I ordered Silent Witness at the insistance of a friend and ended up enjoying it so thoroughly, that I purchased 5 others as gifts for others.

Readable... approachable... and real world. Highly recomended!

Christians' Homes Should Be 'Silent Witness' to Faith, Says Top Designer

International interior stylist shows how to let living environment 'speak' about beliefs

by Andy Butcher

An award-winning interior designer with high-society clients from New York to London has taken on a more modest but, he says, equally important project: transforming the average Christian home into a place of ministry. Georg Andersen believes that many Christians are missing out on an opportunity to impact others through the way they live, as much as what they say. So he has opened his own home to show them how. In "Silent Witness: The Language of Your Home" the man whose firm has helped style the White House and an international list of luxury homes, exclusive hotels and elite restaurants, details how simple touches can change the atmosphere and touch lives. "Our homes speak about our beliefs, priorities and purpose in life. These are the words of silent witness that influence others," he says. "I don't mean putting crosses and embroidered Bible verses all over the wall, although I have nothing against that...but there are better ways than slapping someone in the face." "Silent Witness" explains how Andersen and his wife turned a Connecticut farmhouse-style property in Arkansas into their new home, after years of living in New York. The book takes readers on a room-by-room guided tour, showing how layout and decoration can help create the right mood, and provide conversation points of faith. Even seemingly insignificant personal treasures can be used to make an impact, he says--like the stone engraved with the word "grace," which sits on a table in what he calls "the welcome room," rather than the foyer. It was a gift from the family's pastor, shortly before Andersen learned his young grandson was autistic. "God really spoke to me [through it] in those days, and showed me His grace in my darkest hour," he recalls. "On occasions when people come in they will remark on the stone, and I will retell the story. I always fall apart when I tell it, and someone else will say, 'We didn't know you had hurts. We thought you had it all together. We have hurts; can we share them with you?'" A frequent guest on television and radio, Andersen says that many Christians fail to make the most of their homes either because they feel guilty about what they do have, or they feel that they don't have enough to be able to make anything of it. "Some feel that they have to live in a clinical environment and are afraid to begin to fulfill what God has put in them with regard to creativity," he says. "[But] the home is exalted throughout Scripture, and beauty is of God. I'm not talking about gilded candles; whatever you perceive to be beautiful, it comes from Him. "I have had people tell me they couldn't entertain because their home was not up to snuff, and they wished it was perfect. But perfect will never come...Doors will open when we invite people in, not to take a tour but to share each others' hearts." Andersen's mission has been endorsed by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who credits the designer with helping "make the mansion a home," when he took office. "He helped us make the family quarters uniquely ours," he says.

Reproduced by permission of Charisma News Service

Georg Andersen walks us through the home he shares with his wife and loving helpmeet, Annabelle. This visual and verbal tour through the Andersens' beautiful home in Arkansas shows the beauty and practical use of each room. Even the names of each room reveal much reflection on the purpose and function of that room and the very place that room holds in their lives.

Mr. Andersen offers this paragraph early in the book: "In offering this idea of silent witness, I don't envision 'praying hands' or Christian magazines on the coffee tables. How you use your home and what people sense when they are in it are far more revealing." Examples of the "words" the Andersens desire their home to "say" are faith, contentment, hospitality, meekness, gentleness, generosity, creativity, and gratefulness. Words that--with the right "accent" and "pronunciation"--reflect a Creator/Loving Heavenly Father for whom the Andersens obviously feel honored to be stewards.

Mr. Andersen has notable credentials for his work and is responsible for the beauty and design for many internationally known venues, but his concepts for planning and decorating a home are applicable to all. His suggestions and observations center a great deal on using this "language" in your decorating--where you are, using what you have.

A word of warning to the Andersens is that all who enjoy this book will desire a meal and overnight stay in their home--not to take advantage of this intimate glimpse into the beauty and warmth of their home, but to be loved, listened to, and nurtured as the Andersens use God's beauty and order and their heart for God to love and encourage others through them.

SILENT WITNESS: The Language of Your Home strikes a chord within me as I decorate a new home. I am looking at--and listening to--my home with new eyes and ears to hear what it says to those who come near. I'm planning to teach it some new words that come straight from our Father--a holy, loving God--for whom my husband Jack and I are blessed to be stewards.

The designs in this book are totally outdated (talk about the 80's!), but the commentary in it is valuable for any person who is searching for a way to relate interior design with Christianity. Andersen offered much wisdom on the subject, and left me with new understanding.