Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I recently remembered or was reciting a poem I have known since childhood: "When life goes wrong as it sometimes will, and the road you are trudging seems all uphill..." If you don't know it, the poem goes on to basically say, stuff happens to all of us and when it does it's okay to rest, but never quit. I wasn't having a particularly bad day when I recalled this poem, but its message is good every day, for all of us. The Bible tells us the same thing. Jesus knows things are going to happen, we are going to have bad days, weeks, months. We experience real affliction and trouble--some it self-induced and some not. Sometimes we fall apart, physically and/or mentally. But, through it all, God renews us. His grace tells us to not give up, to never quit. Rest in him and his grace, but keep on keeping on, keep striving and fighting for better things, and never give up.

Easy Fall Signs on Old Records

Records? Remember these? Oh, how I loved my record albums. Some of my first albums  that I remember listening to were Mary Poppins and Pebbles and Bam-Bam's Good Ship Lollipop album. Later came The Partridge Family, Helen Reddy and Carly Simon.

While albums have made a resurgence, some old records are too far gone to be used for their original purpose.

When I recently "refound" some old albums in my junk stash, I knew they would be perfect simple signs.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! Do you ever get a song stuck in your head? Typically, it will just be a line or two and it will repeat in my mind over and over and usually it is a song I don't even really like. Or, we put on repeat negative things that were said to us or about us, things that tell us we are not enough. God puts a song in each of our hearts--a song written specifically for each one of us. His song never shames, it doesn't put us down, it is light and full of love, a song of praise. Whatever negative thoughts you have running through your head, the chorus on repeat in your heart that weighs you down, give it to God. Tell him you are tired of singing that song that is not from him. Ask him to give you a new song, a song about his unconditional love for you, a song that reassures you that you are enough, a song that reminds you that are created in HIS image. Today, sing a new song.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! For the most part, we tend to be logical people. We like order and want there to be cause and effect in our lives, we like reason. We want to know why things happen the way they do and we spend inordinate amounts of time asking and trying to figure out why. And, that is okay. It is okay to ask and wonder why. The problem comes when we assume we know why, when we inaccurately blame a cause, when we presume something occurred because we did something wrong. Sometimes--a lot of the time, we are not going to know why bad things happen. When we realize that life is not always fair, that hard, horrible things happen to good people, and we trust that God knows why, we can start to heal. Jesus understands, he sees and knows all, he brings good from bad, and he holds us in our pain and in our questioning. Let go of the why and trust the One who knows.

Shelf Decor for Fall

Y'all, I have been MIA! I was told once to never apologize for infrequently blogging. After all, I realize you are not hanging on my every word or project, but I do hope to jump back on the blogging boat soon. 

Right now I only have time for quick projects and these cute shelf sitters fit the bill perfectly.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! Life feels busy right now and routine and I find myself going through the motions, doing the things, ticking off the list without appreciating the small, every day things. But then, something as simple as a sunset, can stop me and remind me to pause and enjoy the simple, still moments. Jesus wants us to take delight in life. He wants us to live a full and abundant and good life. God does not want the drudgery and mundane to steal our happiness and contentment. Pause. Breathe. Seek Jesus. Appreciate and live life where you are, today.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! In the junking/antiquing business we often hear, "What is this worth?" We say it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. In other words, you may have an incredibly valuable antique, but if you are hoping to sell it to make money and don't have a buyer, it isn't worth anything. We may have all of the faith in the world, but if we are acting without love that faith is nothing. Faith is powerful, but only when we pair it with unconditional love. Acting, speaking, helping, trying to change circumstances must be done in love. We will only change the world by becoming love with open arms and open hearts, by getting in the trenches with each other, by leaving the judgement to God. When we love first, we will move mountains.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! Labor Day, the unofficial end to summer. I find myself holding on to the warm days, being well aware that winter will be here sooner than I want. One of the gifts of getting older is knowing that seasons are a part of life. Easy seasons are appreciated and savored, tough seasons are endured as they strengthen faith. And, through it all, God remains. He is faithful and present. He is the God who sees, who knows what we are going through and if we let him, will use our seasons to teach us unconditional love. There is a reason for our seasons (yep, that rhymed) and whichever you are in, hold on, relax and rest in the truth that it has a purpose and that it will change.

How to Build a Rustic Shipping Crate

I love building crates--they are easy and so versatile and useful. Let me show you how to make a distressed, shipping crate.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! God wants relationship with you, period. Seems simple enough, and God intended it to be that way when he sent Jesus to earth. But, humans that we are, we complicate it. We tell ourselves lies as to why we don't have relationship with Jesus: we aren't good enough. we don't have it together, Jesus followers are weird and mean, I will be judged, it's just not for me, I don't need God, God doesn't care about me. While sadly there might be some partial truths in some of these thoughts, they are not God's truth. Jesus wants to tear down every lie that is keeping you from him. He wants you to know that he loves you and NOTHING will change that. He is pursuing you. That empty feeling, that place in you that you can't seem to fill with earthly things--Jesus wants to infuse it with his love, that is truth you can rely on.