Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I love this picture of my husband and daughter. She wanted to cross the log, but she was scared. My husband took her hand, encouraged her, showed her how to move across the log, helped her overcome her fears and successfully cross the river. It is a picture of what fathers are called to do: encourage, teach, help, and hold their children's hands when they need it. I am so thankful for my husband and for all of the dads out there who step up and step in to teach and train up children in a Godly and loving way and so thankful that we have a loving Father in heaven who shows us how to love our children and each other unconditionally.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I have always loved rainbows. As a kid, (and mind you, it was the very groovy seventies) I had a rainbow bedroom--rainbow sheets and comforter, rainbow wallpaper, and a full rainbow painted on the wall. Today would have been my son's nineteenth birthday and in his short life, the rainbow became more special to me. My son was born with a rare heart defect, Ebstein's Anomaly. Shortly after he was born, when the doctors had rushed him away to work on him, I looked out the window of my hospital room and saw a rainbow through the tall buildings. On the day we buried my son it was raining heavily. When we got to the cemetery, the sun came out and a double rainbow appeared over the mountains. After the flood, God placed the rainbow in the skies as a promise and a sign of hope.  Yes, my baby died, but I live with the hope that I will see him again one day. Hope tells us that things will get better, that there is a way through the darkness, that God will work it out. Jesus came to give us life and to give us hope. Find a sign of hope in your life and cling to it. Trust hope.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! It is graduation season and at many graduation parties we are asked to write words of wisdom for the graduate. I often write short, inspirational quotes. But, I realized what I really want graduates (and EVERYONE) to know is this: You are who God says YOU are. You are not your list of achievements or mistakes, you are not your GPA or the activities you participate in, you are not who social media says you are, you are not the college you are attending or the degree or job you want, you are not the friends you hang out with or anything else that is temporary and fleeting and ever-changing. You are who God calls you--fearfully and wonderfully made, loved beyond measure, forgiven, and redeemed. When the world tries to put labels on you and define you, work hard to reject them and remind yourself that God's labels are the only ones that matter.

Seed Crate

It is planting season, and planting means flowers, and seeds, and gardens, and potting sheds. Funky Junk Old Sign Stencils has such a lovely line of HIGH QUALITY stencils.

(affiliate link)

See them HERE (note the price you see is in Canadian, so the US price is less.)

 The latest stencils are such a lovely size and they work great as they are or in bits and pieces like I stenciled on this small crate I made.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! You probably have seen the saying, "You can do hard things." The hard things are different for all of us, but I believe the truly difficult challenges that we have to overcome always involve people and relationships. I am not sure why we make it so hard, but I know with God we can take courage and change it. With Jesus we can forgive, we can say we are sorry, we can rebuild connections, we can stand up for others, we can speak truthfully and tell others what we are feeling, we can be inclusive, we can be kind. It is not easy, do it anyway. Rise up. Take courage. Do the hard thing.

Thrifty Thursday Metal Stool Makeover

So, I went a thrift store hunt looking specifically for two 24" stools. I wanted metal, but was willing to settle for wood. I did not find any. I also looked on Craigslist with no luck. Humph...

But, when I got home from my thrifting trip, I hopped on the Facebook garage sale pages and found two 24" metal stools that had been listed a few minutes before. I snatched them up. So, this isn't a really thrift store makeover, but a garage sale upcycle.

I wanted the stools to go with the bar I recently shared (HERE). 
I know I need to rough them up, give them a more weathered, worn, and farmhouse appearance. I achieved this with paint, cinnamon, and stain.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! It is spring and that means the rivers and waterfalls are raging. But, on a recent hike, rather than paying attention to the swiftly moving waters I noticed the still pools on the river. There is something about calmness and stillness that draws our attention. To be able to be still when everything around us is turbulent speaks to others. When we trust that all things will work out, when we know that God has our back and believe that He is with us always, we can rest and be still. A place of peacefulness and quietness in the middle of stress is where God wants us to be, to rest. It is where he will lead us if we let him.

Rustic Farmhouse Kitchen Island and Bar

Some (MOST!) of my projects are the ones that I have no idea what I am building when I start. I love to improvise and figure things out as I go. It seems to work best for the way my brain functions. 

So, when I found a large wood piece that was for a sign, but headed to a burn pile, I knew it would make a good, rustic table top.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I sure do appreciate a good bridge on the trail (as opposed to having to shimmy across a log). Bridges make is easier to get over things that otherwise might be too hard to cross. In life we have lots of tough things that we have to cross and go through and people (you and me) are called to be the bridges that help each other over the difficult stuff. Loving each other, taking care of others without judgement, reaching out to others-- all help to overcome the gaps that we have to cross. Too often we are so worried about our differences that we choose to build a fence rather than a bridge between us. Love people where they are at, know that everyone has hard things in their lives, and reach out to span the space between you.

Farmhouse Cabinet Made From Chippy Picket Fence

I recently picked up some chippy white picket fence pieces. These were just small scraps, the longest bit being about 24" long. I decided I wanted to make some type of shelf out of them. At first I thought I would make an open shelf with pickets in the back. But, then I decide to make a little door. From the door that I made, this fun, chippy, wall cabinet was born.