Free

Keeping up with a blog is hard work. It takes time, extra time that I don't always have to sit down and compose something I think would be worth reading.

Actually, I've just sort of had writers block.

My days are not terribly exciting, sometimes they are just plain ole boring....and who needs to read a boring blog.

I blame the weather. It's dreary and when it is dreary I sort of sink into this deep dark abyss where I can only vaguely see daylight.

This week I've tried to dig myself up out of it by willing the sun to come out again. How? I do what I do best.....I rearrange things. Honestly, I've been doing this my whole life. First the bookcase, then artwork, I even changed up the cushions on the couch all in an attempt to brighten my surroundings.

Yesterday, the weather forecast predicted a sunny day here in Houston. Guess what....? The sun never came out. I think I may go crazy if this keeps up much longer. So with little else to do, I proclaimed today art homework day.

Not just any art project, Aboriginal artwork. That's right, straight from Australia! Aboriginal art is different to say the least. Patterns, lines, circles, insects....and dots. Tons and tons of dots.

Here is a picture of my piece....before I got caught up in dots.



As you can see it is very tribal. Not my forte, but fun don't ya think?

Here it is after I became obsessed with dots....and then a few more dots and lines....and before I knew it I was picturing Aborigines sitting together painting exotic patterns on their bodies.  Sorry, I blame the dots.

Okay....I may have gotten carried away by the dots, but it was fun and it was freeing to think outside the box so to speak and get a little "out there". I have to admit, I caught myself smiling as I thought about my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Webb, and how this artwork would probably disappoint her. I can still remember her calling me up to her desk to question why I would consider coloring a bride completely black, dress and everything. She was very displeased and urged me to go sit down and color the page over.....this time correctly.

 I think when it comes to art, I've played it safe ever since.

That is until today!

There is more than one way to bring some sunshine into a dreary day! WooHoo!!

Free to think outside the box, color outside the lines and yet make it all work together.

Free.

John 8:36

 So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

 I am so thankful for all the many ways the Son has set me free!

Here is a preview of my next project....and it will be aboriginal! Scary I know.....but hey, it will be fun!

Pray for sun.

home by design: Inspiration....

home by design: Inspiration....: Inspiration. Such a powerful word. We all need inspiration. Why? Because we all at one time or another, lose inspiration. The daily gr...

Inspiration....

Inspiration.

Such a powerful word. We all need inspiration.

Why?

Because we all at one time or another, lose inspiration. The daily grind of life tends to sap it out of us.

That is until now.....because now we have.....

Let me just come out and admit this right now....I'm in love with this website.

Talk about inspiration!

If you can dream it, I bet you can find it on this site.

This past week, I made 3,"no sew roman shades", all because of the inspiration I found on Pinterest!

Here they are

I just love them! And it's all because of............... 


 I love how people are sharing ideas and posting the most amazing projects all for free on this worldwide social network thing. Amazing!


Notice, these are "no sew curtains".....no sew.

 I do not enjoy sewing,...actually, I hate sewing.

 Next to wallpaper, it is my least favorite form of hands on activity.  My aversion to sewing goes all the way back to high school home economics class..........I made a D on my sewing project! I was scarred for life! The first born perfectionist side of me, simply could not handle anything that resulted in a D. It was the same for geometry too. It didn't help that I was taking the class with one of my best friends and she could sew a dress without even using a pattern!
 Who does that?
 I struggled to sew a dress with a pattern. Sigh... It was embarrassing. Such a blow to my sensitive high school self-esteem. I've never fully recovered, but that is a subject for another day.

 Sewing.... is the hardest thing I've ever done.

I did a Triathlon a few years back......Way easier than sewing!!

My point is... and I do have a point. These no sew curtains were fun to make. I enjoyed the whole process... ....well except the hanging, that took a little practice.....okay, an hour or more of practice.

Back to my point....sorry.

I was inspired! It feels good to be inspired!


 To inspire is to bring life, to bring hope and vision. To cause movement.

