Here’s how it played out. My youngest loves to play the part of any baby animal. On this particular day it was a lion, as she had just finished watching “The Lion King.” As she laid out the ground rules (which is often the case in our household!) I was given the part of momma lion and she was the baby. She explained to me that as her mom I was supposed to teach her how to catch her prey. So graciously, going along with her game, I encouraged her to enter the room very very quietly. As I watched her, she headed for a grouping of pillows on the floor – gently whispering as she approached them – “these are my prey.” As she got closer I saw one to the side and said, “No, go after that one. It’s all alone.” Immediately, upon those words leaving my lips, the Holy Spirit caught my attention, reminding me that this is how it is for us. When we try to go it alone, danger is lurking around just waiting to pounce!

With school back in session and me getting back into my routine of writing and designing (not to mention fall and winter quickly approaching) I know how easy it will be for me to cocoon up in the cozy surroundings of my four walls. I, however, know that Community is what I need to keep me moving forward, help me from falling backwards, and allow me the ability to live out life as God designed.

So with that said, coffee anyone?

This is where I am.

It reminds me a bit of a road-trip (of which I’m always up for). In front of me is a long stretch of pavement that looks as though it will disappear into the sky beyond. To my left and right are nothing but spacious fields stretching as far as the eye can see. It’s a beautiful place! It actually reminds me of my days growing up in the country where life was simple and free. There’s no one around to impress. I have no where to be and I get to choose what I want to do with my time. It’s a huge change for me. The restfulness of my surroundings is unparalleled to anywhere I’ve been in the past several years of my life. It’s peaceful and calm here. And I love that because of the work God has done in my life over the past several months – opening my eyes to the power available in Jesus – that I’ve been able to get here.

Recently as I sat in this wide-open space, I found myself downhearted. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the “why” though. After all, this was a place with such freedom and rest, how and why was I struggling with sadness. As I sat amidst the chaos of a huge house project I had undertaken I broke down. As I sat there in the mess of the torn-up room surrounded by the clutter of my kids’s toys, books, clothes, crayons, markers, etc. sifting through what was needed and what wasn’t, I heard His spirit gently say to me, “What you’re doing to this house, I’ve done to you.”

I didn’t quite get it that day. My sadness, after all, was consuming. I, like a child, was still too focused on all I didn’t have, as opposed to what I did have. My eyes were unable to see, He had freed up space to make room for life! The life He plans to bring forth. Today, however, I’m getting what I believe is a glimpse of what He was communicating. After 3 weeks of nothing but de-cluttering, decorating, and progressively taking control of our house I’m realizing how much easier it is to run our home. The space and order we now have truly breathes life into our surroundings! Taking cues from this, I can see that God is up to something and can say with a grateful heart that I am thankful for this place of rest.

He is good. So so good!

Needless to say, I haven’t been on here. It’s just too much work for me to try to keep up with them and this blog (and well, they do come first!). I have been able to do a little decorating though, so this has been a nice change for me. After two years (almost three…where does time go?) I’ve finally committed to decorating both of the girls’ rooms (guess I’ve accepted we’re staying here). I’m only part way through my youngest daughter’s room (pictures coming soon hopefully) but it has been fun seeing the transformation. It’s really amazing what some paint and new decor can do to makeover a little girls room! I think it is playing a huge role, too, in helping me keep my new years resolution to take more pride in my home. There’s just something about a decorated room that makes me WANT to keep it clean. The undecorated ones just suffer. Guess this means it is time for me to finish the whole house! I wonder how that fits into my husband and I’s plans to follow through with Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University? Ha! That’s a whole ‘nother blog! But, truly, it does make a difference.

Lots more going on here, but I’ll spread it out so as to not bore you with happenings of our household and my life. Til next time! Hope you are having a great day!

Please take a moment and watch the youtube video of the song by Matt Redman titled, “Never Once.” Listen carefully to the words and know, wherever you are today, God is fighting for you and you, too, can stand on the mountaintop!

I, unfortunately, forgot to use my camera until the very end of the evening. But, I was able to capture the smiling faces of 4 of my dear friends with their crafts in-hand. Look how amazing all of their flowers turned out! (I’m really loving the white ones and am thinking I’ll be making several of these soon!)

A special thank-you goes out to Jamie and Lindsay! I couldn’t have pulled this together without your help. Thank you ladies! I have a feeling, I’ll be employing you both for the next one as the felt flowers were a HUGE success!!

Next gathering is Thursday December 8! Mark your calendars and lets build our group of gutsy women!

