hop on!

source

Well, a little late to the party (as usual), I've finally decided to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon.

I resisted for quite a while.  I loved looking at friends pictures and got recipes from the links of people I know, but I just wasn't sure it was for me.  I doubted that I would know where to find "cool" pictures of pretty rooms, and craft ideas and wardrobe collages....  I figured anything I would do would just be a copy of someone else's boards and pins.

Those were my classic "self doubt" reasons, but there was another reason I resisted.

I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to handle it.  I think it's pretty common for people to struggle with the whole social media phenom.  Facebook drains times from a day and makes us think that everyone else is living the life I've always wanted...  Blogs (some, not all) can give the perception of perfection - parenting, exercising, cooking, organizing, loving and living with grace and beauty...inside and out... Twitter says everyone has something to say - except me?... Even Instagram can be a stumbling block - how does everyone else seem to take the most elegant photos?...

I was concerned if I started pinning, I'd start pining - haha, see the play on words?  But would it be true?  Would pinning pretty things and crafts and recipes I'll never have or do or make cause the seeds of discontent to be planted and sprout...into a beanstalk worthy of climbing?  At this season of life, can I trust myself to handle this?

And then one day, as I dragged a link to my desktop I noticed that my desktop was full of links that I didn't want to lose or forget.  I also noticed that they didn't display an image, so when I went to look for a specific link, I had to open each one until I found it (oh the humanity).  I realized that I was essentially using my desktop as a pinboard! (maybe this is how the idea was born??)

So with a prayer for strength and moderation, I set up my boards - unique to me and possibly boring to others.  I pulled together everything off my desktop and found some good ideas from friends near and far.  I've tried new recipes and gotten lots of inspiration.  I'm committed to knowing my limits - there are days that I don't click that pretty P if I know I'm tired and possibly feeling want-y, but overall it's been a super organized way of keeping track of things.

What's your favorite thing about Pinterest?

strumming patterns

My son has been taking guitar lessons since September, and it's been so cool to watch him gain skills and learn to enjoy playing.  He's using my old guitar (from when I thought I might become a folk singer), and there have been times that I've opened his books and tried out different things he's working on.  It's been good for me because I have never had any guitar lessons, and while I could teach myself chords, there's a lot I've yet to learn!

The biggest revolution in my playing has been the strumming patterns.  I hadn't really given it much thought, but I knew that something wasn't quite right when I strummed along.  A strumming pattern can make all the difference!  who knew?  So as my son has (seemingly) endlessly practiced the pattern: down, down, UP, UP, down-up, clapping the rhythm, saying and strumming along, I've noticed that sequence pop into my conscious thoughts at random.

down, down, UP, UP, down-up, down, down, UP, UP, down-up....

Isn't life just like this strumming pattern?

As much as I try to will myself to be even-keeled, I often find myself going through emotions that reflect that pattern.

disappointment, hurt, SATISFIED, ENCOURAGED, frustrated-optomistic....
down, down, UP, UP, down-up....

I'm starting to realize that my feelings are not who I am.  Through the course of one day, I can feel everything from peace to complete turmoil, from happiness to the depths of despair - and back again.  I long for a steady life, one not at all dictated by what I feel.  A life grounded in Truth and in Christ.

While this strumming pattern makes guitar playing sound interesting, it makes life difficult and often painful.  It can bring about doubt - at least it can for me.  And so I pray, as I often have before:

"may your good spirit lead me on level ground."

psalm 143:10

in case you're wondering....

I'm in one of those pathetic "funks" that causes me 

to tell myself NO ONE is wondering, but in case you are...

I'm still among the living even though it's been two weeks since I last posted here.  

Perhaps you've imagined that I went through with my desire to heist the

beauties from camp that I photographed and have now been in "the clink" for 14 days...

not so.  (not this time.)

I have been back at camp, though, this time in the kitchen baking up a storm.

It was a challenge, but in a really good, life-giving kind of way.

I really do enjoy working with my hands,

even when they ache by the end of the day.

This back-and-forth to camp has been really hard for me this year.

Maybe it's my age...

do people really struggle this much in the second half of the 30s?

dislike.

Anyway, as I've been catching up on all the fun blog posts I've missed in the last week, 

I've begun to sink a little....alot.

Perhaps I should have done this after I was little better rested.

If you're reading this, I probably don't need to explain why and what I mean.

so i won't.

If you're reading this, you will understand why Lysa Terkeurst's post spoke to my heart 

as though the Lord Himself reached across and took my hand,

gently patting it and reminding me of His endless love and approval of me,

just the way He made me.

