Tender

I read this passage in Isaiah today and I thought of a recent experience with my dad.

Last month we took our Paige, Michael, and their little boy to visit my parents. I learned that my dad had prepared for our visit by walking his large property, clearing paths for the little two-year old. He tried to find any obstacle that could cause a fall and removed little sticks and rocks. He went before his great-grandson and made the crooked places straight.

Somehow this makes me trust that God is removing obstacles on my path, too. He is preparing the way for good things to come.

Process

Base layer of white and neutral things

Final autumn decor

I have posted a lot of pictures of this wall over the years. You may wonder why I do this. Well, this is my canvas, and one of my favorite outlets for creativity. The changes in decor may look simple and be uninteresting to some, but I’m going to take some time to explain the process of decorating shelves. While design is creative and subjective, good design is also based on concrete ratios, symmetry, and harmony.

Here are some of the design principles and tips that I use when I populate these shelves:

  • Display things that I love and nothing else.
  • Build a base layer using objects in whites or neutrals, and aim for some open space on each shelf.
  • Choose a color palette to match the season and repeat it in different ways throughout. In this display, my color palette comes from the fruit plates.
  • Allow layering and depth in the design, and avoid always placing things strictly in a row.
  • Treat each shelf as its own vignette, using objects harmonious in shape, material, or color to those found on other shelves.
  • Aim for odd numbers of objects on each shelf.
  • Distribute visual weight evenly. Visually heavy things are bulky in size or saturated in color, and they need to be separated and balanced in the display.
  • Incorporate different shapes throughout.
  • Find a way to group small knickknacks together to create a cohesive unit rather than a random smattering of objects. In this display, I placed small cross stitch pieces inside the white house-shaped shadow boxes to unify them.
  • Use pieces of various heights.
  • Sometimes it’s nice to group objects that are similar on one shelf, rather than distribute them. My upper shelves are designed like this.
  • Incorporate different materials. Natural materials are best for adding warmth and texture. For most seasons I include living plants.
  • Sometimes it’s hard to see imbalances just by looking at the room. For some reason, taking photos and studying them throughout the process helps me identify things that seem “off.”
  • “Shop” my house and nature. I remind myself that I don’t need to buy new things.
  • Enjoy the creative process, including the time it takes and the satisfaction I feel when things finally look “right.”

Danish Trolls 🧌

The missionaries like to visit these trolls on their preparation days, and Mark sends photos of them from time to time. These whimsical creations can be found throughout the world, including the United States. They’re kind of quirky and fun, and each has a name. The Danish sculpture artist who creates them is Thomas Dambo. You can do a Google search for his troll map. Richard and I saw one of his trolls in the Huntsville Botanical Gardens but oops, didn’t take a picture.

Harvest

Mark is serving his last few weeks of his mission and this post is a record that my missionary “son flowers” arrived again this year. In fact, I had to thin them by about 50% earlier this summer because the ground was so crowded. God is an abundant giver.

My first missionary sunflower showed up 8 years ago on the week that Daniel left, and each year their return has been a symbol of hope for me, a new love language expressed to me by the Lord.

Just like the surprising arrival of the sunflowers, I didn’t expect to have feelings of loss during these last weeks of being a missionary mom. I didn’t realize I will miss this burden that I can now call sweet.

Soon we will end this era of writing and sharing spiritual moments, praying for friends I will never meet from countries far from home, and so many unique blessings and experiences. It has been a good era because the Lord has been very near.

Like the sunflowers, the impact of our sons’ missions grows and multiplies with the years, bringing blessings to them and the people they loved and taught. The Lord of the Harvest is so, so good.

Feeling kind of proud of this.

I’ve finished repairing a piece of furniture, and this will go on my list of great accomplishments in life. 😉 Fellow furniture revivers, you know what I mean.

Almost reassembled, I finally thought to take a picture.

My blistered hand is healing after disassembling, cleaning, reinforcing, and reassembling an upholstered ottoman, collapsed from the weight of teenage boys in our basement. This job required two years of gathered courage and then some ingenuity. It turned out better than I hoped, and it’s all fluffy-puffy goodness for your feet now.

Guys, don’t even think about sitting on this ottoman. It’s just for feet and kids.

It took about seven months

I am tackling a book of 365 daily Shakespeare readings this year. Each day, after a brief introduction, the editor sets the reader free to interpret the text.

It’s jarring for me to be thrown into a different plot every day. I haven’t enjoyed the book, and I don’t think this is a good way to experience Shakespeare. However, sometime in July, I noticed the words were making more sense. I began to appreciate the human experience being expressed and it wasn’t such a wrestle to find it.

It took seven months. Seven!

Why do I share this? Perhaps just to say there is hope for someone who keeps trying.

Two tables

There are moments in life where I can expect to have parental joy and awe, such as weddings, births, baptisms, and other milestones. And then there are moments that surprise me, like sitting down to a meal and realizing our once little family now takes up two tables at my parents’ house.

There is room for Mark at the table where I was seated. He’ll complete his mission in late September. 🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