How Do You Make Perfect?

How does one make a perfect day?  You add the following ingredients together:

• littles scrambling to clean the house, light candles and put table cloths on all surfaces
• my favorite tea served with a long quiet time
• breakfast served in my room
• coming out to hugs and homemade cards and notes
• blue skies and sunshine and mild temps
• visit from adult children and grandbaby
• yeah, I know, beautiful
• listening to my son worship and play his new guitar
• fun family photos

• dancing with each of the men in my life

• my requested delicious lasagna dinner
• a nap with the breeze blowing on me
• a walk at a new lovely park, complete with a beautifully restored historic barn
• ‘it tastes so good it must be wrong’ molten chocolate chip cookies with chocolate oozing out and a scoop of vanilla ice cream

• a shower and favorite perfume
• sitting listening to all the beautiful evening songs from the birds

• the most amazing (but normal ) children

• this man! ( I love this picture of us!)

So many more little delights throughout the day.  Amazing grace.  Amazing love.  I so needed a day to refocus me on the most important ‘job’ I may ever do, being a mama.

I pray you had a lovely day and that your Father gave you all YOU needed today.

 

Satisfied?

I have been struggling again, with emotions, thoughts, feelings.  A universal discontent in my heart.  I know it is not really me, but the thoughts the enemy plants, but I allow them to grow.

The battle has been intense again, of late.  I am well aware that hormones play a role, as the cycle seems, well, cyclical.  I am also aware that that is no excuse to participate with the wrong thoughts, but it does make the battle that much harder.  BUT, His grace is sufficient and victory is indeed mine.

Yesterday, Brian is reading the Light and the Glory to the children, I am only partially listening.  I drift in and out, tired and my mind desperate to figure out why I feel the way I ‘feel’.

A few quotes that drift in as I sit with my eyes closed.

‘Did Christopher not see that as long as he persisted in trying to achieve his own goals in his strength God could not possibly bless him or use him?’

‘How long had it been since he knelt at the foot of his Savior's cross and asked forgiveness for going his own way in so many thing?  How long had it been since he had been willing to accept with a trusting and grateful heart whatever his heavenly Father saw fit to bestow upon him?’ (The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel)

This morning I read a quote from John Piper (I believe)

“God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

I’ve read it before, but never has it gone so deep in my heart.

Psalm 107:9

For HE satisfied the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

‘willing to accept with a trusting and grateful heart whatever his heavenly Father saw fit to bestow upon him’????

‘satisfied in Him’??  Alone?

He alone can satisfy.  My heart longs to be satisfied, O Lord, in YOU and YOU alone.

What We Do

I have been meaning to let you all know what the Lord is doing with this little ‘business’ that I started, but it has had me hopping.

In short, I began painting furniture for fun, ended up selling it on Craigslist, painted and sold more, started teaching classes on how to paint like I paint, doing custom orders and having two huge sales a year with several open houses in between.

That about sums it up

It all began last August and has been a whirlwind ever since.  It has become a family business of sorts.  I could NEVER paint on this level without the support of Brian and the children and household tasks taking a serious shift.

When I started teaching classes we offered wonderful lunches to all the women and the whole family took part.

Brian handles all of the financial stuff, it just boggles my mind.  I’d rather be painting! 

I cannot tell you how much this has turned into family ministry as much as family business.  We have an opportunity to love on so many different women and some men.  I stand amazed at what the Lord has done.

This past weekend we had our big Spring Shop the Barn Boutique sale.  It was a huge success, not just financially, but also spiritually.  Again, so hard to put into words the magnitude of it all.

I wanted to share a little video (only about 7 minutes long) of our sale.  I start you out in the driveway and walk you through.  I am beyond pleased with how it all turned out; it was exactly how I dreamt it would be.  That’s saying a lot, because I can be pretty unreasonable and hard to please . . . just sayin’.

 

Let me know what you think.  Here is the link to my business website.  {re}imagined just for you

Why Do I Forget?

Oh, Father, why do I forget?  Why do I lose sight of the depth of Your goodness?  Why do I let the shadows cloud Your goodness?  Oh, for eyes to see this clearly everyday.   For eyes to really see Your goodness.  Your gifts everyday, not just after a period of darkness.

Hmmm, maybe it is the darkness that helps me see more clearly?  Maybe those days where shadows over take; darkness seems to hide You, only set the stage for the days when I am over taken by your beauty.  Maybe if it weren’t for the darkness that light wouldn’t be so bright.  I am not sure. 

All I know is that I love You.  I long to have that heart that whispers thanks and peace and inner joy even when the shadows come.  But for now, today, I will revel and dance in the light.

Everywhere I turn I see You.  I see You in the little boy who digs holes in the yard and yells ‘mama, mama’ every time a tractor comes down the road.

