14 Challenge

Our Spring Break trip to Tybee Island a month ago was a fresh reminder of what I had read recently on the importance of creating "Sabbath Spaces" in our life and home.

" Remember the Sabbath ( Shabbat-stopping, cessation) day, to keep it holy." Exodus 20:8

" God was requiring His people to do something exactly opposite from what they had grown used to doing ( for almost 400 years!). Instead of endlessly working , one day after another, engaging in every demanded activity,they were to stop- purposefully carve out time to be still and enjoy Him- to celebrate a time of rest, rejuvenation, and spiritual focus that would perpetuate their experience of freedom, not just in theory but practical terms. In other words, the Sabbath principle was the total reverse of the slavery they had already experienced in Egypt and a protection against sliding into another form of bondage." The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shrier.




Our chains of bondage may not take the form of the Israelites years ago when God gave this commandment. But our family of 5 is often held captive by the ever increasing daily demands and hectic schedules of suburban life in 2012. But what a gift He gives us to keep us from sliding into bondage of all forms- REST!

How can I turn crowded spaces into Sabbath- breath taking- spaces? While our family may not be able to escape to the shore weekly, how can I bring this coastal calm into our lives daily?

Shrier suggest a " 14 Challenge". Historically, Sabbath was 1 day out 7 , the equivalent of 14% of our week. She asks you to look at your family's lifestyle, your calendar and even your closet spaces( clean out!) ! Where can you carve out 14 % in your home and life to stop, rest and escape activity, schedules and routines?


As an artist, it may not surprise you... math is not my strength. Nor do numbers really speak to me or motivate me in any way. So whether or not I hit " 14 % " I will never know. But I am ever more so convicted to create these spaces as a woman, to have them in my marriage and teach them to my boys so that our home and lives continually express His grace and freedom.

A Little Paint Goes A Long Way

I hated my kitchen when we moved in. It felt dark and closed-in ,definitely not what I saw as the heart of my home. It was just a small empty , closed-in space with ugly cabinets and outdated appliances. So after a year and a half of debating, I painted the cabinets. We didn't redo the floors ,replace countertops or those outdated appliances and light fixtures. So my kitchen wouldn't qualify for a magazine" before and after" photo layout. But I do think it is worthy of a best room makeover. Renovation didn't involve shopping or remodeling. And while painting made a huge difference that isn't what transformed the space. " A little paint goes a long way"... but love goes a lot further.

" Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Valentine's Day my hubby took me out for a surprise lunch date... with our 3 year old little sidekick. As he kissed me goodbye before returning to work for the afternoon, little one yelled from the backseat, " Ooohhh yuck your kissing!" with his 3 year old lisp. In the next few hours before hubby came back home I had battles with homework, sibling arguments, whining over eating MORE Valentine candy and the same 3 year old slamming open and shut EVERY cabinet door in my kitchen while I throw something together for dinner. Meltdowns by 5pm was my trade off for pushing through naptime time in exchange for an " early" bedtime tonight. The truck pulls in the driveway and all come bounding in the door with Daddy, candies, cards and flowers in hand. I finish up the dishes, make lunches for the next day and wipe down countertops now covered with vases filled with irises and roses, boxes of chocolates truffles and a half empty bottle of wine. Backpacks and homework papers are stacked in corner shelf and our eternal trail of little toys line the floor. As I turn the light off, that afternoon felt like days ago. Once again our love for another blanketed our sporatic mishaps, anger and frustrations. Truly the " multitude of our sins" were covered today and are everyday by love.

Those cabinets don't seem to bother me as much any more. And it's not just because I love their color now. You didn't even notice all those horrible dents , scrapes and marks until they were highlighted with that beautiful light gray I painted them ! It never ceases to amaze me just how much paint reveals on a piece of furniture or canvas. The art is knowing what to reveal and what to cover . Somehow in the process those imperfections and mistakes are exactly what makes it beautiful. So God's love gently reveals and gracefully covers us and our shortcomings. And I know , our love for one another, should also be this way. Perhaps this is why Paul emphasizes " Above all, we love one another earnestly" . It's the art of loving earnestly everyday, not just on Valentine's I desire to master. For I know this is what has made our little kitchen the heart of our home.

