sunday inspiration - creative photo displays.

More Sunday inspiration, this time with a theme - photo display.

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This popsicle stick photo puzzle would make such an adorable photo gift, and yet it would be so simple to make.

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I've been looking for just the right shutters so I can use this idea in my own home. Unfortunately, the only ones I've seen at thrift stores so far are plastic.

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This picture window project is one of the most creative photo displays I've seen.

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Wouldn't this ladder-turned-easel be a great way to store blankets as well?

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I love big chunky frames, and with beadboard all the better. This project would be simple enough to make with scraps of molding, or a combination of inexpensive frames from thrift stores.

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baby shower gift (boy).

I needed a last-minute baby shower gift (last minute only because I procrastinated on actually buying the gift), and though I considered making something, I couldn't come up with an idea that I was really sold on.

Then, I saw this adorable idea at somewhat simple, and decided to do the next best thing - buy a gift and package it creatively.

I picked up everything I needed at Target - a pack of onesies, a set of burp cloths, a baseball glove, a baseball, and a small plastic bucket. I layered everything together, wrapped it with cellophane basket wrap, and tied a ribbon on it from my stash.

(please ignore the messy house in the background)

I love the way it turned out. The only bummer - I decided last-minute not to go to the shower (I'm still feeling under the weather), so I didn't get to see the new mom's reaction.

when the rain comes.

I'm currently working through a cold-medicine-induced haze, so let's share a music video today, hm? Enjoy!

on a mission.

Yesterday I talked about witnessing poverty while in Africa. I hoped that the lessons from that time will stick with me, will be things that are truly life-changing.

One large piece of processing this, is taking a hard look at the things I have and the things that I really need. I'm currently working my way through my closet and dressers, pulling out all of the excess. I've filled two bags already, and I'm not done yet.

Next, I'll be looking at the gift closet, craft supplies (including the myriad of jewelry stuff I haven't touched in nearly a year), and the kitchen.

I'm also thinking about ways to better use this house of mine, particularly the office/guest room and the back room behind my bedroom. Except for the handful of times a year that I have guests stay from out of town, these rooms are mostly used for storage. And it seems like an awful lot of storage space for one person.

The other thing I'm thinking about doing is getting rid of my TV. Its old - my parents bought it for me when I first graduated from college 10 years ago. I got rid of cable a couple of months ago and only watch TV online now, and it seems like an awful waste of space.

If you don't have a TV, especially if you've gotten rid of it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this - any regrets?

the aftermath of witnessing poverty.

One of the blessings of witness poverty is that it brings a lot of things into sharp focus.

Oh, not at first. At first, that is there and this is here, and the two are quite literally worlds apart. At first, when you're thrown back into life as you know it, you're just trying to keep up, to adjust, to find that rhythm again.

But then, the truth of there starts to seep into the reality of here. This is where I am now, where I find myself hyper-aware of how very much I have, and how very little I really need. I'm convicted about how much of that excess, that waste, is due to my own selfishness and laziness. I have two spatulas because if I use it one night, I don't want to have to wash it before I can use it the next night. I buy more socks and underwear so I have to do laundry less often. I have way too many thrift-store things to make over, or half-finished projects laying around, because I actually consider shopping a hobby. I have this wonderful house that, while it isn't huge by American standards, is definitely more house than one person needs.

So the question that I'm left with is, now that I'm realizing all of these things, what am I going to do about it?

tuesday inspiration.

Otherwise known as sunday inspiration, part 2.

A couple of days ago, I posted links to some of my favorite projects and ideas online. Today, because I don't have a lot of personal thoughts and inspiration to offer, I thought I'd point you towards some of my favorite things I've read recently, of a deeper nature.

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"But, the desire to live a life bigger than our house begins with our hearts. It’s about praying the big, scary prayers… asking the Spirit to guide you in the ways of courage instead of comfort...No matter what it looks like for you, you have to desire this kind of life."

~ Nish from The Outdoor Wife

It is so true that no matter what adventure you're called to, its something that you have to pursue intentionally. Its all too easy to be seduced by the comfortable things we know. Reading this post reminded me of that.

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"For me – for years – God had a third world address. He moved there after I went to El Salvador in 2005. And for years afterward I got on planes to meet Him and missed Him when I came back to the cul-de-sac again. Against the backdrop of the darkest poverty and out-in-the-open evil, His light and love was clearly visible. My spiritual eyes adjusted to the brilliance of His compassion streaming from every church and every servant I met in Uganda, Ethiopia, India, the Dominican Republic…But back home I couldn’t see a thing in these muddled middle tones."

~ Shaun Groves

Shaun writes about the mourning that takes place after you've experienced poverty, and about learning to see God in America. As I adjusted to being home, as I have been struggling to process the what-next part of going to Africa, this post was a beautiful reminder to me that God is here, too.

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"I don’t want this trip to savored and then slowly forgotten like a “life-changing” piece of pie. I want this trip to be a seed planted deep within my soul that with the proper care will bloom, grow, and bear beautiful fruit. I want this trip to be a recognizable turning point in my life. I want this trip to be a recognizable turning point in my heart."

~ Lindsey Nobles

Lindsey went to Guatemala on a Compassion Bloggers trip just a few days after I returned home from Africa. My soul resonates with the words she shares about those things we call life-changing - how can we really know if something was life-changing, until after we've seen if life was truly changed? I still think the bigger impact of my trip will be something that I won't understand until months, even years down the road.

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"Environments are more powerful than words, no matter how carefully those words are crafted."