I see You in the little girl who tries so hard to give up her pouty ways.

I see You in the boys who have become men, who love and serve and are adults who are just as cool doing manly things and sporting suits and ties as they are playing capture the flag or doing the Virginia Reel in the front yard.

I see You in the eyes of each of these children, I feel You in the arms of my husband.  I see You in blue skies and green everywhere and the lilacs that were spared in the frost.

I hear You in the birds singing in the morning and the evening.

I hear You in laughter of children at play out back and in the tears of women whose hearts have been shattered.  I see You!!

Why?  Why do forget?

. . . bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Did You Hear?

 

(source)

The reason we live!  Let’s remember, this is not only to be celebrated today, but everyday!!

Praying you know Him and the powers of His resurrection, today and everyday!

Blessings,

Michelle

Must See!

This short video is so beautiful and awesome.  Please take a moment to watch it.  I promise you will be so blessed.  The song that plays in the background is one of my favorites.  Shortly after God healed me nearly two years ago, we sang this song over and over every day as we basked in His goodness and His love for us.

Easter Cardboard Testimonies from saraserves on GodTube.

Dearest Joshua,

 

Twenty years ago, today, you, my sweet Joshua was born.  What a blessing you are.  Such a tender heart.  Incredibly gifted and talented.  Josh, you are a perfect combination of a manly man and yet a tender gentle man.

You are so strong and capable of so many things, yet incredibly tender and compassionate.  You love deep and are fiercely protective, especially of me, your mama.

I am so proud of the man you have become.  I see you struggle with waiting and trusting God, but you persevere.  I understand the desires you have for your future, and while I would love to ‘make it all better’ and just give you your heart’s desire, I see your Father working something infinitely better than I could ever offer.

You are extremely accomplished in the arena of music.  You have a passion for it written deep in your heart.  I look forward to seeing the full purpose of such passion.

I will FOREVER be thankful for your hugs.  I am not sure if you need them or if you know I do.  They always calm me and center me.  You have even learned the fine art of walking away, if a hug is the last thing I want to receive.   Funny, though, your instincts are right, in times like that a hug is exactly what I need.  I just don’t know it.

You are going to be an awesome husband and father one day, I know it.  Your wife will be so blessed.  You know, they say a man treats his wife like he treated his mama?  See what I am saying, she is going to be blessed.  The tenderness and care that you show me melts my heart and will her heart too. 

I love you, Joshua Brian.  You are a gift, pure and simple. 

Happy Birthday!

About A Friend

I have a friend whom I love dearly.  We haven’t known each other for that long, but it feels like we have been sisters forever.  When we first met, I knew immediately that we connected on a deep level and that I loved her as a sister.

The reason I am writing about my friend is that I don’t think she knows how amazing she is.  Actually, I KNOW she does not know how amazing she is.  It tears me up inside to think of this because she is clueless to how special she is.  The enemy has her convinced she is a mess and no good.  I have tried to tell her it is not true, that she might look messy, but deep down she is amazing.  She won’t hear of it.  So I pray,  only God can really convince us we are special and amazing.

When I do try to speak truth about her, she so quickly dismisses it.  Seeing as how she won’t listen to me and shuts me down when I try and tell her, I am going to write.  At least I’ll feel better.

I can’t hardly type it without the tears flowing, that’s how much I love her and how amazing she really is, ya’ll.

She has lived a painful life.  The deep kind of heart pain.  Recently, the deep, festering wounds were ripped open raw by a betrayal.  She has done all she knows to survive all these years, and it has been hard and painful.

Because of the circumstances in life and the ripple effect, she doesn’t see the gifts and strengths that the Lord has given her.

She doesn’t see just how incredibly strong and resilient she is.  She doesn’t see how deeply she loves her children.  She thinks she is an awful mama.  Trust me, I know her children well.  It takes a good mama with a tender heart to raise children like that!

She gives and gives and gives, all day, every day.  I watch her sacrifice so her children can do the things they do.  I’m not sure I have that much ‘give’ in me, if I am being honest.

While our lives are so, so busy, she would drop everything to meet a need I had.  When we talk, she so listens, understands and always tries to help me.  She is such a good friend; she truly cares.  You know what it’s like when someone really listens as if they are hearing your every heartbeat, right?  Well, that’s her.

Her eyes have a sadness about them, but they are open windows to her heart.  When I share my heart, she leans in and with her beautiful eyes takes in all I am saying.

Her children ADORE her.  That alone says a lot, I think. 

When I look at her I see beauty.  She sees frump and wrinkles. I see strength and warmth and love and acceptance and understanding.  True beauty.

