When pictures on the walls makes you feel at home....

It has only been a few weeks since our painting project was completed, but it feels like it has been a long time since the house has felt like my home.  Isn't it funny how pictures on the walls make your home feel "right"?  I wanted to make good decisions about the placement of pictures and weed out things that really didn't need to be up any longer.  But, boy was this a difficult task.   I had piled everything off the walls from almost the entire house (except my scrap room and Ken's camera room) into my scrap room.  What a mess!  I couldn't really use my room at all for the totes and bags and boxes of wall stuff.  Once Ken was home from the hospital and I had a bit of time to just breathe, I started to sort and figure out what I wanted to put up right away. 

First up - the grandchildren frames. 

Susie actually created each of these frames for me and there is one for each of the grandchildren.  They are "Grandma and...." frames and I cherish each one.  It felt so good to hang those up! Nothing makes me smile more than seeing those frames every time I walk in that hallway.  

We got some new shelves that fit my scrapbook collection and allow for display of some other family photos!

I have wanted a way to have easy access to my scrapbooks and it was such a wonderful thing to find these shelf units that are big enough to hold the 12X12 albums.  I actually have lots of space left for all of the books that I still need to fill with pictures.  

Slowly, the home improvement work is getting done.  We still have a couple more big projects to complete (interior doors, carpet upstairs, and railings on our stairs) but it is actually starting to feel almost done.  It is interesting that I am blogging about these updates during this week.   It is actually the 41st anniversary of our moving into this house.  Ken and I closed on the house on February 17,  1978 and moved in on the 25th.  This was just before we closed on the house...

There had been a large snowstorm just a week before our closing and we had to wait for the builder to install some kind of driveway for access to the house.  The front yard was just a mud pit and there were piles of snow and dirt everywhere.  But we moved in!  

One thing is certain.  This has been a wonderful home for Ken and I and our children.  We brought both kids home from the hospital to this house.  The room that is now my scrapbook room (which is where I am currently sitting) was our nursery.  There were countless birthday parties, Christmas celebrations and everything in between.  So many memories, so much love.  While we have gotten rid of much of the interior that was here in 1978, the foundation is the same.  And it is a good, sturdy foundation.

I love the old children's Bible song The Wise Man Built His House On The Rock.  There have been many prayers going up from this house, and so many blessing have come down..  Yes, it was a good decision for us when we purchased our home so many years ago never thinking that we would still be in this house 41 years later.  Every time I open the front door, I am thankful for this house, for my family and for every one of those years.  

Pictures on the walls have helped me feel more at home in my house, but it is really the love and the memories that fill me inside these walls.  Yes I am thankful for the house and all of the stuff inside of it.  But mostly I am thankful for the blessing of my family.  And so thankful for the foundation of Jesus in my life, that has given me my own firm foundation.  

Jesus, thank you for pouring out your blessings on my family.  Help each one of us to see the importance of building our life on your strong foundation.  Holy Spirit remind us of every time we have been secure in times of trouble so that we will not fear the approach of any flood.  Give us courage and boldness to share your love Jesus.  Amen

Looking for the bad guy....

This was an interesting couple of weeks at work.  Our theme was "Fairy Tales" and we read so many stories that our little three year olds had never heard before!  It was really fun to hear and see these familiar tales through new eyes.  Yesterday and today I helped our little ones create their own "house of sticks" and then add the three little pigs!  Anytime they get to paint with glue and then use a glue stick is a good day in our class.   As I was chatting with each child as they created their house of sticks, we recounted the story.  Several of them also wanted to tell me all of the stories we had focused on, with the favorites being Little Red Riding Hood and Jack in the Beanstalk.  The interesting thing about this art project was that as soon as we added the three little pigs to this paper, EVERY  SINGLE kid wanted to know where the big bad wolf was!   Since we made a wolf last week, we did not include one on this project.  I couldn't believe that they all were looking for the wolf. 

This afternoon I was thinking about this.  Isn't it just like so many times when we are looking for the "bad guy" in whatever situation we are in?  Of imaging all the very bad things that we are sure are just around the corner?  There is a message here!  At first I thought it was a BAD thing that the kids wanted the wolf in the picture.   But then I realized that the story of the three little pigs, isn't a very good story without the wolf.  If you think about it, all it would be is a story of three brothers who couldn't agree on how to build a house.  And the unfortunate thing is that they would all most likely have a similar outcome with or without the wolf.  The house of straw wouldn't last, nor would the house of sticks. Only the house of bricks would last.  This reminded me of one of favorite Christian kids songs The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock taken from Matthew 7:24-27.  These verses contain Jesus' directions to be sure and build your house on the Rock, with a firm foundation rather than on sand.  The message of this story is much deeper than the 3 little pigs.   Jesus was talking about having HIM as the foundation of our life.  And then when we face storms in our life, or the very real attacks of the ever present "big bad wolf" - Satan- we will not be shaken.  We are safe and secure on the solid foundation with Jesus as our Saviour. 

I am so glad that my little ones helped me remember a couple of really important truths today.
1.  There is a "Big Bad Wolf" in our story  2.  It's good to build a BRICK house (Or really a house on THE Rock!)  3.  It's also good to stick together!  I just love when the day to day stuff in my life brings me to new revelation and understanding.   I had never really thought about how important my foundation was when those attacks of the enemy occur.  It's good to consider isn't it? 

Jesus, thank you so much for the words you spoke reminding us to build our house on the rock.  Holy Spirit, it is your prompting and reminders that bring me deeper into truth.  Thank you for these little children that open my eyes and keep me on my toes.  Bless us all as we seek to go deeper into your truths, Jesus.   Amen.