Welcome

This blog is about two friends, miles apart, striving to pattern our lives after the Proverbs 31 woman. Here you will find our daily journeys, whether serious, funny, practical, or inventive. Thanks for stopping by and we hope you'll stop by often!

~Lauren & Page

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Cleaning Shoes!



This Quick Tip Wednesday might seem a little strange, but it really works!
We women know that a woman's work is never really done, there's always SO much to do around the house. Why not try cleaning in some supportive, tennis shoes?? They will motivate you to get moving and will support your back in the process. My friend, Ashley, mentioned this great tip and I agree - I definitely notice a difference when I have my "special shoes" on. :-) I'm much less likely to just feel like sitting down on the job.


Do YOU have a quick tip to share? Comment below and we'll gladly feature it in our Quick Tip Wednesday posts!


~Lauren & Page

Monday, June 20, 2011

God Is Just

GOD IS JUST

by Pastor Smith in St Clair, MO

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."
Deuteronomy 32:4.

In a world overtaken with corruption and compromise, there is a source of truth and justice; it is found in the living God, "just and right is he." Words that help explain the meaning of just are right, lawful, and equal. God is morally right and righteous in all that He does. Friendships, fears, flatteries, or false information may influence men and thus pervert justice. However, God - because of His holy character and perfect nature - will always act justly. The Lord God is a righteous Judge. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25).

Because God is just, He establishes and imposes just laws and then executes them righteously. He will give to everyone what is due. Because He is just, He is impartial in His judgment. God cannot be deceived, and it would be futile to attempt to bribe Him. "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). We may not always understand or fully agree with God's judgments, but we can have complete confidence that what He does is always right.

God is just in the penalties He exacts for transgression. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Because He is just, He requires that proper payment be made for sin. Also, He allows a substitute to pay for the sin of another. Thus, His Son made the just payment for our sins through His death on the cross and completely satisfied the just judgment of our sin. The penalty has been paid in full and God can and will forgive the sins of those who accept His payment. He is at one time "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26).

One of the common cries of the Old Testament prophets was the lack of justice among the corrupt leaders of Israel. The moral character and weakness of men today have resulted in a dearth of justice. In our current political climate, many government leaders are for sale and will champion any cause that wins them favor. Even in the arena of professing Christians, truth has fallen in the streets. There is a great need for men and women of justice and integrity who look to the Rock for wisdom. Thank God, there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will return to this earth and will judge the world in righteousness.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Baby Nursery {Part II- the Transformation & Book Page Wall}

No, I haven't forgotten about my Baby Nursery blogging - however, I have been super busy finishing up this darling room for our little boy. Now that I just have the finishing touches left to do, I feel much more comfortable in taking the time to catch everyone up on the progress made so far. :-)

In case you missed my first post, you can go here to view "my inspiration" for the color palette and overall feel of the space.

I chose these three paint colors based on my inspiration fabric seen in my first post. I used Sherwin Williams Embellished Blue for the walls, Refresh as the accent color used to transform my changing table (stay tuned!) and Alabaster for the trim and doors.

Here is the Nursery - BEFORE we even began the transformation. Notice the light pink walls (eek!).
And here it is getting it's beautiful coat of Embellished Blue by my beautiful decorating crew!


We live in a charming 1920's home, I really do love it - however, the walls are a bit different in our upstairs bedrooms (as you can see from the above pic)- making it kinda difficult for any type of creative paint job, mural, etc. That's ok though, because I was feeling lazy and totally unmotivated to do anything too extreme. :-P

Instead, I decided to do an infamous "Book Page Wall". Many of you have probably seen this idea on countless blogs, and I'm telling you - it is SO fun and SO easy!

Sean & I both loved to read as kids (still do!) and hope our little guy will enjoy it just as much. Yes, we were those naughty kids that stayed up reading with a flashlight underneath our covers well after our parents told us lights out (because the book was THAT good). So....that's part of what led me to create this "Book Page Wall". I knew it would be artsy, fun, totally unique, and reflect our love of reading.

I used these classic storybooks to give it a vintage vibe. I purchased them for 50 cents each at a thrift store and since the binding wasn't in the greatest shape, I didn't feel so bad tearing out all the pages.


Once torn out, I simply had my lovely crew apply a *strong* spray adhesive to the back of the pages and randomly place them on the wall. We learned the hard way that it must NOT be a flexible hold, but a strong hold (best purchased at a craft store vs a hardware store). That's why this is considered** Decoupage (or découpage) is the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf and so on.**

With true decoupage you apply a sealer on top, but I didn't want to make my pages THAT permanent. As it is, these pages are perfectly adhered to the wall and if one or two pages should try to escape, I still have my spray adhesive and can easily reattach - so far so good! Definitely make sure you use a strong adhesive spray, found at most craft stores - my fav being, Hobby Lobby. :-)

As you can see, these randomly placed book pages create a lovely accent wall that is truly artistic, unique, vintage inspired and an incredible point of interest, as seen here in my nursery. It turned out soooo perfectly!



**A special thanks to my sister, Heidi, friend, Morgan, brother, Caleb, and last but not least - my hubby, Sean for all the hard work you put into this wonderful nursery!! I couldn't have done it without you!!

Stay tuned for the final stages of the nursery transformation and the Grand Reveal coming SOON!!

~Lauren

Thursday, June 16, 2011

True Friends

Proverbs 18:24 "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

This "Thankful Thursday" I'm thinking about how grateful I am for good friends. Most of us have quite a few acquaintances, but good friends are few and far between. This past week I was reminded of how blessed I am. My sweet friend, Missy, helped me SO much by helping me finally get my garden in (it was long overdue and next to impossible for this prego girl). Missy is always willing to lend a helping hand, always there for me, and never fails to let me know that she's someone I can count on. I know the Lord has placed her in my life and I'm so thankful for her! By God's grace I want to be the right kind of friend for her as well.

What about you? Do you have special friends in your life that you can depend on? Why not take a moment to let them know how thankful you are for them? While you're at it, thank the Lord for placing these dear ones in your life and ask Him to help you to be the right kind of friend for them.

Have a Thankful Thursday, everyone!


~Lauren

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Hobby Lobby, How I LOVE Thee!!





This week's "quick tip" might be pretty exciting for those of you addicted to Hobby Lobby (like me). I frequently fail to print out a HL coupon and find it frustrating to realize it AFTER I am in the store and filling my cart with wonderful goodies.

Did you know that you can pull up a Hobby Lobby coupon on the internet via your cell phone and show it to the cashier at checkout? They simply need the coupon code from the online coupon. I was SUPER excited about this fact and have already done it twice (thank you Page, for informing me about this!).

Have a quick tip to share with us? Comment below and we might just feature your quick tip in next Wednesday's post!!

~Lauren