Home decor

Freshen Up Friday

RefreshHer2 Comments
The winter sky was cold and solemn and the day’s events had pressed hard on me.  But now I was home and could hardly wait for the relief its comfort would bring.  Entering from the front door, the fireplace pops and crackles, its bounty giving off not only heat, but also a soft glow to the living room.  Little lamps are tucked into nooks and crannies of bookshelves and mantle, drawing me to come inside and read, and sit a spell.  The flickering of candlelight winks  as I  pass.  After dropping my coat on the footstool, I nestle down in the armchair and smile.  This is what I had longed for.  This is home.

Could you picture the room described above?  What is it that really makes a home inviting?  Is it the color of paint on the wall?  No.  Is it the beautiful pictures carefully hung? No.  Is it the furniture? No.  What makes a home draw us in is the lighting.  In the descriptive paragraph above, it’s the small lights, the twinkles, the lamps that give the effect of a warm welcome.  If only an overhead light is on, a room would have the appeal of a doctor’s examining room! If the lighting isn’t right, none of those other factors would be as beautiful. 

To refresh your Friday, I thought I’d share some of the designers great tips about lighting that I learned just yesterday at Gracious Designs.  Are you ready?  These are so practical and do-able!

There are three types of light:

1.  General lighting – Overhead lights.  This should be the least used, except in the kitchen and bathroom.

2.  Task lighting – Reading lamps, sconces, floor lamps, under cabinet lights
3.  Ambiance lighting – Candles, lanterns, light sticks, tea lights, little lamps

You should have at least five sources of light in each room (with exception of the entryway and bathroom).  These need to be layered at different heights and levels. Create layers of light at different times of the day.  Rainy winter days can be gray and dark.  Lighten your home by layering lights from soft lights under a buffet table, to small lamps on a bookshelf or mantle, and increasing to table or floor lamps for tasks.  Place candles in an unused fireplace to darken up that space. 

The last thing the designer shared was Five Rules to Break:

  1. Lamps have to match – They don’t!  Break up a matched set and put them in two different rooms and watch how it will change the whole room!  The styles and heights on either side of the bed, for instance, should be similar, but don’t need to match.

2.  Chandeliers are only for the entryway or dining room.  No!  They are lovely in a master bedroom.  Placing one over a chair where you read would be beautiful!  By the way, our instructor said that the base of a chandelier over a table should be 34″-36″ from the surface of the table.  Most people hang them too high.  Drop it down and let it create something really special!

I’ve shared this before, but I think this is so elegant! 

3.  One set of light sticks is all I need.  Some of these light sticks are battery operated and are so useful in high places where there are no outlets, so they are really useful!

4.  It doesn’t matter what type of bulb I use.  The newer bulbs are hard to figure out, but can really give off bad color if you don’t know what to look for.  Here was her suggestion:

  • 5,000 Gives a clean daylight look, blue light
  • 4,0000-3,500 Cool, general lighting
  • 3,000 or below are warmer lights

5.  Five is the limit on lights.  Wrong!  Add as many lights (of course layered) as needed to add warmth to your room. 

We need to help these gray winter days not be so gloomy by making sure we’re adding the right kind of lighting to our homes.  We also need to be looking for those in darkness that need the Light of the Gospel!  Add some light to your home and be a light in the world!

Be refreshed,

Uncategorized

Full Nets

RefreshHerLeave a comment
Sunrise on the Sea of Galilee…

One recent morning as I read Luke 5, I read about Jesus at the lake of Gennesaret, and I remembered what it was like to be on the Sea of Galilee in the morning.  The winds were calm.  The sun sparkled on the glassy waters.  It was quiet and serene. 

However, in chapter 5 of Luke, it’s not really a quiet setting because a crowd has pressed in closely that they might be near Jesus, hear Him teach and watch Him perform a miracle – perhaps on their behalf.  They pushed and shoved to be near Him – so much that Jesus stepped onto Simon Peter’s boat, and asked Simon Peter to push out a little from shore.  Then He sat down and taught from a floating pulpit!  The Scripture says that when He’d finished teaching, He told Peter to launch out into the deep waters and let down his nets for a “draught.” 