This was the question posed one morning to my womens study group upon mentioning the fact that when watching these movies, I often catch a lot of Biblical undertones.  As I sat and listened to each woman answer this question, I was struck by the depth with which each were able to relate to these fictitious characters. I realized the undertones weren’t undertones. And that in fact, the good and evil seen in all of these movies were a part of the real-life struggles women endure today. Follow me here.

Some related to Rapunzel. They had been locked-up for years before finding freedom from their “tower.” Once freedom was discovered they struggled with enjoying the “wide-open-spaces,” fluctuating from feelings of this being the best thing in the world to living a life full of shame and guilt. Others, related to Snow White. These women had been “poisoned,” by someone in their life, causing their hearts to fall asleep and disabling them from being able to live life as it was actually intended. For some Ariel was the chosen Princess. In these stories the women grew up in homes where one or both parents, desiring desperately to keep their child from harms way, wind up closing the door to knowing their daughter thus pushing her away in the end.

For me, Princess Tiana was who I related to. An ordinary, common girl with a dream. A very big dream!

Here we see a little girl, who is told early on from her father, that if she worked hard her dreams would come true. As Tiana grows into a young woman, we see her doing exactly what her daddy had always told her to do. She worked very hard desiring to make something more of her life. She worked from sun-up to sun-down and saved every last penny to buy her restaurant in an attempt to change her history. Because of her work-ethic, Tiana never had time for relationships in her schedule. This worried her momma who was concerned Tiana’s dream would push out the possibility of love. In Tiana’s mind, however, there would always be time for love…after she got her dream!

Then it happens. Tiana accumulates enough money to purchase the building for her restaurant. All of her hard work had paid off, so it seemed. Just as she was rejoicing and envisioning what her new life would look like, everything changes. She, in a blink of an eye, was outbid by another with a little more class and a little more money leaving her right where she was. She was devastated. Then, as if this wasn’t enough, she was convinced by Prince Naveen–a wealthy, spoiled prince, who had been turned into a frog because of his own selfish desires for more–to kiss him, in an attempt to break the evil spell cast over him. Before she knows it she, too, is transformed into a slimy, green, web-footed, amphibian. Her life, from her perspective, was over.

Little did she know it was just the beginning.

As she travels through the valleys of her circumstances, no longer able to pursue her dreams she lets go of them and finds something else instead…true love. In the end, as in any good Disney film, she and the Prince marry. This breaks the evil spell, and they return back to their original form as humans. In one moment, Tiana went from being a poor commoner who had to work hard for everything to a Royal Princess with everything all because of love.

I don’t know if words can describe the depth at which this story resonates with my life. But I will try.

Since I was a child, I have dreamed. My dreams have gone from desiring to be a singer, to running my own business, to being the best mother one can be. For that matter, I’ve written a book over what I believe God has shown me are some of the key principals to making our dreams come true. I believe to my core that dreams don’t just come true but that we have to work for them. Can you see why I relate to Tiana?

For years, I have worked hard to make something of my life. Never feeling adequate in who I was, I always sought to be someone more. Every dream I’ve ever gone after has been characterized by a stubborn state-of-mind. The mind-set that says, “If you say I can’t do it, I’ll show you otherwise.” I’m slightly stubborn. While this mindset did get me places and did allow me to see some of my dreams come to fruition, I was missing a big piece to the puzzle. I was missing the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t until undergoing my own transformation, and letting go of the dreams that I, too, began to awaken to love – His love. In fact, I learned that I was approaching my walk with Him in the same way I approached everything in life–if I worked hard and did things just right He would be pleased with me. This mindset set me up for perfect failure. I was missing the point of the Gospel. I was trying to live perfectly and had not yet grasped the fact that I couldn’t do it perfectly – no matter how hard I tried.

Once this concept took root in my heart and allowed me “see” the invitation held in the Gospel of Christ, I found myself in a strange place. I found the “I’m not adequate” lie no longer having an effect on me. The spell had been broken. I no longer needed to strive. This place was so foreign to me and yet the amount of freedom here is beyond words. I understood, once and for all, that His blood had done the work for me. This awakening of my heart, just like Tiana’s, has allowed me to find and know true love and it has transformed my mentality drastically. Without this piece of my life in tact, I would have continued pursuing my dreams all in an attempt to prove myself. Now, however, I can chase my dreams authentically, being fully who He created me to be with no need to prove anything.

True love saved me!

Do you know Jesus?

