Creating Sacred Space at Home

 

 

Every home needs a place where the noise of life gives way to stillness.

Not because God requires it, but because we do. A sacred space is not about architecture or square footage; it’s about intention — a visible reminder that the holy is woven into ordinary life.

🌿 Why Sacred Space Matters

• It anchors the day. A designated place for prayer or reflection helps the soul remember what matters most. It becomes a rhythm: a pause before the rush, a return after the noise.

• It sanctifies the ordinary. When we set aside even a small corner for prayer, we declare that holiness belongs not only to churches but also to kitchens, hallways, and back porches.

• It teaches presence. Children, guests, and even pets sense the quiet gravity of a space that is treated differently — a place where voices soften and hearts listen.

• It reminds us of continuity. Across centuries, believers have marked their homes with symbols of faith: lamps, icons, Scripture verses, candles. Each says, “God dwells here.”

🕯️ Options for Different Homes

1. In a spacious house

• Create a dedicated prayer room or chapel corner with a chair, small table, candle, and sacred image.

• Use natural light — a window that catches morning sun or evening glow.

• Keep it simple: a Bible, a cross, a plant, perhaps a journal.

• Let the space breathe; silence itself becomes part of the design.

2. In a lively home with children and cats

• Choose a visible but protected spot — a shelf, mantle, or wall niche.

• Use unbreakable or cat‑safe items: wooden crosses, fabric hangings, battery candles.

• Invite children to help decorate it seasonally — flowers in spring, stones in Lent, stars at Christmas.

• The goal is not isolation but integration: a sacred space that coexists with laughter, toys, and pawprints.

3. In a cramped apartment or shared space

• Claim a tiny corner — even an overturned crate covered with cloth can become an altar.

• Add one symbol of faith: a small cross, a candle, or a verse card.

• Keep it portable — a tray or box that can be moved when needed.

• The holiness lies not in size but in intentionality: a place where you turn toward God, however briefly.

✨ The Heart of It

Sacred space is not about separation from life; it’s about orientation within it. It says, “Here, I remember who I am and Whose I am.” Whether it’s a sunlit room or a corner behind the sofa, the space becomes a quiet covenant between the divine and the daily.

Holiness begins wherever we choose to notice it.

post inspired by Blest Atheist by Elizabeth Mahlou

Book description

As a young child, outraged by the hypocrisy she finds in a church that does nothing to alleviate the physical and sexual abuse she experiences on a regular basis, Beth delivers an accusatory youth sermon and gets her family expelled from the church. Having locked the door on God, Beth goes on to raise a family of seven children, learn 17 languages, and enjoy a career that takes her to NASA, Washington, and 24 countries. All the time, however, God keeps knocking at the door, protecting and blessing her, which she realizes only decades later. Ultimately, Beth finds God in a very simple yet most unusual way. A very human story, Blest Atheist encompasses the greatest literary themes of all time – alienation, redemption, and even the miraculous. The author’s life experiences, both tragic and tremendous, result in a spiritual journey containing significant ups and downs that ultimately yield great joy and humility.

Book review

Brendan M. Howard

Flawed protagonist, honest struggles

DISCLAIMER: I received this book as an early review copy.

Elizabeth Mahlou's autobiography and tale of coming to believe in God has a lot going for it.

Her candid descriptions of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of relatives gripped this reader in a flood of sympathy and horror. Mahlou's great reserve of optimism and compassion as child and adult seems initially boastful. But in light of her life of childhood trauma, physically and mentally challenged children of her own, her commendable hunt for intellectual success, and a cycle of poverty that she constantly fights to escape, readers will find themselves rooting for Mahlou more than most any other autobiographical subject in English letters. The story of her hurts and triumphs, unlike those of writers reeling from the obscene horrors of the Holocaust, horrific genocidal wars, or horrendous serial killing drama, is scary in its possibility. Parents who don't know how not to hit their kids? Medical and educational leaders who blindly try to force or refuse treatment to her children? These are realities for many, and her strength will be succor to those fighting against establishment figures.

But Mahlou's chief reason for writing this very personal tale is not to offer succor, but to tell the story of how an atheist came to believe in God. As a very intelligent, very compassionate nonbeliever-turned-Christian, Mahlou is a captivating example of religion's pull even for those who aren't writhing in self-pity, aren't blind to all but childish reasons for religious belief and aren't obediently following their parents' and parents' belief systems.

This is a tale of belief hard-fought-against, wisely considered, and spiritually experienced.

For more posts about Elizabeth Mahlou and her books, click HERE.

For more posts about religious conversion, click HERE.

For more posts about atheism, click HERE.

For more posts about spirituality, click HERE.

For more posts about God, click HERE.

CONTACT editor@msipress.com FOR A REVIEW COPY

MSI Press, a veteran-owned publishing house based in California, United States

best known for turning new writers into award-winning authors,
has gained mass recognition for releasing highly acclaimed books of varying genres
that are distributed internationally. Check us out on Wikitia.

To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount,

use code FF25 at MSI Press webstore.

Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to pay for it?
(1) Ask your local library to purchase and shelve it.
(2) Ask us for a review copy; we love to have our books reviewed.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL OUR AUTHORS AND TITLES.

Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter: get inside information before others see it and access to additional book content

(recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, links to precerpts/excerpts, author advice, and more)

Check out recent issues.

 

 

Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, Pinterest, and Bluesky. 

 

 

MSI Press welcomes submissions that reflect legacy and lived experience. Learn more about our publishing process on our website. We help writers become award-winning published authors, one writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Check our listing in Writer's Market, the most trusted guide to publishing.

Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help. Ask us. Check out more information at www.msipress.com.

 

Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our author au pair services will mentor you through the process. See what we can do for your at www.msipress.com.

Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.

Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.

Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.

Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our Authors' Pages.

Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.

   

MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
Check out our rankings -- and more -- HERE.