

00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:48.279
have happened, but didn't. Prayers that became

00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:51.920
less consistent. Moments with God that slowly

00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.799
became less intentional. From the outside, our

00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:58.819
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

00:20:20.819 --> 00:20:24.640
greatest strategies. He rarely tries to destroy

00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:28.400
a Christian home in a single day. He simply tries

00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:31.720
to convince us that one neglected prayer doesn't

00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:35.759
matter. One unresolved disagreement doesn't matter.

00:20:36.099 --> 00:20:40.130
One day without seeking God doesn't matter. until

00:20:40.130 --> 00:20:43.410
one day we wake up and wonder why the warmth

00:20:43.410 --> 00:20:48.029
we once enjoyed seems so difficult to find. That

00:20:48.029 --> 00:20:51.430
was the moment I finally understood my father's

00:20:51.430 --> 00:20:55.049
story. The greatest danger was never the forest

00:20:55.049 --> 00:20:58.450
surrounding the house. The greatest danger was

00:20:58.450 --> 00:21:01.730
allowing the fire inside the house to grow weaker

00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:05.829
without noticing it. There comes a moment when

00:21:05.829 --> 00:21:09.250
every conversation stops being about someone

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else, and quietly, without even realizing it,

00:21:13.730 --> 00:21:17.589
you begin to see yourself. As I reflected on

00:21:17.589 --> 00:21:21.069
my father's story, I thought I was simply remembering

00:21:21.069 --> 00:21:24.230
the wisdom he shared with me many years ago,

00:21:24.569 --> 00:21:28.890
but I wasn't. God was holding up a mirror. I

00:21:28.890 --> 00:21:33.390
began to see my own house, my own marriage, my

00:21:33.390 --> 00:21:37.039
own journey. And that is where this story becomes

00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:40.859
deeply personal. Because there was a season when

00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:43.920
Giselle and I discovered that knowing the truth

00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:47.380
about marriage and living it faithfully are not

00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:51.559
always the same thing. Like every couple, we

00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:55.660
face storms. We experience moments of disappointment.

00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.660
We watch the atmosphere inside our own house

00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:03.640
begin to change. But what happened next? changed

00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:07.579
our lives forever. It reminded us that no marriage

00:22:07.579 --> 00:22:11.500
is beyond the reach of God's grace and no house

00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:14.759
is beyond restoration when Christ returns to

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the center. That is the story I want to share

00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:23.119
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

00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:35.180
every room of your house. God bless you. We'll

00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:37.819
see you in our next conversation