Dear Friend,

Doorways. Thresholds. Doorposts. We pass through them constantly, but do we ever stop to think about these commonplace aspects of our homes? If you’ve participated in our Heaven in Your Home Workshop, you know that doorways are a basic tool for addressing the biggest obstacle to building a Trinity House: bridging the gap between the vision for our family life that’s in our minds and hearts and the reality of life on the ground in our homes.

This week, we look at the Grand Central Station of a Trinity House – Level Three, the Household Economy. If we are building communion with God and our family members (or even just thinking about it!) and we want that love to result in a rich family culture that we can share with our neighbors, first it needs to all come together in a well-functioning home life where the family’s basic needs are met.

And this is where things get tricky. Access to God’s life of grace may be building up on Level One, healthy people and relationships may be developing on Level Two, but how do we bring that growing communion into the very real places in which we live out our lives? Enter the Doorway Effect. Have you ever stood up from your chair in one room and set off to do something one or two rooms away, only to find yourself asking when you arrive, “Wait…what was it I came here to do?” 

The phenomenon we experience in this moment of seeming forgetfulness actually has a name. “The Doorway Effect,” explains journalist Tom Stafford, “occurs because we change both the physical and mental environments, moving to a different room and thinking about different things.” In other words, passing through a doorway can lead to a moment of openness, giving us an opportunity to reset our orientation. So, let’s take advantage of this common action and put it to use in building up our Trinity House.

When we’re going about our day-to-day business, we can use the physical structure of our home to translate our vision for our family life into the real world. How? Each time we pass through a doorway, we can think of passing through Christ and his cross and into the sheepfold, his safe pasture. We can remind ourselves, “I enter this room into greater union with Christ to live as he did, to love God and others as myself.” By doing this, we can put the frequent resetting of our physical and mental environments to work as a trigger to achieve our highest goals.

Perhaps for a while you can even tape a Trinity icon holy card to the most-frequented doorways in your house, and lovingly touch a finger to it as you pass by, crossing yourself in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Those who have participated in our workshop know that this icon is a symbol of interpersonal communion, the life of God and the heart of a Trinity House, which is gained by loving others as God has loved us, by sacrificing for them as Christ did for us on the cross. (If you’d like an icon card, just email your mailing address to us at contact@trinityhousecommunity.org and we’ll put one in the mail to you).

Of course, God was the first to come up with this idea to help his family put their faith into practice. The Hebrew word for doorpost is mezuzah, and to this day, observant Jews attach a small box to the doorframe. The practice goes back millennia to the command to “write the words of God on the gates and doorposts of your house” (Dt. 6:9).

In the mezuzah is a piece of paper with the verse, “Hear O Israel: the Lord is one, the Lord our God is one” (Dt. 6:4). The reference to the reading of the ten commandments before God’s people were to cross into the promised land reminded the family to follow God’s way of life. “When passing through a doorway where a mezuzah has been affixed,” explains a Hasidic Jewish author, “we glance at it and touch it. Some people then kiss their fingertips. This serves as a reminder throughout the day that [God] is always with us, inside or outside our homes.”

Christians too can put this ancient wisdom into practice, allowing the Doorway Effect to reorient us toward God’s way of life, tapping into the law of God’s love for us and our families. When we stack a powerful momentary prayer on top of a pre-existing habit of going from room to room, our families will undoubtedly be blessed by new expressions of our love.  

What the world needs right now are men, women and children who avail themselves of every opportunity—right down to the mundane act of walking into a room—to say, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (I Jn. 4:7).

Heaven In Your Home Toolkit

Aleteia ran a story on Trinity House Community last week! Check out “These timely free workshops show you how to have heaven in your home.” We’re thrilled to have over 100 registrants for tomorrow’s livestream, including men and women from 20 states and four countries. 

“Struggling” and “thriving” at the same time? Sounds about right. Check out this illuminating study on the coronavirus’ effect on family life: “Families in Lockdown: Some Struggle While Others Thrive.” 

Start a novena to the Holy Spirit, beginning this Friday and ending on Pentecost Sunday! There are a number of different ones available. We’re looking forward to praying this novena as a family, courtesy of Pray More Novenas.  

“Most marriages will not collapse, and many will instead emerge stronger and more stable as husbands and wives develop a new appreciation for how much they love and depend on their spouse–and how much they, their kids, and their kin depend on them keeping their marriage together.” This is one of the encouraging findings in “Marriage in Post-Covid America,” a webinar with sociologist Dr. Brad Wilcox and psychologist Eli Finkel. 

How’s your 3-minute testimony coming along? If you’re rusty, listen to this inspiring 2Minutes2Virtue” challenge by Fr. Noah Morey, and get working on your account for the hope that is within! 

Instead of getting frustrated about trying to “predict” what will happen as our country and world move forward, how about focusing on your “promises“? Andy Crouch and Dave Blanchard offer an inspiring read on “redemptive leadership” in the post-Covid era. 

Thank You! On May 5th, Giving Tuesday, we invited you to consider a gift to support the life-changing ministry of Trinity House Community. Twenty one of you responded with generous average gifts of over $160, providing $3,432 in needed support in less than 24 hours. 

Have you come across an inspiring article, video, or interview lately which would help other individuals and families in their quest to find heaven in their home? We want to hear from you! Just send it to us at contact@trinityhousecommunity.org — and we’ll consider it for future toolkits and e-letters. 

Don’t Miss…

Haven’t joined us yet? Consider signing up for our next LIVESTREAM opportunity tomorrow: Heaven In Your Home Workshop: How to Turn a Crisis into a Time of Grace for Your Family & the World: 

• Wed., May 20th, 8-9:30 p.m. ET 

Learn more and register here, and then spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends. And stay tuned for our next workshop on June 24th. 

Testimonial

“The workshop was outstanding, spot-on, and filled with practical guidance. I’m so glad I attended!” — Heaven in Your Home Workshop Participant

Please Join Us In Prayer 

• For the staff of the ministry’s Trinity House Cafe, as we work to prepare for reopening in early June.
• For the over 100 participants of tomorrow’s Heaven in Your Home Workshop, and for past participants, that their families would experience the grace and peace of our Lord as they build their Trinity Houses.  
• For wisdom for our leaders, as they make decisions about reopening our economy.
• For all senior citizens, doctors, nurses, and essential workers.
• For the unemployed, the underemployed, and all those facing difficult financial decisions in these days.

In Christ, 

Soren & Ever Johnson
Co-Founders & Directors
Trinity House Community
Making Home a Little Taste of Heaven