November 28, 2012

Laundry-Bath Remodel

Taking a break from my book posts. :-)

Over the last couple weeks here we've done what may be our last remodeling project in this house.  We did an over-haul of the half-bath/laundry room on the first floor. 
This room hasn't been touched since I was very pregnant with J - and she'll be 15 next week.  When we moved here it was a full bath with a tub and in a loving gesture from my husband to my very largely pregnant self - Steve and my Dad ripped the bathroom apart and put my washer/dryer on the first floor.  Yay!
Now it was in desperate need of some updating and beautification.
We opted to hire a friend to tile the floor for us - VERY smart move!  Mike was able to do the floor in 2 days where it'd probably have taken Steve & I at least a week.  It's beautiful and I love the way it looks.
The walls are painted a soft cocoa-gold color called "Renoir Bisque" and the trim is white.  We replaced the vanity & all the accessories and Steve installed 2 new light fixtures as well.  The accents are a brushed nickel that is really sharp I think.



I think it's very pretty and I'm very thankful to have it finished!


November 20, 2012

Lines of Truth (6)



A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (purchase here)




Chapter 6   Help

Psalm 124  (New International Version) 

 A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say—
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when men attacked us,
when their anger flared against us,
    they would have swallowed us alive;
the flood would have engulfed us,
    the torrent would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.
Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    out of the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.


p. 67  God is on our side, God is our help

p. 69  God's help is not a private experience, it is a corporate reality - not an exception among isolated strangers, but the norm among the people of God.

p. 70  Don't hesitate to ask hard questions of teh scriptures - doubts & questions must be asked & wrestled with in the light of disbelief & be overcome by the truth of God so we can believe solidly in the truth of God's word always.  The Psalms show us 'warts & all religion", not just the pretty surface stuff.

p. 74  "In the details of the conflict, the majestic greatness of God becomes revealed in the minuteness of a personal history.  Faith develops out of the most difficult aspects of our existence, not the easiest."

p. 75  "We are traveling in the light, toward God who is rich in mercy and strong to save.  It is Christ, not culture, that defines our lives.  It is the help we experience, not the hazards we risk, that shape our days."


November 8, 2012

Lines of Truth (5)





Chapter 5 - Service            
Psalm 123
To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
 
Behold, as the eyes of servants

    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he has mercy upon us. 
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.




p. 57  "A psalm is not a lecture; it is a song. In a psalm we have the observable evidence of what happens when a person of faith goes about the business of believing and loving and following God."

p. 60  We must look up to God to find ourselves in the proper position, the posture of servitude.  This is the beginning - we must realize our position in relation to the Creator of everything.  He is above.  Second comes our expectation in faith - that God means to transform us for our good.  He is the master potter at work on the clay that is our lives - until He has finally shaped a redeemed life - a vessel fit for His kingdom.


p. 63  There is an urgency to serve the Master instead of being enslaved by the things of this world.

p 64  We must learn to use our freedom appropriately - under the lordship of our merciful God.  A servant of Christ is the freest person on the planet.