I am not sure why it hurts my heart so much, to know the way she thinks.  I wonder if it is because I see so much of myself in her thoughts.  I am angry, so angry at the enemy for lying to her all these years.  I just want to grab her by the shoulders and say, ‘YOU ARE AMAZING!’.  I want to tell her to stop listening to the lies and start believing the TRUTH about how God sees her.  I want to rip off those stupid glasses that make her see the yuck and give her some glasses that let her see the Truth!

Here’s the sad thing, though, I would imagine that many of these same things could be said about you.  Oh, that we could all see ourselves through His eyes!  If we could imagine Him cupping our little faces and saying, “I love you, My child.  You are precious in My sight.”  How it must grieve His heart to have us down here hating so much about ourselves, our lives.

Lord Jesus, heal your daughters’ hearts.  Open our eyes to the Truth of how much You love us.  Shatter the lies, break the shackles in our minds.

Isaiah 61

¹The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

²To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

³To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

⁴And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

⁵And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

⁶But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

⁷For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them

Have You Ever Wondered?

I have sensed the Lord’s voice several times in my heart lately. I think I have heard Him encouraging me to look around and see.  See that, just maybe, this life I am living IS the beautiful, although messy, life I have always dreamed of.

I have spent so long trying to be a certain way.  Be a certain type of mama, wife and home maker.  Not sure where I got my pictures of what that should really look like, but always striving to be something that I am not right now.

I have been slowly seeing that I am who He created me to be and I actually like me!  As I have stopped trying to “BE” and accepted who I am, life has gotten a lot more enjoyable.

The enemy can blind us into chasing after this ‘perfection’ that we don’t enjoy right where we are right now.  I asked Brian a couple of weeks ago, ‘what if I just stopped ‘looking’ for something else and just enjoyed what I had?’  Seems like a no-brainer, I know.  But think about it.

What if you stopped thinking about all the flaws and weaknesses in yourself and just started thanking God for the strengths that you do have?

What about not looking at all the areas in your parenting that are amiss and just trust God to work those out.  You might actually start enjoying being a mama again instead of always feeling like you are ‘such a bad mama’.

What if you stopped looking at all the areas your husband doesn’t measure up to the other men at church, or the men who give the homeschool conference teachings, and just started enjoying him as he is?

I have been stopped in my tracks lately as I look around here.  A friend stopped over the other day and saw my husband working on a piece of furniture, me working along side him.  The little children were all running around outside, in the sunshine, chasing chickens back into the coop.  The older ones were in the house doing school.  I paused, oh.my.word.  This is exactly what I have dreamt of.

I don’t know if I am explaining it well, but what if what we have is really what we have always wanted??  If we could take off the perfection glasses and the critical spirit and begin to be thankful for right where we are we might find we are pretty blessed.

Sometimes “School” Looks Different

We find ourselves in a very unusual season of life right now.  Adult children with children, in college and working. Homeschooling six children.  Grand parenting two children.  Husband unemployed.  Mama (and whole family) working many hours in a newer home based business.

Wow, as I type that, I wonder, ‘what is so unusual?’  This is actually what we have dreamed of . . . hmmm.

Anyway, ‘school’ looks differently right now.  Oh, we still work at the 3 R’s, but currently our curriculum is real life stuff!  Here are some pictures of a few “lessons” from yesterday.

Victoria, 16, made most of the dinner, English Muffins and took the time to clean up the kitchen and photograph all the pretties she saw.  All this while Mama and Papa were out on a business errand.

Decorating the table for dinner, a thing she has learned well!

Staging things for advertising photos for our business.

Preschool: what could be more educational than a bucket of water and some toys?

Math in the morning is always easier to swallow when you are outside in the sun with your kitty near by.

Just a sampling of the ‘schoolin’ that is going on around here.

Don’t fret, Mama, they are learning.  Follow HIM and He will prepare your children for what HE has for them.

A Correction in “Where I Am From”

I re-read my last post and saw what could be a huge misunderstanding!!  Because I was following the prompts to the poem the sentences were obvious run-ons and if read incorrectly, give the wrong message.

Here is how it is written:

I’m from Christmas at grandma’s and grudges and bitterness and unkind words from a mother who couldn’t take it anymore and a dad who was very sad.

It insinuates that the ‘unkind words’ came from my mother who couldn’t take it anymore.

Here is the correction:

I’m from Christmas at grandma’s and grudges and bitterness and unkind words. (PERIOD) (NEW SENTENCE)I am from a mother who couldn’t take it anymore and a dad who was very sad.

What I was talking about is that my mother couldn’t take her life as it was anymore and my parents were subsequently divorced.  Therefore, my dad was very sad, because in his eyes, she left for no apparent reason.

