Life

Life.

That is your specialty, Lord.

Creating, knitting.

Weaving together all life.

You form every cell, every organ, and every personality.

You stand as the epicenter of our world,

Conducting.

Holding every life in your mighty hand.

You orchestrate every earthly existence,

From Adam’s first breath,

To our final trumpet call.

Praise you, Lord, for you give life!

Once, you created life within my body. 

Tiny beginnings, masterminded in heaven.

I carried this new life.

I carried Him,

Or Her.

I carried your gift of life. 

I felt your fresh presence every waking moment,

I walked in constant prayer.

I tasted a greater love:

Selfless, giving.

That kind of love that comes from you. 

This new life welded our marriage:

Tighter, stronger.

New bonds of sacrifice taught us agape.

You blessed our vows with a deeper consecration,

With a tiny heart forming, ready to beat. 

We slid into the clothing of parenthood,

Trying on our soon-to-be roles.

Preparation for Mama and Pop.

We shared the joyful news with others,

Praising you as the Giver of all blessings.

We began to pray as one,

Husband, wife.

For health and growth,

For your guidance in this next chapter.

And Lord, you listened.

As you always do.

You listened with bigger plans,

Plans to grow our marriage,

To weave a third strand into our vows

You orchestrated our next chapter.

On August 19^th, 2013, we received the news.

A phone call ripped open the tsunami.

The doctor’s slow, remorseful voice rung in my ear.

I curled in my couch, in our empty house,

But not alone.

Nearing the day’s end, we reunited,

Mama and Pop.

And you held us,

You wrapped our hugging arms in your love,

You were there when words were too hard.

You were there.

Our Great Comforter,

Whispering ‘Trust Me’.

Though this tiny, new heart

Was no longer beating,

You gave this child your gift of life.

Ultimate life.

Eternal.

Praise you, Lord, for you take away!

Your every decision is wise, perfect,

And without error.

Our every suffering is not in vain. 

All life, whether long or brief,

Points to you.

Our summer ended by giving you the first-fruits of our lament,

Praising you for the welding,

For the bringing-to-life of our marital covenant.

The seasons changed,

And you stayed with us,

Guiding us, growing us,

Answering our prayers.

And now, a year has passed,

A tiny speck in your eternal timeline,

And you continue to give us life!

Your Spirit,

Deep within.

Today, I come to you, Lord

With open arms and an empty womb.

I may never know motherhood on this side of eternity.

But I do know

That you are holding a special treasure for me

In your dwelling place.

And you still have plans for me,

A hope and a future.

So, I set my eyes heavenward,

An eternal perspective,

With peace placed in my heart,

Peace that surpasses all worldly understanding.

Because you are my God.

You are my King, my Joy, my Strength.

You are my creator.

Praise you, Lord, for you carry me into life!

Seek Joy!

Hey everyone!  I’m so excited about how these Joy Cards are coming along nicely… I can’t even stand it!  For those of you who don’t know, I’m in the process of creating something big, really BIG.  The story goes like this…

Last March, God planted in my heart an idea to create an ADVENT CALENDAR: I envisioned a daily, family-friendly graphic-based devotional that could act as a quick discussion at the breakfast table, or could provide opportunities to go deeper into personal journaling & worship time – for the first 25 days of December.  Though it was spring, I knew I needed to get started soon because a.) when the Lord calls ya, it’s best to jump in head first!, and b.) I knew deep down that this project needed lots and lots of my time.  The problem was, I didn’t have a clue as to how to go about tackling this charge.  I simply wanted to abide.

Oddly enough, while joining with my lovely ladies of BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) one random Monday in March, we were asked to sing the song ‘Joy to the World’ (It was March, people!  Only God can orchestrate something that awesome).  I poured over the words on the page, understanding them more clearly than ever before.  I realized just how powerful that song really is!  Later that night, I re-read the lyrics, circling the biblical principles that popped out in the song, which hovered around 25!  Amazing.  I realized that I was given the ‘glue’ to hold the project together; I ran with it.

Soon thereafter, I shared the idea with a dear friend, Marcia, who has years of bible knowledge under her belt; I knew I needed her wisdom and discernment in sticking to the plan:  break down the song into 25 principles, attach a verse or two to each principle, then develop a life-giving question that causes the reader to think critically about that verse & apply it to his/her day during the advent season.  Marcia was on board and accepted the challenge.  Amazingly, we both separately broke down the lyrics in virtually the same places.  We came back together in awe of how seamless God’s plan was for this project so far.

