Grounding

"When was the last time you felt the stinging gift in your own eyes, this most natural reminder that you are alive, here, human?

Maybe it’s been a while for you. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the next time the tears rise up to meet you, don’t brush them aside. Greet them, receive them, and listen for the life they bring." 
~Ann Voskamp

A roller coaster year of emotions

bringing me up
letting me fall
affirmation of my human-ness
confirmation of a life full up with love

feeling untangled
becoming unraveled

living

"Every single one of our life-aches, large and small, has a response from a God who put on skin so that we might know His scent and feel His calloused hands and live in a nearness to this beauty that would forever keep us coming back to sit at His feet.

Pain invites us to see. Him."
~Sara Hagerty, author

I see.
I hear.
I feel like never before.
The pain of loss has opened my eyes to an even deeper grounding of my being in the love of Christ.

learning
discovering
opening
embracing

"I don’t waste anything in your life, including your suffering. I use it to teach you important lessons here and now. But there is more. Your troubles are also accomplishing something in heavenly realms. They are achieving eternal Glory—contributing to the reward you will receive in heaven." 

~Jesus Today by Sarah Young

My devotional book lays open before me on the table.
Eyes drinking in the words.

scents surround me
lifting my spirit
calming my soul

http://heavens-walk.blogspot.com/2013/07/passion-grace.html

I inhale His goodness
letting it fill my heart

The essential oils ground me.
Define me.
Heal me.

Valor swiped on the back of my neck for strength and courage.
Joy rubbed over my heart for happiness.
Peace & Calming fill the room with tranquility.
Patchouli's earthiness like a warm hug.
Biblical oils.
The original source of healing for
mind
body
spirit.

Sitting in the stillness of His presence
I prepare to face the day.

to hear His voice
to follow His guidance
to live in a nearness to His beauty

hope
purpose
strength

And as I learn to live with loss...
I learn to feel even more the grace of Him.

accepting it
breathing it
filling it
releasing it

Finding my deepest fulfillment of my heart in Him alone.

Breathing Him

Breathing Life

Grounded...
using one of God's healing gifts.



~  Eucharisteo  ~

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Boho-Funky Prairie Shutters

As early spring sunshine filtered through the studio window,

sitting amidst pretty roses and prairie curtains...

RA curtains in my studio. These are staying here.

I brainstormed.

I drew sketches.

I played with pieces of wood.

The Husband and I trekked to Home Depot and spent hours sorting through planks

and picking through hinges.

And then we started playing.

Imagining.

Visually laying out the plan.

Prairie shutters were on the docket for the day.

Another dream was coming to fruition,
and I could barely contain myself from doing the happy dance ~
while The Husband threw numerous raised eyebrows my way.

However, we had to finagle these shutters.

Get creative.
Really creative.

Since our sofa backs up against one window and the chaise arm is close to the other window,

we had to rethink having full planks

because we wouldn't be able to open them all the way.

Bummer.

So I decided to design a 3/4 over 1/4 shutter for these windows. 

Something different.

Something a little funky bohemian.

Something that could be opened up behind the furniture.

The top double 3/4 length planks would move as one piece.

The bottom tri-fold planks would fold in together to clear the furniture

and then could be folded out again to lay flat against the wall. 

I stained them with Minwax 'Early American' first

followed by a light coat of homemade chalk paint in the same creamy white shade I've used throughout the house.

Of course, I didn't have any of my favorite 'prairie pink' paint that I used on the kitchen and bathroom shutters (that you can see here and here and here).
So, I pulled on my creativity cap and mixed and stirred and mixed and stirred
like a mad scientist.
Adding a little brown, a little black, and a little white to a base of bright pink "oops" paint that I nabbed at The ReStore last month for $10.

(I never said I was a neat painter, you know....)

The soft lilac-pink shade that I was waiting for gradually appeared,
(in the bottom can above)
and I swished it haphazardly all over the shutters.

At one point, I thought I was finished with painting them and was ready to move into distressing mode.
But just to be on the safe side, I thought I'd haul one inside to see if it was "pink" enough for me.

Nope.
Not by a long shot.

I lugged it back outside to the work room,
and as I retrieved my pink-covered paint brush,
I mentioned to The Husband,
"They aren't pink enough.  Gotta add more."

The Husband:  "I kinda thought that myself."

Wow.
Thank you, Lord, for a husband who doesn't mind pink!

Palm-sanding and random distressing revealed a vintage look,
followed by a waxing and buffing of clear Annie Sloan Wax to seal it.
I let them set overnight.

After church service on Sunday morning, we had a very quick lunch
(because I was so anxious to get these beauties up).
I don't think I've eaten a piece of left over seafood pizza so fast in my life.

While refraining once again from doing the happy dance,
we used t-strap hinges that I had painted with Rustoleum spray Chalkpaint
to attach them to the wide vintage oak trim that surround our windows.

We installed the bottom shutters first,
and my toes began to tap....

and then we tackled the top set.
My legs were now twitching to the music in my head.

You can see how the top shutters can swing open freely,
while the bottom sections tri-fold in on each other
clearing the arm of the chaise.

They kind of remind me of a little picket fence.  :)

Ok, I can't stand it any longer.
I'll take a moment to do the happy dance
while you take a look at our work.

{Cue happy feet!}

Thinking of moving the RA banner to the other side of the sofa by the lamp.  Thoughts...?

A peek through the shutters at the springtime decor on the front porch.
(The snow is just about gone now, thank goodness.)

The large tri-fold door filled with rose prints that stood in the corner behind the table the alabaster lamp is on was finally moved and stored in the attic for now.
The absence of it made the entire room feel larger.

I wanted the prairie shutters to take center stage now.

And even though the grocery store brand sheer drapes that hung on the windows previously weren't heavy or stifling by any means,
without them, the room felt lighter.

The shutters will provide privacy at night,
and are the perfect shabby prairie chic way to keep out the cold winter winds
and hot summer sun.

I love the clean, airy, prairie look they lend to the living room.
There's just something homey and comforting about opening them each morning
and closing them up at night.

The Husband:  "You know...they're even cool when they're not closed all the way."
Me:  "Really.  Who are you and what did you do with my husband...?"

A little pink.
A little boho.
A little funky.

A lot prairie.

And Husband Approved, too.



~  Eucharisteo  ~

[Thank you, Tausha, for your barn-room inspiration for these shutters!]


Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!