tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018717744345449672024-03-05T22:29:13.436-05:00Gates of CrystalLynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.comBlogger239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-40535073945322753062022-03-02T12:25:00.001-05:002022-03-02T12:25:57.853-05:00The Power of The Blood<p> Around the time the election was stolen, the Lord began to take me down a road of study. I have always wondered about the blood~ why the blood? Why so much blood in the Old Covenant sacrifices? Why did God command them to put blood on everything? What is significant about blood?</p><p>Through different avenues the Lord began to teach me. He led me to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lktmmd7YnD8">Trey Smith</a>, who you can find has produced multiple teachings on YouTube. He is a brilliant man who loves Jesus and studies Bible history, archeology, biology and seems to be knowledgeable in so many subjects. In the very beginning of my study, a YouTube video popped up about all the skeletons of giants that they've found on the earth. I knew the Lord was telling me to watch it, although at the time it made no sense to me.</p><p>Through my study and the teachings of others I discovered that it's always been about the bloodline. Genesis 6:4 says, "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days (the New King James version says "giants"), AND ALSO AFTERWARD, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. The Word tells us that they were not only corrupting the bloodline of mankind but also the animals. Noah and his family were the only pure bloodline left on the earth.</p><p>God destroys the earth with water to destroy the corrupt bloodline. The Nephilim are the angels who were cast out of heaven and thrown to the earth when they followed Lucifer. They are spirit beings and survived the flood. </p><p>Satan's goal has always been to kill, steal and destroy. He has purposed to destroy those who are made in the image of God and pervert them to his image. </p><p>I have heard so many people not understand the heart of a loving God because they have not realized that this was why God destroyed the earth. The Nephilim continue on the earth and we see in Genesis 11 that they build a tower to get to heaven. Once again, Satan's plan is to take the throne of God. God in his mercy scatters them over the earth. All of the "ites" in the Old Testament are descendants of Nephilim. Chuck Misler, has wonderful insightful teachings on this and talks about when Abraham comes back from the war of the kings (Genesis 14) these are Nephilim kings. You can also find him on YouTube.</p><p>God has never been a vengeful God or a God of war. He was cleansing the bloodline. This is why He commanded His people to never marry outside of the Tribes. This is why He commanded that everything, all men, women, and children, all animals, all possessions be destroyed when the children of Israel fought against the Ites. This is why He commanded that all the high places be torn down. The high places were places of Satanic human sacrifice. You can find evidence of this all through the Old Testament. </p><p>Then God sends His son, Jesus, and through the blood of Jesus mankind is made clean; not only the Jews but the Gentiles are welcomed into the family of God and their bloodline is cleansed through the blood of Jesus. Because of His sacrifice the weapons of our warfare are no longer carnal but are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds for salvation. It is God's will that all be saved and none should perish.</p><p>There are no holy wars today. We have not understood bloodline. It is simply unholy men fighting against other unholy men for power. Satan is behind every one of these divisions and wars. And these wars have been funded on both sides by the deep state, or New World Order. </p><p>More than that, we have learned that the shot (not technically a va##ine) is altering our dna. It is corrupting the bloodline. But before you're horrified, understand that the whole purpose of this study was for God to show me that there is nothing, NOTHING!!, more powerful or able to stand against the blood of Jesus!! I have family members who have received the shot and the Lord told me because I have always covered them in the blood of Jesus, they have not been harmed.</p><p>Right now, according to the main stream media, Russia is bombing Ukraine. My question is why, when you know the MSM has lied to you about the election, covid, and the shot, would you believe they are telling the truth about the situation in Ukraine? <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Restore7">Johnny Enlow,</a> Elijah list, has wonderful information regarding this situation. He has been on top of things politically and spiritually since the overtake of our country. </p><p>I pray that the Body of Christ will begin to understand the heart of God. Jesus came to bring life, and life more abundant. War is death. War never serves the purposes of God. There is no good guy and bad guy. If we're killing people, we are serving the purposes of Satan, who comes to kill, steal and destroy. </p><p>So we pray for Body of Christ in both Russia and Ukraine and we pray for those who are innocent of this violence that God would save them for the day of salvation. We pray that those who are knowingly participating in this evil would repent and turn their hearts to God. We pray that the evil would be exposed and we would understand what has been going on in our world for a very long time. We pray that we would learn to employ every weapon of our warfare against our enemy, Satan, and we thank God for the victory and that His Kingdom is coming to the earth, which is righteousness, peace and joy.</p><p>love and blessings, </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigba3sdjaT7laMXwaFKx1d47LMzro13LAhOx5YNinmTVAZBeFo0BHJeHEoC-S6GOk9ml8NKa5Q5l-vswJbwDi0kq5K6-mWiP2H9a5dK1Qeqx-J64OM4SuDRLawNzBoDt7iXPK8i1vjAvy-wWg-_AJzfM6xCEJ4vIoLL4lzmdJljAwBJo1Zzjg0zqRV=s149" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="149" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigba3sdjaT7laMXwaFKx1d47LMzro13LAhOx5YNinmTVAZBeFo0BHJeHEoC-S6GOk9ml8NKa5Q5l-vswJbwDi0kq5K6-mWiP2H9a5dK1Qeqx-J64OM4SuDRLawNzBoDt7iXPK8i1vjAvy-wWg-_AJzfM6xCEJ4vIoLL4lzmdJljAwBJo1Zzjg0zqRV" width="149" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">"Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways." Proverbs 3:31</p>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-4690113397461469152022-02-15T12:40:00.001-05:002022-02-15T12:40:22.431-05:00By My Spirit<p>In the last year or so I have been attempting to paint art. My heart is to be able to paint the things the Lord shows me in the Spirit. By God's grace, I have seen the river of life, I have seen the Holy Spirit dance over the water at creation dressed in the rainbow, I have seen the Selah released during worship, and more, and a picture is worth a thousand words. </p><p>I have painted ocean scenes, flowers, angels - anything that appeals to me, in an effort to learn. I've been watching YouTube videos and have been surprised at how much good information is available online. I realize clearly that I am not "good" yet, but I am enjoying it so much.</p><p>Today, the Holy Spirit put a thought on my heart that I think might bless you and encourage you. The Word tells us that God will equip us for what He calls us to do. Hebrews 13:21 There are many ways that He can equip us but He reminded me that the most powerful, all-knowing, skilled teacher we have is the Holy Spirit. </p><p>We need to value the Holy Spirit above education, above intelligence, above logic, above strength and ability. We need to fight for the Holy Spirit to have ascendency in our lives! We need to fight against discouragement and any lie that tells us we can't.</p><p>The other day, I was watching a Godly message on YouTube that a friend had tagged to me and when it was done, it automatically rolled over to Bill Johnson preaching a message called, "Creativity in War." The general message is that in this season, as God is releasing His Holy Spirit on the Earth in even more powerful ways, it will also be demonstrated and released in the arts. </p><p>And as I listened to this message, the Lord spoke to me and impressed upon to release the Holy Spirit into the image of a person that I'm painting! I cried with this beautiful revelation that I could effect a person by painting them in the love of the Holy Spirit ~ paint them as God sees them!</p><p>One of the things that Bill Johnson said is that he believes that every child is creative and an artist and that only through negative words and discouragement do they stop creating. We are created in the image of a creative God. We are creative beings made to bring the Kingdom of God to the Earth. Every gift of the Holy Spirit has been given to us to proclaim the goodness of God and to share His love and resurrection power. </p><p>Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12;10 that when we are weak, we are strong in Christ. As we allow the Holy Spirit to operate in us knowing that we cannot do it by our own ability, God is glorified.</p><p>I am pursuing the Holy Spirit's creativity in my life. I am pressing in to Him in music, art, and writing. It is not about being a great artist, it's about God being glorified. My heart is that God will be glorified through my art. Because, "It's not by power and not by might, but by My Spirit," says the Lord!</p><p>love and blessings~</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRN1PR8TB0NCDjZSvDE7E6HnErsAgXOTCNqUf-W1K6ObDy42TvhSwA_vVrYked2u8U0-mqhOaXxwf1V3cWnChfduoQ_01p4BGPhoJzgIEnAn14q4YRQclBfGxZESxWvhV7R65fVpLVoj6DrGK33h9UhUy-Ggl8KlpOpbdB_U18JdocUXcGixNUz3Ob=s149" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="149" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRN1PR8TB0NCDjZSvDE7E6HnErsAgXOTCNqUf-W1K6ObDy42TvhSwA_vVrYked2u8U0-mqhOaXxwf1V3cWnChfduoQ_01p4BGPhoJzgIEnAn14q4YRQclBfGxZESxWvhV7R65fVpLVoj6DrGK33h9UhUy-Ggl8KlpOpbdB_U18JdocUXcGixNUz3Ob" width="149" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 Cor 1:27</div><br /><p><br /></p>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-23274762200176886252019-06-11T12:16:00.002-04:002019-06-11T12:16:58.619-04:00Walking in FaithMy husband and I are finding ourselves at an unexpected crossroads. It's all a blessing but it's a surprise and I found myself remembering days when I was just learning to walk this walk, many years ago. And as I was thinking about it, I realized, "It's not about 'faith', it's about our purpose."<br />
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Let me explain. Sometimes I think, in the back of our mind, that we think God is cruel when he stretches our faith. We think how unimaginable it was that He would lead the children of Israel to the Red Sea and what?! just expect that they would know He would part the water?! That He would cause water to pour out of a rock and manna to appear on the ground?! That He would cause the wall of Jericho to fall?!<br />
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And we think the same thing today. In the back of our mind, we are thinking, "There's no way this is going to work. Unless, God does a miracle, it's not going to work." And the truth is, God is always showing us that there is no obstacle too big for Him! "No mountain He won't climb up, wall He won't kick down, coming after me." (Jeremy Riddle) There is nothing that can stand in our way when He is working on our behalf. We think He operates out of our faith but I think he just needs us to have faith so that we'll keep going. Because it's not all about us.<br />
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Here's a simple example: Imagine you're God and you have a child who is just learning to walk. He's holding on to furniture and making his way around but he's scared to let go and he's just learning to balance. You, being God, knows that he can never accomplish all the things you have for him in life if he never learns to walk. So you get down on the floor and reach for him and encourage him to 'stretch his faith' and take a step. Your goal is not to grow his faith. Your goal is for him to walk. Your goal is for him to walk so he can run so he can fly. It's not about his faith. That's a means-to-an-end. It's not about you blessing him, although your blessings are going to pursue him all his life. It's about his purpose here on this earth.<br />
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God is just trying to get you to take another step. And just like we do with a child, He encourages us to take a bigger step each time.<br />
Walk a little further.<br />
Jump across this obstacle.<br />
Climb this mountain or tear it down with declaration.<br />
Keep your focus.<br />
Don't get discouraged.<br />
You're doing fine.<br />
God's got everything in control and He's setting things up.<br />
Just keep going.<br />
Look at the big picture.<br />
Don't sweat the small stuff.<br />
Let today's worries be sufficient for today.<br />
Find out where He wants you to go and then follow His direction.<br />
Take a leap when He asks you.<br />
Trust Him that He won't let you fall. And if you do miss the direction and fall, He'll pick you up, brush you off and correct your course.<br />
He's not disappointed.<br />
He has a goal in mind and His mercies are new every day.<br />
Stay the course.<br />
Count it all joy.<br />
Expect miracles.<br />
Expect blessings.<br />
He's got your back.<br />
Think long term.<br />
Just keep walking. In faith.<br />
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Read the end of the book.<br />
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love and blessings,<br />
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"For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11<br />
<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-34070386427139074412019-04-30T08:38:00.000-04:002019-04-30T08:38:16.451-04:00Raised Stencil Tutorial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhwO9tsRWPldOzrtMbY9PtgYJXygX_OG40aOWTqPX0A-ZriVkwAObjJrDCI4C25tzyExwezL4MK_OKwiK-bGcpvJyuTwncqvZsBL31_Cqrk-kRjPiPUORmN6d8xwwgab1HCWdnkc4Ejo/s1600/2019-04-19+16.41.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhwO9tsRWPldOzrtMbY9PtgYJXygX_OG40aOWTqPX0A-ZriVkwAObjJrDCI4C25tzyExwezL4MK_OKwiK-bGcpvJyuTwncqvZsBL31_Cqrk-kRjPiPUORmN6d8xwwgab1HCWdnkc4Ejo/s640/2019-04-19+16.41.04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I love the look of a French Chateau! And unfortunately, there aren't any in Big Rapids, Michigan, so I have done my best to get the feel over the years. When I spotted this technique for raised stencils several years ago, I fell in love! I did my research on how it was done and let it simmer for a while.<br />
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I wanted our entry to flow better with the rest of our house. Your entry sets the feel for the rest of your house and it's the first thing your guests see. Sometimes, it's the only thing people see. I wanted ours to make a statement.<br />
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So I started out painting the our white closet doors and trim with the same wood-tone technique that I had done in the rest of the house. You can see the closet reflected in the mirror, the shutter on the window and the trim on the door. Then I went to the walls.<br />
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I painted them a uniform Sand by Sherwin Williams - from top trim to bottom, including the chair rail. I experimented with the chair rail being a wood tone and didn't like it so went back and covered my experiment.<br />
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And then I paused and almost cried. I truly had loved the old paint technique in the room and now it was just a flat, boring beige. I texted my daughter and told her I may have made a mistake. And then I reminded myself how furniture can sometimes look when you're in the middle of the job and told myself that it will be okay!<br />
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The next day I gathered the supplies I had bought for this design and took a deep breath. I marked the places I wanted the stencils to be, basically the same places they had been on the previous design.<br />
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I used painter's tape to hold the stencil to the wall and applied the plaster over the stencil with a small trowel. I got the plaster into all the holes and then skimmed back over it, leaving a thinner, even coat. Then immediately pulled the stencil off the wall.<br />
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I believe I bought this stencil from Royal Design Studio several years ago but couldn't find it to link to it. Cutting Edge stencils also has some beautiful damask patterns.<br />
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As you can see, there's just a thin layer of plaster. In some areas, because I had to bend my stencil around corners or be up against trim, I got some thicker lumps. I removed some when the plaster was wet and went back when it was almost dry and sanded some down. It was really easy to work with. And the imperfections add to the charm.<br />
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I let the stencils dry for a full 24 hours. The next day they were hard and solid. My family panicked a little saying, "You know this is permanent!" (I've been known to re-decorate.) ;)<br />
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I then used this roller and put Sand by SW in one side and Antique White by Valspar in the other side and went back over my walls, including the raised stencil to get an uneven look on my walls.<br />
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I wasn't blogging at the time so I don't have any more pictures of the process. I then used these products to accent the stencils.<br />