Throughout the spring and summer, I continued inching my way through each card.  Drawing 25 graphics seemed intimidating, but drawing one from-time-to-time?  I could handle that.  By mid-July, the project began to develop a personality; I had created a color scheme and began to weave themes into the graphics.  But one step of the process remained: I needed to know if the reader would experience these Joy Cards like a true devotional.  I decided to use the month of August – the first 25 days –to pull out personal conviction and devotion.  So, I bought a crisp, new notebook and began to journal.

So far, I’m amazed at just how powerful Immanuel, God With Us really is – right in the midst of summertime.  In the heat of August, you can still experience the Joy of this powerful phenomenon: a savior.  The gospel is never idle to those who are seeking.

This morning, the 7^th day of the devotional asks of me, “Today, how will you share the joyful news of a savior?”  I took that as my cue; I need to share a bigger slice of these Joy Cards with you, not necessarily to show their progress, but to share the impact I’ve felt while knee-deep in creating them.  I feel compelled to share how the ‘joyful news of a savior’ is truly year-round.  That’s something worth sharing.  Yes, I’m sharing how these Joy Cards are developing, each individually crafted with a graphic, a song verse, a bible verse, and an application question.  But more importantly, I want to share what’s developing in my heart: Joy to the World.  What a better way to think of our savior than the pure joy that is with us, always.

(To follow the progress of these Joy Cards into the advent season, search #joycards on my Instagram feed or Facebook page.  EnJOY!)

Believe.

This morning, I pour over scripture like no other day.

It's Good Friday.  A day of celebration, a day where something new is beginning.  Easter is coming.  Hope is coming.

But today, I cry.  Because with this celebration, there's deep pain.  Deep, necessary pain.

I read over Luke's account of this day.  He writes, 'Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.'  I inhale a deep breath of my own and sigh, softly.  My eyes swell.

I read on, amazed to find what Luke writes next.  He mentions that, of all people, a centurion, seeing what happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."

Surely.  He was.

This righteous man suffered for us.  For US!  He was judged, abandoned, rejected, mocked, cursed.  All of this, for us.

Like the centurion, I choose to believe his righteousness.

But my beliefs go even deeper. I choose to believe that this Jesus was truly the Son of God.  I choose believe that he was pierced for my transgressions, that he was crushed because I am inadequate.  And beautifully -- in that inadequacy -- I find peace.

My inadequacies no. longer. matter.

On this very special day, which occurred outside the walls of Jerusalem long, long ago, I was forgiven.  I was forgiven for the things I've done in my past, for those terrible decisions I made yesterday, and for any anger, malice, envy, foolishness, greed and pride that I will act upon until the end of my days.  I was forgiven for everything.  

On this day, Jesus saved me.

There's nothing I could or can do to save myself.  As I believe in Him, he saves me.  He saves me each-and-every-day.

And on this today, I mourn.  I hold my breath and wait into the night, through tomorrow's dawn and nightfall, and into the rising of the son on Sunday morning.

I mourn, I wait, and I pray 'O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help {Jesus}.'



Verse references: Luke 23:46-47,  Deuteronomy 21:23, Psalm 89:51, Matthew 26:56, Matthew 26:66, John 3:16, Hebrews 1:3, Isaiah 53:5, Ephesians 2:9, Psalm 22:19

The Great Physician

Last night marked a big, big moment in the Persimmon's journey.

We launched our website!  And it was amazing.  

But in order to really appreciate that word - 'amazing' - you have to step into my shoes a few days before this big event.  It' all started on Monday, February 24th.  It was a typical day: work on Persimmon's website from home, then head off to work (I teach digital literacy to fab 5th graders), then BSF to be refueled with God's word...  But that night, He had a different idea of 'refueling' me by completely emptying my tank.  Com.plete.ly.  

Tuesday, 9 am:  Awoke with awful symptoms: sinus pressure, stuffy nose, sneezing.  Called in sick, chocked it up to being a 'cold'.  Cautiously went on with my day and continued planning the website launch.  Hyper-focused on the details of the event.

He whispered, "Let me take this one."

Tuesday, 11 pm:  Lied awake, tossing-and-turning to find some sort of physical comfort. None.  No sleep.

