Master bedroom update...

I keep saying that my motto for getting this house looking pretty is "slowly, but surely."  Sure enough, we're getting things done around here.  It'll probably be another year before it's done, but I really am having fun.  I started thinking this morning about what I'm going to do with myself once I get all the rooms decorated, and I realized that I'll probably just start all over at that point. ;)

Anyway... just wanted to give you guys a quick update on our master bedroom.  I made a small but very exciting addition to the bed this weekend, and I really, really like it (ha - that's what she said. ;)).  When I stumbled upon these tie-top panels at World Market and saw that they were only $14.99 apiece, I quickly called Micah to see how tall the bed was.  Turns out it was exactly the same length as the curtains, and I scooped up six of them faster than you could say "shopaholic!" 

I ended up preferring four panels on the bed to six, so I'll have to take two of them back, but I'm in love with the airy, romantic feel they give the room. 

Now I just need an ocean breeze, and I'll be good to go! :)

Christmas Countdown...

This year, I really wanted to do something fun for Micah for Christmas.  I'm not usually a very thoughtful person when it comes to gifts, etc., so I made myself really think about what I could do pretty early on so I could get it done in time. . . . And I came up with nothing. 

Until I saw this post on The Dating Divas.

It's not actually a present.  It's a Christmas Countdown, and she created a card for each day of December through Christmas for him to open each morning.  About two-thirds of the cards were sweet thoughts about her husband.  About one-sixth of them were acts of service (something she was going to do for her husband).  And the rest were fun Christmas activities that they could do together.

So I decided to make my own version. 

I ended up doing a few more "activities" than she did because I liked the idea of really getting into the holiday spirit together.  Some of the activities have been going to see The Story at the American Airlines center and to the Christmas concert at church (except I messed up the date, and we ended up missing it.  Oops.)  Here's a closeup of some of the cards.

I found some cute Christmas paper at a scrapbook store near the house, and I got the stickers and little cutouts there, as well.  The cards, themselves, were actually plain greeting cards.  That saved me the hassle of having to cut out all the squares.  :) 

I didn't have quite as much empty wall space as she did, so I made them vertical instead of horizontal.  I found the cardboard "H" at Hobby Lobby and covered it with moss (that was quite an adventure).  Then I hotglued three strands of ribbon and attached each card with a clothespin.

Mine didn't end up quite as perfect as hers, but I definitely had fun making it, and I love the way it looks in our entryway.  Micah has really enjoyed opening his card every morning, and when it's an "activity" night, it gives us something to look forward to in the evenings. Plus, it'll make an adorable Christmas card holder for next year! :)

A boy and his puppy...

How lucky am I? :)

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

I've finally got almost all my Christmas stuff out.  And managed to take pictures, too!  So without further delay...

(This is our new tree.  It's sort of enormous, but I really love it.  I've added more ornaments since I took this picture, so it doesn't look quite so bare. :))

(I'm building up my own Christmas village collection like my Mom's.  It makes me so happy every time I look at it!)

(These are resin letters that I picked up from Hobby Lobby for ~$5 apiece [for the big letters] and $2.50 [for the smaller letters].  Thankfully, they were already gold, so I didn't have to paint them! I found the reclaimed wood frame in the open framing section of Hobby Lobby for around $20. If I had dropped in the next week, it would have been 50% off, so you could actually put this whole thing together for around $30 if you hit Hobby Lobby at the right time!)

(Here's a preview of a cute little thing I did for Micah this year.  I'll post all the details this week.)

So that's how we're doing Christmas in the Hargrave house! Merry Christmas, y'all! :)

Show Us Your Life: Christmas Tour of Homes

Extravagant...

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to write this post. I've been thinking about it since I heard the sermon at Stella's dedication in October. For some reason, it just hit me. Hard.

Essentially, the gist of the message was that God's love for us is extravagant. Being reminded of that simple truth was humbling enough, but the pastor went on to say something like this:

"If we could really grasp the depth of God's love for us, I'm not sure how we could reject Him. Because it's hard to turn away that kind of love."

My brain went two different places with that.

First, I took a look at me. Am I responding to God's love the way I should be? Am I living my life with true awareness of God's unyielding, unshakable, unbreakable, extravagant love for me?

I thought about how incredibly blessed my life has been. Obviously there have been ups and downs. But for the most part?

God has spoiled me plum rotten.

My life is rich in love, family, friends, rewarding work, and Pottery Barn. (Let's be real here, y'all. I'm real thankful for Pottery Barn.) And even setting aside all the earthly blessings I'm surrounded by daily, I've been given an abundance of sweet, marvelous grace. And that grace? It's extravagant. Scandalous, some might say.

I'm not yet sure how to remind myself to bask in the knowledge of this extravagance on a regular basis, but I know it's important that I do. I don't want to ever stop living like I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Because when I can remember that, it's easier to overlook the bad days and incredibly minor inconveniences of everyday life. When I'm living with the knowledge that I'm utterly adored by a loving God, I can't help but live in joy.

But being convicted about me is one thing. What I thought about next was tougher.

What about everyone else?

What about the people I come into contact with daily? Do they truly understand how God loves them? If they did, wouldn't it, as the pastor suggested, be hard to reject that kind of love?

The truth is, I'm fairly certain that most people just don't get it. There's so much bad in the world that I think it's hard for most people to believe that God could be so good. And even among the "good," there are too many Christians spewing hate. Believe me, I'm under no delusion that God doesn't condemn certain actions as sin. But I also know that Jesus loved and sought to redeem all. In fact, the people He seemed to take the biggest issue with were the Pharisees and Sadducees, who clung to religion at the expense of love for others.

Let that one sink in for a second.

What I'm saying is this. If the world is ever going to come to understand God for who He really is, it's up to us--the church--to show them. We don't have to shove it in anyone's face (although I know there are times when confrontation can't be avoided). What we have to do is live love. We have to live joy. We have to look like a people who understands that the God of creation is crazy about us, and everyone else. Because He is. If we could just do that--if we could really show the world what extravagant love looks like... well, I wonder what the world would look like then.