Living in the color.

Since I read this recent post by my dear friend Shawna in New York City, I haven't been able to stop thinking about these words...

I want to live in the color. I want to live in the abundance of life that Christ died for me to experience. Why does that feel harder in some seasons than in others? Why does Starbucks make me happy on days that I am not sure I'm going to survive? I know there will always be unfulfilled longings, so I'm searching for that joy that only Jesus can give in any situation until we experience the fullness of life that He intends in Heaven. I know that abundant life isn't about "being" or "doing" anything more or differently. It's simply about abiding in Christ. Being with Him. Experiencing Him. Focusing on Him. Caring only about Him.

The other day I got to reunite with another faraway friend, Lauren.  Her adorable, artsy home in a small town outside of Philadelphia was packed with moving crates, but amongst them was a bright pink gift bag overflowing with black + white polka dotted tissue paper.   She handed it me.  As I peered into the bag, my mouth dropped open - inside was a gift that could not have been more thoughtful - a bouquet of 10 tree bark crayons, each practically the size of a track baton, each one its own work of art. 

"I want to live in the color."

I know my life holds many unfulfilled longings, a plethora of responsibilities and desires that try to draw me away from the heart of God, away from whom He made me to be.  And often, those things succeed. 

There are so many things I wish I could be - less impatient.  Slower to become frustrated.  Logical, at least sometimes.  Slower to let others' moods affect my joy.  More prone to "glass half full" than "glass half empty."

But as Lauren and I sat together on her couch sipping red wine, dipping our toes back into the deep waters of what our friendship was when we lived a few streets - rather than hundreds of miles - away, I could feel myself exhale.  I could feel the color flushing back into my face, my life.  Those colors spilled a simple truth across the sky:

You are not alone.  Someone understands.

That's right, "It's not about 'being' or 'doing' anything more or differently." 

Life is full of tension, but I don't want to stay in the grey place of in-between.  I want to live close to the heart of God, full and whole everyday.  He says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  (Jeremiah 29:13)  So I go out looking, and suddenly there is a burst of golden Black-Eyed Susan in the midst of browns and tans and grays. 

Or, a sunset that lights up the kitchen with an orange glow, urging me to leave dinner sizzling on the stove and grab my camera and run outside for fear of missing a literal rainbow being painted across the sky.

Yes, I think "living in the color" means choosing joy, choosing to be engaged with this life, this one I'm living now. Maybe it means approaching each day with hope and possibility, not permitting darkness to have its way with me.  It means that the light, and the color, always shines brighter.  Because it is there.  Always.

Friends, what does this phrase mean to you?  Really, I would love to know...

Guest room makeover...

It's time to reclaim the guest room from the mayhem of having a baby, switching rooms night after night, and the messiness of a home office.  I'm going with an outdoor/tree/natural theme...water and wood.

This paint color...

This painting {read the story behind it here}...

These Instagram photos, perhaps, mounted on square canvases...

These curtains...

This bedding, a gift from my mama...

This framed postcard from my favorite village in the Cinque Terre...

I hope it's a cheerful and relaxing place for guests to stay!

Simple living: thankfulness frame.

I've seen the blog posts circulating about how excessive Pinterest-surfing is causing moms to ignore their kids because they're too busy pinning at every spare minute.  And I get that, as I have to be careful not to retreat to my computer instead of engaging with the people in my home.  Anything can be taken overboard and abused.  Personally though, I have to say that many of the simple, creative ideas I've seen on Pinterest have actually helped me engage with the people in my life more.   This project is one of them.

First, I saw this idea on Pinterest, and then a sweet friend gave me a cute gift wrapped in burlap, and I thought I could repurpose it for this simple project. Who doesn't love burlap?  I wrote on a 5x7 frame with a white paint pen, framed the burlap, and in literally less than 5 minutes and $0 spent, I had this:

The idea for this frame, which is now perched on the dresser in our bedroom, is that my husband and I would use it to write notes back and forth to each other in the form of thankfulness. The notes are written with a dry-erase marker and easily wiped off.

Practicing thankfulness is one of the most important things we can do every single day.  For me, taking a moment to write or speak thankfulness is the difference between spiraling into a sea of chaos, resentfulness, and entitlement vs. peacefully surrendering my life and seeing the multitude of gifts I already have.  Yet, it's something I easily forget.  Every single day.

Writing on the thankfulness frame encourages me to search for something to be thankful for, even when I don't feel it at that moment.  And a bonus is receiving encouragement by what my husband writes.  The other morning after he had left for work, I found this:

Sigh.  I do love that man.  He knows me, he sees what's important in life, and he'll take two seconds to write on a picture frame to put a smile on his wife's face.  I've always wanted our home to be a place of beauty and peace, and it made me happy - and thankful - to know he sees it that way too.

So, I encourage you to make a thankfulness frame - for yourself or even as a simple gift for a friend.  We can all use a little more thankfulness in our lives, can't we?

Inspiration today.

Here's a collection of inspiring things to start out your week...

