christmas decor

Just a little Christmas décor inspiration thanks to BHG.com. I am hosting Christmas this year and am so excited about how to make it look beautiful for everyone to enjoy.

Making things look beautiful is such a creative outlet for me. I used to think it as vain, however have learned that I simply appreciate the beauty God has created and the various ways we can be conscious of His brilliant creativity. Don’t you feel more at peace when in a room that’s visually appealing to you?

Being surrounded by charming, natural, warm and artistic scenery inspires me. It makes me feel relaxed, invigorated and thankful for the thought that went into its design. There are so many possibilities- what makes someone smile in wonder is different for each person. I enjoy showing others that every day life can be surrounded in beautiful things- if anything but to remind us of God’s glorious love for us that He gave us so much and cares about every detail. We can find God’s beauty in a photo, a poem, a great recipe, a flower, the colors in a room, a beautiful rock on the roadside, lighting in a room, the smell of a candle, a lit Christmas tree, the way a present is wrapped, a persons smile, the sound of a song, the list goes on…..That feeling of love we get when we know He is thinking of us so much He gave us these little reminders of His delight. These can all be culminated into the design of a room through all the senses so we may experience it every day.

Thank you Jesus- for loving us so much and showing us the splendor you have created and letting us experience You through it. This Christmas, may I see beauty through Your eyes in my family, friends, and the Spirit of Your love.

big day...

Ha- this was back in 1995 when the whole Nirvana grunge/skater look was cool. What were we thinking??


Tomorrow is a big day for my husband and I. We celebrate thirteen years of dating. We began dating when I was 14 and he 15- so weird to look back at. We also have a meeting tomorrow that we have been waiting to have- and quite frankly it's unreal. I am excited and scared and don't know whether to laugh or cry or both. I know God has His hands all over this thing and can't wait to see what He has in store. I am just trying to breathe and let God reveal things to me as they come- I am trying not to "what if" or analyze every possible situation. Somehow whenever I try to jump in and take the steering wheel from Him I end up crashing or close to it. When will I learn? He has been whispering His promises to me about this situation to me for a very long time.
Jesus I trust you.

great photography

check out this girl Chelsea Memmolo that has attended my church since she was little. her pics are amazing....

direction

As I sit here listening to my husband play guitar, I have a feeling of genuine contentment. Is it because I'm in my pajamas on the couch with the man I love and life seems to be going well? Maybe. I also feel contentment in knowing I am exactly where God wants me.
It's not a comfortable place where my life is perfectly on track and I've found that one passion, that thing I was made to do in life- but I am okay with that. I feel my Father's presence gently guiding and surrounding me. He's trying to keep me on course and yet I keep getting distracted and making the GPS "recalculate." I'm trying to follow his whispers and subtle lights of direction but find it hard to quiet those swinging monkeys in my mind jumping from one grand idea to another. Having pride and insecurity all over myself doesn't help matters.

I have always had an innate sense God wants me to create. God is the King of artful creativity as the creator of all things- since I am created in His image- maybe this is one part of Him He wants to pass down to me- His daughter. I find joy in that. My passion is serving Jesus in whatever way I can and I believe that will lead me on the path towards oneness with Him. One of my many problems is that I'm living too much in the future and need to live in the present- where He is speaking to me now, today.

Abba Father, I praise you for making me in Your glorious image. Help me to remember that today, as your daughter, the path You have me on is perfect and timed just right. May I learn to seek, listen and keep my eyes open to your leading and not my own.