If you're struggling like I am, maybe you want to head over for some good encouragement,

and the challenge to "get prayed up" today.

source

Go on over and have a cup of coffee with Lysa at:

Brutally Honest -Lysa Terkeurst

vintage finds

alternate post title:

things i'd like to steal from camp.

a camp that has been around since the '50s and has been on the receiving end of many a household purge has loads of cool stuff.

let the record show that i am not one of those people who enjoy refinishing furniture 

~it's a loathsome task, in my opinion~

but i do agree with Nate Berkus, Sarah Richardson and others who tell us that old furniture has more "soul" than new pieces.  

and so i've been known to scrape and sand, prime and paint a thing or two over the years.

if camp ever wanted to purge some of it's things, i would be first in line for these:

i'd paint this RED for my son's room - it's so nautical-ly cute!

the curvy top drawer makes this one special -
 maybe in the hall for linens?

this lamp base could be a fun pewter or maybe eggplant colour with
a little spray paint, perfect for our bedroom.

not sure if i'd even paint this - it would sure be great in my
dining room...my table linens would love it!

and maybe it's because i so wish for a small table for an eat-in kitchen,

or maybe it's because these cute tables were so plentiful....

cute drop leaf!

this one has already been refinished - now we're talking!

can you tell this one is metal?
love!

don't worry - i'm not about to steal from our bible camp

(my daughter saw the "alternate title" at the top of the page and was a little concerned.)

dreaming requires no sweat equity!

is this a problem?

My aunt is an amazing cook and seamstress, and she recently has taken up painting.  As no surprise to me, she's really good at it!  I asked her if she paints regularly or if she needs a shot of inspiration to hit in order to produce something.  "I have to be inpsired to do it," she replied, "It's the same with my sewing."  Intially I was really surprised!  I just assumed that she would carve out time in a day to create.


But creativity of the very best sort requires inspiration, doesn't it?

This is when I really began to wonder about the balance between inspiration and discipline.

Is it possible that a disciplined approach to creativity can yield the same results as an inspired approach?  Or to the contrary, could I wait for a sudden jolt of inspiration and then produce something creative without much practice?

And then another question surfaced:

Is inspiration my problem?

Could it be that I have become an inspiration junkie?

I admitted in the last post that I have a tendency to be drawn into the latest, greatest of things - everything from devotional books, to home magazines, to exercise dvds....  But when I turn to these things, what exactly am I looking for?  And what exactly are the results I get?

I tell myself that I'm looking for inspiration on blogs and in books and magazines and other peoples homes and stories.  I try to make myself believe that if the pictures and testimonies are powerful enough, these things will change my life.  These things will become the driving force behind making the choices I need to make in order to live the life I want.

But what I've ended up with are hours wasted online, stacks of pretty magazines and a drawer full of dvds....with the same life, the same struggle day to day.

I've come to learn that what I hoped to get from things was not inspiration, as I've told myself, but discipline.  The small steps and purposeful choices one makes not because they feel like it (or are inspired to do) but because they have decided.  Pretty magazines cannot change my mind.  Christ in me is what changes my thinking; (Galatians 2:20)   Because of that I can discipline myself to become who the Lord intends for me to be.

Please allow me to finish my thoughts with 2 disclaimers:

1 - I'm not saying there's anything wrong with getting inspired by any of the above mentioned things.  It is always about balance (hence the picture of my son walking across that tight rope).  As inspiration, these things are fun and great for ideas....as a replacement for discipline?  not so effective!

2- Maybe you, fine reader, think I am crazy to struggle with these concepts.  I wouldn't be surprised in the least, given that I generally walk around thinking that everyone has a more disciplined life than I!  But if this has spoken to your heart, I pray for you as much as for myself, that we wouldn't leave Truth in our hearts alone, but that it would flow out through our words and deeds.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,

who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and hope,

encourage your hearts and strengthen you

in every good deed and word."

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

get 'er done

When my kids were small - really small - one of things I loved to do was organize all their sweet little onesies and sleepers and such.  As they grew and as the seasons changed, I would dig into bins to find the things they finally had grown into (you know when you think they'll never be that big!) and put away the now tiny items to save for another baby.

Well, now that my kids are not-so-small-ish, one of my least favorite jobs to do is organize their clothes.  I can't even (or at least shouldn't) complain, because our kids aren't the fastest growers, so it's not like this is an every other month type of job.  BUT, when the weather changes, my *sigh* can probably be heard across the land as I start the tedious process of digging out too-small clothes and searching through our shed for will-now-fit clothes.  Part of the issue is that our home is almost a hundred years old and the closet space is minimal, so there's no way to keep winter and summer clothes all in one place!   Thankfully, when the weather's nice this job can happen on the deck!   

There's nothing quite like seeing your poor children in jeans and long sleeves in 22C weather to help you gain a little inspiration! 

There it is again - this word that keeps rattling around in my brain....though this time, it might also be called desperation.

Inspiration is that thing where you suddenly are motivated to something. Maybe something you really enjoy, or maybe it's something you need to do and are surprised by the energy and willingness to complete it.

Inspiration calls me to my glue gun at odd hours to make something... it helps me see beyond the messy closet to a new idea for getting organized... it tells me I CAN be a better wife, mother, person....it draws me to a pretty magazine, or a new devotional book, or a new exercise dvd....

Inspiration can be found in a quote like this one I read on a friend's facebook page:

"If you do what you've always done,

you'll get what you've always gotten."

Inspiration can come from books we read, websites and blogs we visit, and from conversations with friends. There's nothing quite like hearing about a friend's success with some area of their life that will make you think, "I can do that too!"

The best inspiration, of course, comes from God's Word.  The scriptures teach us and correct us.  They show us the way to the life God intended for us to have.  They remind us of who He is and speak of His unfailing love.  (One of my faves is Psalm 143:8-10)

What inspires you?