get cozy and be still...

i've been asked to speak next month at a bible study.  

i have just 15 minutes to impart to a room full of women

how God prepared me for a life storm.  

cancer.

and as i sit down to write it, i again know the words

"be still" 

carried me through it.

two years before my diagnsosis, i felt the lord

tapping me on the shoulder and whispering

"be still" into my heart. 

"be still and know that I am God"

psalms 46:10

given my life was anything but still, and knowing

i was chasing after joy and never quite finding it,

i heeded His call.

i came home and closed my business with a friend.

a business i adored. 

i began focusing on my husband and children.

but more importantly, I focused on God.

i attended a bible study for the first time

and found myself studying every morning 

before my kids opened their eyes. 

starting my day with Him became beautiful.

essential.

a friend of mine recently shared this book with me. 

it is one of her favorites.

it is one of mine too.

jesus calling is a daily devotional.

it's a daily reminder to begin with Him.

today reads:

"i am with you.  these four words are like a safety net, protecting you from falling into despair.  because you are human, you will always have ups and downs in your life experience.  but the promise of my presence limits how far down you can go.  sometimes you may feel as if you are in a free fall, when people or things you had counted on let you down.  yet as soon as you remember that i am with you, your perspective changes radically.  instead of bemoaning your circumstances, you can look to me for help.  you recall that not only am i with you, i am holding you by your right hand.  i guide you with my counsel, and afterward i will take you into glory.  this is exactly the perspective you need: 

the reassurance of my presence, and the glorious hope of heaven."

that, and a cup of tea, and i'm ready to begin my day.

so since i created this blog to share my home with you, 

let me show you where my day begins.

my favorite corner of my house.

a cozy glider, a foot stool, a cup of pomegranate tea and a basket of books.  

and usually a cat or two on my lap.

(they're currently curled up on a couch as i write this).  

a friend of mine found this beautiful 

oval frame.  my dear dad cut a piece of wood to fit

so i can use it as a chalkboard.  i wrote "welcome"

in it over three years ago and have no desire to erase it.

i moved it onto our dutch door and now 

pretend it's God's welcome sign to me to begin my day.

i bought this table the day my friend and i started our

short and sweet business.  it was $50.  i wasn't quite sure where

to put it.  it now fits perfectly in this corner.

the lampshade was $1 at a thrift store.  the lamp is from 

target.  it reads "no. 5" in beautiful script.  the number five

is special to me, as i like to think it represents the number in

my family - my husband, myself, my two children and God.

i found this teacup on sale at anthropologie.  22 is also a special number.

it was my husband's basketball number in high school and is now

my son's baseball number.

like so many of us right now, i love anything with letters and numbers.

i found this sweet little stool at a store for $10.

i was shopping with a girlfriend when i spotted it.  

i loved it, but thought i didn't need it.  so i didn't buy it.

of course, after i left the store, i had to have it.  don't you hate that?

so i called her (thankfully she was still there) and  asked her to get it for me.  

i still owe her the $10!

(if she ever invites us over for that italian dinner 

she promised to make us, she'll get it.  hint hint).

and my sweet little pillow from pottery barn.

i think it is meant to be a christmas decoration, but i

love it all year long.  

"you have done so much for me, o Lord.  no wonder i am glad! 

i sing for joy."

psalms 92:4

so this is where i begin my day.

and sometimes, it is where i close my day.

with Him.

do you begin your day with God?

do you have a favorite book to share?

a favorite verse?

if you do, i would love you to leave a comment

and share it with all of us!

see you next month.