Design Blog

I've (Elizabeth) started my own design blog! I couldn't stand the tension of wanting to blog about designing our new home and talking about our lives on this blog... so I decided the best thing to do would be to create a separate blog. I will try not to neglect this one!

You can view it here. Hope you're having a splendid day!

Africa!

The verdict is in... Andrew and I will be spending five weeks of our summer in South Africa! We are so excited about helping to lead a group of students on a summer project in Durban. We have no idea what to expect, except that God will move! The first half of the project will be spent on a university campus just sharing the Gospel with the students there. The second half we will be partnering with a church to help in serving. I think this will involve working in an orphanage and AIDS ministry. This city, if I remember correctly, has the most percentage of AIDS infected people per capita. What a joy to be able to serve there!

I always thought Africa would be cool, but I never dreamed that we'd actually get to go! Speaking of... have any of you ever seen the movie "Out of Africa"? Andrew and I rented it one night randomly and I cried and cried. It is SUCH a good movie! I want to watch it again before we go... even though we're not going to be in the middle of the tundra. I like to imagine that we will be... living it mud huts, waking up to the sight of a herd of giraffes. I think our experience will be far from, but I won't consider our trip finished until I see a lion. Can't wait!!

If you want to see a good movie...

...don't pass up Slumdog Millionare. I love it when acclaimed movies carry the story line of redemption. There is something within us all that yearns for old to become new, for dirty to become clean, for impoverished to become provided for, for lost to become found. I don't think Hollywood can stay away from it because it is so much a part of our being human. We know that something about this world is not quite right. Children being abused, people living in shacks, innocent being named guilty... whether we believe in an absolute truth or not-- no one can arguably say that these situations are right. We all long for those situations to be restored or made amends for.

What a joy that we can find redemption in the person of Jesus... "in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." (Eph 1:7). Not only redemption for our souls... but for the whole earth! I like how Revelation 21 puts it:

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

5And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

What a day we have to look forward to! I pray that I'm a part of bringing heaven to earth right now in this moment, too.

Anyway... if you're looking for a good movie and a moving story of redemption, don't miss out on this movie! Sometimes award winning shows are a little too over my head or just push the line in general, but this one is well worth any award it wins. Go watch for yourself!

I love prints!

I should be sleeping right now, but I'm up looking at fabrics! I've had such a rough time working with paint colors for our home (I went totally neutral). Therefore, I keep telling myself that I'll make up for it in the curtains! I know for a fact that I want tan linen curtains in the living room... but I want prints everywhere else! Here are some that I have found:

For the dining room:

(I found this at Hancock's 40% off!

For our master bath (possibly)... the walls are grayish blue:


The rest are just ideas for laundry room and possible back-ups for master bath. I really want the laundry room to be a fun room with a lively print. (Something that makes me want to be in there! The walls are a sage color):





This also means that I'm going to have to pull my sewing machine back out. I can't wait to learn more tricks on it... the most complicated thing I've done yet was an apron for Madelyn's birthday last year:


Hopefully this new place (and a place to sew besides my kitchen table!) will make me more motivated to do projects. I think I may make a sewing nook in our office. I can hardly wait.