~ Pete Wilson from WithoutWax.tv

This post on the importance of environments has been running in the back of my mind for the last two days. I'm wondering, are there places in my ministry where I've tried to inspire people (volunteers, parents, and kids) to something, only to throw up a roadblock?

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"Fear makes you settle. Fear puts limits on what God wants to do with your life. Fear “tricks you into living a boring life.”

~ Kim from Yellow Songbird, via Tiny Twig Goes Out on a Limb

Kim writes about taking a leap of faith to spend four months overseas teaching English. I love this reminder that our God is not a God of fear.

how we teach kids about missions and giving.

There are many things that I want to be true of our children's ministry (Bridge Kids), and maybe some day I'll write a post about the full breadth of them. For right now, here are just two:

• I want our kids to understand missions, on a level that is relevant to them.
• I want our kids to be generous in seeing and meeting the needs of people around the world, and of people here in our community.

Of course, our methods for creating that is always changing and evolving, but there are a couple things that we've done that I think have worked well.

1. We keep it on their level.

Our kids don't give money toward a generic fund, but rather they raise money towards specific causes. In the fall, they raise money for shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child (I've written about this before) - and every year, their generosity and excitement to give blows me away. They've also raised money for gifts from the Samaritan's Purse gift catalog, including baby gifts and sports gear.

Giving to a church or an organization is too big for them to understand. (I think sometimes its too big for adults to understand, too.) But they can understand that there are children who don't have toys or toothpaste or crayons.

2. We strive to make it personal.

Rather than teaching kids about missions on a high level, we try to connect it to someone in particular. Instead, we talk about our friend Gavin, who lives in Russia with his parents so they can tell people about Jesus. They've made cards and sent videos to Gavin. They've also raised money to send with people from our church who built houses in Peru, and bought soccer balls for me to take with me to Africa.

3. We model it.

I think probably the best way to teach kids to give, is when they watch us give. The parents of our kids are already doing this, and I'm currently looking for ways to involve entire families in some of the projects we're doing. For example, this year, rather than the kids packing shoeboxes on their own, we'll have a church-wide packing party. My hope is that others can experience the joy I do when I watch kids excited to give.

sunday night inspiration.

One of the benefits of committing to write something every day for a month is that I'm forcing myself to actually finish some of the half-formed post ideas I've had sitting around for a while. Its definitely a good thing, but...

I just got home from another busy weekend in Frederick, and between that craziness and the last week's worth of posts, I don't have much left to share tonight. Instead, check out inspiration from some other people.

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Some of my favorite blogs to read on a regular basis are doing a series of posts for October:

31 Days to a Less Messy Nest :: Nesting Place
31 Days of Grace :: Chatting at the Sky
31 Days to an Inspired Table :: My First Kitchen
31 Days of Living Simply :: Remodeling This Life
31 Days of Autumn Bliss :: The Inspired Room
31 Days to More. . .With Less :: Beauty and Bedlam
31 Days to a Better Photo :: My 3 Boybarians
31 Days to Stress Free Entertaining :: Reluctant Entertainer

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I made chicken and wild rice soup using this recipe earlier this week, and it was amazing - tasted just like Panera! This is definitely one that I'll be making again.

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Becki at Infarrantly Creative has amazing vision! Check out what she created out of a vintage TV cabinet.

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Love this - bed springs turned interactive art piece. The Lettered Cottage is still one of my favorite places on the web to visit.

russian art.

A few weeks ago, my aunt told me that she had found some things at an auction that she knew I would like. She gave them to me tonight, and she's right - I love them.

They're paintings of scenes from Moscow, and they are beautiful, though my late-night pictures don't do them justice:

 

The second one, at least, looks like an original watercolor. The writing at the bottom of each is in Russian, so I tried to take pictures to send to a friend for help translating. Unfortunately, it was tough at night to get a good shot of the second, but here's the first:

I'm planning to build frames for them to match the ones I already built for the dining room.

casa: what i've learned.

Yesterday, I wrote a little bit about CASA, and specifically why I started volunteering as a child advocate. Today, I'd like to write about some of the lessons that God is teaching me through this ministry.

Before I start, though, just a disclaimer - this is by no means an exhaustive list. I've only been doing this for five months now, and I expect there is much more that God wants to teach me.

First, I am so incredibly blessed. Of course, I knew that everyone doesn't grow up in a loving family - but its one thing to know that as a theoretical concept, and quite another to come face to face with the evidence that it is true. Many times, I've talked to these kids and heard their stories, and just been overwhelmed with gratitude for the childhood that I had.

A couple months ago, after hearing a particularly heart-breaking story, I just had to call my mom to thank her for just loving me, no conditions attached. Later that day, I tweeted this:

I grew up with a mom who loves me, no strings attached. I don't remember often enough just how blessed I am.

Doing this work is helping me not to take the gifts in my life for granted. I'm much more appreciative of my parents and my family, and I'm trying to say so more often. By the same token, I also want to make sure that the kids in my life know that they are loved. I want them to be able to look back on their life, and remember actually hearing the words.

Another thing I'm realizing, in a very practical way, is that love is a choice. Sometimes, it means choosing to do the thing that you don't want to do, because love isn't accidental but intentional. I'm reminded that God loves us when we're unlovely, that he pursued us even when we wanted nothing to do with him. That experience of intentionally laying aside something I want, in favor of something that communicates love to someone else (even if they aren't quite able to receive or understand it) - it only makes me more aware and more grateful for the price that Jesus willingly paid.