Moses said to the Lord, Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
Exodus 4:10-13 NIV
I love decorating- that will come as no surprise to you if you read this blog! It’s not even that I just love decorating my own home as much as I love seeing pictures and visiting other people’s homes. I love looking at all the colors, seeing all the styles, being surprised by the ingenuity of others with a DIY project or upcycling something into a different item that I would have never thought of.
I have my own style for my house that I call something like American heritage meets modern style/ meets vintage- with a touch of not so much farmhouse as much as a country air. Sounds specific doesn’t? What this all boils down to is that we live in an area where we have more horses and goats for neighbors than we do people, and I want my house to reflect the pastoral setting. I also love vintage so I want to embrace that in my decor but also include a few modern touches to keep it up to date. I want my home to feel collected but not too eclectic. I am in many homes and see beautiful eclectic styles, perfectly done neutrals, and refreshing minimalism.
I see each of these and my heart beats a little faster and I wish I could be more like them in my tastes. I would love to have the classiness of a totally neutral home, I would love to feel that openness that comes with a hardcore Marie Kondo Minimalistic styled home, but alas this isn’t really me. My home is a reflection of me. I like classy, but I’m not Grace Kelly. I don’t like clutter but hard core minimalism scares me. What I am is a mix. I like neutrals with spots of color to bring everything to life. I like having a tidy house while still knowing everything I need when inspiration hits for a craft project is at my fingertips. I like this. This is me. This is how God made me.
God makes each of us unique, one of a kind creations. While we definitely need to surrender to Him, (a never ending struggle), to polish and shape us we need to remember that He is polishing and shaping us. He is not remaking us. How much time do we waste wishing we were different? We wish we looked different, had a different life and different tastes. How much of our lives and potential to we spend fighting God on what he has given us rather than asking how we can use our uniqueness to honor Him?
Remember Moses? He couldn’t speak well, therefore God couldn’t possibly use him to lead a nation- could He? Instead of God using Moses’s studder to bring even more glory to God, Moses ended up begging God to use someone else, which God ultimately did. What blessing did Moses forfeit by not doing as God asked? What was robbed not just from Moses but from the Israelite people because of this unwillingness on Moses’s part?
The next time you sigh about a part of yourself not being like you wish, think whether this is truly something that needs to be improved, or whether it is in the neutral category. If it’s not a bad thing, then ask God to show you to what purpose He would like you to use this specific thing. The answer may shock you.
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
Luke 24:39
It is the day after Halloween, you thought you were done hearing about ghosts and all manner of spookiness until next year didn’t you? Well not quite. Halloween in our current culture has become a rather macabre, month long celebration of all things evil- ghosts, demons, zombies, and witches, etc… I’m not against the dressing up and trick or treating for kids, but I think as Christians we tend to pay little attention to how we participate in a day that is dedicated to demonic activity. November first used to be All Saints Day, a day to remember and honor the saints. It was believed that on the night before this day, the lines between the living and dead became blurred and the dead and ghosts could roam about, so people would dress up in costumes to trick anything they may be looking for them. Halloween started thus and has continued to gradually gravitate toward the occult over the years.
Regardless of where you stand on Halloween, or how much thought you give, or don’t give to the rather evil roots of the day there is another spooky subject that I would like to pose for food for thought- what about the ghosts and demons?
I have been in church all my life and have never heard a sermon that took a deep look into the demonic world and how it does, or doesn’t interact with our lives. We read in the Bible that there were many instances of demonic activity, of demons interacting with and causing interference on earth but as a church today we tend to brush off any thoughts of a dark spiritual world interacting with our day to day lives, beyond the point of the devil planting seeds of doubt in our minds.
And then there are ghosts. I should make the distinction that when I speak of demons I mean fallen angels and beings that are their own, and who currently reside in Hell, unless of course they are allowed to wander the earth and interact with us more than we realize. When I speak of Ghosts I mean people who have died, reappearing here on earth. Let me be clear- I believe absent from the body present with the Lord; but what about unbelievers? Yes they go to hell, but are they there now? Or will it be after the resurrection? Or are they allowed out, on special assignment as it were?
We know in the Old Testament Saul visited a medium and called Samuel down from heaven to give him a prophetic word. Samuel was not happy to have been disturbed. Also in the New Testament Jesus appears to the disciples and they are scared thinking he was a ghost. And what does Jesus say? Does he say silly disciples, ghosts aren’t real? No, He doesn’t. He says, touch me, feel me; ghosts don’t have flesh and bones.
In our science based world where things are only believed if they can be tested and reproduced on demand we don’t allow much room for the spiritual realm. The Bible clearly does. We like to think of Angels so why don’t we allow for demons? I bet we all have at least one acquaintance that could tell us a “weird” story that can’t be explained away, something whether good or bad that seems to go against our tidy scientific resolutions. What if instead of ignoring this side of reality we used it as a way to strengthen our belief that while there are many forces at play in both the seen and unseen world, our God is still supreme, and greater than all the rest combined?
