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Redesigning Sacred and Forgetting Why We Built It

Redesigning Sacred and Forgetting Why We Built It

We’ve upgraded the space, but have we downgraded the sacred? This week, we look at modern almshouses, church design, and personal habits to ask: what are we quietly removing from the center of it all?

Devin Almonte
October 23, 2025

_{Hi friends,}

_{This week I found myself watching a video of a stunning new almshouse in South London: the Appleby Blue Almshouse. It’s beautiful. Filled with light, gardens, shared kitchens, and courtyards. It just won one of the top architecture awards in the UK.}

_{But what caught my attention wasn’t what}_was_{there, it was what wasn’t. There was no chapel.}

_{Because historically, almshouses were born out of Christian faith, built around a chapel at the center, symbolizing a life anchored in Christ. But somewhere along the way, this changed.}

_{And it made me think of how easily that same shift happens in our own lives. What used to center us spiritually becomes replaced by something more practical, more modern, more}_us_.

_{That’s where we’re going in today’s show. From almshouses to church design to the small ways we quietly remove the holy from our everyday lives, one “little redesign” at a time.}

_{Have a blessed week,}

_Devin

_{Today’s episode:}

_{Here’s what’s on today’s}_{InSight Out Show:}

_⚓_{Anchor Point:}_{When the Steeple Slips.}_{What happens when the sacred center of our lives gets quietly replaced? We’ll trace how the modern almshouse reflects the same spiritual shift we see in our culture and sometimes, in our own hearts.}

📞_{Culture Watch:}_{The Game of Telephone.}_{Like a message passed down the line, truth and purpose can get distorted with every retelling. How much of what we believe, build, or prioritize has drifted from the original design God intended?}

_🏛️_{Main Story:}_{The Almshouse and the Architecture of Faith.}_{We’ll look back at the original design of almshouses shaped by the church and anchored by the chapel, and ask what today’s designs reveal about our reordered priorities.}

🌿_{The Bigger Lens:}_{What happens to a life, a neighborhood, or a nation when we remove the holy? Maybe the better question is: where have}_we_{done that in our homes, our habits, or our hearts?}

_{🎧 Come join me.}_Listen_.

_{Listen to this week’s Anchor Points}

_{Short, devotional reflections that anchor our day in truth.}

_{Everything’s Great! (Said the Big Fat Liar)}_{– When life feels too polished, remember: God does His best work in the valleys, not just the mountaintops. Honesty opens the door for grace.}
_{Backwards Building}_{– Skipping the foundation never works. From paint jobs to spiritual lives, the Gospel is our primer. Without it, nothing truly sticks.}
_{Rushing the Renovation}_{– We all want quick results, but the sequence matters. Slow down and trust the process. As Proverbs 24:27 reminds us, “Put your outdoor work in order… then build your house.”}

TRUTH IN

FAITH OUT

Truth In:

_{When the sacred is removed from the center, what’s left might look beautiful, but it’s hollow.}

_{“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain…”}

_–_{Psalm 127:1}

Faith Out:

_{Before we start rearranging our life, our plans, or our priorities, ask:}_{What’s at the center of this?}

_{Is it the garden (what others see: horizontal) or the chapel (what anchors you in eternity: vertical)?}

_{This week’s challenge:}

_{Look up before you build out.}_{Ask God what needs to be put back at the center.}
_{Bring the chapel back.}_{Find one moment of worship each day that recenters you vertically.}
_{Listen for the bells.}_{Notice where faith still rings quietly in your week and let it call you back.}

💬_{Question for you:}

_{Is there an area of your life where the sacred has quietly slipped out of the center? What might it look like to bring Christ back to the middle?}

_{✉️ Have a question or want to connect? Send me an email at:}_{[email protected]}

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