Tablescape Tuesday: September Summer ‘scape

September 2, 2014~ Food & Entertaining, Tablescape Tuesday

In these waning days of summer, I decided we should celebrate the beach. I love the laid back style of coastal living! The colors of the sand and sea often bring back many wonderful memories of vacations spent along the Gulf Coast. As a young married couple, Butch and I would often take weekend trips to Panama City Beach. I could not wait to smell the saltiness of the ocean air and sink my feet into the white sand! Now, I mostly enjoy the beach from a covered balcony or a brisk walk along the shore as the sun rises–with a steaming mug of french roast coffee in hand, of course! I could really get used to everyday living at the beach!

So, today you are invited to kick off your shoes and pull up a chair at our beach-inspired table, but please no wet swimsuits!!

Let’s talk about layering and texture for your tablescapes. The linen table cloth purchased from Horchow at 30% off is the first layer. Grounding the center of the table is a beautiful quilted runner I found in Sete, France. I often use placemats as a layer over the cloth.

To add texture, I used wicker chargers and tray.

This shell box was found at an antique shop and it becomes the focal point.

Since I love details…

The hurricane globes are in my tablescapes on many occasions. Notice the sand and small shells. The pillar candles add subtle color to the table.

I had everything on hand and did not purchase anything for this beach tablescape!

The linen napkins were a true find at Pier 1– the embroidery is exquisite! The shell napkin holders are one of my favorite items on the table.

A close-up of the resin tortoise flat ware, ordered from Horchow. I use them often during the Fall season!

“Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and
everything that moves in them!”
Psalm 69:34

Don’t Whittle it Away!

September 1, 2014~ Faith, Guest Posts

Butch and I (along with Seth and Allison) are taking a few days to enjoy God’s beautiful creation. Please stay tuned for lots of pictures and stories to follow! In the meantime, we wish to introduce you to our very first guest blogger, Katy Watters.

We have known Katy for about two years, but our hearts were immediately knit together in common faith. We have welcomed her into our family and she has become like our daughter. She has an amazing God-given gift of writing and I strongly recommend that you follow her blog here. Now, I will let you in on a little secret: Butch and I would have never been able to put this blog together without her!!

Don’t Whittle It Away!

Noccalula Falls is where you can find me on any given weekday during my lunch break. I guess you can say it has become a part of my everyday living. When the clock strikes noon, I head up the mountain to enjoy my hour of respite from office work. Last Wednesday, something different happened and I feel like I learned a little lesson in living.

Staying true to my routine, I sat at one of the picnic tables in the shade as I ate my lunch. I was catching up on Instagram posts, emails, and Facebook from the morning. I was nearly finished eating when I noticed a man walking close. He was headed towards MY SWING. Now, I guess that needs a little explanation. I have a swing that I usually sit in after I finish eating lunch every day, and I love it—it is so peaceful! For some reason, it is rarely taken and I like to think that God reserves it just for me. But today, my swing was going to be occupied. And I was just going to have to deal. And I am sure glad it was!

The man sat down, and he had this long stick and a knife. Weird combo for most, but I knew what he was about to do: whittle, of course! You see, when I was a little girl, I loved pigs. (Random, I know, but don’t we all have our quirks??) Anyway, my dad had one of his co-workers carve me a little pig to put on my night stand. It was one of my favorite things—that whittled pig. This man was about to whittle—sitting right there on my swing. So I just decided to ask him about it. “Are you about to whittle?” I asked him. He perked up…”I sure am, what do you know about it?” So I told him the story about my whittled pig. It got us into conversation, but what he said next–I hope and pray–will stay with me for the rest of my years. “I like to whittle. It passes the time for me. I need something to help me waste time these days.” He said a few more things that I didn’t really hear because I was still processing the previous comment. He was whittling his life away. We talked about his previous marriages, his grandchildren, and his retirement from the Steel Plant. But I couldn’t help but think of how this man was literally and figuratively whittling his life away. It is what he was spending his days doing. As I looked at the shavings on his lap that would soon be part of the dirt at his feet, I was learning a lesson in living. We have a choice as to how we approach this life:

We can waste it and whittle it away or we can invest it and live.

And it seems very fitting that I would be asked to do this guest post and then God, in his providence, would bring the whittling man into my lunch hour.

And just so you know…Butch and Pam told me I could have freedom to say what I wanted on their blog today, so I will take advantage:

You see, the whittling man showed me what it looked like to waste my days, while The Richardson’s have shown me how to live my days. I have been most blessed to be “adopted” into the Richardson family. They have truly invited me into their everyday living. And by that, I simply mean we do life together. And there is much wisdom to be learned from their lives. I love to watch them invest their lives into each other and into the lives of those around them. They enjoy life and people—because they see that both are good gifts from The Father. And I am sure glad that they do, because my life is different because of it!! There is a clear difference when you live life with purpose—and that purpose being the glory of God and the good of all peoples. As I grow older, I want my life to count. I want to make an eternal impact. I want to truly live.

I just love how God meets us in our routine, often mundane events, and shows us more about himself. And if we just take time to listen to others stories, which most of the time I never do, God always shows up. He reveals himself through nature, people, random scenarios, and even the random whittling man who steals your swing on your lunch break.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12

Praying and Preying

August 28, 2014~ Faith, Outdoors

This guy kept hanging around our porch seemingly wanting to be photographed.

The reason for being named “Praying Mantis” is obvious when you observe one of these large insects. The folded “hands” remind us of what we often visualize when we think of a traditional posture of prayer.

I’ve known for a long time that the “Praying Mantis” is a fierce and efficient predator. They not only capture and eat about any small creature that ventures too close, but the female will sometimes eat her mate! (I sure hope this practice remains in the insect world and does not become popular among higher life forms!) I’ve seen a lot of these insects through the years, but some thoughts struck me while I attempted to get this one to pose.

When the Mantis is in the “praying” position, it is not “preying”. Being poised to grab lunch, it cannot be the predator until it quickly abandons the praying position. I understand that the “Praying Mantis” can extend those spiny front legs so speedily that our eyes might not detect the movement.These front legs are well equipped to snare and hold a victim. The head will rotate 180 degrees.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 comes to mind. “Pray without ceasing”.

I understand God designed the ‘Praying Mantis” to be a predator. But, He gives clear instructions throughout scripture for humans to act and react otherwise. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus said, ”Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. These principles go against our nature, and I struggle putting all this into practice. However, I have always found that when I am willing to remain in praying mode, I have no desire or time to be in preying mode. The two cannot coincide.

Unlike the Mantis, God is telling me that prayer is not designed to ready me for an attack, but He intends prayer to position me to love and forgive. The Mantis does a lot of “preying”– it’s a matter of survival. And I also need to do a lot of “praying”– it’s a matter of survival for me as I journey through my everyday living.

An interesting note: “Mantis” is an ancient Greek term that means “prophet”. I guess the next time I see one I’ll think of it as a praying prophet.