Does this make sense?  I hope so.  My heart sunk when I read it in the original form.  While my parents were divorced and we lived with my dad, God has gloriously restored my relationship with my mom. 

As an adult married woman, I now see so much clearer why she left and realize it takes two to begin a marriage and two to end a marriage.  I love and appreciate both my parents and the love they have for me and I know that they have loved as best as they could!

I hope this clears a few things up   Thank you for grace.

Where I Am From

I am from the little ranch house, by the woods and apple orchards and the little cabin across the street.

I am from the house with the big picture windows and the enchanting weeping willow in the backyard. From the ‘girl’s’ bedroom close enough to hear grandma’s singing as I drifted off to sleep.

I am from peonies and poppies and snowball trees that grandma grew. From the raspberry bushes and rhubarb plants and bowls full of sugar for dipping.

I am from towering oak trees that fill the yard with piles of leaves whose long gone limbs I remember as if they were my own.

I’m from Christmas at grandma’s and grudges and bitterness and unkind words. I am from a mother who couldn’t take it anymore and a dad who was very sad.

I’m from eating a lot and living for self and from talking loud, begging to be heard.

I’m from never measuring up and ‘be a big girl’ and twinkle, twinkle little star.

I’m from birthday cakes and ice cream at every birthday.

I am from Michigan and Poland and Italy, kielbasa and raviolis.

From a broken family that still reels to find love and searches in food, drink and the pleasures of this world, that can never forgive and let that love in.

From boxes of old photos of smiles and pretty clothes and of a little girl who spun and twirled in her Easter best.

I am from swimming all day and running through the woods. From riding bikes and snitching apples.

From the smell of grandma’s perfume and the steps that led to secret treasures.

From raspberry pie and racing to the canned tomato juice. I am from playing with cousins and crack the whip, tag, red rover and kick ball.

I am from the seed of Abraham, a daughter, now, to the King of kings who heals and restores and gives new life.

I am from brokenness but brought out of that darkness, into His marvelous light. I still dance and twirl, but now for my Father who delights in His little girl.

Where are you from? I’d love to hear. If you do this, drop me a line so I can read it?

I first read this over at Ann’s place. She has the link for the template that I used. I had the children do this too, what a treasure. I will post theirs soon.

What’s A Girl To Do???

It’s after 8:00 pm, we are just coming home from picking up three beautiful pieces of antique furniture.  I am physically and mentally whipped.  It has been one of those non-stop days, between business email and painting and children and a husband . . . well, I am whipped.

And to top it off, I have been doing the 30 day Shred with Jillian Michaels since the first of the month.  Let’s just say that woman does not even begin to know what mercy is.  So, when I say physically exhausted I am including quads, hamstrings, pecs, traps and every core muscle known to man!

I walk in the house to this!

You see that?  COOKIES!   Chocolate Chip Cookies!!  I love that my children bake.  I also love that they sneak and bake them when I am gone, even though I pretend like I am a little miffed.

Yep, that’s my empty milk glass.  I mean, really, what is a girl to do??  Warm gooey cookies and ice cold raw milk.  What would you do?

Far Above

I am going to share how the Lord led me ‘out of the pit’ this morning.  Now, it is hard to give all the details that led up to it, but you will get the gist of it.  I pray it is encouraging to you.

I have been struggling up and down with hormones of late and I can turn into a pretty crabby person.  Just ask Brian.  It is not just crabby, it is downright miserable all the way around.  I get hit by it and it can take days to recover. 

I have been meditating and studying deeply the Truth about who I am in Christ, what I have in Him and where I stand, with Him.  I have been challenged, by God, to believe His Word over what I see and feel.  In the past I would give lip service and mental assent to believing His Word, but then would go on living in my emotions, ‘feelings’, etc.

Something, or should I say Someone rose up in me this morning and I didn’t want to take it anymore.  The following is exactly what I wrote in my journal this morning.

“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:”  (Eph. 1:20-21)

“And hath raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”  (Eph. 2:6)

Okay! I need to remember, even when it comes to emotions, hormones and the crabbies, I am, right now, seated with Christ together, in heavenly places, FAR ABOVE all principality, and power, and might and dominion  and every.single.name that is named . . .

FAR ABOVE

Am I going to believe that what I see or feel is the Truth or what the Word says, no matter what I feel.

I am the head and not the tail.  I am above only and not beneath.  (Dt. 28:13)

I am complete in Him, which is the Head (far above) all principality and power . . .

I am risen with Christ and I seek those things above.  (Far above and not beneath!!) I set my mind, my thoughts, my imagination on things above!

I am holy, chosen and loved.  I let the peace of God rule in my heart and I am thankful.  His Word dwells in my richly, it makes its home in me.

I am free—I will stand (in heavenly places, mind you) in the liberty where with Christ has made me free—I have been called to liberty.