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It was really an experiment. Some things that I thought I would like were too dark. Whenever I didn't like something, I covered it back up with Sand. There are about 20 of these raised stencils in the room and each one is uniquely painted. What I mostly ended up with was very little of the bronze glaze and more of the pearl glaze. The stencils become more evident depending on where you're standing in the room and how the light is hitting them.<br />
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If I ever get tired of them, a coat of paint the same color as the room would cause them to barely show.<br />
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Here are some pictures I found on Pinterest that were my inspiration:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsaFjbjVq3OSFF2wcH5AWsqjY9t48hrSRtLXt78lp4RIahs1dDvSUz-gTc1veoZYDoylpjpf2g1pb7NeWllPWWusuwJywfkGDYwXmS2zFV8B8gPEbU8NdjsMkA09CdCR3iRVMbIm4Hio/s1600/51b907808a5f2ffd75bec9641f468f19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAsaFjbjVq3OSFF2wcH5AWsqjY9t48hrSRtLXt78lp4RIahs1dDvSUz-gTc1veoZYDoylpjpf2g1pb7NeWllPWWusuwJywfkGDYwXmS2zFV8B8gPEbU8NdjsMkA09CdCR3iRVMbIm4Hio/s320/51b907808a5f2ffd75bec9641f468f19.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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This last picture is a door! And I know exactly the door in my house that I can do this on!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMESA1TBt6IObzlaQUTxrPG71jAcvxYiXcfsO87lQZiwtGEbwRGtOxLCLRwTzG1uRm22wPXM-fmyz04AmwSaMSsUjcnkbQxgVAQImDQBw46Wv4Cb9HBAiNrjcBiChDSvk4EsOfbwiYmE4/s1600/2019-04-30+08.46.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1086" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMESA1TBt6IObzlaQUTxrPG71jAcvxYiXcfsO87lQZiwtGEbwRGtOxLCLRwTzG1uRm22wPXM-fmyz04AmwSaMSsUjcnkbQxgVAQImDQBw46Wv4Cb9HBAiNrjcBiChDSvk4EsOfbwiYmE4/s400/2019-04-30+08.46.57.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
And here's mine. I darkened the color so that you can see the pattern a little better. Our walls are much lighter. And none of my inspiration pictures used a glaze with a sheen to it but like I said, I experimented and that's what I ended up liking.<br />
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I think a lot of my inspiration pictures were done on plaster walls (of a French chateau) and that was more work than I could do. So mine is a modern compromise.<br />
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I hope this explained the process well. It took me about 5 days to finish this all. One for trim and closets, one for wall base coat, one for plaster stencils, and a couple more days painting all the stencils and finding the look I liked. This is a large room (25x15) and the fun thing is, depending on your stencil pattern, placement and paint, there are so many options to try!<br />
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My husband loves it. He got a far away look in his eye in the middle of this whole thing and I asked him what he was thinking. He replied, "I'm worried about all the rooms you could do this in!" <br />
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Poor man! Right now, I'm thinking about that closet door!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="text Matt-7-24" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-23341B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-23341B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>a wise man who built his house on the rock.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Matt-7-25" id="en-ESV-23342" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Matt-7-26" id="en-ESV-23343" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-23343C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-23343C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>a foolish man who built his house on the sand.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Matt-7-27" id="en-ESV-23344" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27</span></span></i></span><br />
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Supplies:<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072Q64HBZ/?coliid=I37010WS23JJ0S&colid=3B6862CQWQ9KX&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it" target="_blank">Sponge paint roller</a><br />
Sand by Sherwin Williams<br />
Antique White by Valspar<br />
painter's tape<br />
stencil<br />
wall plaster<br />
Valspar Copper Glaze<br />
Rustoleum Pearl Glaze<br />
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<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-83127442584738650332019-04-29T08:00:00.000-04:002019-04-29T08:00:35.136-04:00A Teal Velvet Settee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hi Friends!</div>
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Did you know that the word "friend" that we see in the Word of God is not the same as the way we commonly use it today in our society? The word "friend" is a term that they used for someone they were in covenant with. When the Bible says that Abraham was a friend of God, it means that he was in covenant with God! </div>
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When I say "friend," I am using it to say, "we are in covenant with each other as part of the Body of Christ!" I just love that!</div>
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I wanted to share more details of my entry makeover with you, including the other side of the room. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFVwx_9H5pGFtlbA1fIuP6rY5K75CkpzpLzTW2EnrEXhjJrOncLX98rpoZMrRwE7RWOJpJiD2Koyw5oFDoDCYZA7X4dRXfnroYrjcgi7Vc4hTiqwl6Jq96zQydciRGpfDXWh_dJ01Gfc/s1600/2019-04-19+16.47.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFVwx_9H5pGFtlbA1fIuP6rY5K75CkpzpLzTW2EnrEXhjJrOncLX98rpoZMrRwE7RWOJpJiD2Koyw5oFDoDCYZA7X4dRXfnroYrjcgi7Vc4hTiqwl6Jq96zQydciRGpfDXWh_dJ01Gfc/s640/2019-04-19+16.47.13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
My husband and I bought this antique settee when we lived in Winchester, Virginia about 18 years ago. There was a beautiful little antique shop in town owned by the sweetest man. We were in there one day when I spotted this settee and 'oohed and ahhed' and stared and sighed. lol Not very subtle, right? Our anniversary was coming up and my husband suggested we buy it for our anniversary gift. We call it the "loooooove seat."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGaz9l6Jh9HNkp_HU-lRn5prA5b0QJw5W-_PM4fWYCk4lJPZQNBu7ohDbbAbMxqeveTe2RS8adh8dxfA1PHS7kX3juWrXNQNMl_WC_Y-NJIjG1HszpN34vm8xvyu5W48QlYNey_O0HkU/s1600/settee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1478" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGaz9l6Jh9HNkp_HU-lRn5prA5b0QJw5W-_PM4fWYCk4lJPZQNBu7ohDbbAbMxqeveTe2RS8adh8dxfA1PHS7kX3juWrXNQNMl_WC_Y-NJIjG1HszpN34vm8xvyu5W48QlYNey_O0HkU/s400/settee.jpg" width="368" /></a></div>
It was originally covered in an emerald green velvet which I'm sure, at one time,was beautiful. But time had caused it to fade and wear and you could tell it was old. I kept it that way for several years, as it went well with our decor in Virginia, but I've recovered it a couple of times in the last 16 years.<br />
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I recovered it this winter in this scrumptious teal velvet. (the actual color is a little greener. I couldn't get it to photograph as true as I wanted.) This kind of settee is easy to reupholster. I just used an electric staple gun to attach the fabric and then covered the staples with double piping that I sewed myself. You could also use premade trim if you wanted, which would mean no sewing at all!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXR0V3ol0Xz-9-3oLckFNVs9Klx38qyjwjrn5_j9g2nPxbMUK-pfCptD9463r8Ix7yNC3eUa4d7u6g3yHwc4qNV_NZ8TH2OhTaWmtVNM5mhqKpk1DYl68EAcFnlDIk-s26hg_dV92XJuQ/s1600/2019-04-15+12.37.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1111" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXR0V3ol0Xz-9-3oLckFNVs9Klx38qyjwjrn5_j9g2nPxbMUK-pfCptD9463r8Ix7yNC3eUa4d7u6g3yHwc4qNV_NZ8TH2OhTaWmtVNM5mhqKpk1DYl68EAcFnlDIk-s26hg_dV92XJuQ/s400/2019-04-15+12.37.17.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
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The art piece behind it was also purchased at a Kirkland's in Virginia. I added this fun little gold stump table for a bit of whimsy. I've toyed with the idea of adding some modern pieces to our house lately. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGMl82RPK7oQeokGjrBiT4Zqh7sYFNO8i2IL8oTP91Gb2MdbchI9XA1jDQX7w7ofAN50ZQKau3KrU34iSVFQ0kzfJlo7DUYxCYjzabarDGDPiDUykNnBkyIyGj504VNEsWIdgyrOwpes/s1600/2019-04-26+12.10.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGMl82RPK7oQeokGjrBiT4Zqh7sYFNO8i2IL8oTP91Gb2MdbchI9XA1jDQX7w7ofAN50ZQKau3KrU34iSVFQ0kzfJlo7DUYxCYjzabarDGDPiDUykNnBkyIyGj504VNEsWIdgyrOwpes/s640/2019-04-26+12.10.09.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Funny story about this gold stump...I was shopping online one day for something fun and whimsical to put next to the settee when I found a very similar gold stump. I marked it to think about, and come back later to purchase, if I decided I wanted it. Just a few days later, I was in HomeGoods in Grand Rapids with our daughter and one of the first things I spotted when we walked into the store was this gold stump! I promptly put it in my cart and it rode around the store with us until we left with it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HwPYTqifsuWS1uwe74JE22PZJxUN1M3jQsbc1X1lHmDc8XQBpM67HEeyYRfLdVUlkOiOfSAPe6ZPs8PAx0n9W6heKVdPAfUmFs9UQf4R6u2pXTAS27j2qJLUWUxHncMGD279LiyNDEw/s1600/2019-04-26+12.09.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="1600" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HwPYTqifsuWS1uwe74JE22PZJxUN1M3jQsbc1X1lHmDc8XQBpM67HEeyYRfLdVUlkOiOfSAPe6ZPs8PAx0n9W6heKVdPAfUmFs9UQf4R6u2pXTAS27j2qJLUWUxHncMGD279LiyNDEw/s400/2019-04-26+12.09.19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I ordered this teal velvet on line, which is always a risk, but when it arrived it was even more delicious than I had imagined. I had ordered all they had left and had just enough to cover the settee and make a pillow. I love the dramatic pop of color it gives to this room. I found an almost identical teal velvet home decor fabric at our nearby Joann's Fabric and am thinking about using it elsewhere in our house.<br />
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When I painted the blue buffet, I bought a sample-sized paint this same teal color and used it to deepen the color in the corners.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjynohsQFOP3LK0QsJJKvgdZN1_lhyC65vMwgraUJk_NJDFWLHB3XMvKPPuCJNCQXUvagdwbau4ZhDAAwbNgKUru58x8Xw-deMBSttZQzRT_zK7bNkUJm-4piiHYN68FjCZ1v7ys5uzpk/s1600/bluechest1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1342" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjynohsQFOP3LK0QsJJKvgdZN1_lhyC65vMwgraUJk_NJDFWLHB3XMvKPPuCJNCQXUvagdwbau4ZhDAAwbNgKUru58x8Xw-deMBSttZQzRT_zK7bNkUJm-4piiHYN68FjCZ1v7ys5uzpk/s400/bluechest1.jpg" width="335" /></a></div>
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I'll be back soon to give you all the details about the walls. I used a fun technique that I've never done before and it was so easy! Hope you're having a great day!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="versenum" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30300A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30300A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-30300B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-30300B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">friend of God." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">James 2:23</span></span></div>
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<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-70685010699808114452019-04-26T08:49:00.002-04:002019-04-26T08:49:54.251-04:00The Veil - a book review<img height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41RP8saVdTL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="132" />I love to read! I would just about rather read than anything else! And I will often read every minute I can and finish a book in a day. <br />
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I'm really terrible at book clubs because I finish the whole book in a couple of days and want to go on to the next one. I can't talk accurately about the chapter we were supposed to read and discuss it well because I've finished the book and read another one since we got together. <br />
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There's got to be some good to this, right? So, I've decided to start posting reviews on books that I think are wonderful and helpful. You'll find book reviews under 'Faith' at the top.<br />
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I recently read a wonderful book by Blake K. Healy called,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Veil-Invitation-Unseen-Realm/dp/1629994901/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8VCYX4TTIT0E&keywords=the+veil+blake+healy&qid=1556205780&s=gateway&sprefix=the+veil%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1" target="_blank"> <i>The Veil.</i></a> As early as he can remember, Blake has seen the spirit world. He didn't realize that everyone wasn't seeing what he saw until he was in grade school. He saw demons and angels and spiritual activity. He was raised in a Christian home but it wasn't until he attended Bethel's School of Ministry in Redding, California that he felt comfortable sharing his wonderful gift.<br />
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His book is an honest account of his struggle to understand his gift and to be accepted by the people around him. I loved his vulnerability and the beautiful way he describes what he sees and the understanding God has brought over the years.<br />
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He says that everyone of us has a 'personal angel.' He calls them this instead of 'guardian angels' because they are so much more than that. They are both a reflection of who we are and what we need. They minister to us from the Father when we are weak and they rejoice in our victories. They are with us from birth to death.<br />
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He sees demons and has come to a greater understanding of how they operate and has seen how simple and complete our authority in Christ is over them, if we know it.<br />
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I want to share an excerpt of his book with you. I hung on every word but this part was my favorite because it showed so clearly the love of Jesus. He is describing what is happening during a worship service, starting with the worship team practicing.<br />
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<i>"Three angels are pacing up and down the rows of chairs, swirling their arms in wide arching patterns that send little blue pellets of water from their fingertips. Their long, green robes add to the whimsical quality of their movements and seem to be soaked with the same water they sprinkle throughout the sanctuary.</i></div>
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<i>The worship team practice goes no different than usual. People are discussing which key would be most appropriate for this song and when the best time for the drums to come in on that song is, but for some reason I can feel a growing sense of anticipation. This isn't because of the angels. They, or others like them, prepare the sanctuary every Sunday.</i></div>
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<i>As the service gets closer, people start piling in. A momentum builds during practice, and the presence of God starts to enter the room. Then the first real song starts and it feels like the song hits a brick wall. I used to find this part of worship frustrating. This initial resistance happens almost every time. </i></div>
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<i>I used to blame this resistance on the members of the congregation-secretly, of course, because that sort of thinking isn't very Christian. Now I tend to think that this resistance is a natural force in and of itself. Climbing a mountain is a strenuous and difficult process that requires much effort, patience and skill. You won't hear a mountain climber complain about this, however. They will be too busy telling you how fantastic the view from the top is. I think that sometimes an initial struggle makes the result more valuable.</i></div>
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<i>I see three new angels standing at the front of the room-each head and shoulders above anyone on the stage. They struggle to raise their muscular arms as if they are trying to lift something immensely heavy, though I don't see anything in their hands. As they strain against this invisible force, I see that small green plants have sprouted in the places where the swirling angels sprinkled those pellets of water. The plants grow and shrink in sync with the large angels' attempts to lift their arms. I get the impression that they are struggling against the very same resistance that I feel whenever worship starts. It is as if they are trying to pull life from the ground.</i></div>
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<i>One of our worship leaders steps up to the microphone to start the first song. I like this guy. I can see his heart from where I'm sitting; it burns white-hot, glowing in a way that stings my eyes. Will knows about purity. He doesn't care how high or steep the mountain is; he just wants to get to where God is waiting. And he wants to bring everyone with him. Whatever touched that heart would instantly incinerate and go up in smoke, like incense to heaven. A heart like his can turn anything into worship. The presence of God has always come during every worship service I have ever attended, but I am constantly amazed at how significantly the posture of our hearts affects our ability to feel that presence.</i></div>
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<i>I still feel the resistance by the time the first song ends, but the angels' plants have grown to the ceiling and have begun to twist around the fluorescent lights like ivy.</i></div>