• Rain For Roots - a new children's collection of Bible songs that I would actually listen to without kids!  Beautiful, folksy, sweet lyrics.  I play it in the car all the time and it calms me as well as my daughter.
• The answer to life and peace?  Right here.
• On Mothering + Soldiering On - by Nashville mama, Amanda.  Love her blog.  And her honest, nurturing perspective on motherhood.
• Yarn-Bombed Trees in Seattle - yes.  I want these.  In my yard.  Now, just to learn how to knit.
• Enough: Or Why We Should All Be Laughing Hysterically In the Magazine Aisle - for all my girls out there.
• The Happy Mom Manifesto - love this from Ann Voskamp.  "Whenever you want to throw your hands up, throw them around someone instead. Holding someone always helps holds things together."
• This book looks so good.
  
• In Which I Minister Love in the Night - many people love Sara Bessey's blog, and this post of hers could not have hit more close to home for me.  Here's the comment I posted after reading it:

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This brought tears to my eyes. As I was reading this actually, my 23-month-old cried out “Mommy Mommy Mommy!” in the middle of her sleep and I went to her tonight with a lot more hope and peace inside of me. So many nights (especially during teething) I feel like I’m losing my mind still night-nursing an almost 2 year old who has never slept through the night. But then other nights I feel just as you – that I’m part of a beautiful tribe of weary, hopeful mamas up in the middle of the night with their babies, and there’s comfort in that. And when my daughter sighs and goes back to sleep contentedly as she did tonight after a few short minutes of connection with me, I know I’ve done the right thing for her. The Lord has refined me during this time in unbelievable ways, and I KNOW I will miss it whenever it ends.

Have a wonderful Monday!

DIY: Tree bark sign for mantle.

On a walk yesterday, I passed a tree that had a lot of smooth, peeling bark in big pieces.  I grabbed one that looked interesting and took it home. 

Free piece of tree bark + white paint pen = instant little sign for the mantle.

And a mom who feels like she did something creative today.

I'd say this project was a hit.

I recently saw this simple, free toilet paper stamp idea on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect to try with my little toddler. We gave it a whirl yesterday, and I'd say it was a hit...

Paint in the hair always indicates a good time, no?

We used an old canvas I already had, with the edges painted green with craft paint.  When the painting dried, I coated it with glossy Mod Podge and let it dry.  Then it was time to hang!

I thought it would give a nice burst of color in our dining room, on the collage wall with other mementos like Luci Belle's name plaque, our engagement and wedding photos, and a photo from her birth.  Love it! 

Got any simple, free craft ideas to share?

Top 5 Instagrams.

I'm playing along with my friends Marisa and Annie and sharing my Top 5 Instagram photos.  Fun!

I love Instagram for its simplicity. There are no fancy apps, games, or whatever - you can only upload photos, or like or comment on others' photos.  I absolutely love seeing snapshots of my friends' days - especially those who live far away.

So here are five of my favorites...

1.  Joyride.  This is easy - my husband completely in his element, when we took my mom's Jeep for a joyride last August in New Jersey.  Looking at this photo, I can practically feel the breeze on our faces and the freedom we felt that day.

2. Tree.  I pass this tree almost every day, but this day, I looked up.

3.  Daddy+daughter.  A sweet moment between my two loves.  Even better - it was during a massive thunderstorm.

4. Petals.  On one of my normal walking routes in the neighborhood about a month ago, I turned a corner to this exquisite sight.

5. Lips.  This photo makes me smile every single time.  Taken on a cool, cloudy day visiting friends on a farm in Athens, TX.

As for my favorite Instagram filters, I tend to use "Rise" and "Sierra" the most.

~ ~ ~

YOUR TURN!

Link to your favorite Instagram picture [of your own or someone else's if you don't have Instagram]. Or write a post today on your own blog with five of your favorite Instagrams and link us to that! 

What is your favorite filter to use?

Inspiring things lately.

Image: taprootmag.com

Here's a random collection of inspiring things I wanted to share...

• Taproot - a new magazine I simply.must.have.
• Stop For A Moment - a great reminder from The Family Dinner website
• A Farmer in the Dell - love the recipes on this blog by a young husband and wife farmer team.  Be sure to check out her Favorite Recipes page, including this Roasted Carrot Veggie Pasta and Cauliflower Pizza Crust that have me salivating.  Must try this pizza as soon as we get some local goat cheese back in stock at Urban Acres!
• The Dance - some beautiful thoughts on life and motherhood written by a Nashville mama.  I don't know her personally, but I used to work with her husband at Mocha Club.
• Marilyn Monroe's "diet" - love it.
• Helpful, free printables from Ann Voskamp's website - on her main menu, select "Free Gifts For You". Then download the PDF "10 Real Helps for Really Busy Moms and 10 Prayers for Joyful Parenting."  I have these framed in my bathroom.  I don't try to digest both of the entire lists every day.  Instead, I take one from each list every day.  So, if today is the 8th of the month, I concentrate on #8 on each list for that day, and that's it.

Got anything inspiring to share?