Wednesday, 9 am:  'Awoke' after being awake all night, terrible sinus pressure, stuffier nose, constant sneezing.  Called in sick. Again.  Called the doc.

Wednesday, 10:22 am:  Desperately sought help from friends & started this FB conversation, which ended up adding bit of humor to my day.

He nudged, "I've got it. Go rest."

Wednesday, 2:45 pm: Dr. appt, resulted in Claritin.  Tried to nap, cried, prayed.  All website planning came to a halt.

He assured, "I'll take care of it."

Thursday, 2 am: Was utterly unable to take the pain, considered the ER, made it through the night with a bag of cold water over my raw face.  Constant tears.

Thursday, 9 am: Chronic sinus pressure, no-physical-use in nose-whatsoever, nicknamed myself Sneezy.  Visited an ENT specialist.  Waved the white flag.  

He promised, "Fix your my eyes on Me and you will find rest."

Thursday, 1 pm:  ENT Diagnosis:  Chronic Sinusitus, going on 3 months now, and has decided to reach its tipping point --- a tipping point that just so happened to be 5 hours before a huge, cumulating moment that's been on the calendar for MONTHS.  

I responded, "It's all yours, Lord."

Thursday, 5 pm: Awoke from a peaceful nap, jumped into the shower, threw on my Little Loves shirt and some red lipstick.  Prayed.  Trusted.  Was refueled.  Was healed.

Thursday, 6 pm: Answered the front door, smiled.  Enjoyed the night........ thoroughly.

Thank you God for saving me from focusing on the wrong things last night: the details, the social pressure, the perfectionism.  You reminded me that this is all about You.  Thank you for examining me and pointing out where I need healing - not just physical healing, but real healing - in my soul.  Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your bigger story.  When I am weak, you are strong (2 Corinthians 13:9).

Welcome to my studio.

Yes, studio {sigh}.

When Patrick and I moved into our home two years ago, we were happy to find that it included a tiny perk, a 6 ft x 8 ft office space tucked away in our basement.  Originally, we stashed bills and basic supplies to make - ya know, an office.  

After some time, I thought, "Who am I kidding, I'm not an office person."  Every place I've lived in, I've setup a creative space rather than an office (even in my tiny 600 sq. ft. downtown Indianapolis studio apartment).  It was time to do the same in our home.

So, here she is... my living, breathing, functioning studio.  I refinished pretty much every crevice of this space - for around $200, and kept a monochromatic black/grey/white scheme so I can focus on projects more clearly - and cleanly.  

First pic:  The fabric was originally a curtain panel (from Target).  I chopped off the bottom half, using it to reupholster my swivel chair (found in an abandoned warehouse, was originally verrry 70's).  I spray painted the metal base of the chair bronze...  shiny and delightful.  Then, I hemmed the top half of the fabric and strung it on a tension rod (hides my printer and garbage can).  I painted the cabinet and table top (originally two unmatched pieces) with a mis-tinted can of paint on clearance at Walmart - only $8!  After adding black and blue tints, I created a lovely blue/grey color!  The 'new' drawer pulls are from the art-deco era (from the Nashville Flea Market, $3 each).  

Second pic:  The "Love Well" art piece was a gift from the lovely Abra Clampitt who designed and painted the message on a cross-section of a tree.   I paired it with some magnetic vintage tins to make a message board/jar storage combo (base and lid separately nailed directly into the wall).  For magnets, I wrapped scraps of white fabric into rosettes, then glued them onto magnet discs.  The combo makes this area inspirational, functional, and inviting.

Third pic:  My favorite, favorite, favorite part of the room - storage & display for Persimmon Prints products.  I've chosen collapsable Rugby Stripe Bins from The Container Store to house each of my garment printing projects.  Below them is a 3-drawer white dresser housing art prints & notecards.  Left of the closet are wooden window frame parts (painted the same color as the table) mounted to display garments on white wooden hangers in adult and child sizes (from The Container Store).  When together, they provide a streamlined, organized feeling.

Fourth pic:  On the last wall, I mounted more painted window frame parts with vintage hardware findings to create a designated display area, which is perfect for photographing products for my upcoming website (opening in March!)  These screen printed dresses, recently revealed on my Instagram feed are a current printing project.

After this experience I've learned, yet again, that...  together, paint and a bit of fabric are unstoppable in any redecorating project.