Welcome to My New Blog!

welcome to my first post at the christian girl's cottage.  i'm thrilled to open my home to you and share all that i love.  i bet we like the same things...

come in and take a peek.

i share my home with my husband of 17 years and our two children.  we have one old dog and three young cats.  i'd call our home a place i love to be.  i'd rather be home than anywhere else.  it's a home i hope my family and friends feel welcome in.  a place i hope they long to return to.

my house changes quite a bit. i like to move small tables, lamps and pillows around as often as i eat breakfast.  if i were stronger, i'd move my couches around every week.  but the one constant is my love for the Lord.  i have placed many reminders of His goodness around each room.  it may be a chalkboard, old sign or scrabble tiles that remind all who enter of our love for Him.  i thank Him daily for this place i call home.

though this chalkboard looks quite small,  it's not.  it's about 3 feet by 5 feet and sits at the top of our staircase.  it reminds me to be still.  those two words have rested on this chalkboard for three years.  i have no plans of erasing them.  it's a daily reminder to do what's most important.  to be with God.  to start my day with God.  and to end my day with God.  before i make my bed, hang a picture or move a lamp onto another table, i put Him first.  He so deserves it.

here's a great story about this frame.  i found it at a thrift store.  it was an ugly brown oak frame with an even uglier poster inside of it.  it was $20.  i passed on it because i just didn't want to take on another diy project.  but i just couldn't get that great frame out of my head.  so i went back to the store the next day, holding my breath, until i saw it still leaning up against the wall.  i was thrilled.  as i brought it up to the counter to buy it, someone walked by and knocked it over. the glass covering the poster shattered (which i was going to remove anyway knowing i wanted to turn it into a chalkboard).  the manager looked at the broken glass on the floor and said she'd give it to me for $10.  oh happy day!

"be still and know that I am God"  -- Psalm 46:10

though i don't spend a lot of time in our dining room, i do love it.  my sister gave me the fruit of the spirit sign that hangs above my sideboard.   she originally gave it to me for my birthday probably five or so years ago.  i couldn't find a place to hang it, so i gave it back to her.  about three years ago, i grew much closer to God and decided to put Him first in my life.  i remembered this sign and searched for it high and low.  sadly, i couldn't find it anywhere.  until i walked into my sister's house.  she had never returned it.  it was hanging on a bedroom wall.  i told her i had been on a hunt for that sign that i missed so badly. she then handed it to me with a big smile.  with a big smile, i accepted it.  it proudly hangs in my dining room.  gotta love my sis.

love.joy.peace.patience.kindness.

goodness.faithfulness.gentleness.

self-control.

galatians 5:22-23

God gave me the desire to make my house a home.

He also gave me the desire to share my home with others.

i  hope you not only follow my blog, but follow Him.

i look forward to spending time with you again,

ruthie