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I hate it when I pick up a book that I think I’m reading for pure edification and end up coming away with a lot to think about and highly convicted. I had read parts of this book in high school, I remembered it being thought provoking and it had been on my reading list for a while.
Randy hits a lot of different points in this book; all of them good, and most not talked about nearly enough in the Christian community. He covers all the things; how money is talked about more than nearly any other topic in the Bible, how our thinking about money in today’s day and age is flawed, often even in our churches, the Bible’s views on debt, and how we should use our money to help others.
I would hesitate to describe myself as materialistic. I certainly don’t want to think that money is one of the most important things to me. But I do place a lot of feelings of security in money. Money is a buffer between me and the unexpected large medical bill. Money is the freedom to do things- anything. And money secures a roof over my head, and that in turn brings me feelings of safety and comfort. Towards the end of the book Randy makes a statement about money that I found terribly convicting. He said that in our American culture we are taught to save, to build a safety net with our money, and once a lot of us start with this we keep going. He says that while that is wise, where is the point that we stop relying on God to provide for our needs, and instead rely on our safety net that we have built. I know this is something I have done, and while I do still think that it is wise that we have an emergency fund, I also think that we really do need to ponder and pray over where our security lies.
An Overarching point that Randy makes throughout the book is that there is soo much need in this world. And largely as Americans, even those living in what we call poverty, we have so much. Did God bless us with all this just for us to stay very comfortable? Randy makes the case that perhaps we have been blessed largely so that we can bless others just as much. He states several times that he believes that we should pick a certain amount of money to live on, it needn’t be super small but neither should it be a lavish amount, but rather somewhere in between, and then commit to live at that amount from then on. We should still work to maximize our incomes and make as much money as we have the skill to do so, but all money over that set amount should go to charities, non profits, and our churches. Randy uses his own life as an example and it is amazing to see how God has blessed and provided. I don’t know how I feel about this. I can certainly appreciate Randy’s view, but it does seem a little extreme. However much of Christianity has been seen as extreme throughout the history of the Church and I therefore believe that we should deeply ponder what our relationship is with money, and how it is impacting our relationship with God.
I think this is valuable reading for any Christian definitely, but also for anyone who wants to take a challenging look at their relationship with money. Do we have a healthy perspective on money and material things? How much time do we spend thinking about money and the things and own and want to own versus other much more important things- like Eternity? At the end of our lives are we going to wish that we had held onto more of our money, or that we had used it to bless others and bring glory to God every time we had the chance?
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:7
I will never forget the lesson my grandfather taught me one sunny Friday afternoon in late summer, when I was fourteen. He and I were heading to staples- joy. He had to pick up something boring, like printer ink. We pulled into a parking spot by the front door- right next to a big white truck in the spot to the left of us. My 82 year old grandfather slowly opened up his car door and proceeded to step out while I climbed out of my seat.
As we stood up we heard a voice from the white truck, “Hey buddy,” said none too nicely. We both turned and my grandfather asked the guy in the truck if he could help him. The guy in the truck proceeded to chew my elderly grandfather out for banging his car door against his truck. Neither my grandfather or I had been aware that my grandfather’s car door had touched the truck, certainly not aware of any banging going on. The guy in the truck told my grandfather how he worked hard for what he had, and how dare my grandfather just bang the door of his truck.
I watched open mouthed- I had hardly ever seen someone chew my grandfather out and the only person who got away with chewing him out was my grandmother. I couldn’t believe someone was talking this way to my elderly, depression era grandfather who, let me tell you, knew the value of working hard to own nice things. Everything my grandparents owned was kept in immaculate condition. I was a little scared of what was going to happen to this guy when my grandfather opened his mouth. When the guy finally gave my grandfather a chance to speak I was surprised to hear my grandfather apologize, saying he didn’t realize he had banged the other guy’s door, he hadn’t meant to and would the guy like him to move. The guy settled down and told my grandfather he would move his truck. We went into the store, me fuming to myself about how my grandfather had just been treated, and when we came back out the guy was gone.
We got into the car to drive away, I mentioned something about the guy in the truck and I’ll never forget what my grandfather said. “You know, you just have to feel sorry for someone like that. What must be going on in his life to make him go off like that.” My grandfather shook his head, “He must really have a lot going on.” That thought hadn’t crossed my mind, I had been too busy being indignant.
My grandfather modeled such grace and compassion that day, the lesson he taught me has stuck with me all these years. We don’t know what other people are going through, we can’t control how they will react to different situations, but we can control how we react to each situation. We can set a good model for others- we can take a poor situation and turn it into a teaching moment- even if the only ones we are teaching are ourselves. We can try to be like Christ, which is the best we can ever do.