Though Peter had been out fishing all night and caught nothing, he obeys the Lord.  Not long thereafter, he pulled the net from the waters, and there were so many fish that the net broke and he required the assistance of James and John to bring the great catch to shore! It was an amazing miracle that made Peter drop to his knees in humble adoration and admission of his own sinfulness.
The thought that has been a blessing to my heart in reading Matthew Henry’s notes about this, is this: When we serve Christ, there is great recompense! That’s not the reason we serve Him, but it’s still the truth.  The reward of a “full net” doesn’t always come when we think it should.  Sometimes we are toiling in the night season.  Darkness is around us.  Cold seeps into our bones.  We are weary.  It seems that nothing is coming from our service – whether it’s in our personal witness to a lost person, our ministry at church, our pouring into our children’s lives.  The net is very empty.  We come in from the deep waters of serving and just decide to wash out the nets and go home.  Have you ever wanted to quit?  We all have!  That’s when the Lord decides to step into the ship and give us an abundant blessing. He fills our net to overflowing. 
My husband’s net “got filled up” recently when he received a Facebook message from a person from the past saying that because of his witness years ago, their family member got saved, and thought he’d want to know!  You better believe he wanted to know!  What a blessing.
When one of my Sunday school students gets saved, fish are jumping everywhere in my net!
Our recent trip to Israel was another “Full net” experience!  We didn’t deserve to go, but out of the love of our church people’s hearts, they desired to send us that we might be their eyes and ears and be better able to fulfill the ministry to which the Lord has called my husband.
If your net is empty at the time, keep faithfully serving.  In His time, the Lord will allow you to go back into the deep and reap a harvest of fish.  Yes, indeed, the recompense for serving Christ is abundant!
With love, 

Uncategorized

A Peek Inside the Parsonage

RefreshHer5 Comments

I could hear the frustration in her comments as we chatted.  I recently talked with a young wife and homemaker and listened while she shared her desire to create a warm space in her home, but needed to be considerate of their budget, of course. She’s also trying to find her own style, while mixing it with her husband’s, and was also trying to come up with a color/decorating scheme that would fit both of their tastes.  Talking with her made me think back to when I was her age and in that stage of life.

When I look back on pictures of our home from years past I have to ask myself, “What was I thinking?!”  At the time, I was sure it was all done in good taste!   Our first home was a combination of both our personalities and interests in the living room.  His Clemson clock hung in the living room not far from where my silk bridal bouquet and our crystal glasses were displayed. His speakers that stood on either side of the television stand were large enough that we could’ve used them for coffee tables (well, nearly!). The couch was an ugly tweed, and was so itchy to sit on!  We should’ve just handed each guest one of those back scratching tools when they walked in the front the door, knowing they would soon need it!  The kitchen was so tiny that if I needed to get into the fridge when we had guests, someone would have to get up out of their chair and step aside so there was room for the opened door. 

The next house we lived in was bigger and was full of promise!  We even had the privilege of getting new living room furniture! A blessing for all – except those that had to sleep on the sofa bed that was secretly safely tucked inside its cushions. 

As the years progressed and the country style was in full swing, nearly every piece of furniture and wall was stenciled.  My husband even declared that he was afraid to stand still too long for fear I’d stencil him!  The colors in the living room were mauve and blue with pink hearts stenciled at the chair rail level.  ~Sigh~ Such tackyness!

Some day I’ll probably look on my current Shabby Chic style and wonder what got into me and made me paint most everything white.  But the truth goes back to the way it all started – we love our home just because it’s the place that we share together. 

If you find yourself frustrated with your decor, just smile at those that gather near you – whether they’re roommates in a dorm room, a girlfriend who shares your apartment or your husband sitting with you on that ugly couch, and remind yourself of that old, but very true statement – 

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” 

Keep loving.  Keep dreaming!

From my very lovely parsonage, =)

Uncategorized

Travel With Me

RefreshHer2 Comments
It would be impossible to show you and tell you everything that I saw in the twelve days we were in Israel, but I’m asking the Lord for wisdom to share some of the nuggets that He gave me while we were there. In truth, I’m still sifting through all the information that we received from our guide, Aire.  Here is his picture, taken on our first day when we were in Jaffa (Joppa).
 