Inspiration

I think we could all use a little more inspiration in our lives.

And once we've received it.... we should share it! Freely share it! 

Who knows where it could lead?

Psalm 78:2-4

I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter hidden things, things from of old-

what we have heard and known, what our

fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children;

we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord

his power, and the wonders he has done.

Inspiration.....it is a powerful word!

home by design: Monday, Monday.....

home by design: Monday, Monday.....: Mondays....they are not for wimps! On Monday,we all have to get back to the real world and its many challenges. For me, that real world wa...

Monday, Monday.....

Mondays....they are not for wimps! 

On Monday,we all have to get back to the real world and its many challenges.

For me, that real world was laundry, cleaning, baking and ....weed pulling.

Laundry piled up because the minute my husband left town for a week, the washing machine decided to spring a leak. Now that he is home and it is fixed the machine has been running all day. I don't really enjoy laundry. Does anybody? I do enjoy clean clothes, which means laundry will always be a part of my life.

Cleaning the house. Another not so enjoyable task, but with only 2 people in the house right now, housecleaning is really no huge deal. I can't complain.

Baking. This is my latest hobby. I found this book in the library on making artisan bread. It's fun and it only takes about 5 minutes a day to make delicious homemade bread. Today, I was trying to master a healthy whole wheat version. So far, things look promising and my house smells heavenly right now! 

Then in the middle of all those chores was weed pulling......and weed pulling is by far the worst chore of the day. You see, my lawn has been invaded.

Let me introduce you to the culprit.

Virginia Button Weed. 

Have you ever noticed how weeds have the most innocent sounding names?

 Virginia button weed is not innocent. It is evil. 

It takes over your yard in a New York minute! Ignore it and will choke the life out your beautiful St. Augustine grass and the only real solution is to pull it out.  Evil stuff!!

Today, I pulled enough button weed to fill 3 garbage bags! I wish I could say I'm done, but that was just a small patch of my lawn! Not fun, not fun at all!!

 Pulling weeds does have one redeeming quality. It gives you plenty of time to think and pray. I thought about parables today. I love parables. I guess that is because I'm a classic hands on learner. They make sense to me. 

Consider the parable of the sower who went out to sow. Matthew 13:3-9.

 That is the passage that popped into my head while pulling the wretched stuff out of my lawn. The parable of the soil made sense. It was easy to comprehend.

Weeds rob the soil. Weeds choke out life. Weeds take over easily if not kept in check.

My response was easy. 

How is my soil?

See, that is the kind of thing that happens to me when I'm outside,..... on my knees,.............pulling weeds.

 I slow down just enough to hear, to contemplate. Maybe, just maybe Virginia button weed does have a redeemable quality?

I never really hear all that much in the middle of laundry. It must be all the racket of the dryer?

Aaahh! Mondays.... not for wimps!

Here is a pic of my loaves of bread......loaves of bread.?hmmm.

Hope you had a great Monday!

 

Peyton the rescue dog.....and the entryway

Well, I have not made any progress on the entryway. That's not entirely true. I did make one decision.
I've decided to not make a paint choice right now.

The reason behind this (besides my absolute inability to make a decision) is that January, in Houston, is simply the worst time to paint.

Today, it is dreary and dark. There is no way to tell if I am really going to like the color I choose on a day like today. So today... I'll show you the entryway

See that pretty dog there? That's Peyton. He's a rescue dog.

 You can probably tell that by the woe is me look he has on his face. Peyton, loves to remind everyone he's a rescue dog.

 How does he do this?

First you get the pitiful look on his face. Once he's pulled you in with that look he then decides he must have your complete attention. He says in his doggie way ..." Please pet me,..pet me......I'm a rescue dog. .... "No, don't play with the grandchildren, play with me....I'm a rescue dog."..."Let me be a lap dog and sit on your couch....after all, I'm a rescue dog."  ( insert pitiful Peyton  look here)   Honestly, he really milks the rescue dog thing around here!