I have been chosen before the foundation of the world.

I have redemption—forgiveness.  I have obtained an inheritance, which does not include mucking around in the ‘mully grubs’.

So, yeah, I AM seated in heavenly places, FAR ABOVE all principality, power, dominion and every single ‘mully grub’!!

(this is the picture that I drew in my journal, ‘seeing’ and ‘imagining’ is actually a part of the biblical meditation process)

Oh, these little buggers try to swallow me up, trip me, grab hold of my ankles and pull me down.  The more I try to tip-toe through them, the more entangled I become. 

Some are like quicksand.  Some have tremendously strong tentacles.  Some sting and bite and leave me limping.

But the Truth is, (I am not talking about what I “see” or “feel”) I am not to even be tip-toeing through them.  I am seated with Christ—FAR ABOVE all this yuck.  I get to choose, do I want to tip-toe through this muck here below, or am I going to believe the Word when it says

FAR ABOVE??!!

Book Give-Away

I have the honor of being friends with the author of, “Walking Through Fiery Trials”, Mary Pat Jones.

I love this woman and her story is so inspiring to me.  I happened to have two copies and want to bless someone with my extra copy.

If you have endured or are enduring right now your own ‘fiery trial’ I think you will find this book the encouragement you will need.

I have shared little bits about some of the almost eleven year ‘fiery trial’ we endured and I can say I wish, oh I wish, I had this book and the Truths therein to encourage me along the way.  I can honestly say that had I had the Truth contained in this book, I believe we would have come out the other end of our trials a little less beaten up.  Possibly, it would have been shortened, as I now see how much we even brought on ourselves.

I would like as many people as possible to have an opportunity to win this book.  Would you do me a favor and blog about this give-away and let me know that you did.  I will enter your name in the drawing.

So, either post about it (linking back to this post), or mention it on Facebook.  (linking back to this post).  Come back here an let me know that you did.

If you are interested in learning more about my precious friend, Mary Pat, go to “Creative Footage” 

Thank you!!

{re}imagined Closet Doors

I wanted to give you a peek at our closet doors.  I painted them with Old White and have begun hand painting a French Graphic on them.  It is going much quicker than I thought, though still time consuming. 

I am not sure if the pictures do it justice, but they are turning out amazing!  I will distress them once I am done and then wax them.  What do you think?

First I traced the graphic with carbon paper behind it.  Yes, they still sell carbon paper, right by the only typewriter in Office Max.

Here it is once I traced it.

 

Here I have begun filling in with my ultra-skinny paint brush.  Isn’t it looking so cool???

I know precious little of what it says, hopefully nothing to risqué.  (blouses and pantalons are obvious)

May God bless you and keep you!!

Even On My Worst Day . . .

Since setting out to really understand what the Word of God says about me this year, I am, just now, finishing the book of Colossians.  Nearly a month in this one, little book. 

Before going on to my next epistle, rather back to Galatians, I wanted to give a quick recap for myself.  I began to write the words that summed up what I had discovered about myself while studying this book.  It’s kind of a cool list, hope it blesses you as it did me.  Go ahead and read through the book of Colossians for yourself, studying out what these words mean, that we often times, flippantly toss around.

Here we go:

I have been . . .

QUALIFIED . . . DELIVERED . . . TRANSLATED . . . REDEEMED . . . FORGIVEN . . . RECONCILED . . . BURIED . . . RISEN . . .

And I am . . .

CHOSEN . . . HOLY . . . LOVED and COMPLETE!!!!

In Him and because of Him!  Not because of anything I have done, or need to do, or could ever do to qualify me.  Nope, even in spite of what I might see in the mirror some days I am all of these things! Even on my very worst day I am STILL qualified, delivered, translated, redeemed, forgiven, reconciled, buried, risen, chosen, holy, loved and complete in HIM!

Man oh mister, if I could just live in this reality what reason would I have to be discouraged??  What could be the cause of a bad day??

Perfect Peace

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Isaiah 26:3

Peace.  The Lord has been teaching me about peace lately.  A message that seems to be a theme these last few years.  To be honest, peace is NOT my default.  Stress, hurry, anxiety, push, burdened, overwhelmed.  These are my default.  These are the lies I listen to on a daily basis.

I have been challenged of late to reevaluate what I really believe.  Not what I ‘say’ I believe, but what I must really believe.  I feel as though the Lord continues to show me that how I act really shows what I believe.

For instance, I ‘say’ that I know I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  But I 'act’ as though I need to somehow earn this righteousness, earn His love and acceptance.