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<i>The second song begins, and the second worship leader takes the lead. The moment she opens her mouth, I feel as if I'm being yanked up into the air. The wall behind the worship team begins to take on the texture and color of clouds and sunshine. The plants that had grown earlier begin to release large pieces of pollen that swirl through the air in time with the music.</i></div>
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<i>Near the end of the song, she starts singing a simple prophetic song, "Sons and Daughters." Strength and encouragement appear out of thin air and strap on to people in the congregation like pieces of glowing red armor. It sinks into their skin and melts into their bones.</i></div>
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<i>During the third song there is such strong sense of being drawn into the loving heart of God that I forget to write for the first half of the song. It's a real face-to-face moment with God. I can't see anything when I look around the room. Most of the angels have gone, but when I focus on one person at a time, I see Jesus standing with him or her.</i></div>
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<i>We humans have a different relationship with God than the angels do. I don't always understand the difference, but sometimes, when His presence takes on a certain quality, all the angels leave. Then it's just God and us.</i></div>
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<i>A woman in the third row is holding her hands over her heart. Jesus stands directly in front of her, taking her hands in His and He whispers in her ear. A man is lying in the aisle with his face planted firmly in the carpet. Jesus kneels over him and rests both hands on his back.</i></div>
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<i>Jesus is visiting each person individually yet all at the same time. Most are interacting with Him in one way or another-dancing, crying, laughing, or simply standing hand in hand. Others are scanning the room with a bored look on their faces or sitting with arms crossed. Jesus is standing near them too, or course, just waiting. He doesn't look frustrated or even disappointed. He's just waiting."</i></div>
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I'm crying as I type this. I had to get up and get a tissue. The love of Christ undoes me. To understand that Jesus stands and waits with love and patience. That He came to everyone in that room. Even to those that weren't open to Him. </div>
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There were so many wonderful stories in this book of what Blake has seen in the spirit realm. But the most wonderful part is understanding that God wants us all to know Him and see these things too. And Blake shares this in such a way, with prayer, for each of our eyes to be opened to see these things. I have seen many things in my years with God but never to this extent but I now have faith that God is willing and removing the obstacles and wrong thinking that hinder me from seeing more.</div>
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I pray that you will too.</div>
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love and blessings~</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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"I myself will see him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" </div>
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Job 19:27</div>
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Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-23417778089704172442019-04-25T11:12:00.001-04:002019-04-25T11:12:54.801-04:00Godly Boundaries <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #001320; text-align: justify;">Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." Isaiah 49:16</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you again to those who have contacted me in the last year asking if I was doing okay and if I was going to blog again. A thousand thoughts are going through my mind as I sit down to write this. I know this is something God is putting on my heart to write and I've learned and 'established' so much this past year regarding my own personal boundaries. Many scriptures are also coming to mind so I pray that God connects it all together and you will receive what's on my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-21), the result is healthy boundaries or walls. We know where we stand~ we stand 'in Christ' or in covenant with Christ. We know who we are and we know Whose we are. When are secure in this place, we cannot be shaken. We draw a line in the sand and say, "This is me. This is who I am. These are my boundaries."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">*<i>Personal </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"><i>boundaries </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"><i>are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave towards them and how they will respond when someone passes those limits.</i>*</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">We have external boundaries and we have internal boundaries. When our internal boundaries are sound, our external boundaries come naturally. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">Each of us have boundaries or walls. Some are healthy, some are not, and some need to be strengthened and extended. This is something that God has been establishing in me this past year. God wants our boundaries to be established by Him and His Word and for His Holy Spirit to be the One Who draws these boundaries.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">It's more than that. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">We are created in His image but we are a finite being, with boundaries drawn by Him. Life, rejection, negative words, etc. want to destroy those boundaries. Sin and not knowing Him and the purpose for which we were created destroy those boundaries from the inside. It tears down our walls. It opens us up to confusion and un-Godly influence. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">When we are secure in who we are in Him, our boundaries become sound and correct. When we do not know who we are in Him we seek approval from others, do things that are not in His plan for us to do, and open ourselves to people and circumstances that are not healthy for us. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">Some people have focused in on the ability to say 'no' to other's requests, but it's more than that. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">It's knowing who you are and not compromising what you're called to do to please others. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">Not so much saying 'no' as saying 'yes' to what He's called us to do. Having a focus and knowing your purpose. I've had to pull back this past year and re-establish my understanding of who I am in Him and what He's called me to do.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">We all get impressed with others at times and think they have figured out how to do it and we'll do it that way and we'll succeed but that's not what He wants us to do. We are all so uniquely created by Him and each of our paths are different. And success is not necessarily people's approval. It's His approval. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">So many people that we admire were rejected by their peers. It's only after their death that people recognized the truth in their message and embraced it. Rejection by people doesn't mean failure. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Social media is a very dangerous thing. It can cause us to compromise for the approval of others. There's more danger in being 'liked' than being disliked because being 'liked' is like a drug. We've all seen the child star who turned to depression and drugs when their 'stardom' ended. They don't know who they are without the love of crowds. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The people I admire are those who stand up and say, "This is who I am. This is what I know to be true. This is how I'm going to do it." Even in the face of disapproval, they insist on who they are. In this day and age, social media is a huge influence. And it can be cruel. It shocks me the things people say. But it also shocks me how much people submit themselves to social media for approval. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">The Lord spoke to me one day and said, "The more influence you have, the more you're exposed to disapproval." And I realized I wasn't strong enough. I realized I needed to be more established in Him before I could withstand the pressure. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I also realized that I need my blog to reflect me. And I am foremost and always a child of God, forgiven, redeemed, and restored by His love. Forever grateful. Every success I have, I owe to Him.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">So I have determined to do this thing my way. And it took me a while to figure out what that was. It's that simple. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">And I'll tell you a secret. The only reason I blog my decorating is because the Lord told me it leads people to this blog and then they encounter His love. When reading James Maloney's book, <i>The Dancing Hand of God,</i> I saw scripture come floating up out of the book! I have prayed that this blog be so filled with the love of God that it causes you to have an encounter with Him. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">So I may not visit your blog. Please forgive me. My goal is to obey God in all I do~and that takes a concentrated focus at times. And I'm making a new commitment to live a purposeful life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">love and blessings~</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #23221f; font-size: 16px;"><i>Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #23221f; font-size: 16px;"><i>Proverbs 25:28</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #23221f; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, "Century gothic", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">ps: If you need help in this area,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Updated-Expanded-When-Control/dp/0310351804/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1556204787&sr=8-1" target="_blank"> </a><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Updated-Expanded-When-Control/dp/0310351804/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1556204787&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Boundaries</a> </i>by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend is a great book. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-7726316593827697672019-04-23T16:34:00.001-04:002019-04-23T16:34:46.465-04:00A Softer Shade of Blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hi Friends!</div>
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I hope you and your family had a beautiful Resurrection Sunday as we celebrated the life, death and resurrection of Jesus! I was so blessed to see social media filled with proclamations of Jesus. He is our hope, our joy and our life!</div>
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We had an extremely harsh winter here in Michigan this year. And one snowy, icy day I decided to redecorate our entry. I genuinely loved this room before but always felt it didn't flow as well with the rest of the house as I'd like. I wanted less Traditional and more French Country. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOHKPCMz86Fn9EXzIXe1BeZMrEkGwlXY9PV-Lxaa88hG1dBxoWw7dMcAcMhTrOjhPSux6iw6GZSxLP8mt3gLcm29lfpdMi8XD3bnlZuVUaUkL55Mblq6Qpel73momoH_cQG8CD5aa-Kc/s1600/2019-04-19+16.40.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1166" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOHKPCMz86Fn9EXzIXe1BeZMrEkGwlXY9PV-Lxaa88hG1dBxoWw7dMcAcMhTrOjhPSux6iw6GZSxLP8mt3gLcm29lfpdMi8XD3bnlZuVUaUkL55Mblq6Qpel73momoH_cQG8CD5aa-Kc/s640/2019-04-19+16.40.46.jpg" width="465" /></a></div>
The picture below was taken by the photographer from Romantic Homes a couple of years ago. The walls were blue a soft blue with a painted stencil and below the chair rail and trim was all bright white. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFAnkIxuEY843iqFxhRV-3owYHnHQOD10jWzKZZPGguL5lefzxYWIx_nAQpIw60gyWFXaMlHUIJooWbfa4S5kO6S3J-xeV3qQ5NmAsl74llO-A54nTKG5Kl1PRjf1xMAAWL15-lWFvBw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="401" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFAnkIxuEY843iqFxhRV-3owYHnHQOD10jWzKZZPGguL5lefzxYWIx_nAQpIw60gyWFXaMlHUIJooWbfa4S5kO6S3J-xeV3qQ5NmAsl74llO-A54nTKG5Kl1PRjf1xMAAWL15-lWFvBw/s400/1.jpg" width="386" /></a> </div>
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I started the redo by painting the trim and closet doors a light wood tone to match the rest of the house. I painted the walls in Sand by Sherwin Williams as a base coat, from top to bottom, including the chair rail. I'll share the paint technique and raised plaster stencil I did in a later post. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzGGa53Y8BD6ZwAxBu3wdXUPKAafwZGtcGGu9v0LxEiJQAlaG1HQfdNoWNnvtwihLuLXDZ3SPOn-fuSHcmnmEFWvAmvK_crZ2XNLhtKjSaz12QmwY7lWxSNjKc-7TMoSRbXqU0c7Xd8o/s1600/2019-04-19+16.41.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzGGa53Y8BD6ZwAxBu3wdXUPKAafwZGtcGGu9v0LxEiJQAlaG1HQfdNoWNnvtwihLuLXDZ3SPOn-fuSHcmnmEFWvAmvK_crZ2XNLhtKjSaz12QmwY7lWxSNjKc-7TMoSRbXqU0c7Xd8o/s640/2019-04-19+16.41.04.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And then I repainted our blue dresser.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4_D4nLQ6VtpxAi8_FawRJo93a4P1AGie9jkZ3rSj32znZ1kv8W0wK1svCSSmdX1ecSWTiZicCEoWNQxQgUJI0u1C_vIkmbHU7VQCXvQXGJbDqjA1OT8GoDW4mrg-mkQDVgSZ_Ve50Og/s1600/2019-04-19+16.41.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4_D4nLQ6VtpxAi8_FawRJo93a4P1AGie9jkZ3rSj32znZ1kv8W0wK1svCSSmdX1ecSWTiZicCEoWNQxQgUJI0u1C_vIkmbHU7VQCXvQXGJbDqjA1OT8GoDW4mrg-mkQDVgSZ_Ve50Og/s640/2019-04-19+16.41.13.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
The new color is much lighter and more the color that shows up around our house in almost every room. I'm sorry I can't give you a color name. I used the same color that I custom mixed for our family room a few years ago and then added colors to it and layered it on until I got the look I wanted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IIGt4arjVHRO1HBl0-NsWo4xEawLZMWPTcroR55AuSHYR8cxnBeoolYZPDBVCoWjjzE749VsM390BtYaqlmgs_jPy77BiDZBGGCPLe8jp5SE7Upmwb2115r4HkbaJ9WDFwKwCDi1zXA/s1600/2019-04-19+16.42.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IIGt4arjVHRO1HBl0-NsWo4xEawLZMWPTcroR55AuSHYR8cxnBeoolYZPDBVCoWjjzE749VsM390BtYaqlmgs_jPy77BiDZBGGCPLe8jp5SE7Upmwb2115r4HkbaJ9WDFwKwCDi1zXA/s400/2019-04-19+16.42.16.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
I always use a chalk paint additive I bought on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chalk+paint+additive&crid=1C4RPV5U8QE5V&sprefix=chalk+paint+add%2Caps%2C159&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_15" target="_blank">Amazon. </a> It gives your paint that smooth chalky finish but I can add it to any color that I already have. <br />
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For those of you who are new to this site, I bought this dresser second hand several years ago. It was an old, maple bedroom dresser that someone had in storage. It was in great shape and we paid $100 for it. It's definitely one of my favorite pieces of furniture in our home and I love the impact it gives when you walk in our front door.<br />
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<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">I added a little of the light blue to our HomeGoods mirror so that it coordinated better. This mirror was on clearance at HomeGoods a couple of years ago. It was all a uniform cream color and I painted it to match the dresser. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5cKMTaPiLTpuXA6ox42tIlOVjoToXyN4Nf-ASGfgH0SPpllQ7wLAfP0IaAlwuM-LPsnAk_PZPsSDHjMM5ZpQXhgzc1tn8KsMHk7B6oNzq8lTlLHD0dw1LRv20eRhxF1nwr-lmWyvNF8/s1600/2019-04-19+16.45.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5cKMTaPiLTpuXA6ox42tIlOVjoToXyN4Nf-ASGfgH0SPpllQ7wLAfP0IaAlwuM-LPsnAk_PZPsSDHjMM5ZpQXhgzc1tn8KsMHk7B6oNzq8lTlLHD0dw1LRv20eRhxF1nwr-lmWyvNF8/s640/2019-04-19+16.45.49.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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I layered one of our cowhide rugs over another rug. I love the mix of rustic with the feminine furniture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDXs7z57dS9mtLcMT4T9PwJk83CgdgDHrVlOKRG-zyMHPCLz1btPd-IqjRS2ZQX4T8Xx5DmzlnZ5LSBdKeLS-ygwPqItpjWskhQZxp_xkmwy2mdOUtpL8e1H4Jvo44-G1DL0rbUtbLSBc/s1600/2019-04-19+16.42.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDXs7z57dS9mtLcMT4T9PwJk83CgdgDHrVlOKRG-zyMHPCLz1btPd-IqjRS2ZQX4T8Xx5DmzlnZ5LSBdKeLS-ygwPqItpjWskhQZxp_xkmwy2mdOUtpL8e1H4Jvo44-G1DL0rbUtbLSBc/s640/2019-04-19+16.42.44.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">Our entry is a pass-through with doors on all four sides. Below is the view from the front door. The door on the left goes into the rest of our house. The patio door you see goes out onto the deck and into the back yard and pool. The door you see reflected in the mirror goes into our garage. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittNR82FvufyePOA2S_bGape8gZ_3UGQQxyT0VNwwI3oJU7k_FC6apEOFaPsLhn2dkI_j_GVIWookQpaAm1KA17Jyzyi8p6oOWyos_gQLhs1EfLZaTj6bWgL8owjAAtjnpe8yL3eKZuxk/s1600/2019-04-19+16.47.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittNR82FvufyePOA2S_bGape8gZ_3UGQQxyT0VNwwI3oJU7k_FC6apEOFaPsLhn2dkI_j_GVIWookQpaAm1KA17Jyzyi8p6oOWyos_gQLhs1EfLZaTj6bWgL8owjAAtjnpe8yL3eKZuxk/s640/2019-04-19+16.47.13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I haven't shown you the other side of the room in a while. I'll share more details about recovering the antique settee on another post. I'd like to change our light fixtures in here to a soft gold, whether I refinish the ones we have or buy new ones.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDCISldiFbpH8Yxc1QXLbIJpoppDeUTiwnDN2oyAyW2MwcRCJpKtGmwwya6LiAKUpye5kjsHtmsNeGJZGJROm97T2DGY1W7NVfiYpnSpcbpCefAve_PgWhZkq9C0iJ758oPbsHDDtCpo/s1600/2019-04-19+16.43.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1423" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDCISldiFbpH8Yxc1QXLbIJpoppDeUTiwnDN2oyAyW2MwcRCJpKtGmwwya6LiAKUpye5kjsHtmsNeGJZGJROm97T2DGY1W7NVfiYpnSpcbpCefAve_PgWhZkq9C0iJ758oPbsHDDtCpo/s400/2019-04-19+16.43.49.jpg" width="355" /></a></div>