Day Like No Other

Today would have been my Mom's 60th birthday. And I have longed and dreamed to have been able to celebrate it BIG! ...Lavishing her with pampering head to toe, showering her with exquisite gifts and surrounding her with beauty morning till night, flowers, flowers and more flowers ( of course irises as I sent her every birthday!) The party would be the most elegant event. Her table would have been set like no other. We would end the evening dining on a feast among dearest friends and family. I would love to have given her this " day like no other".

While we cherished , loved and honored her dearly. A part of me will always think I should have celebrated her birthdays "bigger". Though I know no amount of celebrating would have been truly worthy.

My heart smiles knowing she celebrates " this day like no other" always and forever. For she is surrounded by nothing but beauty and elegance, like my eyes have never seen. She is lavished with gifts no amount of earthly money could ever buy. She has no need for pampering for she has no pain, no stress, is never tired and has no need to relax! She feasts eternally on joy at a table of perfection . And though I long to love on her this birthday, I know she is in the presence of love no amount of friends and family could ever bestow upon her on " this side".

So I made birthday banner....for my youngest son who turns three on Saturday. I found out I was pregnant with him within a month after she passed. Perhaps he was sent to " carry me through" for I have always had his birthday to look forward to! And as I cut and glued and ironed each piece, I thought of all the moments she loved making things like this for us growing up. And with each cut I honored her life as gratefulness, joy and love filled my heart. And while I am not throwing Mom a huge party today. I realize I now celebrate her " big" in ways everyday in my heart and life, not just on her birthday. And while I would have given Mom a gift today. Instead she gave one to me. And January 15th always be " a day like no other" for me.

A Few Paintings from 2011

Good News of Great Joy- Cheers for the New Year!

" But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." Luke 2:19-20

Like those shepherds I too leave this Christmas season praising God for all I've seen and heard throughout 2011! I am thinking back on all God has brought forth this year not only in my life but in my heart- discovering new desires and " renewing" old ones! Now it been close to 2 years since our move from Athens, Georgia and I look back in awe at the journey that lead us here. God has faithfully lit our path here with the love and support of many friends and family. Our " nest is truly blessed" with love, laughter and always a touch of chaos- enough to remind me God is always in control because I can't be! As I read in an article shared with me, " our home will never be perfect, but it will always be beautiful because it is full of joy"!

Over Christmas following Mary's journey (through out Luke Chapters 1-2) was my personal advent. My favorite part has always been when the Angel comes to Mary announcing she has been chosen to be the mother of Christ. She is struck with fear, confusion, disbelief. Yet she lays aside her feelings of fear and her thoughts of disbelief and trusts God with her life despite all the crazy circumstances...
" Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Luke 1:38

What a beautiful moment of personal surrender and display of strength and grace. A decision that changes not only the course of her life but of all creation. What an inspiration for each of us to carry in all our endeavors through out 2012!

As I continued reading I was reminded Advent season may have come to a close on Christmas Day but the story did not end with the birth of Christ. It only begins....

The week after Christ birth Mary is pondering all that has just happened to her. I'm sure she felt a little tired yet awestruck after going through childbirth and all the difficulties and obstacles along the way over the past several months. This is the week perhaps she too rested. She let it all sink in and looked back in amazement at how faithful God had been to her, in ways unexpected. We rest and ponder as well this week anticipating the New Year and recuperating from the hustle and bustle of the holiday. Gratefulness and joy for all the abundant gifts and blessings we just received not only on Christmas Day but through out the year 2011. May we each treasure up and ponder in our hearts not only the visible gifts 2011 brought, but may God reveal to us those disguised gifts. Those that came wrapped perhaps in trial or difficulty only to reveal the rarest treasures in our hearts.

As we ring in the New Year, may we be like those shepherds when they returned from Bethlehem and celebrate! For they too knew their lives would never be the same. God brought them an answer , a savior. Today and always we have that same answer, the same Savior. Because of this may we always look towards the New Year with even greater hope, joy and expectation!