This morning as I was praying and meditating on peace and choosing peace and letting the peace of God rule my heart, the above verse came to my mind.  I thought, ‘yes, Lord, what a lovely verse.’  Warm fuzzies filled my heart.  Yes, as I keep my mind stayed on You, YOU keep me in perfect peace.  Love it.  (But wait for it.)

“Because he trusteth in Thee”  Ahhh, why/how can one keep their mind stayed on Thee?  Because they TRUST in You!   Perhaps my innate inability to ‘keep my mind stayed on Thee’ has to do with my trust in You.

When the wheels begin to fall off my day or my life, I lunge for control.  I acquiesce to stress, anxiety, push and pressure. Without even a second thought, no less.  No peace, only tension.

But, when my trust is totally and utterly in You and I don’t need to control or handle all ‘this’, then I am able to keep my mind stayed on Thee.

Off to practice peace, to trust and rest . . . pray for me as I am still in my quiet time chair, behind closed doors, in my pajamas, sipping tea, oblivious to the ‘mess’ out there.   Wait, perhaps I could just stay here all day with you???  No?  Okay, I’m off.

Peace be with you, my friend!

 

Look What I Got!!

I am in the process of slowly converting our somewhat traditional 8os Ranch, that we decorated in a Tuscan décor several years ago, into a beautiful ‘shabby chic’ prairie style farmhouse.  Not an easy task with all the oak trim that I am not allowed to paint.  But, my dear husband has allowed me to paint the cabinets here and there, so there is hope.

We are painting over all the dark and heavy colors with light and airy colors.  Mostly, Bone White by Olympic. It is the perfect ‘off-white’ for our house.  Not to stark, yet clean and beautiful.

I have dreamt of having a beautiful chandelier in our bedroom and now it looks like my dreams are coming true!  It might be too big for the space, but we will see.  It is hanging safely in a corner of our room while the room gets painted and we figure out how to hand the beast from the ceiling.  It weighs a ton.  But oh so beautiful with all the baubles and bangles!!  I {heart} crystal chandeliers.  I also {heart} Craigslist!

Isn’t she pretty??  I also plan on incorporating that gorgeous antique mirror pictured. 

We found a beautiful, massive wood panel that we will make into our headboard.  I’ll paint it all Old White  and shabby it up.  I keep you posted as we progress.  Just had to share my lovely find.

Call Upon the Lord

The battle for my mind and thoughts continues.  Some days I seem on top of it, often times I feel like I am casting down wrong thoughts continually.  Kind of like disturbing a beehive, all kinds of ‘bees’ buzzing around me, stinging me every now and again.

I am well aware that hormones are factoring in here as things are changing with age, but the torment at times is so frustrating.

My heart is ever before Him for discernment, wisdom, revelation, conviction.  I know He leads and shows me things to deal with, but there are times when I just feel so weary of the battle.

Yesterday was one of those days.  I began reading Psalm 18.  I can’t remember what led me there . . . but I know WHO did.

It is one of those Psalms that just empowers me!  I start to sit up a little straighter, my head lifts, the heaviness in my face and heart begins to lighten.  The ‘fight’ starts to come back.  By the end of the Psalm I come out boxing!  Try reading it when you need a pick-me-up.

I also remembered an ‘oldie but goodie’ praise song and could not stop singing it all day.  My family seriously began to wonder if I flipped my lid.  I would burst out singing and startle every one.

Yesterday turned out the be the most joy filled day I have had in very long time.  I don’t mean a good, joy filled day, I mean walking on air, singing all day, crazy kind of joy!

For Thou hast girded me with strength for the battle!!

Praying for you right where you are at that He would be the lifter of your head.  Call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall you be saved from your enemies!!

The Fun I Have In a Day

Hello, Ladies!  I had the idea to share a recent post that I put up on my {re}imagined blog, just so you could see some of the work I am doing.

I thought I would give you some peeks at the fun I have in a day.  Most of these are custom orders.  Who wouldn’t love a client who brings you pieces to paint and say, ‘I don’t care what color, I will love anything you do.’  Really?  She is a peach to ‘work’ for. 

Here are a few of the the pieces as well as a few of my own. 

This new sign idea came when we met some friends for breakfast and one of them mentioned how they were ‘never what their dad wanted’.  I couldn’t let that lie go on without correcting.  I quickly pointed out that they ‘were exactly what their FATHER wanted!’   So I made him a sign, just like this, so he never forgets.

This one I made for Mr. {re}imagined, it was his birthday yesterday.  He (we all do) needs this message too, and he loves Olive green.  Isn’t it great??  Available for custom order if you are interested.  Maybe someone you know needs to really know this, or, maybe you need to be reminded.  Just let me know.

What’s a girl to do with a cute wood crate?  Paint it all chippy and old looking, of course.  I painted the ‘Fresh Eggs’ on it and then distressed making it look very old. 

