Fear Not!

A Halloween message from our little owl:

Fear not, for I am with you; (Genesis 26:24)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

I want to introduce you to my friend, Steph, (and her drop-dead gorgeous family).  See that darling baby on Steph's lap?  That is Wynn's future bride, Hope.:)  Stephanie has been an invaluable mentor to me the past several years.  And by "mentor" I mean that Steph has taught me about God's love on a whole new level.  Her testimony and life as a wife and mother have ministered to me in so many countless ways, I have tears in my eyes now trying to do justice to what Steph means to me by a few short sentences on this blog.  Really there aren't any words, so I will just leave it at this:  In a world of sin and insincerity, Steph is the real deal.  The Holy Spirit shines through her so strongly it is impossible to look at her life and not see Him at every angle. 

Steph blogs here, and a few years ago she wrote about her love story with husband Tim, which caught the attention of so many unmarried girls, wanting in their lives the love that God has given Steph and Tim in their marriage. 

After answering countless emails, Steph started a ministry for unmarried women (mainly aimed toward college age girls, but all ages are welcome and encouraged) to get the urgent message out of God's unending uncompromising everlasting love for each and every one of us.  What started as a weekend retreat for college age girls in their home has turned into a big-time retreat called His Proposal. 

That was a lot of back story but I wanted to get the word out to all of my readers who are unmarried and waiting on the Lord for a love story of their own.  If you have a daughter, niece, or friend who would benefit from this message (oh boy could I have benefited when I was 19!!!) then please spread the word about this retreat, this weekend in Knoxville.

Details here. 

"After all, I don't see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles

when every year there are miracles like white dogwood."
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

 
A reader named Allyson sent me this quote after my last post with the etsy dogwood garland.  I loved it so much, I had to share it.
 
Blessings,

Steadfast.

I found and bought this pretty little dogwood garland on Etsy tonight.  Isn't it pretty?  She's a six footer.

I thought it would be the perfect bit of pretty to hang above the windows in our dining area.  I think there is a rule of physics that says when you hang pretty flowers above your windows that the eye won't notice the tired linoleum on the floors beneath your dining table. 

I miss the hardwood floors in our old house.  Lately I have been missing just about everything about the New Old House.  I shed a tear for it every once in awhile, in the shadow of self-doubt where I'm hidden from view.

Did we do the right thing? 

Did I really walk away from my home??

Where are we going and when will we ever get there?

Then I put on a strong face and carry on, another day and another step closer to that Harvest.

where all the flowers are sure to abound around us.

 a beautiful crop.

a testament to our steadfastness.

Wynn's Nursery: Take Two

"What a funny sight it is to see a brood of ducklings with a hen!

Listen to the story of Jemima
Puddle-duck . . . "

-Beatrix Potter

O ne of the hardest parts of our recent move was leaving behind Wynn's nursery.  I spent so much time putting it together and then we moved before he ever had the chance to grow big enough to play in it.  I was sort of burned out and disenchanted with the whole nursery concept after the move.  I knew we weren't going to be in this rental house for very long and I felt "heart tired" at the idea of putting together another nursery that we would soon be taking down and leaving behind.  After I had time to emotionally and physically recover from the move I realized that I still wanted a special nursery space-not just a room with a crib and stacks of clothes sitting around- and that this rental would just not feel like home until Wynn's room was a special space just for him.

I am still working on a few things and will do a full room reveal once those loose ends are wrapped up, but here is a look at what I have been working on- all renter friendly options for decorating a child's bedroom or nursery.

As a recap, here is the crib bedding I made for him:

And here is Wynn's priceless reaction to all of mommy's hard work:

Maybe he wanted red??

I decorated the walls of the first nursery with tiny blue and white pinstripes which took forevvvvvvvvvvvvver to paint.  I had to come up with an idea for the new nursery that didn't involve paint or hundreds of hours of time to complete.  I also wanted something original-not a wall decal or his name in wooden letters-all cute ideas but definitely not one-of-a-kind anymore.  I was rocking him to sleep one evening when I looked at the stack of mini-sized beatrix potter books on his bookshelf.  I had at least three sets of the same books-one I had bought myself a long time ago and two others which were baby gifts.  I pulled a page out of one of the Peter Rabbit books and held it up to the wall behind the crib. 

It was pure love at first site. 

The soft colors.

The vintage look.

Even the torn edge of the book page.

It just worked.

So I kept going.  I took apart two sets of books-five books per set and about 60 pages per book gave me plenty of pages to work with . . .

I included the pages of text as well-I love that the wall tells a story. 

 It is still a work in progress but is turning into one-of-a-kind wallpaper.  Total cost= $0. 

 Truth be told, I love the page numbers too.

Did I mention that Wynn's new room has the only original crystal door knob in the whole house?  Perfect.

More nursery details and a full room shot to come soon.

Thanks for stopping by for a peak at what I have been up to . . .

Create. Inspired.

I love a good (gorgeous!) photo that inspires me to create.  This set of photos from Lonny Mag (LOVE Lonny!) makes me want to step away from everything, leave the dishes in the sink and work on one of the 1,000 projects I currently have going . . .

More on those projects coming later today or tomorrow (pinky promise!)

Those eyes.

Those eyes. 

They will want to know someday.

About our God.  About who He is.  Where He is. 

Just look.  They are already full of questions-those eyes.

I had better know.  I had better search far and long and deep.  The furthest stone?  I will turn it. 

I will turn it for him.

I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.   Isaiah 45:3


It is my job life to teach him.

May my life reflect the smallest treasure in the darkest place under the furthest stone in the most secret place, so that he may see through me to the Lord of all, the God of Israel, who will someday summon those eyes by name.