There are a few other changes in here I'd still like to make and will give you updates in the future. <br />
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Thank you to those that have messaged me this past year. Your kind comments were a blessing to me and I appreciate it so much.<br />
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<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">love and blessings~</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCFIs8id__tdUXO7Gd5n2iYaxwxBVp862czXmiKBlVSBRwD4HKiSGaFZA9Ewryh8oI3HGkasS2V1QJEGzYiMcIFINkm39wO2_bEbPzLBewoGozQhuXB4geMRxgLeOdSSO9yEPp0c6Unc/s1600/Signature.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22</i></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">sources: </span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">dresser, chair - Craigslist</span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">mirror - HomeGoods</span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">wooden bowl, vase and roses - HobbyLobby</span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">lamp and candlesticks - Furniture City Consignment</span></span></span></span><br />
french shopping basket - World Market<br />
cherry blossoms - Joann's Fabrics<br />
cowhide rug - Twisted Pine, Estes Park, CO<br />
<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;">wall color - Sand by Sherwin Williams</span></span><br />
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<span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: inherit;"><br /></span></span>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-65261618633721229272018-04-17T09:03:00.005-04:002018-04-17T09:03:44.205-04:00Elijah List - Rise Up, Josephine! Spear of Destiny<div class="uiScaledImageContainer _4-ep" id="u_fetchstream_2_i" style="display: inline !important; font-family: inherit; height: 373px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 476px;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05) 0px 1px 1px;"><a ajaxify="/TheElijahList/photos/a.10151826924153989.1073741825.111670168988/10157327286628989/?type=3&size=433%2C340&fbid=10157327286628989&source=13&player_origin=story_view" class="_4-eo _2t9n" data-ploi="https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/30705735_10157327286628989_1369175770654223123_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=940235fdb543f2079124f228d826d334&oe=5B683278" data-render-location="homepage_stream" href="https://www.facebook.com/TheElijahList/photos/a.10151826924153989.1073741825.111670168988/10157327286628989/?type=3" rel="theater" style="background-color: white; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05) 0px 1px 1px; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; font-size: 12px; position: relative; width: 476px;"></a></span>Good morning, beautiful friends!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I confess~ I may be in overload! But I am so thankful and joyous over the things the Lord has been showing me that I'm about to bust! And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I saw this on Elijah List last night. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheElijahList/posts/10157327289268989" target="_blank">Elijah List</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you don't follow this, I would encourage you to do so! It has been such a wonderful confirmation to me so many times of what I hear the Lord saying!</span><br />
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Rise up Josephine, Spear of Destiny!”<br />by Anne Janssens</div>
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Jehovah is about to pour out an INCREASE of GRACE upon the Josephines!</div>
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In a vision I saw a powerful woman warrior with a long SPEAR in hand. She stood with one foot firmly planted on top of a mountain and her other foot lifted up in the air as if she was ready to strike something with it. She kicked out at an ancient-looking wooden door that opened with much force. It swung wide open and crashed against the wall with a loud thud. I then heard a voice declare, "JOSEPHINE IS SPEAR-HEADING THE WAY!"</div>
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The definition of spearhead is: (1) sharp pointed head of a spear (2) an individual or group chosen to lead an attack or movement.</div>
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I once read that combat troops which are sent to the forefront of battles are very often referred to as the “tip of the spear”, and that their role is to be at the leading edge of the fighting, ahead of everyone else.</div>
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In Genesis 37-47 we read the story of Joseph. The call on his life was very evident at a very young age, being favored over his brothers by his father, and having dreams about his greatness (see Genesis 37). God prepared him to become a spearhead, being sent to the forefront many years before famine came upon the land. He went from being a dreamer-interpreter-shepherd to being the most powerful and wise leader during a time of great economic crisis in Egypt—in charge of all of the nation's storehouses and wealth.</div>
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The Spears of Destiny</div>
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In this vision, I heard the Lord calling the Josephines: “The Spears of Destiny”. I heard Him say, “Josephine, a strong and powerful woman FORGED in the fire of the changes of life—she's the Spear of Destiny and she's arising in this season.”</div>
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Josephine is the prophetic entrepreneur that is marching forth into her destiny, unafraid of the threats of male and female counterparts that feel somewhat threatened by her strength and immovable faith. She has grace and abilities beyond her human capabilities which often surprise her more than it does others.</div>
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Josephine is a gifted market entrepreneur by nature, but she's also prophetic by her calling. Her mantle, her coat of many colors, represents the diversity of gifts upon her life and her unique ability to multi-task. I saw a convergence of her gifts, abilities and anointing to manage, direct and handle valuable resources entrusted to her.</div>
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I saw other Josephines as they stood TOGETHER, side by side, shoulder to shoulder. This COMPANY of WOMEN OF WISDOM with prophetic and management skills are being brought together by divine intervention because of their unique ability to effectively gather, manage and distribute Kingdom resources.</div>
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I also saw established Josephines who are stepping out to MENTOR and EQUIP younger and less experienced Josephines who are just beginning to come into their destiny and call. Some resources are going towards this noble cause of raising up ANOINTED WOMEN OF DESTINY in this coming season.</div>
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The Lord is stirring up hearts, to SHAKE and AWAKEN Josephines for such a time as this. Many Josephines are not even aware of who they really are. Some of them are about to experience an “aha” moment when they realize what exactly they've been gestating for so long.</div>
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Those of you that know you're a Josephine, this will be a confirmation for you. For others, it will be a fresh revelation and one that's going to change how you think and do things. Suddenly, things will all make sense!</div>
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Labor Room Of Grace</div>
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Whether you know it already or this message is confirming something for you, Abba is drawing you into the LABOR ROOM of His grace for the birthing of His call upon your life.</div>
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In 1 Kings 18, Elijah knew that God was about to end the drought and he declared it to Ahab. He did not go about his way until he saw the first SIGNS of the coming rain. Now is not the time to sit and do nothing, but rather it's time to posture yourself and start to PUSH! It's time to position yourself in prayer to birth your destiny, for you carry within you the seed of promise in your spiritual womb.</div>
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Some of you may find yourselves on your knees for an extend period of time while you wait for your gift to mature. You may have to bury your heads between your knees like Elijah did and wait for the first glimpse of the promise. Don't give up! KEEP PUSHING until it's BIRTHED!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't tell you how many way this ministered to me and how many things in my life this matched up with! I can't remember if I said in my YouTube video (search Lynda Brandly to find my channel) that I saw a beautiful robe of jewel colors and gold coming down on women right now so when I saw the robe of many colors in this prophecy, I was stunned!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yesterday, a woman from Michigan won the Boston Marathon. Our son lives in Boston. We live in Michigan. This is the first time in 33 years a woman has won. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our daughter is expecting a baby and her due date is today! Our beautiful circle of women have felt that this beautiful baby is an expression of what God is doing right now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I spoke to a friend recently who expressed that in a major circumstance a few years that I was 'the tip of the spear!' For a long time, I have felt I was 'an arrow' and a beautiful artist friend drew me an arrow last summer and said, "you're close to hitting your mark!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a new season, Women! If you've been in a long season of growth (pain), get ready! The Lord spoke to me the word "fortify" and said, "I have fortified you in this past season." I looked it up and it means to be strong and courageous in the face of pain and adversity!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I speak 'FORTIFICATION!!!' to you, dear women! Be fortified in Christ!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">love and blessings~</span></div>
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Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-24791847822617080242018-04-16T17:18:00.001-04:002018-04-16T17:18:04.968-04:00Changes to our Family RoomHappy Spring, Friends!<br />
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I hope you're having a great start to your week! We're on day four of rain, freezing rain, sleet, wind, and snow. All the churches in our area canceled their services yesterday and all the schools have been closed today! So, that's Spring in Michigan!<br />
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We've made several changes to our family room in the last several months. The biggest change is the wall color. It's now 'Antique White' by Sherwin Williams. I painted the walls and ceiling the same color.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u-eSA1STguQWa8XiXEZvDOZjC9JozVJLPsqzbHMULtcp7v6I1vQ4h2jiOcQg135g-BpGtS55FL4mXWCi7e_2csvXEnNKYiFUOZaqUmPwFI7yKdUgOJ80EWZJShSfVqRbh4sL341oQTw/s1600/famroom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="1600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u-eSA1STguQWa8XiXEZvDOZjC9JozVJLPsqzbHMULtcp7v6I1vQ4h2jiOcQg135g-BpGtS55FL4mXWCi7e_2csvXEnNKYiFUOZaqUmPwFI7yKdUgOJ80EWZJShSfVqRbh4sL341oQTw/s640/famroom1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwPGlZfA389VIABGIHmF9pJi2_zLWMG8Ydx4tgjXyaAS5EAIIJRC_t38CU0hYpK6VhKKelsPrLpr4roP5JI-eeCWOIB3LkG2GbhVIzT7WlKoJeQYPtqfhClXfeS92VcYkez5xpVidRiw/s1600/amroom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwPGlZfA389VIABGIHmF9pJi2_zLWMG8Ydx4tgjXyaAS5EAIIJRC_t38CU0hYpK6VhKKelsPrLpr4roP5JI-eeCWOIB3LkG2GbhVIzT7WlKoJeQYPtqfhClXfeS92VcYkez5xpVidRiw/s640/amroom2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The other big change is our fireplace. Our fireplace mantel, that my husband built many years ago, was white and we had added moulding that went to the ceiling. When the walls were blue, it set the fireplace apart, but because we were painting the walls a more neutral color, I didn't like the white going to the ceiling. So my husband built a French trumeau for each of our fireplaces on the main floor.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiribO57_jRm5h5AF_PFnhfA2CZv9b1V89gjtDk27zkL8eXYJf4NOrorxn-4FUdji-Xe04P2n0PctagBx8NGcFJfmQoracTQo1oiu0wArJtTI2hJ87v5Y8r5fqHsp4bAHWXdpj90ScQsC8/s1600/frpl1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiribO57_jRm5h5AF_PFnhfA2CZv9b1V89gjtDk27zkL8eXYJf4NOrorxn-4FUdji-Xe04P2n0PctagBx8NGcFJfmQoracTQo1oiu0wArJtTI2hJ87v5Y8r5fqHsp4bAHWXdpj90ScQsC8/s640/frpl1.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
The whole thing is attached semi-permanently to the wall. The mirror is the same one that used to be here. I painted it to match the trumeau and we used screws to attach it. I wanted it to look like it was part of the trumeau. The mirror will be easy to remove if we want to but I think it will be there for a long time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJx8lvMesTmzkuuZO2v_0Kr8CmOK-WuWZmKRG_lqm7UsjEdwRQZxhmCK9tsYRINmnWnTVjX2AFgnI4s4ATXkR1ZVt06_m8pnW7iKWGKri1vXavMj82ftghQIpaAkZ8LtRYDXMkXg0AmE/s1600/frpl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJx8lvMesTmzkuuZO2v_0Kr8CmOK-WuWZmKRG_lqm7UsjEdwRQZxhmCK9tsYRINmnWnTVjX2AFgnI4s4ATXkR1ZVt06_m8pnW7iKWGKri1vXavMj82ftghQIpaAkZ8LtRYDXMkXg0AmE/s640/frpl2.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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Here's a before~</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz08soeQUdS2RMeqhl90DuUk356GD8JLB_X8Fy8Lmn6aAFHhd3281IjBwpx7IWrJHlfaVZ9IWm9cWkWteK0zlUbBV8DihOyQJXltiEREo_jZiWM0uR1nY1YkR0bsHCf55N8tblXm-v8YY/s1600/2016-06-21+12.34.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz08soeQUdS2RMeqhl90DuUk356GD8JLB_X8Fy8Lmn6aAFHhd3281IjBwpx7IWrJHlfaVZ9IWm9cWkWteK0zlUbBV8DihOyQJXltiEREo_jZiWM0uR1nY1YkR0bsHCf55N8tblXm-v8YY/s640/2016-06-21+12.34.25.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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And here's the after!</div>
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He also built one above our fireplace in the living room that I'll show you soon.</div>
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Another new addition in this room is this coffee table. I found it on Craig's List and I love it! It looks like it was made to go with our armoire.<br />
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It's not in perfect condition but that doesn't bother me. (Then I don't have to worry about keeping it perfect!)<br />
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The 'book' on the table is actually a box and we keep our remotes in it, as well as a few other items that are nice to have handy when you're lounging on the couch. The armoire is an entertainment center and holds a tv.<br />
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I realized after I took the picture below that I forgot to remove our kleenex box that sits behind our couch. Oh well! (real life) My friends joke that it's the 'arc of the covenant' kleenex box! Ha!</div>
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The rug in here is also new and was purchased at HomeGoods several months ago. It's very thick and plush and much better for our grandbabies to play on the floor. <br />
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Hope you're getting some warm weather where you are! I know that not many people are!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven." </div>
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Deuteronomy 11:11 </div>
Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-26768922891508962512018-04-13T12:19:00.000-04:002018-04-16T18:46:40.827-04:00YouTube videos and Women's MinistryHi Friends!<br />
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I am full of joy and excitement as I write this to you! I have had such a blessed several weeks as the Lord has been releasing me into a new season in my walk and in ministry.<br />
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I have never felt a calling for women's ministry before and maybe that's not really correct - because this blog has been a type of women's ministry. But in the last few weeks, my heart has just exploded with ideas and inspiration from the Holy Spirit regarding women and the season that God is bringing us into. So...<br />
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I have obeyed God - twice! - and have started making youtube videos. I intend (God willing) to continue to do this and share with you all the things on my heart. I hope you will hear exactly what you need to hear from God through this blog.<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3Jc_WwEkdDJf6V2ogpc9w?view_as=subscriber" target="_blank">Lynda @ Gates of Crystal</a><br />