This is an adorable table that a sweet gal saw on my ‘yet to be {re}imagined’ post.  This beauty was painted in Country Grey, sort of an oatmeal color.

These vintage shelves didn’t even make it to my blog.  A couple was here looking at other pieces and picked this for me to paint.  Chateau Grey and Old Ochre.

These two are a couple of the fun pieces I am painting for that wonderful client I mentioned.  The first one was painted in a custom mix, making it a beautiful jewel color.  I didn’t ‘love’ the lines of the second piece, just not my style.  But when I though of doing it  with this ‘ombre’ idea I LOVED it.  It looks amazing!

It is no secret that I {heart} green!  I think that is an understatement.  I painted this old white dresser with Antibes green and put lots of very dark wax on it.  I painted it with lots of texture so the wax would really stick in the grooves.  The pictures don’t do it justice, so cute.  I will be photographing it officially and putting it on the for sale page soon.  Unless someone wants it before I get it there.

See, told you I was having fun. Praying blessings and joy in your life!!

Michelle

Birthday Boy!!

My Dearest Brian,

Happy Birthday!  This is one my favorite days of the year because it is the day you were born!  You have been a blessing beyond my wildest dreams in my life.  I shake my head in awe, so often, that I would be blessed to be your wife.

You are the epitome of a ‘steady man’.  Faithful and true.  You are like a rock. Yes, sometimes this bothers me, especially when I want to ‘jump off a cliff’, but I truly am thankful for this quality.  We balance each other beautifully, I think.

I cannot believe that you are forty-nine years old.  Remember when that seemed so ‘old’?  It is so true, what they say, about you anyway, you really, really do get better with age!   

I love the fun we have, the laughter we share and the dreams we dream.  Nobody makes me laugh like you do.  You can be so naughty sometimes . . . and I LOVE it.

You are a treasure, Brian, and I am very rich woman. Happy birthday, my sweet!!

May God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you!!

Your adoring wife forever,

Michelle

How He Sees You

As I am seeking to find out, and really believe who I am in Him; looking to see myself as HE sees me, I am finding all kinds of little nuggets.  Before, I would read them and move on. Now, I stop, linger, meditate, ponder what my thoughts would be like if I really BELIEVED this particular scripture.

I find myself still in the first chapter of Colossians.  Today it is Col. 1:22. (with part of verse 21)

. . . yet now hath he reconciled

In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

First of all, I just love the thought that I have been reconciled to God.  I was instantly brought back to last March, when the Lord was revealing loads of “guilt and shame”  I felt almost as though His voice was calling out to me, pleading with me to ‘be ye reconciled to God’, in my mind.  It is already a fact, but I need to believe that I have been reconciled to God!!

On to how He presents me . . .

Holy:  set apart, sanctified, consecrated

Unblameable:  the absence of internal blemish, legally unaccused

Unreprovable:  free from any legal charge at all

Now, I don’t always ‘act’ holy, but because of what Christ did, I am holy.  When I read verses like this the ‘yah, buts’ come quickly to my mind.  ‘yah, but, you should see how I act sometimes’, or ‘yah,but, you don’t know the unkind or judgmental thoughts I have’, on and on. 

But when am I going to stop looking at things ‘below’ and start looking on things ‘above’?  When am I going to walk by faith and not by what I see?  When am I going to really believe the word over what I see in my own heart?

That is what this year is about for me.  Choosing to believe the Truth over what I see.  The more I meditate on and believe the Truth the more it becomes a part of me and transforms not only my mind, but also my heart and my actions. 

I really believe that holy people (that’s you and me) who really believe they are holy will actually ‘act’ holy.  Make sense?

 

 

Complete In Him

Colossians 2:9-10

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

You (and I) are complete in Him.  Complete!  When you read that, what thoughts come to your mind?

I challenge you to get in a quiet place and say, ‘I am complete in Jesus, I lack nothing.’  Now, pay attention and even write down what thoughts come to your mind as you meditate on the fact that you are, indeed, complete in Him.

What are your emotional reactions to this thought.  I have read that our beliefs drive our emotions and our emotions drive our actions.

Your ‘emotional’ reaction to this thought, more than likely, reveals your true beliefs.  If our beliefs are wrong, our emotions are wrong and our actions will also be wrong.  We will make wrong decisions based on our emotions that stem from our beliefs.

What I believe about myself, my standing with God and my true identity in Christ determines the how I ‘feel’ about myself and the quality of decisions I make.  I can continue to be caught up in a vicious up and down cycle, a sense of lack (incompleteness) or I can begin to believe, really believe what the Word of God says and thereby change my heart, my emotions and break the cycle.