Aire is more than a guide in the land of Israel; he is a faithful ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a Jewish believer, he has studied the Word of God all his life.  He knows the Truths of Christ being the Messiah and has a living relationship with Him. 
One thing that I loved about his teaching was his way of bringing simple truths into what he was showing us.  Later on the first day of touring, we visited Mt. Carmel where Elijah offered his sacrifice to God.  It was also here on this mountain that Elijah watched for the cloud that would bring the rain that God had been withholding from King Ahab and his people. Due to the lack of rain, there was a famine in the land.  Imagine the dryness, the dust, the sparse crops, the parched lips.  Then God told Elijah he would send rain.  Elijah goes to the top of the Mountain looking for the first cloud to appear.  We read in I Kings 18:42-45
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. 
I doubt that anyone who got caught out in that particular rainstorm minded it a bit.  It had to be refreshing to them to finally have water pouring down from heaven.  It brought relief from the famine and dryness.



Mt. Carmel

 Aire reminded us that Jesus Christ is the Living Water and He always brings relief. John 4:10  What is the famine you’re experiencing right now?  Is it a health issue?  Is it an unfulfilled longing of your heart?  Is it loneliness?  Climb to the mount and look for Christ to bring relief your way.  Jeremiah 29;13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  The Living Water takes the Living Word to comfort, refresh and nourish us in our dryness.  Look upwards for the little cloud followed by a “great rain.” 

Looking up at Christ, rather than down at your circumstances will always point you in the right direction!
 
With love,
 

Uncategorized

What’s Cookin’ in the Parsonage?

RefreshHer1 Comment
Leaving JFK Airport at 8 am Friday morning after our all night flight from Tel Aviv

Hello, Friends!  You have no idea how wonderful it is to be back in East Tennessee, back at my computer, and back at RefreshHer!! 

When our plane landed at the Tri-Cities Airport Friday afternoon, we looked up in the terminal and saw this sweet group of people from our church awaiting our arrival…

This children were holding a “Welcome Home” sign.  They held onto it long enough to allow me to snap this picture, then we were flooded by their hugs and squeezes.  ~Precious!~

There are many wonderful places to visit, and Israel was a place I’m so thankful I got to see, but I agree with Dorothy – there’s no place like home!  I missed “chatting” with you all, but was so thrilled with the super job Whitney did while I was away.  Thanks, Whitney, for your hard work posting in my absence.  You make me proud! I’m still getting over seeing those old photos that were posted, though! Ahhh!  We’ll talk later! =).

Well, it’s Monday and time to talk about food, right?  Let me tell you, we enjoyed some interesting and delicious dishes in Israel.  It wasn’t fried chicken, southern green beans and sweet tea, however, I enjoyed trying the new tastes of another culture.  As you see in the picture above, there were lots of good salad choices at every meal (yes, even breakfast!).  I enjoyed roasted sweet potato slices served cold, fennel with dill, wonderful black olives, hummus and pita (served at every meal), and tons of great cheeses.  Take a look at the variety of cheeses at the first place we stayed…

Here was lunch one day – Peter’s Fish.  It was a little odd being stared at by my meal, but it I disregarded his evil eye and enjoyed him!

The food we saw most every day at lunchtime was Falafel. This is a fast food dish made of ground chickpeas. It is deep fried and served in a pita bread, usually with hummus or some other “sauce” as well as fresh vegetables. It was good.



Falafel

Toward the end of our trip in Israel we found ourselves thinking about American foods and were getting pretty excited about enjoying some “comfort foods” when we returned.  Yesterday was my husband’s birthday, so I made him one of his favorites – Katie Brown Chicken,  mashed potatoes and biscuits.  I also served cauliflower with cheese sauce.  Plain chicken with just lemon and fresh herbs tasted wonderful to us both.  Venturing into another food culture is great and I really enjoyed it, but there’s nothing like the foods you were raised on when you return home!

I’m thinking there will be some other comfort foods on my menu this coming week!  What foods do you crave when you’ve been out of your kitchen and/or your culture?

Happy to be back in my parsonage kitchen,