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<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-35535114282093052712018-02-07T08:25:00.000-05:002018-02-07T08:25:23.005-05:00Changes to Our Living Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hi Friends! We've been having a cold, white winter here in Michigan. I joked with a friend recently, who was hibernating like me, that we would just have to skype until Spring, because neither one of us wanted to venture out in this weather! Ha!</div>
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The last time I posted pictures of our living room, it was filled with blue and white toile and blue and white porcelain. But recently I decided to change it up and use a lot more neutrals. The nice thing is I didn't spend any money making these changes. They're all things I already had.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsGbK0iAbhvQhUTX9s52pY1eZrlQJHrA80Crrai5ql2cpwITPgLGP2Zg-I0L5-Qx2O-xgMqbSsRMn46_CKS1wKrHHy3pKMPxXLaREa6NOzUyrhUaV5O0Y9FaOv-MkeKiOVP4AARc5ZAY/s1600/2018-02-06+17.03.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsGbK0iAbhvQhUTX9s52pY1eZrlQJHrA80Crrai5ql2cpwITPgLGP2Zg-I0L5-Qx2O-xgMqbSsRMn46_CKS1wKrHHy3pKMPxXLaREa6NOzUyrhUaV5O0Y9FaOv-MkeKiOVP4AARc5ZAY/s640/2018-02-06+17.03.48.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Oops! Except the two tables in each corner - they're new since I've posted! (new-used)<br />
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I put the jute rug that's been in the family room in here. I like the casual feeling it gives with everything else so romantic and feminine. I also like the neutral color.<br />
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I've had this coffee table for a couple of years. I found it at an indoor flea market and chalk painted it to match the end table that's in here.<br />
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The little cabinet on the left I found at my favorite used furniture store in Grand Rapids. It had kind of a funny paint job and so I gave it an update with chalk paint. I've moved it around a couple of times but if ends up staying here, I may paint it again. </div>
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I've had a desk in this corner of the room for several years but I've liked this change.</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">I found this table on Craig's list. It's a reproduction but I love all the beautiful carving and curves. I left the finish and didn't paint it but it sure would be pretty painted to show off all the detail. </span></div>
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This chaise was in our bedroom for a couple of years but I recently moved it here. I've really enjoyed having it in this room and often sit here in the mornings to read my Bible and drink my coffee. </div>
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Or to enjoy a book in the afternoon. </div>
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I got the art above the fireplace from Joss & Main a couple of years ago but could never find a frame for it. I found this one recently at Hobby Lobby. I've really been in love with these traditional gold frames lately and have been grabbing them when I find them. </div>
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The love seat, chairs and chaise in this room I recovered with drop cloths. They were all bought at different times and had different mismatched fabrics. I unified them with paint and washable drop cloths.<br />
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I'm really enjoying the peaceful feel of this room after the busier feeling it had with all the blue and white.<br />
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And that's what's so nice about changing a few things. It feels like a whole new room.<br />
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I'm getting ready to repaint our family room. It's been a soft blue for several years and I'm going to start painting it "Antique White" by Sherwin Williams today. I'll try to post some of my progress on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lynda_gatesofcrystal/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.<br />
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Have a warm Wednesday!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">love seat, chairs and chaise all bought second hand and recovered with drop cloth</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">coffee table and end table bought second hand and chalk painted</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">rug - HomeGoods </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">fireplace screen - Amazon</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">pillows - home made</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">vase on coffee table - Joss & Main</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">candlestick on coffee table - Tuesday Morning</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">wooden bowl - HomeGoods</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">grandfather clock - second hand</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">art on fireplace - Joss & Main with HobbyLobby frame</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">gold candlesticks in corner - HomeGoods</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">mirror- Joss & Main</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">vase by mirror - HobbyLobby</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">candleabra - HomeGoods</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">cement angel - garden store many years ago</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">basket with wood - HomeGoods</span>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-53370739485686618562018-01-05T10:15:00.000-05:002018-01-05T10:15:59.982-05:00Joyous 2018Hello Sweet Friends!<br />
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I am blessed and unreasonably excited for this coming year! My hope is that you are, too. I'm praying that you are encouraging yourself in the Lord and committing your ways to Him. When we do this, He will cause our plans to become established and succeed according to His will.<br />
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I know that for some, it has been a hard year. It has been a hard <i>season </i>for me!<br />
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"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those are called according to His purpose. (Don't forget the next scripture!) "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:28,29<br />
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I was coming home from a friend's house last summer when the Lord spoke to me. A group of us had been meeting weekly for Bible study, fellowship and prayer and we had spent the morning in prayer, declaring the truth of God's Word. The Lord told me I had been in a "Job season", that it was ending now, and I had succeeded in this season. I was driving when the Lord spoke to me and I know I drove the rest of the way home in a daze.<br />
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What?!<br />
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I have always loved the story of Job. I know that sounds contrary. I have never loved all the tragedy that poor Job suffers~ obviously. What I do love is that the enemy has to ask God's permission to attack Job. We can always know that God keeps the enemy within a boundary that he cannot cross. And we can trust Romans 8:28, 29<br />
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So when God spoke this to me, I immediately understood that God had permitted this season to cause me to become more Christ-like. I also believe that God is good all the time. That all His ways are perfect. Psalm 18:30<br />
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There has been a theology taught in the Body of Christ that Jesus bore all the affliction so that we don't have to. But when we look at the lives of the men and women of the Bible, we see over and over again, that they suffered because of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."<br />
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Often time it's our weaknesses and sin that cause our afflictions. Remember Joseph and his pride as he shared his dreams with his brothers. But other times it's simply God's preparing us for what we are called to as He cleanses us from selfish ambition, pride, etc. and perfects our faith. Remember Joseph being thrown into prison even though he was innocent. Remember what God was preparing Joseph for.<br />
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Remember Moses living in the wilderness for years before he comes back to declare, "Let my people go!" Remember Saul/Paul being blinded by the Glory of God. Remember Noah building a boat for one hundred years in the middle of a desert while he was mocked and scorned.<br />
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I don't believe that God ever makes anyone sick. That was paid for by the Blood of Jesus on the cross. But I'll admit, I had to rethink several of my beliefs as I reconciled this to God. I'll also admit that I would like to think that Job was an isolated incident. lol <br />
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I think my Job season has lasted almost a decade. I wonder if I had done things differently if it would have been shortened. I honestly don't know. I certainly see my weaknesses and sin now. I see how I have reacted to adversity and see how much I need God in my life to change me and purify me. <br />
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I want to give glory to God that even through this hard season, the Lord spared me so much.<br />
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1 Corinthians 15:46 talks about the natural things coming before the spiritual things. Very often, examples we see in the Old Testament of physical happenings are to give us understanding of spiritual things. We see physical battles as examples of how to fight spiritually. I did not lose any family members or suffer physical loss. But the battle was very much against my mind and the things that God had called me to do. We all have to be cleansed of our fear of man to accomplish the things that God is requiring of us.<br />
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If you have been having a hard season, I want you to know that you're not alone. The hardest thing for me through this whole season was seeing others "doing well" and feeling alone. The truth is that from outward appearances, I looked like I was doing great. I have a confidence in the Lord and believe in speaking in faith and I was doing everything I knew to do.<br />
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It finally took me finding someone who I knew would understand for me to open up, confess my sin and wrong thinking, and ask for prayer. And I believe that God provided that in His timing. Sometimes we need to come to the end of ourselves before God can help us.<br />
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I want to add to this that God spoke the word "Rest" to me numerous times during 2017. I had to learn to rest again. Hebrews chapter 4 talks about the 'rest' that is Christ. I believe there was a time in my life that I was resting in the Lord but as I entered this season, I began to question and become unsettled. It took months before I was able to lay it all down and rest and trust God; tell Him that I was nothing without Him and simply ask for help with nothing to contribute.<br />
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I am a warrior. But I was a little like "Don Quixote" swinging my sword at windmills. I was tired. This lack of rest as I battled in my mind was my Job season.<br />
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There were times I wanted to blog, and knew eventually I would again, but I also kept feeling like God was telling me to cover myself, protect myself, and rest.<br />
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So, I think I'm back. I always want to make decisions day by day with the Lord, allowing Him to continually correct my voyage. I hope to share lots of things this coming year that I've learned about Godly health, decorating and everything else we face in this life of joy in Him.<br />
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My word for the new year is "Praise/Joy"~ because they're really the same thing!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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Psalm 103<br />
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<span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">1Bless the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, O my soul,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And all that is within me, <i>bless</i> His holy name.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:2" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:2&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">2</a></span> Bless the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, O my soul,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And forget none of His benefits;</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:3" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:3&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">3</a></span> Who pardons all your iniquities,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Who heals all your diseases;</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:4" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:4&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">4</a></span> Who redeems your life from the pit,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:5" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:5&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">5</a></span> Who satisfies your years with good things,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><i>So that</i> your youth is renewed like the eagle.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:6" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br class="paramode" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 0.7em;" /><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:6&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">6</a></span> The <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> performs righteous deeds</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And judgments for all who are oppressed.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:7" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:7&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">7</a></span> He made known His ways to Moses,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">His acts to the sons of Israel.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:8" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:8&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">8</a></span> The <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> is compassionate and gracious,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:9" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:9&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">9</a></span> He will not always strive <i>with us,</i></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Nor will He keep <i>His anger</i> forever.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:10" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:10&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">10</a></span> He has not dealt with us according to our sins,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:11" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:11&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">11</a></span> For as high as the heavens are above the earth,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:12" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:12&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">12</a></span> As far as the east is from the west,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">So far has He removed our transgressions from us.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:13" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:13&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">13</a></span> Just as a father has compassion on <i>his</i> children,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">So the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> has compassion on those who fear Him.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:14" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:14&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">14</a></span> For He Himself knows our frame;</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">He is mindful that we are <i>but</i> dust.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:15" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br class="paramode" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 0.7em;" /><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:15&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">15</a></span> As for man, his days are like grass;</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:16" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:16&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">16</a></span> When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And its place acknowledges it no longer.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:17" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:17&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">17</a></span> But the lovingkindness of the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And His righteousness to children's children,</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:18" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:18&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">18</a></span> To those who keep His covenant</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And remember His precepts to do them.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:19" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br class="paramode" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 0.7em;" /><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:19&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">19</a></span> The <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> has established His throne in the heavens,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">And His sovereignty rules over all .</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:20" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:20&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">20</a></span> Bless the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, you His angels,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Mighty in strength, who perform His word,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Obeying the voice of His word!</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:21" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:21&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">21</a></span> Bless the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, all you His hosts,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">You who serve Him, doing His will.</span><span class="scripture" ref="ps 103:22" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: 4px;"><a class="foreground_black" href="https://www.studylight.org/desk/?q=ps%20103:22&t1=en_nas&sr=1" style="color: #781f66; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Click to study this verse">22</a></span> Bless the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, all you works of His,</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">In all places of His dominion;</span><span class="poetry1" style="display: block; font-family: helvetica, arial, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 50px; text-indent: -20px;">Bless the <span class="smcaps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, O my soul!</span><br />
