Our homes improve our lives....

So this morning I submitted my entry to Oprah.com for her Ikea contest. Basically, I had to write a 750 word essay on how our has improved our life. The winner receives a $500 Ikea Gift Card. So, here is my entry. If I win great, if not, it gave me a great topic for my blog. I may add to it later.


     "Home is the nicest word there is." These words were coined by the famous Laura Ingalls Wilder, as she spoke of her home on the prairie. Our home has improved our body, mind, and spirit. Our home tells our story. It tells the story of who we were, who we are, and who we will become. It is our comfort when the world gets too loud and we need our "walls" for support.
   Just as 2 Corinthians teaches us that our body is the house in which our spirit lives here on earth, we believe our home is our stage setting for what is to come. We find comfort in a candle burning, our baby sleeping, chicken roasting, or music playing... those little things. We are blessed and thankful that our home offers us serenity, freedom, and joy. Thanks Oprah!

Thoughts?

Once upon a time there was a man. He loved Jesus and spreading His truth. He believed that grace is what leads us to true freedom and Godly living. He visited many churches. In his attempt to spread love, he was persecuted by many. Eventually this persecution led to his imprisonment. However, this man did not let this situation define his faith. He chose to remain thankful. He chose joy.

You can probably guess this man is Paul.
Love can hurt.
But it will always prevail.

This morning I read about how Job and Paul went through a lot of the same struggles. Job speaking of his troubles said "this will become my deliverance." What a testament of faith. Paul shared those same words in Philippians. This was purposeful, not just a happenstance.

This taught me that suffering can be a result of sin as well as dedication to Christ's love.

No matter how we live- we will suffer.

Here is a real life example.

As I was writing this post, my son was sitting on my lap. Suddenly he throws up. On me, on the couch, on him.

Now... I could have screamed. I could have been upset. Instead I calmly got up, grabbed some Resolve and cleaned up the mess in about a minute.

I'm not sure I was thankful that he threw up, but I can be thankful that I responded calmly and had some Resolve on hand to clean up the mess.

Maybe a silly example, but even still, little moments matter.

Remember the teachings of Colossians today and walk in Grace!

Andrea

We are what we eat, right?

We are what we eat!
I couldn't help but think this when I saw this picture of my son.

He l-o-v-e-s his feet.

When he is not downing his bottle, he can be found trying to cram all of his toes in his mouth!

It cracks us up.

As I watched him snack on his feet I started thinking about what I eat?
Not food to fill my belly, but the food I feed my mind and my soul.

 Soul food.

As I study the book of Colossians this month, my prayer is that it changes my pattern of thinking about the myself, others, and our world.

Colossians 2 teaches us that our hearts should be encouraged and knit together in love. This gives us a full assurance in God's love and his mysteries, even though we may not fully understand what those mysteries are.

I am trying to learn how I can better respond to people when I feel anything but love. In truth, people can be weird, frustrating, and downright rude. But guess what.... so can I. I need to remind myself of this when I am struggling to respond in love. We are all struggling Christians and if we gave each other grace more often than hate, what a different world we would love in.

Today, just for today, let us join together as Christian people and show love. If you don't feel like it,  well too bad. Do it anyway and I can assure you, you will feel better afterwards.

Be Blessed by Love!

She....

She walked through her twenties wandering and wondering. She searched.
She felt empty and unsure.
Looking for love in places that in the end caused more damage and more hurt in her heart.

She pressed on. The search for truth, for holiness.
It had to be found. Where, she had no idea?
She tried to keep her eyes on things above. How it is hard to do this when your twenty something and scared to death.

One day, love walked in.
Yes, right into her life.
A love that could have only been guided by our creator-God.
He held her hand, opened his heart, and made room for her.

Since then, love keeps walking in. It won't stop now. She won't let it.
Love came in the form of a husband, a home, a son, a job, a new commitment to God almighty.
When a heart is full of love, evil simply can't compete. It can be there, but it can't win.

That she is me.

My thirty year old self can now look back at my twenty year old self and be okay with the wandering and wondering she had to do...because it led me to now. My scars and hurts tell my story, but they don't define my story. My story is and always will be defined by love. Love binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Who wouldn't want that freedom?

This month I will journey through the book of Colossians.
Join with me as I search for a deeper understanding of setting our minds on things above.
The writer Paul challenges us to do so.
May God knit together this book for us, just as he did every joint and ligament in our bodies. Let us grow with a growth rooted in Christ.


Be Blessed
andrea

Pokeberry Art

I grew up in the country. Many of my days were spent outside picking berries, swinging on our tire swing, and trekking deep in our woods with my brother.

Our woods were full of pokeberries.

 Do you know what pokeberries are?

They are tall plants that have blackish-red berries that hang in clusters.

My mom loved teaching us about all the plant and tree life around our home.

She taught us all about pokeberries and how the Native Americans used them to make ink. Many say that the Declaration of Independence was written in fermented pokeberry ink. It is toxic and therefore we always had to be very careful when handling them.

With all that said, I am the happy grower of pokeberries in my southern backyard. I was elated when I found them behind our home. I begged Daniel not to put the weed killer on them. Being sweet and all, he let them live.

Today I decided I was going to create something with them. That's what we used to do. We would gather our berries and make paint by smashing them. (That's the fun part)
In one of our home videos my brother and neighbor friends are in our basement painting with them and my mom asks my brother what he is painting and he says, "A Storm."