You back? Okay, so, now that you are up-to-date on who we are and what we are about, I want to take this opportunity to invite you to our first ever monthly get-together. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it! Seriously, you are not going to want to miss out on this fun night. We are going to be making a variety of projects, all of which can either be taken and enjoyed by you or given as gifts to teachers, neighbors, friends etc. All you have to do is show up! Who can argue with that? Are you ready to have some fun? I hope so, cause I am!

We will be making Christmas coasters, glass marble magnets, and fabric flower pins. The plan is to start at 7 and finish up around 9ish. All supplies will be provided for you, so you need only to show up! Snacks, coffee and cola will be available as well! I am asking that each participant pitch in $10 to help cover the cost of materials. Whatever money is not used on supplies will be donated to Mercy Ministries!

Are you in? Yeah!! Send me a message on Facebook or through this site and I’ll let you know where to show up next Thursday, November 10!

Share this page on facebook, twitter, wherever, and lets fill the room with all the Gutsy girls in our lives (and then please let me know so I can plan accordingly

But then something happened–something quite unexpected. God transformed my heart.

I can hear you asking right now, “Rana, what the heck does that have to do with decorating?” Well, surprisingly for me, everything. You see, my whole life has been characterized with the need for perfection. Never feeling I was good enough in a lot of things, likely aided in this twisted mind-set. I needed to prove myself. I needed to show I was able to do that which others never believed I could do. My tendency to be this way spilled over into everything; my parenting, my religion, my role as a wife, designer, and even my decorating.

Today if you were to step foot into my house you would find the rooms that I have decorated are very modern. Clean lines and dark woods make up my surroundings. Blacks, grays, and deep colors define my spaces. The space, to invited guests, appears perfect. Which is exactly what I wanted, as in my minds-eye this only further stated, “I’ve got it all together!”

Oh how this is the furthest thing from the truth! In all actuality people, I’m a mess! And, much to my dismay, I can’t be perfect. I guess the shoes in front of my door-way, the clothes at the bottom of my staircase, the dirty dishes still sitting on my counter-top and the dust collecting beneath my couch reveal the real me. The uninvited guest would quickly know I don’t have it all together! Sadly, I’m just a wanna-be. I want to have it all together. I want to be perfect. And quite honestly, it grieves me to know that I can’t, but this is the truth.

Funny thing is this: God never expected perfection from me and for that matter knew I was incapable of such a life. I remember thinking one day, “Why would I expect this of myself, when the whole reason God sent Jesus to the cross was because He knew I was incapable of being perfect?” This is the essence of the Gospel, and in my desire to “have it all together” I was throwing the cross, and what it did for me, out the window and bearing the unbelievable weight of perfectionism on my shoulders. I realized here, that I hadn’t yet grasped what the cross did for me. It is so much bigger and full of grace than I can comprehend.

So, what’s a girl to do with her original decorating plans when this message of grace finally reaches her soul? Well, let her hair down, have a little fun, and start shopping of course! Strangely, and yet perfectly, I found myself combing through Nashville’s vintage and thrift stores! The result? Take a look for yourself.

The interesting piece about all of this change is the realization that I connect so much more with these vintage finds. If one were to see them up close, they’d notice the wear and tear on each piece, not to mention the distressed marks. They’re weathered and bruised with some dings and scratches from the life they’ve lived. But, because someone with a vision saw what they could be, they have been restored and are simply beautiful and full of character!

Do you believe God has a vision for your life?

I paused, a loooong pause.

As I sought an answer to my question I was reminded simply that I am His daughter and beyond that nothing else mattered.

This was hard for me. Surely there was more. Wasn’t there? After all, my whole life had been performance-based. It’s just my make-up, isn’t it? How do I accept that I am enough to just be the small-town, creative girl with a big smile, loud laugh, and a heart the size of Texas. Why is it so hard to be fully satisfied in this and this alone?

As I pondered this concept I was reminded that Jesus didn’t go to the cross for us so that we could find our identities apart from Him. He went so that we might know that we are quite enough because He made us, formed us, and because we are His children. He delights in us – He delights in me – simply because we are a product of Him, His time, His creation, His workmanship, His love.

I consider my own children and question – do they have to attain anything in life for me to be proud of them? For me to love them? For me to boast about them? For me to call them my own? The answer is NO! I love my children simply because they are my children. Nothing they do or don’t do will ever change that.

When I consider this from my own perspective as a parent, I’m able to begin to understand that I don’t have to do anything to be someone. After all, in the eyes of my Father, I am a royal, creative princess, graced with a big smile, and a heart after His. It’s pretty simple. Why do I (why do we) make it so hard?

What about you? Where is your identity? Is this idea difficult to embrace? Why?