<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-75648847073398090732017-10-10T10:00:00.003-04:002017-10-10T10:00:58.829-04:00The Apostolic ChurchI believe that there is something wonderful happening in the Church right now; something that many of us have foreseen and prayed for. Many churches across our nation and world are already operating in this new wineskin, but many are still stuck in the old wineskin and having trouble understanding what’s happening.<br />
Many have left the organized church, knowing that there is something wrong, and many have stayed in fear, afraid to come out from under this ‘covering. ‘<br />
In a past blog, I shared a vision the Lord gave me about a year and a half ago. In this vision, we walked into a church that is in our community. I recognized the church. In my vision, the foyer was filled with joyful people, talking and fellowshipping. As we turned toward the sanctuary, we saw the door to the sanctuary was closed and there was a sign posted on the door that read, “Prayer and worship – Enter with reverence.”<br />
As I walked into the sanctuary in this vision, I saw that all the people were sitting in a circle facing each other. There was a small group of musicians in the back corner, but everyone else sat in this layered circle. The room did not have a ‘front’ or a platform. There was a low murmur of prayer and worship going on. No one person was leading.<br />
As I watched, someone got a Word from the Lord and gave a direction, and then everyone acted on it. There was prayer for a sick person and this person was healed. Then someone began to sing a song of worship and everyone followed. The musicians began to play and back up everyone singing. This continued the entire time as I watched. The people flowed in and out of worship, in and out of prayer, each one sharing a Word and a revelation.<br />
1 Corinthians 14:26 says, “…What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification…” <br />
I was very encouraged in the Lord after seeing this vision and felt the Lord was leading our family to attend this church. We had attended this church a couple of years earlier and when we returned, found out that the church was without a pastor. I was very interested, in view of what I had heard from the Lord, to see what was happening.<br />
Almost a decade ago, I went through a very profound season with the Lord where He taught me that I was hearing Him. I always knew I heard the Lord, but in this season, He seemed to want to make sure that I really knew this, as He was preparing to tell me some things that would undo a lot of what I’d been taught in the church.<br />
One of the things the Lord spoke to me in this season was that the Church had misunderstood the role of the gift of pastor.<br />
Please hear my heart when I say this in no way makes small this wonderful and much needed gift in the Body, but as the Lord began to show me, we are not understanding the role this gift was intended to fill in the Church.<br />
The word ‘pastor’ appears only one time in scripture in Ephesians 4:11 and is the fourth gift listed in the ‘five-fold ministry gifts.’ Some have taught that the gifts are listed in order of authority – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.<br />
How then have we put so much weight on this one gift?<br />
In 1 Corinthians 12:28 it says, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” It goes on to talk about how each gift and part of the body is necessary to fulfill God’s purposes in the church.<br />
When we look at the New Testament church, it seems that it was completely different than the church we see today. People met in their homes and as I understand it, would occasionally make arrangements for large groups to meet. It would have been much as I saw in this vision – people sitting in a room, letting the Holy Spirit lead, no one person leading.<br />
As the Lord continued to speak to me in this season about a decade ago, He led me to read the book, “Pagan Christianity.” This is an eye-opening book about how we got from the ‘church of Acts’ to the church today. The shocking thing is that many of the influences that led to these changes were pagan. Including the role of pastor. It follows the pagan role of the priest.<br />
The term ‘laity’ and ‘leadership’ is nowhere in the Bible in the way that we use it today. This again, has come from a pagan influence. The order of service, the platform or altar, the praise and worship leaders, the priestly garments, all come from pagan influence.<br />
The rulers at the time were trying to make Christianity more appealing to the pagans and mixed in these things to make them more comfortable. This is how the birth of Christ got added on to the pagan holiday ‘Winter Solstice’ and resulted in Christmas. The Christmas tree, door wreaths, etc. are all from pagan religion.<br />
Another wonderful book that has encouraged me in this last season and given me greater understanding is, “The Apostolic Church Arising.” by Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler. I love this book because it has greatly confirmed what I felt the Lord putting in my heart.<br />
Please hear what I’m saying. I’m saying the Lord gave me a vision and has been speaking to my heart and has confirmed the things He has told me through others. This follows the scriptural format of a prophet’s word being confirmed by two or three others. I’ve also shared what I felt with other prophets, who have also confirmed that they are hearing this from the Lord.<br />
I understand that what I’m saying strongly contradicts a teaching in the current church. This doctrinal teaching states that the Pastor is the ‘one’ to get the vision for the church and anyone who feels differently is in rebellion to authority. My heart is never to dishonor another. My heart is to pray for unity in the Body but to obey the Holy Spirit without fear of man.<br />
The Body of Christ needs every member. The role of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher is to equip each member for ministry. Each gift is needed and has a function to accomplish what God is doing on the earth. In the pastor led church, this doesn’t happen.<br />
In the apostolic church, the apostle has a strong administrative gift to coordinate the gift of others. The prophets, as well as others, receive direction from the Lord for the people. The prophet sees the ‘wilderness’ and speaks into it through prophecy and prayer, digging up the hard ground. The evangelist, as well as everyone, brings in new believers. Signs and wonders follow us as we operate in evangelism. The pastors (plural) shepherd the people and visit and pray for the sick and hurting. They counsel and disciple. The teachers, as well as others, share the truth of God’s Word. Everyone is becoming equipped and moves in the gifts.<br />
Everyone can also operate in these gifts -organizing, praying, prophesying, leading others to Christ, laying hands on the sick and healing them – everyone.<br />
There is no platform. There are no worship leaders. As the Lord leads, we begin to get a hymn and a song. Everyone is free to hear from the Lord and learns how to. Everyone recognizes their importance to the Body and carries a responsibility to be obedient to the move of the Holy Spirit.<br />
Under this old wineskin, the pastor has carried a heavy burden and we have seen the results of this time and time again. Pastors have become ‘burned out’ because they are carrying a load that they were never meant to carry. They neglect their families as they counsel others. They are spending an unreasonable amount of hours trying to meet the needs of the church. It leaves very little time for them to have a healthy relationship with the Lord. They become performance oriented. It's not easy being a one-man band.<br />
Matthew 23:8 says, "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is Christ." How then have we come to call these leaders "Pastor" and have been made to feel we are disrespectful if we don't address them in this way?<br />
Some have thought this role of pastor is a ‘Moses’ anointing but let’s look at scripture. In Jeremiah, 31:31, the Lord talks about the new covenant that is coming.<br />
"Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their hearts I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."<br />
Acts 2:17 quotes the prophet Joel, saying,<br />
"'And it shall be in the last days,' God says,<br />
'That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;<br />
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,<br />
And your young men shall see visions,<br />
And your old men shall dream dreams;<br />
Even on my bondslaves, both men and women,<br />
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit<br />
And they shall prophesy."<br />
These scripture that talk about what God is doing says that multiple people, men and women, will see visions and dream dreams. The everyone will hear the voice of the Lord. It makes it clear that God values each member of the Body and they have a part to fill.<br />
The church was never intended to be a place where you wore your best clothes and sat quietly week after week, being told what to think. I am not saying that pastors don’t hear from God – they absolutely do – just as everyone in the Body hears. But we need everyone to hear. We need the balance and perspective and wisdom of the Body.<br />
The Lord gave me another vision more than a decade ago. I saw a pile of rubble; a building made of stone that had fallen to the ground. The Lord spoke to me and said He was tearing down man’s church and in its place, He would build His Church. I believe that God is doing that right now.<br />
It’s a hard transition for many and the enemy is taking this teaching of always being submitted to a pastor and using it to create fear. The Lord has compassion on these sheep but He is also strongly convicting them to break this old wineskin to obey the Holy Spirit. There has been a shaking, a sifting and a sorting.<br />
When the sorting is over, I want to be found obeying the Lord and operating in this 'new' wineskin. (It's really an old wineskin.) I want to be gently bold, sharing what I hear the Holy Spirit saying, as He desires to break religious mindsets and set us free to operate in all that God has for us.<br />
I have had several wonderful pastors over the years. They are gifted men of God, committed to serving God and people. I am not expressing any disapproval of these wonderful people of God. They were obeying the Holy Spirit in the way they felt God was leading. They have blessed my life in more ways than I can count and I thank God for their loving service.<br />
But I believe with all my heart that the Lord in this season is bringing new revelation of His Word and His purposes. He is setting us free from deceptions and restrictions that have stopped the flow of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, when the Church was operating in this order, thousands were coming to Christ daily. And that is His purpose – that the Holy Spirit would move through each one of us with love, and power, and the gifts of the Spirit, winning this world for Christ.<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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PS- I haven't blogged in soooo long and have lots of catching up to do!<br />
<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-44243476047732932562016-12-31T09:15:00.001-05:002016-12-31T09:15:51.646-05:00Be-YOU-tiful in 2017As the new year approaches, I find that God is giving me a new goal.<br />
<br />
It's a simple goal really, and something I've worked on my whole life, but I feel like in this season God is telling me, and you, that it's very important that we get this one right this time.<br />
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The goal is to be myself.<br />
<br />
I think for every one of us living in this media-saturated world, it's very hard not to compare ourselves to others. And so much of advertising and media is exactly that. The magazines and television ads want you to compare yourself with the person in the ad and feel like you don't measure up. So we set out to be that false person. A person that truly does not exist.<br />
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Or we see someone who has had success in an area and decide to do it their way. We become a poor imitation of them and lose our individuality. Or even worse, we look around and see a version of the same person everywhere we go. Sheep leading sheep.<br />
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Or we listen to an amazing woman or man of God and start to become fascinated with them instead of God. We start to get all our knowledge of God 'second-hand' instead of going right to the source. We regurgitate food that was already chewed before we ever ate it. We need fresh manna which only comes from God.<br />
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God has made each one of us so uniquely different. We are the very expression of God. He is so infinitely vast in all His personality, character and attributes and we are - each and every one of us - an expression of some part of Him. Without 'you' being 'you', the Body is incomplete. You and your uniqueness is very needed and such a wonderful asset to the Body. When we each become 'ourselves,' we fit so well with everyone else!<br />
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I know that if I spent as much time with God discovering who I am as I do admiring others or trying to copy them, I would be much further along in this thing. I know that if I finally valued God's opinion more than anyone else's, I would step into a zone that I have never encountered before.<br />
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The other morning I sat down to spend some time with God. I have wonderful friends that read a lot of books and listen to a lot of video teaching and I do, too. So, I started to look up something that a friend had suggested we listen to, and I felt God pull on me so hard and insist that I just listen to Him. Spend time with Him. Quit counting on anyone but Him to teach me. Find out what His heart was for me and what He wanted to tell me.<br />
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And I realized all over again that God wants to form me in His Image. That 'me' in His Image is needed by 'you.' And vice versa. I need you to be 'you!'<br />
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Moses was not called to gather grain for a famine and Joseph was not created to part the Red Sea. Mary was called to give birth to the Messiah and she wasn't very good at building a boat. If each one of these people had modeled themselves after someone else and not sought God and become 'who they were in Him', things would be very different right now.<br />
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We're entering a new season right now and I sometimes I feel like my skin can't contain my spirit. I feel like I'm going to burst with expectation. I sense 'change' coming both in me and all around me. I am filled with fresh hope and so encouraged by God. I feel like some pieces have fallen into place and the shift is happening. I hope you're feeling it too!<br />
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My prayer group and I are going to be doing some fasting and praying - both individually and corporately. My expectations are high. I am praying for transformation - that God purify my heart and change me into His Image. That He corrects my wrong-thinking. That He gives me fresh revelation of Who He is and who I am in Him. I am praying for salvation for loved ones and that they have a life-changing encounter with the living God. That they step into who they are in Christ.<br />
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Because that's the key to everything - knowing who we are in Christ. Because He is everything and everywhere in our lives that we have valued anything outside of Him is anti-Christ.<br />
