A Fresh Start

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:"

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Hello there friends!

I hope that you are enjoying Spring as much as I am this year! It's been a time for many events like Junior prom, birthday parties, Eighth grade banquet, weddings, galas, as well as sweet time at home with a cup of coffee, a good book, cooking dinner and yes, the usual tons of laundry and dust bunnies just waiting for the "spring cleaning frenzy." To everything there is a season. And this season, I continue my theme of the year to "live intentionally and boldly in 2017."

I wanted to share another updated room from our renovation last year.... and this little room might just be my favorite in the house! It could be called the Living Room or Keeping Room or just an extension of the kitchen. Each season it is easy to change out the pillows, add some flowers or seasonal decor and even a new piece of furniture or picture here and there. This spring I gave it a "fresh start" with pink tulips on my glass top coffee table and added my bunnies for Easter (but they got to stay because I love white decor and bunnies just say "spring"). I pulled my wooden tray from the kitchen to add some texture to the glass top table. And borrowed a pillow from my daughter's room to bring in spring flowers to the couch. Most days the pillows end up on the floor, either from our furry friends or someone wanting a place to relax.

Growing and "blooming where you are planted" have certainly been firmly rooted in my heart this season! As I began changing around the bookshelf, I realized that each book, each piece, each message like  "Hope is an anchor for the soul." or"Be your own kind of Beautiful"...framed art with painted waves coming into the shore, fresh  potted hycinths (from Trader Joes) that smell wonderful  and a whole bottom shelf (not shown) of books that had been my saving grace in different seasons of life...all had meaning. It was cathartic to think of God's grace in rearranging this bookshelf, thus, rearranging my life. If there's one thing constant and steady...God never changes. Life certainly does. Seasons change. Circumstances do. People do. And in this very season, I am thankful for the goodness of God that has brought me closer to Him in and through winter. Sometimes it feels as if a season will never change and we long for sunny days and flowers, out of the cold, dark nights. At those times, I was always reassured with this verse..

 "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, 

and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord."

 Psalm 27:14 

And winter turned to spring. 

So beautifully.

Life has been rearranged by God's hand for this season.

For such a time as this.

What joy Spring has brought to this room and to my soul.

Here is the  before spring/winter look. Notice the darker neutrals, wood, pine cones and that cozy fur pillow. It really is inexpensive to make a room look and feel different for each season of the year. I shop my own house. I love getting ideas from magazines, pinterest, instagram and actual stores. 

This week I happened upon a new store in our area called Arhaus. I was dropping Luke off at the movies and happened to see it... oh wow you have to go or check out their living room furniture selection. 

Have you heard of it? I loved every piece in the store! And the displays were definitely my style of mixing old and new, rustic and modern and natural elements.  All their furniture is handcrafted to size, beautiful fabrics, rugs, accessories, lighting, bedding...I cannot wait to go back!

Decorating with books and candles are throughout our home..Let their be Light!!! 

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  

Psalm 119:105

Adding new tables or bringing one in from another room is another way to change up the room every season...I have wanted to add a white garden stool to this little corner for a while. I found it as the spring decor came out in the stores.  A simple wired bottle with a branch of green leaves from the yard brought life to the room! I also added a matching throw blanket for some extra color in the chair. I have a matching chair in the den and they will someday be put back together..ahh, the joys of furnishing a home. We have been in this house almost two years and I just have not quite settled on how to place the furniture and where. Little by little we are getting there. That's such a huge praise!

It's really not so much the furnishings as it is the family and friends who dwell here. That to me is a home. I treasure my children's baby portraits hanging in this room. I look at them and pray over their lives every morning, as I sit on the couch, with a cup of coffee, and meet with the Lord. Prayer is perhaps where my heart lives these days, as they are both teens now and growing so quickly!  I am able to let go and pull in, a little more each day. Planting seeds of God's word, His truth mixed in with our latest favorite song or story. They are His and He has great plans for their future. 

 "So my word that comes from my mouth will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do." 

Isaiah 55:11

This little metal was one of the, not so many lately, DIY projects I did, to copy a bench I loved at Target. It was a sad little thing when I found it but with some metallic gold spray paint and linen material I thought it turned out perfect! I do plan to add more padding to the cushion and recover at some point.  This was basically a functional fix because I put my purse and briefcase here every afternoon.  Here again is a great place to change out pillows for each season, spring butterflies and burlap flowers...oh and RELAX (my favorite:))

And here is the living room (minus the cute rug we moved downstairs for now).  What about you? Have you added any spring touches lately to home and heart? There's always room for growth and change. Thank the Lord for that promise. 

"With God, all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

"Let all that you do be done in love."

1 Corinthians 16:18

Happy Spring!

Blessings,

Suzanne