It was funny then, but

I couldn't help thinking more seriously about that comment as I painted today. How often do we paint the storms of our lives? Do we show our storms to others? Or do we fear others will think we are weak?  It made me think about all the storms I have experienced since my childhood. Looking back most of my storms were just mere cloudy days that weren't as bad once they were over. Those really tough storms serve a great purpose though. They always let us know that all hard things in life do pass.

                        Thankful for precious family memories that continue to inspire.





Have a blessed weekend!

My Inner Landscape

My words are my inner landscape.

My blog is my place to put my words. My place to digest my own thoughts, edit my desires and my fears. My place to develop parts of my self I still don't understand.

It gives me permission to be human.

Today while perusing the shelves at Goodwill I stumbled upon a pretty little book titled Private Pages. It includes excerpts from women's diaries from the 1830's-1970's. It attracted me immediately. The books' introduction reminds its readers that everyone's life holds contradictions, inconsistencies, insecurities, and messy stops and starts. If your life doesn't that means you're not living. I can't wait to read about the lives of these remarkable women who share their good and bad life experiences. Please check this book out if you have an opportunity.

I will leave you today with a song that I heard on Pandora  by Sarah Gaze called Lovely--

Hearing it reminded me that my worth is not based on how I am defined by others. I truly love who I am, although I am a work in progress.

God created all of us in unique ways and we need to spend more time loving ourselves, loving each other, and loving our world!

A Place to Land Shop

We all have our favorite landing places. For me, my favorite place will always be my home. 

Making my home look, feel, and smell good is a passion! Each item is made with love and care 

and comes creatively packaged and personalized just for you or someone special. 

If you would like to place an order please email me at alhussell@gmail.com

Orders can be delivered or shipped. 

What Do You Collect?

We are always collecting. I like to think that I am more of a moment collector than a stuff collector. When you collect stuff it tends to serve a purpose for a time and then the stuff begins to collect dust. Soon the stuff is stored in a closet, not to be seen until you decide to clean out your closet again.

Moments are different. Well, sortive. Moments happen fast. Sometimes we are in control of them. Other times, we just experience them. Still, we collect them in our minds. Moments can collect dust too. Then, in the most unlikely moment, they come back to us- sharp- just like we were right back in that moment.

Smells always seem to take me back to certain times in life. Music can do the same thing. I am thankful for my collection of moments- the good-the bad-and the ugly. Yep, gotta be thankful for the bad and ugly too. They teach us to strive for the good.

 What is most important to you-- stuff or moments? I tend to think we all would say moments, but sometimes I know I can let the stuff matter more. This week, as you begin and end your day, think about the moments and memories you have made, past and present-- and reflect about future moments to come.

This week I look forward to taking my son to the doctor, organizing my closet, preparing for my business, celebrating our first Fig Tree event of the year, cooking dinner at home, and meditating on God's word. I hope the good outweighs the bad and I hope to clear some stuff out of my mind to make room for new.

Be Blessed!

Friday Nights

What do you find yourself
                                            f
                                             a
                                               l
                                                 l
                                                   i
                                                     n
                                                        g
into on Friday nights? My husband and I L-O-V-E our Friday nights. Whether we are at home or out and about there is something so easy, so comforting on this day.

Here are some Friday favorites.
1. After school snack attacks-- Usually we have salsa and chips
2. Out to eat-- We almost always go out for dinner. Tonight it was Subway.
3. Fun with Weston-- We let him play in his new Exersaucer tonight.
4. Staying up late-- I usually fall asleep on the couch and I can be a bear getting up to our bed
5. Listening to music-- We love music of all types. Tonight we enjoyed a song by The Killers called "Here with Me"-- My brother recommended this to us.
6. Mowing and Cleaning-- This is not always fun though.
7. Out or In with friends-- especially game nights
8. Listening to Daniel play guitar--- this should happen more often
9. Watching movie previews on Apple TV.
10. Working out in the yard.

Listen below to hear "Here with Me" Thanks Drew!

Here's to a good Friday and a great weekend.
Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite thing is to do on Friday's!

No Difference

A favorite Shel Silverstein poem for tonight.
Enjoy and Be Blessed!

Small as a peanut
Big as a giant,
We're all the same size
When we turn off the light.

Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We're all worth the same
When we turn off the light.

Red, black, or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.

So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!

Be Quiet

I love quiet time
I always have

I find rest in..

silence
soft music
my bible
morning walks
evening runs

I love time with people too
Conversation fuels my creativity
Fills my heart with joy
It connects us body mind and spirit

Finding a balance is something many of us are searching for.

Author, Susan Cain is a believer in the power of being quiet. Her book, Quiet... is about the power of the quiet people in our world and how they really do have a lot more to say than some people think.


My friend Julia told me about this book and I am so excited to read it.... along with about 8 other books too!

Take 10 minutes of your time to enjoy a little quiet today.
Time is there.
Find it and I have a feeling you will be blessed.

A Bird's World

I love hearing different people's perspective....even if I don't always agree... I enjoy those conversations about the "why's" of life.

I also think a lot about a bird's perspective. Seriously. I know it may sound silly. But I tend to watch birds and wonder about their world, their view, their issues.....their perspective.

One man decided to explore this topic and give us a better understanding of how a bird sees the world.



This is a two hour documentary callled Winged Planet, created by John Downer. He gives us this perspective by using spy cameras to let us in on some of nature's most amazing moments. I think it is a beautiful thing.

If you are interested, it airs on Discovery Channel, this Saturday at 8.

I pray everyone's Monday is blessed. Find God everywhere you go today. Change your perspective. Love someone difficult. Call a friend. Just enjoy life!

Be Blessed!
.