Painting 101

One of the advantages of owning a home is that time is on our side... by that I mean that we have the ability to progress as slowly or quickly as our bank account will allow us to. That's a good thing! Our most recent project was painting the dining room. Michael and I took a trip to Home Depot last week-- at about 7:30pm, mind you. We immediately began painting and got to bed around 12 (and this was on a school night, too!!) We got it right on the first try! Here is a before picture:


And here is the end result:





Eventually we'll buy a bigger dining room table, but for now, this works. The paint color is called "Red Brick," and while the picture doesn't quite do it justice, there is a hint of orange in it, which I love! :) One of my favorite pieces in the house is my grandmother's china cabinet, which is to the right of the table (you can't see it in the picture). I have so many memories of crawling under it to play "Alice in Wonderland" while Grandma babysat us children, and I'm thrilled that I'm able to use it for more "adult" purposes now!

"America Asks for a King"

In the last few hours as we wait to hear the fate of our country, I want to share an excellent article written by Laura Hollis, entitled "America Asks for a King." One of the things that strikes me about the article is not that Hollis exposes Obama for who he is (she does do that), but she ends by saying, "Neither McCain nor Obama is a king who will save us; we must turn instead to the only One who can." I can only wonder whether we are mere Israelites, begging the Lord for a "savior" who can temporarily bring change but whose effects might be damaging to the country.

Here is the link:
http://townhall.com/columnists/LauraHollis/2008/10/26/america_asks_for_a_king?page=full&comments=true

I have been reminded in so many ways to trust in God's sovereign will; to trust that whatever the outcome, the Lord is in ultimate control, and it is He who both raises up and brings down rulers. This conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring was recently brought to my attention-- it is particularly poignant:

Frodo: "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."

So yes, we may see one of the most radically Socialist presidential candidates take office. And we may discover that "diplomacy" is not always the answer (especially with Islamic terrorists). We may see the Constitution defamed and the sanctity of life diminished to an even greater degree. I am, with as much faith as I can muster, trusting that God will use these times for His own good, even if we must, for a time, suffer through the consequences of our sin.

My Very First Blog!

I debated whether or not to join the ranks of the "bloggers" out there, and I finally gave in. Having said that, I'm an amateur and haven't quite caught on to the blogging scene yet; give me time!

Here are some pictures of our new house... the Lord has blessed us with a home of our own, and we are slowly but surely making it "ours." We moved in on September 13. We enjoyed our 9 months of apartment life, but we much prefer having walls that don't connect to our neighbors... and we have really enjoyed having a driveway and a garage!

Michael and I will celebrate our one year anniversary on December 1st. Although marriage is certainly an adjustment, I've found that I am simply at home with Michael--there have been very few surprises along the way. I guess that's because we've known each other since we were 16. He is a wonderful husband who has provided for us in so many ways.

There's much more to come from me!