Peyton has no shame and his antics to try to get your attention can drive you crazy . He does however have one admirable quality. He lives his life around here with a grateful heart. He lives like he has been rescued.

This is Peyton on his rescue day! See him smiling?

Grateful! Peyton is very grateful!

No whining....except in his sleep. Must be those memories of  the shelter. Poor thing.
No barking. Unless, he is really concerned, no growling or  barking will be heard from him.
He loves everybody. He loves all dogs. He even loves cats!

Peyton is content. Content to sleep at my feet. Content to let grandsons climb all over him. Content to go for a walk or... not.

As a believer, I could learn a lot from Peyton.
I could learn to be content. I could take lessons on living a grateful life.
In reality, Peyton and I have a lot in common.

We've both been rescued. We were both once lost.

The difference between us is that he never forgets that he was rescued.

Sometimes I do....I whine, bark, growl and even bite! Sad, but true.

 Ungratefulness. It creeps up on me so easily.

This world is hard. Life is not always a bowl of cherries. But that doesn't really have anything to do with whether or not I live life like a rescued person. Jesus rescued me not only for eternity one day, but he rescued me for today! For this moment! Why is it so easy for humans to forget this ....?

 Peyton never forgets. Ok, maybe once or twice... he forgot. There may have been a couple of times he got into the garbage.

Hmmm,....?

 Habits are hard to break. It is easy to slip back into our familiar patterns.

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;  Hebrews 12:28

 I'm glad Peyton is around to remind of these things when I need it!

Rescue dogs.....gotta love em!

Color

Do you remember when life was easy?

I do. It was in first grade. Remember this simple box of joy?

8 simple colors.... 

Remember when life got complicated?

  5th grade... with its box of 64 colors and built in crayon sharpener!

Why I am I consumed with color today?

 Two reasons:

1. I recently starting taking an art class and one of my discoveries has been...... I know nothing about color.

  Turns out I'm clueless when it comes color.

2. I've been living in my house now for a little more than 2 years and have not painted a single room. 

This is weird for me on so many levels.  I'm a little worried about it so, I've decided to paint my entryway.

Because of my art class,.......( mind you, I've had exactly one art class), color and thoughts of colors are 

running rampant through my mind.

 Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh, while studying the Dutch painter, Franz Hals...noted that Hals used

  "no less than 27 shades of black?"

 Did I tell you color was consuming me?

  

So, sorry for the rabbit trail..... now back to the entryway. 

The problem is..... I must choose a color.

 Before art class, this would not have been daunting in the least. I simply would have taken a few things into

consideration. Will it match the flooring, go with the flow into the other rooms and will it work with the

 furnishings. Simple. If there were only 8 shades of paint to choose from these days.

 Now, I see all the shades of  beige, copper or yellow, and turquoise that it could use.  Don't worry, I won't 

choose yellow.

 Consumed. 

  Suddenly, that 64 count box of crayons is looking less complicated by the minute!

  Really ? How will I make a decision? 

Color. 

Not so simple anymore...

 I saw this photograph of a sunset in Oklahoma, on the Pioneer Woman website. If you don't follow her blog

 you really should.....trust me when I say she's great! You'll love her recipes, stories and photographs. Like 

this one...... 

  

        

 Amazing. 

There are no other words.

 Because of my art class, I paused a little longer over this photo and could not shake the image from my brain.

The beauty of that sky had captured me.

 The different shades of blue...gray, orange and white. How I wish I could paint this scene.

 This morning that photo was still on my mind as I thought of the one who painted that sky.

Original. Just for that day.

 Tomorrow, He would paint another masterpiece.

That reminded me of this verse....

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Everyday, the Lord paints these beautiful pictures for all to see His glory. How often do we take the time to 

slow down and really see the masterpiece of  the Master Artist? To see His glory and realize His works of art

 are messages of his love for all who live in this broken world. 

God gets color! 

If only I can....?

Enjoy your weekend.... I really must get to my entryway.