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So this year I want to encourage you. Turn off the TV. Put down the book. Find a quiet place and get alone with God. Saturate yourself with His Word. Ask Him who you are. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Learn to lose yourself in worship.<br />
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Find out who you are.<br />
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Love and blessings for God-filled 2017<br />
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"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, 'With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26<br />
<br /><br /><br /><br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-89454249463197651582016-12-20T07:35:00.001-05:002016-12-20T07:35:48.252-05:00A Christmas Buffet and a New Back Splash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My husband and son and I were hanging around after dinner last night when we heard a beeping from the basement. My husband went downstairs to see what it was and our carbon monoxide detector was beeping. After determining the batteries were good in both the basement detector and the main floor detector, he opened the basement patio door and the alarm soon quit.</div>
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And then the one in the family room, where we were sitting, went off. We got out of the house and called the emergency line for the company that takes care of our heating system.</div>
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When our heat guy came over, he told us the carbon monoxide levels in our basement had been dangerously high (5,000 ppm by the heater) and the detectors had saved our lives. We spent last night without any heat in the house but so thankful to God that He protected us. If you have gas logs or gas powered heat in your house, please get these detectors. The gas is odorless and we would have passed out and unless someone had found us quickly, died. </div>
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On to more pleasant things!</div>
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One of the things we really love about our home is the open floor plan. It's especially nice for the holidays and entertaining.</div>
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Our dining room, kitchen and family room are divided by this large 'island.' This gives me tons of counter space and I use it like a buffet at the holidays.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTt4aV1iHAl6W4k03U_GcNLYSlVRy3bDX6sGioUeMfRIKj_YKI4GAxxyybU2DTsCBY8unrfVx9cCT0-Ku-h-cRTAN6AOj3QwmUzhqJFzZYoSp8UNlAb-qJu9FQRVR25stxjsIwLtbSvQ/s1600/2016-12-12+13.43.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTt4aV1iHAl6W4k03U_GcNLYSlVRy3bDX6sGioUeMfRIKj_YKI4GAxxyybU2DTsCBY8unrfVx9cCT0-Ku-h-cRTAN6AOj3QwmUzhqJFzZYoSp8UNlAb-qJu9FQRVR25stxjsIwLtbSvQ/s640/2016-12-12+13.43.59.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
It's also nice that I can talk to everyone while I'm cooking!<br />
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I moved my gold sled to the buffet and surrounded it with treats. This little chalk board that I found at Tuesday Morning is always fun to change to match the season.<br />
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On Christmas day, this spot is filled with appetizers, desserts and drinks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBUfm8qlZT8MukxSz-G0Y2UKXLRjrrCBn6ReYE9auqJ0yPiIJc7MP-ilwHRoPmXh3ehTffY9jwod1GCibs8Tl2PFAy3ivc4nzc4jyPfyeoHToyeCNZsHnxcD7bBb_6MXvfDI9vH52MuE/s1600/2016-12-12+13.35.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBUfm8qlZT8MukxSz-G0Y2UKXLRjrrCBn6ReYE9auqJ0yPiIJc7MP-ilwHRoPmXh3ehTffY9jwod1GCibs8Tl2PFAy3ivc4nzc4jyPfyeoHToyeCNZsHnxcD7bBb_6MXvfDI9vH52MuE/s640/2016-12-12+13.35.11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoO95suDpOZynmZTw-N38GSupATn1Oy13HX86ic2jQ18KAnztixCrbopfZBkG56jIpkgm73kfdRaBzVOglIHsrsvgyJSuTvTdqPT779ndA5TjKdgTisZSSth2NhK-BLQcFsuzdYg4umgU/s1600/2016-12-12+13.35.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoO95suDpOZynmZTw-N38GSupATn1Oy13HX86ic2jQ18KAnztixCrbopfZBkG56jIpkgm73kfdRaBzVOglIHsrsvgyJSuTvTdqPT779ndA5TjKdgTisZSSth2NhK-BLQcFsuzdYg4umgU/s640/2016-12-12+13.35.56.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
While I'm cooking, someone is always sitting right here - snacking.<br />
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When we redid our master bathroom this summer, our tile guy was nice enough to help me with our back splash. I already had the 4" travertine tile. He advised me how to seal them and what products to use. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z4Qx4nTda-1J7Gk-_VX-hIfGOLRJklFfDJXrLaRdOIdfYSc90V3G1k2k4ccCVB8K6tVG-ZP0yF5EZGUIXU609cqplao5J8nIcixGgOQrYAqqw-vhN3XxDI_e0dIjAvzoAiJEqwhZ-qE/s1600/2016-12-12+13.37.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z4Qx4nTda-1J7Gk-_VX-hIfGOLRJklFfDJXrLaRdOIdfYSc90V3G1k2k4ccCVB8K6tVG-ZP0yF5EZGUIXU609cqplao5J8nIcixGgOQrYAqqw-vhN3XxDI_e0dIjAvzoAiJEqwhZ-qE/s640/2016-12-12+13.37.19.jpg" width="472" /></a></div>
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He had his wet saw set up on our drive way and when I got to the point where I needed the tile cut, he paused working on our bathroom and cut the tile for me! But I did all the tile laying and grouting myself.</div>
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I love how it turned out and how well the tile matches the colors of the cabinets. A friend asked me how I got the pattern of the tile so perfect. I didn't do anything! I just kept grabbing the nearest tile.<br />
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I'm also really thankful for the advice and help that our tile expert gave me because I would have missed some steps without him! Thank you, Neil, at Carpet Gallery!<br />
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These are cardboard letters that I bought at HobbyLobby. I decoupaged them with blue and white napkins that I found at Tuesday Morning a couple of years ago.<br />
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Hope you've got all your shopping done! We've got a couple of Christmas parties this week and will be picking our son up at the airport tomorrow for a week long visit.<br />
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Also, our wonderful 'heat guy' is coming over today to get our heat working again! I've got both our gas logs going and I'm wearing several layers under a thick blanket. It's 59 degrees in our house.<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them." Luke 2Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-58162471652461352152016-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:002016-12-16T09:52:51.795-05:00Beating the Holiday Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The holidays can be a lot of fun or they can be very stressful and painful. If you're missing loved ones, like we are, it seems to be even worse at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.<br />
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I want to tell you, first of all, that you are not alone. God knows our hearts and our thoughts even better than we know ourselves and He's aware of our pain and our sadness. Give it to Him.<br />
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I hope knowing that helps, but I wanted to share some things that we all can do this time of year when we're hit with sadness or even just the blues.<br />
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1. Get your praise on! You can literally war against those bad feelings by praising God. We praise Him not for what He's done, but for Who He is and He is a good, good Father. Open up your Bible and find a Psalm that expresses your heart and ends in praise. Turn on some praise music and sing at the top of your lungs. Yell. Stomp. Get it out in a positive way.<br />
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2. Be thankful. We all have something to be thankful for. Gratitude draws God and the heavenly host to us. When we begin to verbally express our thanks to God, the angels literally gather around us and begin to minister to us.<br />
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3. Spend time with the loved one you're missing. My dad died two years ago right before Thanksgiving. He loved to cook and I remember many huge meals that he prepared with joy at the holidays. When I'm missing him, I sit down and talk to him. I tell him how I'm feeling. I tell him the sweet things I remember about him. I celebrate his life. If I cry, that's okay too. It helps to look my grief right in the face and express it.<br />
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4. Watch what you're eating and drinking. What you eat affects your body and your moods greatly. Too much sugar, pastries and alcohol throw your body off balance, and cause you to feel bad physically and emotionally. Gluten causes inflammation and inflammation can cause depression. Take a few days and eat clean. Juice. Drink lots of water. Bless your body.<br />
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5. Get some exercise. It's 5 degrees here in Michigan today and we have a foot of snow. I'm not leaving the house - lol. But if you can, get outside, shovel some snow, sled down the hill with your kids, take a walk and breathe some fresh air. If you can't get outside, bounce on your mini-tramp, turn on an exercise video and dance - do something to get your heart rate up. You'll feel better.<br />
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6. Give yourself some grace. If you're exhausting yourself trying reproduce that perfect holiday you see in the media~News Flash! It doesn't exist. If you don't have a perfectly decorated house, tons of presents under the tree and a gourmet meal planned, you don't have to!<br />
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One year our family had had a bad year. hmmm - we'd had a couple of bad years. I had bought all the food to prepare a large meal and after the presents were opened, I just didn't have it in me. I fixed a large brunch of French toast and bacon. We all ate like it was amazing just because it was unexpected, and then we went to the movies. One of the LOTR's was out so it was a long movie and my kids were thrilled. It was such a fun day even though we broke all our traditions. There are no rules about what to do on Christmas. Spend your day in your pajamas if you want to. And remind yourself that others might be doing the same thing.<br />
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7. If you're so down that you can't make yourself do any of these things and nothing is helping, call a friend and ask them to help you and pray for you. If you don't have a friend, email me and I will pray for you. lyndabrandly@gmail.com<br />
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I hope these things help. We all have times that we need to really focus on what's bothering us and then stop thinking about it and focus on our blessings. You are greatly loved by Our Heavenly Father.<br />
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love and blessings for a Merry Christmas~<br />
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"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." Psalm 56:8<br />
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"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-88873246199681565752016-12-15T08:18:00.000-05:002016-12-15T08:18:41.617-05:00Our Home in the January 2017 Issue of Romantic Homes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The January 2017 issue of Romantic Homes is out and our home is featured in this special 30th anniversary issue!</div>
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There are eight page of photos and a wonderful article telling all about our home. My husband is particularly pleased about how many times he was mentioned. lol You can order a copy <a href="http://www.romantichomes.com/current-issue" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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Kristen Wheeler was the photographer that came to our home. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of her photos that didn't make it into the magazine. All the following were taken by Kristen. The styling and editing is mine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFSXUvVhuvlHlxfJfyJlmATtlyeFqG3_7Bjas8XdZ3Zo8rMOerQwkGqhCDWZhFJ4rtqrP4nli0LQfZHE_IwL_rkxLZVDCLCIas29KEj8euN5Cy5xW6su1ln4V5EsQ5uwhC40S02mo_ykg/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFSXUvVhuvlHlxfJfyJlmATtlyeFqG3_7Bjas8XdZ3Zo8rMOerQwkGqhCDWZhFJ4rtqrP4nli0LQfZHE_IwL_rkxLZVDCLCIas29KEj8euN5Cy5xW6su1ln4V5EsQ5uwhC40S02mo_ykg/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Entry</td></tr>
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as you step into our living room</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our living room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our dining room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYri8BaSXwqzp8lxd-Yi9ySAFWZi6AiI9lvUrLgYbfNuDkzNuzGMsv4TnI16edlhQ1NgbbMeIAKOb56C0hh9QFqgXmzmN61TUQNeaT6gAgoOHAU9kmew_rdlnxsaGUWbnA-n_KLJj2T4/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYri8BaSXwqzp8lxd-Yi9ySAFWZi6AiI9lvUrLgYbfNuDkzNuzGMsv4TnI16edlhQ1NgbbMeIAKOb56C0hh9QFqgXmzmN61TUQNeaT6gAgoOHAU9kmew_rdlnxsaGUWbnA-n_KLJj2T4/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our family room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">master bedroom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS5enUqnfA7KA3NDyY4hSii-_SxpUA-z32VQZKRoLP_LOMIL8bm3bSYur_x1NC4dhpKiyeEgHkeMaFZFDuWsqTfNca4e3xqKENIGAAY7TOTIESMl-odGaHyAbeYpnDRU32XKn4b7rZpg/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS5enUqnfA7KA3NDyY4hSii-_SxpUA-z32VQZKRoLP_LOMIL8bm3bSYur_x1NC4dhpKiyeEgHkeMaFZFDuWsqTfNca4e3xqKENIGAAY7TOTIESMl-odGaHyAbeYpnDRU32XKn4b7rZpg/s640/19.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">guest room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kitchen</td></tr>
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I'll be back next time with more Christmas!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in You. Teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:8Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-40573640749139106722016-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:002016-12-15T18:20:09.723-05:00A Christmas TablescapeWe've always had Christmas and Thanksgiving at our house, but since our daughter and her family have moved back to Big Rapids, we've split the holidays. She has hosted Thanksgiving, and I have continued hosting Christmas.<br />
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We usually eat brunch as we're opening gifts and then snack all day while we wait for our big dinner.<br />
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A couple of years ago, we had my daughter's family over for dinner one night and I added a pretty centerpiece and battery-operated, child-safe candles to the table. Our sweet Levi was about four years old and when he sat down at the table he exclaimed, "This is pretty!!" His little face was low to the table, because he was short, and it was all lit up and sparkling. I've never forgotten it and always been surprised that a little guy would even notice. But apparently, everyone loves a pretty table!<br />
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We don't sit down to the table until dinner time and every year I use the same dishes. My husband bought them for me when we were still on a tight budget and I've had them for about twenty years now. They bring back memories of when our children were little and all the Christmases we've shared.<br />
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This plate set has been a great neutral and has worked every year, no matter what color I was decorating with that decade! :) The last several years I've placed them on gold chargers.<br />
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I replaced my <a href="http://gatesofcrystal.blogspot.com/2016/12/christmas-in-dining-room.html" target="_blank">large sleigh centerpiece</a> with this small wooden sleigh and some gold deer that echo the plate pattern. Faux evergreen boughs line the middle of the table, draped with gold ribbon and ornaments.<br />
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Every year I buy paper napkins at HomeGoods. They always have the prettiest patterns for the holidays. This year I tucked them into my gold stemmed wine glasses.<br />
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The candlesticks are from Ballard and come in a set of five. For some more bling, I added some ornaments to our chandelier.<br />
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My favorite combination this year is this dark blue and gold. </div>
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If you're still looking for that perfect gift for someone, my dear friend, Kristin Malloy, has a beautiful Christian worship CD out. I just got it Friday and have just about worn it out. It is beautiful! You can purchase a download on her website <a href="http://www.kristinmalloy.com/" target="_blank">KristinMalloy.com</a> If you live in the Big Rapids area, you can buy a copy at Resurrection Life Church.</div>
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I'll be back soon with our Christmas buffet and our kitchen. We finally got our back splash done this summer and I'm excited to show it to you!</div>
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love and blessings~</div>
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And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. Luke 2<br />
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I'm joining these parties:<br />
<a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.net/easy-christmas-centerpiece-ideas-and-tips-plus-2-stylish-gift-ideas/" target="_blank">betweennapsontheporch</a><br />
<a href="http://www.impartinggrace.com/2016/12/grace-at-home-no-231.html" target="_blank">impartinggrace</a><br />