Vignettes are the secret to up leveling your decor! Learning how to create a beautiful vignette will take your decor from looking like a bunch of things plopped down on a tray to a curated collection, purposefully put together. They can also be a great way to add seasonal elements to your decor, for more on adding seasonal elements to your vignette check out my post:
A Vignette is a collection of items, or furniture, that are styled together. That’s it in a nutshell but let’s dive a little deeper! You will typically use a vignette to gather items that you want to display together, styled in a way that makes sense and is pleasing to the eye, and one that tells a story. As I mentioned above a vignette can be as simple as hand soap and lotion placed on a dish, a collection of cutting boards, an herb plant, a pretty container holding your favorite kitchen utensils, and a lemon or lime stuck in for a pop of color. A vignette can also be as large as a floor lamp, a chair, and a stack of books on the floor; a vignette such as this tells the story of a lazy Saturday morning spent reading, or cozy evenings with your favorite books. There is so much room for variation in a vignette, and they are the perfect time to have fun and express your individual style!
Where to do a Vignette?
The great thing about vignettes is they work almost anywhere! I love to use a vignette to corral odds and ends in my kitchen example: I use a tray to hold a decorative hot plate that I use all the time, my pour over coffee maker, my basil plant that I haven’t yet killed, a utensil holder, my salt and pepper shaker, and other odds and ends.
Other places that are ideal for vignettes are: Mantels, end tables, coffee tables, dressers, shelving, countertops and anywhere in between!
Where to Start When it Comes to Creating a Vignette?
I like books and therefore I like to think of my vignettes as a story. The height of different objects acts as the emotional ups and downs that a good book will take you on, the varying textures in a vignette are the different colorful characters. Just like the setting in a book might be strongly textured and central to the books plot you may have a tray, box or bowl that is your vignette’s foundation, or you may not have your items on a tray and instead have the grouped together using colors to pull your vignette together just as many books have strong characters that pull the plot together.
The other thing you want to make sure you are doing in a vignette is layering! Simple vignettes are great but sometimes, (like on a coffee table), there are items that are necessary to the functionality of the room. For example; you might have a large book with a vase, candle and small sculptural object on top of it. Then you have 2 stacks of smaller books next to it, making the shape of a large rectangle. That’s cute! But what about the remote for the tv? And where did you put those matches to light the candle? Save yourself the trouble and replace one stack of the smaller books with a tray that will hold a small box of matches and the remote- your husband will be happy and you’ll use your candle more!
Or maybe you just have more to display! If you love art and have lots of it to display you might start with a large painting on your mantle, then by layering smaller pieces of art in front of it, you’ll gain a more collected look.
What are the Rules for Creating a Vignette?
There really are no rules when it comes to creating a vignette, but I know that isn’t helpful so here are a few things to keep in mind:
Pick an odd number of items: Usually my small vignettes end up with 5 or 7 items. You can go with more or pair down to 3, but generally the smaller the items the more you can get away with. Our minds like to group things together, and are always looking for shapes that it can group together. One of the most pleasing shapes for our mind to spot in a group is a triangle. For this reason you will typically want to include at least 3 items, and generally always an odd number of items. However, in case you can over analyze the situation as I have been known to do, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have 8 items- if the items read to your minds eye as more like 7 items. Example: If you have a stack of 2 books of the same size your mind will see this as 1 item, not 2 items. Create a little tension. My natural tendency is to make everything absolutely perfect and lined up, but when it comes to styling it’s often better for something to look slightly lived in. You want your eye to travel through the peaks and valleys of your vignette and then slowly be led off to the other decor in the room. Making things too perfect will keep your eye recirculating on your vignette and not let it wander to take in the rest of your beautiful room! Vary the heights of the objects in your vignette. Take your viewer on a tour of your vignette- and make it an interesting one! Vary textures! If you add only things that are smooth, shiny, or rough, it will be like reading a magazine in black and white. Companies add color to their magazines to grab your attention, and that is what adding texture will do for your vignette! Add personality! Books, decor items, pictures, coasters- these are all great but also toss in something unexpected. Like any decor you want to add just a little bit of visual tension to your decor- think plot twists in a book! So here is the place to drop in any odd keepsake you’ve been wanting to display but haven’t known where or how to!
On what should you display your vignette?
Just when you thought you couldn’t have anymore fun with a vignette the options once again opened up! A tray is probably the most common way to showcase a vignette, but a wooden box, a large bowl, a round slice of wood, a blanket, a mirror, a mantel, or a large book are all possibilities. A small end table or accent table will automatically act as a tray for grouping items. Get creative! What do you have around your house that you are under utilizing? Use that thing!
All Done?
It can be hard to know when to stop when it comes to vignettes! Sometimes analyzing all the details and tweaking so many things, so many times it can start to feel like nothing is working. When this happens it’s time to stop, and walk away for a while. Come back several hours later or the next day and take another look, oftentimes you will think it looks great, and if not the answer will most likely be much clearer! Walking away for a bit will save you so much time and frustration so don’t hesitate to try it!
