UPCYCLE A CANVAS PAINTING...

I have to admit that our bedroom is probably the last place I think about, as far as decor.  But after we got a new bathroom floor, I promptly moved on to our adjoining bedroom to declutter and do a little sprucing up!  Feng shui says your bedroom should be a place of calm (without a bunch of junk in it).  I believe that in theory!  But never really practiced it.  It became a dumping ground for old decor.  I am going for a simpler look and life, so I removed a chair, some throw pillows laying around and lots of knick-knacks.  Then there was this really large, faded picture on the mantle.  I decided to see what I could do to update it.

 I decided to make it into a burlap sign.  I popped the canvas out of the frame and stapled a piece of burlap onto it.  Then I found a saying I liked.  I had to read a few things on Pinterest since it had been so long since I painted letters on burlap, but I ended up printing the letters off from a large font on the computer, then just placing them underneath the burlap where I could see them slightly.  Then just tried to paint with a steady hand.  It's not perfect, but it's something fresh for our bedroom!

AN EVENING OF ENCOURAGEMENT...

Several years ago I read Jen Hatmaker's book, 7, when some of my family did an experiment using principles from the book.  Jen is very thought provoking and funny.  A night out that I thought might just be a night of laughter was filled with really rich sharing and encouragement from her:

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NASB)

Or

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)

It's funny how we can get caught up in words.  When Jen first started talking about this scripture, I was thinking in my head "He has not given us the spirit of timidity." I guess that's the version I grew up with!  But she never used the word timidity.  She used the word FEAR as in other versions.  

Sometimes I get hung up on vocabulary.  Can't get past it.  My brain starts thinking about what that one word really means, etc., and then I miss the whole point of the passage.  I think I was hung up on TIMIDITY.   Do you ever do that?

But Jen really pounded down the point of not letting FEAR cripple us.  We should not live in fear.  Whatever our ailment, whatever is wrong in our relationships, our job, our finances, our country, our life, we don't have to live in fear!  She shared some things that happened in her family in a short time span - teenager troubles, her own health problem, her brother and mother with issues and she admitted she was angry.  Here she was - she works for God! Everything precious to her that she had protected seemed to be getting attacked.  She was not exempt from problems. She was fearful.  Then she remembered, God is good.  She confided in her friends.  She was thankful.  I love it that she also shared this - remembering.  How did she remember?  She was filling her mind with good things, scripture, praise to God in the good times. (Col. 3:2) She did not give in to FEAR but tried to rely on God's power, love, and discipline.  She is now able to share this story to others and remind us not to FEAR.

  We do not have to live in fear!  WE LIVE.

Thankful to share this evening with my daughter and my new daughter!  Thankful my alma mater provides encouragement in this way.

DECLUTTERING IS MY MIDDLE NAME...

This is the year it is going to happen!  No big projects that I know of happening in my life or ministry and so I am declaring that nothing will stop me this year!  I've already gotten a good start in the laundry room and upstairs linen closet so you get to see my handiwork!  I've made two trips so far to donate.  Win-win!  Every time we get bad weather it's good for me because it makes me stay home for extended periods of time to get these jobs done.

One way I am staying motivated is to watch a youtube video on decluttering (there are many) right before I get to work.  Do you have any tricks to get psyched up for chores you need to do?

 All cleaned up

Before and After

MORE THAN I EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEWER LINES...

We've had some issues with clogged toilets and backup into our bathtub the last few months.  The Hubs worked on it some and was finally tired of it  - so we called Roto-Rooter.  They couldn't find any problems but told us we needed to put in a sewer cleanout  in the yard...

So we had thought we had just had some minor clog that had been resolved, but the week of Christmas it all started again.  I joined Angie's List and found a reputable plumber who turned out to be great. Their business name - Plumb Crazy!  They were great - punctual and hardworking!  Four or five trips to the house later, it was discovered via camera that an addition onto our house (before we owned it) had been placed over the sewer cleanout, which is a big no-no.  I think the addition was in the 1990s so apparently it was fine for a long time, but no more!

We ended up with this in our master bathroom:

This is another break in the line in the yard that was discovered

BUT the best news in this whole mess is that I was able to get a new bathroom floor!  We had actually given this bathroom a facelift in 2015 by painting the woodwork, the walls, and the ceiling, and also getting a frameless shower door.  The only thing we did not do was put in a new floor or light fixtures.  So I was thrilled to get a new floor!  

Isn't she lovely?

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES...

We just finished up all of our Christmas on January 1!  How about you?  Lots of family is a blessing, and sometimes a challenge to see when you can all get together.  We did some ordinary things and some not-so-ordinary things for the holidays:

TIME WITH THE KIDS

 Christmas breakfast, church, and presents

 A night in Bricktown at Legacy Grill and Mini-golf

"OLYMPIC CHRISTMAS" FAMILY PARTY AT MY AUNT'S GYM

My cousin and me partnering on this one - I'm underneath!

HOMEMADE GIFTS WITH THE HUB'S FAMILY

Special t-shirts, ornaments, reindeer chow and wood blocks

I made these - they said joy on the back, 

then I also made a few others with sticker words on them.

 Now it's time to get on with the new year!