Blessings in 2012! Angie

Bread for Fall

I admitted when I started this blog that I'm not a blogger. And my goal was to post only once a month as to not set myself up for failure. Yet I'm already 5 months into this with only 3 posts! So not only have I disappointed myself but feel horrible thinking I've left you all to believe I'm still in " Back-to School Blues" at the end of October. You will be happy to know yes- I have moved on and am in the throes of Fall Frenzy! We have multiple ongoing soccer games and practices. Cae turned 6 years old and celebrated with a campout at the lake. And we are in the midst of numerous school fall festivities and activities. I don't have time to stay blue for too long!

" Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might,..." Ecclesiastes 9:10

Today my hands made Pumpkin Bread for the boys' teachers at school while I drank a yummy Starbuck's " Salted Mocha Something or Other" for the first time this fall. And I can officially say it's fall not just because the leaves are turning , pumpkins are out and Starbuck's has changed their seasonal menu. But because I made Mom's Pumpkin Bread recipe for the first time this year and my heart is changing.

The yoga instructor announced " 10 weeks till Christmas! " and I have to admit I cringed a little. Who doesn't look back and think where did that year go and see all we didn't accomplish that maybe we set out to do? And think will I get it all done in only ten weeks?

" So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have." 2 Corinthians 8:11-12

Reminded of all the desires I set out upon this year and all the times I fight not to abandon them in my heart. Like writing this blog, starting a new painting, doing more paintings, finishing a project around the house, continuing the Book Club I started, better parenting habits ...the list goes on and on. They seem menial on a level yet I'm convicted of procrastination, writer's block, artist block, fear of failure, fear of succeeding... whatever I want to call it.

I realize that I'm a steward of what I do with the desires of my heart, if He places them there. And I'm guilty of using all " the things I don't have" as an excuse in not fulfilling them whether I realize it or not. Daily I come to Him with the list of what I don't have and He sweetly exchanges it for the list of ALL that I do have. And gently reminds me, " It's acceptable. Now do it!"

So tomorrow I will start a new painting and be able to look at the blank canvas and pray that my "readiness in desiring may be matched by the completing it of what I do have". I will write a new post without as much apprehension and take on that new project with a little more confidence and ease. He never requires of us what we don't have. But He does require ALL of what we do have and that is much much more than any of us realize. So I don't need to focus on doing more than what is in my hands to do but on giving Him more of what He has already placed in them.

And I'm finding how all these bigger desires of my mine are being fulfilled as I pursue with my whole heart what He gives my hands to do daily in the little things, like making Pumpkin Bread.

Fall Findings

Labor day cook outs, pools officially closed, and I've had a bit of " back-to-school" blues. My 5 year old jumped on the bus for his first day of Kindergarten with barely a glance back. He was too excited to see for himself all the stories he had only heard from big brother. But the bus pulled off leaving me "feeling a little hollow". Grateful though I still have a little guy asleep in his crib. I know the hardest 1st day of Kindergarten is yet to come in a few years. I walk back inside the house and pick up a brush and paint and paint. With each stroke I find the " feeling a little hollow" is filling with excitement of fall's adventures to come- theirs, and mine. A new season is upon us all.

Another reason I paint. It punctuates my life. Wringing out each minute of my day with each drop of paint ( Better than wringing little necks!). I paint in our dining room where everyone runs through the house, out the back doors or into the kitchen. I used to go to the studio hours upon hours to paint in college, where I would have to turn on music because of the silence. Now I paint in the midst of a flurry of activity and noise, oh so much noise. Spending hours upon hours living with only interrupted moments to paint. Moments, I can hold back the hands of the clock and suspend the busyness of life - at least for a minute or two. I think on where we have been, blessed,very blessed and look forward faithfully to where we are going.

Is summer really over?" one of the boys had asked. " Yes- kind of " hesitantly I answered. Trying to make the summer season last just a little longer by stretching out my words. But I can't keep those calendar pages from turning like I can't keep those leaves from falling off the trees onto my back deck! Summer may go but fall always comes. May this fall find you , where it finds me.... with a painting.


" Brothers' First day of School"