I have begun reading through the New Testament searching for the Truth of what Christ has done and who He says I am in Him and what I have in Him.  I am choosing to take His Word at face value, simply believe what it says, even when it contradicts what I see and what I feel.  I have purposed to lay down lying vanities, my own opinion, possible false teachings that I have been swayed by, traditions of man and a ‘works’ mentality.  I want to hear HIS heart, the Truth, for it is only the Truth that will make me free and break this cycle.

Father God, open our eyes to who you say we are.  Let our identity be in You and You alone.  Expose the lies we have believed.  Teach us.  We humble ourselves, lay down our opinions and doctrines and want to learn only from You.  In Jesus name we pray.

Speak and Believe:

“I am complete in Him.  I lack nothing.”

New Word For 2012!

I so toyed with the idea of my word for the year being “fearless”.  God has been unearthing fear in the deep recesses of my heart.  As I recognize more and more of it a holy determination rises up in my spirit.

But alas, my Father has a better plan, which He ALWAYS does! (no matter how much I try to convince Him my plans are pretty good)

He has shown me over the past few weeks where I believe we are ‘going’ this year.  It is not so much a fight against fear as it is a filling up of who I am in Him and where my true security lies.

You see, I can fight fear all I want, but until I find my security, my identity, my all in Him and His righteousness it just might be futile battle.  Until I believe to my very core that I am righteous, already, because of what Christ did, I will continue to strive and fear and sense a ‘lack’ deep within me.

He has shown me that my fear is rooted in a sense of lack, that something is missing in me, thereby making me ‘feel’ unlovable, unaccepted, unholy, unrighteous, unsafe and unloved.

I am beginning to really grasp that I can ‘think’ I believe certain truths, and ‘say’ I believe certain truths, but how I live my life, how I respond to life shows what I really, truly-ooly believe.

I sense He is taking me on a life changing journey this year.  A very exciting journey.  It feels like it is the “next” step in this healing process that really took wings in May of 2010, when he radically healed and delivered me from a tremendous amount of bondage. (start at the bottom and work your way up)  I have sensed it for weeks and weeks now, something new about to break forth.  I feel pregnant (not really pregnant)  about to give birth to something beautiful, wonderful and exciting.

The scripture He gave me for the new year is found in Isaiah 43. (the whole chapter, really, but specifically the following)

“ Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old. 
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert. . . 
. . . To give drink to My people, My chosen. 
This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.

And my “Word” for the new year??  Righteousness!

Yes, righteousness!  I have my bags packed, really just my bible, a pen and a journal, and I am ready to go!  I hope to share this journey with you.  My “goal”, if you will, is to seek to immerse myself in the scriptures about who I am in Him.  Meditate and study righteousness.  Read, speak and believe the Truth about His righteousness that is now mine.

Do you have a word or scripture for the new year?  I would love to hear it.

New!!

Happy New Year!  Can you believe it is 2012 already.  I have been meditating on what the Lord has done this past year and I stand in awe!  I feel, more than ever, that time has flown by.  I have decided that MY year only had eight months in it.  That’s why it was so busy.  A lot got packed into eight months!  You know, January, February, March, April, May, June, July and Augember.  That is what I call the time frame between August and December, Augember.  It was one giant blur!

I looked back to see what my ‘scripture’ for the year 2011 was and just smiled when I realized it was EXACTLY the perfect scripture for our year.  Go back and read it, very encouraging.  This year, more than ever, has been a “clear cut exhibition of God’s capable care”.

2011

Read Ann’s life changing book, One Thousand Gifts . . .

Our firstborn “Came Home”!!!

I reached my first “1000 gifts”

Started my “I Believes”

Dealt with Guilt and Shame and learned some deep lessons on Peace

Dumped a ton of “Performance” and “Drivenness”

Celebrated One Year of Healing!!

Got free from the “Never Good Enough Syndrome” 

Exposed Rejection and and saw how it manifests.

So, this year I read a life changing book and listened to a life changing, paradigm shifting message.

The end of July is when the obsession  passion began with find treasures to {re}imagine that would later grow into a wonderful business, much to my surprise.

We were blessed with a precious new grandbaby!  And spent lots of time enjoying her.

And that, my friends it where it all turned into a blur.  The Lord has blessed us and given us so much favor with this furniture business.  But, like most things, there is another side.  The ‘success’ of this business sort of sent me into a tailspin as deep self-doubt, fear, insecurity, lack of trust, fear, fear and more fear began to rise to the surface.

Amidst the crazy pace and extremely full plate I was battling these old enemies, and for a time, didn’t even know I was in the battle. 

So many more wonderful deliverances, deep valleys, heart struggles.  Many beautiful memories and quite a few things I would like to forget. (which I will when I apply my new Scripture of the year, soon to be revealed )

Happy New Year, Sister!