Bria at Home

Wherever You Go, I Am with You....

This blog is a very interesting one where I describe the architecture of certain places that I find interesting or that invoke emotion from me.  I considered different locations and their structure but kept coming back to two places, specifically that I find myself in doing the same thing in both.  But these two places are significantly different in their design, architecture, in their form, and function. 

The first is a picture of my home. Specifically, the front room sometimes called the "formal" room or in days gone by, the Living Room.  Funny terms as I find that the day to day activities of today have this room utilized very little.  But its use for me personally is for a time very special to me.  It is the room that I gravitate to most when I find those small moments of silence where I can get alone and read my Bible and talk to God.  Sometimes I am there and I only listen for His voice as I read His Word.  I usually come to this room when I've exhausted all other avenues of figuring out the day to day problems, stresses, and plans for me and my family.  But when I come to this quiet place, albeit not as often as I would like, it is a refuge. The architecture is traditional wood frame. The windows are framing in craftsman style moldings. The room is meant for those who visit to be a place to sit and chat with some coffee. Though its design is traditional in nature, the decor and esthetic are intended to be warm and inviting to those who enter.  It is the same for my intentions with my moments with God in this room.  That He would find the home and most of all my heart a welcoming place for Him to dwell. The feelings that I hope to convey with the room design is really the same as the way that I want my own life and heart to be.  A place or peace and of blessing, a welcoming environment for the Spirit of the Lord to dwell and for others to feel welcome to come as well.  

The next image is of another place.  One with a completely different esthetic and architectural design.  It is the interior space of the sanctuary at First Baptist Church of Naples.  It shows the platform, choir loft, baptistry, pulpit, and many instruments designed for a worship service or any other event that provides a place for people to come and meet with God.  Whether through a worship service or a school musical from First Baptist Academy,  this space has been dedicated to welcoming the Spirit of God in.  To be the guest of honor in His house.  A place meant to worship, pray, confess, and be changed.  For the better.  The amazing thing is,  I find this large perhaps intimidating to some, place just as comforting to my spirit as if I were in my own home nestled in one of those comfy chairs with a book or God's Word. 

The immense structure of this sanctuary built with steel and beams, with exposed beams in the rafters that reflect the lights and create an ambiance of excitement and joy during worship services.  The platform, also known to some as the "altar" is a place where the Word of God is spoken to 1000s each week.  It is also where music is played and worship is performed.  I also am a part of that worship team that helps usher the congregation into a spirit of worship for Our God.  This is also home to me.  Even though the high ceilings, ridged lines of the stage and platform.  The aspects of its design bring another aspect of God's nature to the forefront.  That being His Majesty.  At the time of the pictures, the stage lighting wasn't on but the room was empty, quiet but still majestic.  To the architectural mind, this room would be described as a commerical space.  Standard beam structure.  But to the Believer in Jesus Christ and as well the observant eye, one can see that the layout and design of this space has a very specific and special purpose.  It invokes reverence and awe.  Its size alone makes you take in the space as one where throngs of people raise a loud voice together in praise for the God of the Universe. The God of all Elements.  Of ore and materials that made the structure even possible.  Whether the materials are wood for a humble home or the strength of steel beams holding up rafters over a stadium,  or even more incredible a place within the flesh and heart of God's children,  these places hold the same purpose.  A purpose greater than any other in this humble Christian's opinion.  They are the same yet different.  To hold the presence of God Almighty.  The Maker and Creator of all things.  The One and Only Savior of The World.  What incredible form and function each of these holds.