Hosive

in the book series, not so big house, the key to getting the most out of a small space are niches. even in big homes, what makes a home “homey” are the small little places that feel cozy and safe. where memories are made. so good architects, builders and home makers build little spots into a house or apt to make the space memorable and alive. i’ve been blessed to live in a few places with little nooks and spots that radiate with life.

we bought one of the not so big house books because we were moving from a 2400 sq/ft md house into a 1100 sq/ft nyc apartment. but it turns out the not so big homes in the not so big house books were not so not-so-big. they were huge places! we have different definitions of not so big house!

in these features, i’ll detail mundane little spots around our apartment…..the spots where we live…and life is made.

this is our bedroom…and where the magic happens. but not in the way you think. let me explain.

during one of our housewarmings, i gave the folks a tour of the place….lagging behind, ricky yu entered the room and saw the desk right next to our bed…he assumed that this is where i write my sermons. and while i was showing others the master bath, we heard ricky say behind us…”so…this is where the magic happens.” we turned to see ricky, a little embarrassed realizing that most in room thought he was noting the king sized bed.

but some “magic” does occur here….since space in nyc is a premium, many spaces double or triple in function…

in this space, as you can see by the piles of books and papers is where i sometimes meet with god in meditation, prayer, readings, connection with nature. these are the windows i look out of when i pray….

there is a collage of man and god that is in my mind as i pray. when i see the inner courtyard with old buildings and gut renovations, i am grounded in reality…..my head is not in the clouds filled with illusions and delusions. i am reminded of the fact that i still live on a broken earth with all kinds of people with real lives and real problems; sometimes too real and sometimes much realer than mine. even realer than the real thing. but in the midst of the grittiness, i still see the majesty and power of god surrounding, peeking through, illuminating, permeating……this is the backdrop that pray with.

i am blessed to have these windows and so much light in my apartment…..here’s a shot before we moved all our stuff in…you can see that they are pretty epic. yeah!….upper, upper west side.