<a href="http://seekinglavenderlane.com/creative-circle-week-95/" target="_blank">seekinglavenderlane</a><br />
<a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/2016/12/foodie-friday-and-everything-else_15.html#more Show history" target="_blank">RattlebridgeFarm</a></div>
Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-8832866592688651852016-12-11T14:49:00.000-05:002016-12-15T18:18:55.935-05:00Christmas in our Master Bedroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We are in the middle of a blizzard here in Michigan. Church was canceled today and if the snow continues like expected, schools will be closed tomorrow. So it was a perfect day to take some pictures of our master bedroom and post them.</div>
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This skinny tree is perfect for our bedroom. It doesn't take up much room but adds a big punch of Christmas.<br />
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A couple of things have changed in here since summer. The large framed art I had here stuck out from the wall too much for us to open our barn door all the way so I got this classic from Joss&Main for this space. I have always loved this painting.</div>
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This rug was in our living room and when I bought the new rug, I put this one in here. I like the lighter color.<br />
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I added a wreath, some faux amaryllis and a deer to our dresser.<br />
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A garland of evergreen, gold ribbon and ornaments is draped across our headboard.<br />
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You can tell in this picture that it's a white-out outside. And this is a perfect spot to read and watch the snow fall.<br />
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I filled this little tree with satin wired ribbon and gold and silver ornaments.<br />
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This is also a perfect place to 'hide' the grand kids presents. They get so excited and shake everything when they come over! lol<br />
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We had a fun family photo shoot yesterday. We took a million photos and got about fourteen good ones, and only two that had all three of them looking good. lol<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwewnBvS6j4NPiOferA_phxUsXvJCJ87K2wnnltZix1r3kH2YgGLPLMFQ0Z59SzGY6diOkhuRWuqf7Qy2KPTtrRbHhPWgQuWFRrmxrBm4vK4u2IceAvmdMz47JaxUTCs8qmmdh2fXvN9E/s1600/2016-12-10+15.18.35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwewnBvS6j4NPiOferA_phxUsXvJCJ87K2wnnltZix1r3kH2YgGLPLMFQ0Z59SzGY6diOkhuRWuqf7Qy2KPTtrRbHhPWgQuWFRrmxrBm4vK4u2IceAvmdMz47JaxUTCs8qmmdh2fXvN9E/s400/2016-12-10+15.18.35.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Levi, Rhynn and Lucas<br />
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Hope you're staying safe and warm if you're getting this storm too!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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<br />
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,<br />
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2<br />
<br />
I'm joining these parties:<br />
<a href="http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2016/12/amaze-me-monday-193.html?utm_source=bloglovin.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHeartOfYourHome+%28The+Heart+of+Your+Home%29" target="_blank">dwellings</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/12/make-pretty-monday-week-202.html" target="_blank">thededicatedhouse</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stonegableblog.com/" target="_blank">stonegable</a><br />
<a href="http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2016/12/354th-inspire-me-tuesday.html" target="_blank">astrollthrulife</a><br />
<a href="http://www.impartinggrace.com/2016/12/grace-at-home-no-231.html" target="_blank">impartinggrace</a><br />
<a href="http://seekinglavenderlane.com/creative-circle-week-95/" target="_blank">seekinglavenderlane</a><br />
<a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/2016/12/foodie-friday-and-everything-else_15.html#more" target="_blank">RattlebridgeFarm</a>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-90153674267763574402016-12-07T07:59:00.000-05:002016-12-12T18:06:14.334-05:00Our Christmas Entry<div class="verse" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif;">
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For the last several years, I have put our nativity on the 'island' that separates our whole main floor. This year, I thought I'd let it be the first thing you see when you enter our house.</div>
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I love this nativity. I got it at Hobby Lobby several years ago and the last time I was there, they still had them. It's such a nice size and so easy to put out because it's one piece.<br />
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I placed a gold star behind it to give it more presence and surrounded it with faux greenery, sparkly trees and a Merry Christmas greeting.<br />
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I filled my French shopping basket with evergreen and added a small tree to my little wheelbarrow.<br />
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I haven't shown you the other side of our entry for a while. Right now, our armoire that used to be in our family room is there - waiting to be sold. It doesn't look bad - it's just not a design decision and is just temporary.<br />
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You can see the edge of it in this picture.<br />
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I'll be back soon with our master bedroom changes and Christmas decor.<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” Luke 2<br />
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I'm joining these parties:<br />
<a href="http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2016/12/amaze-me-monday-193.html?utm_source=bloglovin.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHeartOfYourHome+%28The+Heart+of+Your+Home%29" target="_blank">.dwellings</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/12/make-pretty-monday-week-202.html" target="_blank">thededicatedhouse</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stonegableblog.com/" target="_blank">stonegable</a><br />
<a href="http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2016/12/354th-inspire-me-tuesday.html" target="_blank">astrollthrulife</a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-64277903293531925472016-12-05T12:21:00.001-05:002016-12-12T09:29:11.567-05:00Christmas in the Living RoomOur living room and dining room are really all one room. I kept things simple in here this year since you can see both trees from this room.<br />
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I got a new rug this summer at HomeGoods. I originally got it for the family room but didn't like it in there.<br />
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When I moved it in here, I loved it! The rug that was in here is in the master bedroom now and I'll show it to you soon.<br />
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It's hard to show you a good picture as the rug is very muted. It has a silvery background and medium blue print. I like that it's so subtle and it's very soft. It's thin so I got a rug pad for underneath and now it's plushy. :)<br />
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I also got another fireplace screen. I moved the one that was in here to the family room and put the new one in here.<br />
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All of our evergreen is faux. My husband has severe allergies and real evergreen in the house makes him feel bad.<br />
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My little desk in the corner is the perfect spot to address Christmas cards.</div>
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I stashed all my Christmas wrapping paper in this corner to get it out of the way and then I liked it here!<br />
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I'll be back soon with our entry way! Have a wonderful week!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid." Luke 2<br />
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I'm joining these linky parties:<br />
<a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.net/the-marietta-pilgrimage-christmas-home-tour-2016/" target="_blank">betweennapsontheporch</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/12/make-pretty-monday-week-201.html" target="_blank">thededicatedhouse</a><br />
<a href="http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/inspire-monday-141/" target="_blank">myuncommonsliceofsuburbia</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stonegableblog.com/the-scoop-252/" target="_blank">stonegableblog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2016/12/amaze-me-monday-193.html?utm_source=bloglovin.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHeartOfYourHome+%28The+Heart+of+Your+Home%29" target="_blank">dwellings</a>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-44101799870563654322016-12-04T13:20:00.000-05:002016-12-04T13:20:07.402-05:00Joyeux Noel BleuIt's the most wonderful time of the year! There's something so magical about Christmas decor! Our house goes from 'normal' to sparkling, with twinkle lights, blingy trees and piles of beautiful gifts!<br />
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I have had a <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lyndabrandly/joyeux-noel/?etslf=6089&eq=joy" target="_blank">Christmas Pinterest board</a> for several years and when the holidays are nearing, I begin to look through it again for inspiration. Our house was all French Country reds and golds a few years ago and it was easy to decorate for Christmas.<br />
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When I redecorated a few years ago and went to blues, I gave away all my red things and began to figure how to do a 'Blue Christmas.' So I thought it would be fun to share with you all the ways I have found to have a blue French Country Christmas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Faudree-Traditional Home</td></tr>
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This beautiful room was featured in Traditional Home many years ago. I had the magazine and stared and stared at this photo. I love the mix of rustic, tapestries and fresh blue and white and the tree is filled with vintage ornaments, including some reds and golds. Mr. Faudree was probably the start of my love for French Country. I'm sure he was for many others, too!<br />
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You know I love blue and white and it's so fresh and lovely in the winter with Christmas greenery. And I love paper whites and white amaryllis. My mom used to force them at the holidays and I always thought they were so wonderful and smelled so good.<br />
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I forced some paper whites several years ago and was so proud when I had a beautiful bunch growing. Then my guys started pursing up their faces whenever they walked past them and asking, "What stinks?!" Ha! So I haven't gotten any since then. Fortunately, the amaryllis don't smell.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYDJWHHWzjbCeS2CtZjta5gAQgYOSzUaqqZwcfjkdj9xNha4cHY_mh74XQq974O27P6qO55gZFCAS0Zf4p8tRC_rTcFUON6tWRMOkX0txhAMj0iEHcLQ4MZUl5zx-6IgarC9BWNroHBB9/s1600/8386b4239c63a541cc96429527bd4cc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYDJWHHWzjbCeS2CtZjta5gAQgYOSzUaqqZwcfjkdj9xNha4cHY_mh74XQq974O27P6qO55gZFCAS0Zf4p8tRC_rTcFUON6tWRMOkX0txhAMj0iEHcLQ4MZUl5zx-6IgarC9BWNroHBB9/s640/8386b4239c63a541cc96429527bd4cc6.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Trends Magazine</td></tr>
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This blue and white breakfast room is so pretty with the yellow toile walls and the red ribbons.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lt5xmu-af6HFzZsijbxyK_ytMX1yeyu-jBiga7ap5snsNTqpFp7hO1vTr8_Yg2KY0zhZ1ayl2aOLY_5CG_00Woj2ZbCoxamX3HEsHfAJCVLiO2_LiROkH2QKWT5PgYuSEBqQbjDpkglV/s1600/9759e51f304fd05eaecd40e104732c88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lt5xmu-af6HFzZsijbxyK_ytMX1yeyu-jBiga7ap5snsNTqpFp7hO1vTr8_Yg2KY0zhZ1ayl2aOLY_5CG_00Woj2ZbCoxamX3HEsHfAJCVLiO2_LiROkH2QKWT5PgYuSEBqQbjDpkglV/s640/9759e51f304fd05eaecd40e104732c88.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Faudree</td></tr>
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This entry has red mixed with blue and white all year round. This another picture that I have loved over the years. I may have to add some red to my home again in the future - at least at the holidays.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUATfv9G_SWaqmXIpoXtN6K0gb3-waK0koLFTngOxNeL3jC170_xM6TdkABEOi7wOQim0qdjDEBb4NKqaqAP3ebkTETd6s37VCiAfw6iwBPAl8edCsSGT5doJeIEm5RJzu4HqJyumves5D/s1600/448487b3a15f9110d904299737925d53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUATfv9G_SWaqmXIpoXtN6K0gb3-waK0koLFTngOxNeL3jC170_xM6TdkABEOi7wOQim0qdjDEBb4NKqaqAP3ebkTETd6s37VCiAfw6iwBPAl8edCsSGT5doJeIEm5RJzu4HqJyumves5D/s640/448487b3a15f9110d904299737925d53.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Home</td></tr>
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Isn't this topiary wonderful?! It looks like gold pears. I love this!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls3xyEld72DhLlb5iKLk78BxmvoW-Yp9oqLsitSJnYgE8e00OXfsn52x9tZOAKeyQjOoY7pPEfyqe9MvQM5NB4PsBjMiUSUu-QHWlDe6vc1cHQ6Q2Hf6MLhYyKXe5dTaHMzI7mzgTmwvx/s1600/5454f0031cf4a0ef128cecb8c97fbc9e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjls3xyEld72DhLlb5iKLk78BxmvoW-Yp9oqLsitSJnYgE8e00OXfsn52x9tZOAKeyQjOoY7pPEfyqe9MvQM5NB4PsBjMiUSUu-QHWlDe6vc1cHQ6Q2Hf6MLhYyKXe5dTaHMzI7mzgTmwvx/s640/5454f0031cf4a0ef128cecb8c97fbc9e.jpg" width="510" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Home</td></tr>
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It goes so beautifully with the blue and white toile. And I love the mix of fabrics on the chairs!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8IjsIQNtNRk1Z52aR5DcEPei3odSaefMajmC_rFPSojkH-1q21R1lwEXTvvdkDXdWRgrbPNtYXYzFDcyMrgv6bg8lvJ4dHNEtgcVWTQuzDjqVD5KUq_JxG8LM4ZpmAUqxB1f-OU56X9r/s1600/ceb522eba14c5b46278aca974920f39a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8IjsIQNtNRk1Z52aR5DcEPei3odSaefMajmC_rFPSojkH-1q21R1lwEXTvvdkDXdWRgrbPNtYXYzFDcyMrgv6bg8lvJ4dHNEtgcVWTQuzDjqVD5KUq_JxG8LM4ZpmAUqxB1f-OU56X9r/s640/ceb522eba14c5b46278aca974920f39a.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My French Country Home</td></tr>
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Sharon Santoni's <a href="http://sharonsantoni.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> and home is always so beautiful and inspirational!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQo5QSW9PQNI8ZRgLVC3iGFhQaUkwMiZ7E3FybQQIySGw_xqXB_R-TxfM06LaK94YalSXTbjA5-ItmMk6HrLAMZbPhx2oO1Lk7j08govtRa9L1PK9BJJY6LPs-Cwspn2eA6fepm5KmjwGK/s1600/af8953399f84aab5ba12e0862b7ff0f7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQo5QSW9PQNI8ZRgLVC3iGFhQaUkwMiZ7E3FybQQIySGw_xqXB_R-TxfM06LaK94YalSXTbjA5-ItmMk6HrLAMZbPhx2oO1Lk7j08govtRa9L1PK9BJJY6LPs-Cwspn2eA6fepm5KmjwGK/s640/af8953399f84aab5ba12e0862b7ff0f7.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjFO0_F6uIeiueMIBl1IjFFSTvupKcSYoSj6Z13H4NGYtBaU3wpiiZRNEY9Irxq5wjBJK8X2HzSnV4A3-H3j5sS8FCBmxdZP-gOLCTk5JddfmUcE2369ZSwgEIwFGPFCLpoUa2EvC80rH/s1600/ddaf9fc52428f1e5a466895d180bd3f8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjFO0_F6uIeiueMIBl1IjFFSTvupKcSYoSj6Z13H4NGYtBaU3wpiiZRNEY9Irxq5wjBJK8X2HzSnV4A3-H3j5sS8FCBmxdZP-gOLCTk5JddfmUcE2369ZSwgEIwFGPFCLpoUa2EvC80rH/s640/ddaf9fc52428f1e5a466895d180bd3f8.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Home</td></tr>
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This room was also featured in Traditional Home. Even though this chair is actually purple, it initially looked blue to me, and I immediately started shopping for deep blue chairs! So beautiful!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEija4nkFpEL8-UpYuJ7V-VQP6cTyMnDG2QZvCsBeLTguHrl990OZOEDsUPThPhNfnAkNt45uGfdoVzUyYMr5c3iZ0IXGjnhsZUY9dg_bW7YVONenxwjoxYewfXqw2nNNA111Raswzo7HCd0/s1600/5ab1ed7b741de1ac0cf628107ca3993a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEija4nkFpEL8-UpYuJ7V-VQP6cTyMnDG2QZvCsBeLTguHrl990OZOEDsUPThPhNfnAkNt45uGfdoVzUyYMr5c3iZ0IXGjnhsZUY9dg_bW7YVONenxwjoxYewfXqw2nNNA111Raswzo7HCd0/s640/5ab1ed7b741de1ac0cf628107ca3993a.jpg" width="468" /></a></div>
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These two dining rooms are so similar and both are so beautifully filled with fresh greenery and over the top bling! The gold ribbons are beautiful!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVzHAe_fxYdVUv99hHO5icCWZ04IhpFefzO-qBhgBAb0r-_ZJkQfSSWtKyhwIYPK6ntIzpYjgBnC_SY9iPNJ2yUzf3iWTK6-hS3MwOhRlPYHlhyphenhyphen4dDC-6cccjOEdoFug_EujorvnLyCL6/s1600/3cda21ab0589331524ab60dfb1545944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVzHAe_fxYdVUv99hHO5icCWZ04IhpFefzO-qBhgBAb0r-_ZJkQfSSWtKyhwIYPK6ntIzpYjgBnC_SY9iPNJ2yUzf3iWTK6-hS3MwOhRlPYHlhyphenhyphen4dDC-6cccjOEdoFug_EujorvnLyCL6/s640/3cda21ab0589331524ab60dfb1545944.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amy Chalmers</td></tr>
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Amy Chalmers does blue so beautifully! I love her blog <a href="http://maisondecor8.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Maison Decor</a> and find lots of ideas there!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_ssDqgFv5Qk04pQdcNyCwUWwxJrBQrW0TfZtAa7LEg0LDSDOhjzYB2XSTRCCXdUh34L1cLVd-H0NXZTdWUBAPTLKBpQjDODWSUG3BKjadq-qK8GxBr_MCgy5S399hYgVocQhwl7d1d1l/s1600/20f0f16ca929501f2601db8d9fa7b6fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_ssDqgFv5Qk04pQdcNyCwUWwxJrBQrW0TfZtAa7LEg0LDSDOhjzYB2XSTRCCXdUh34L1cLVd-H0NXZTdWUBAPTLKBpQjDODWSUG3BKjadq-qK8GxBr_MCgy5S399hYgVocQhwl7d1d1l/s640/20f0f16ca929501f2601db8d9fa7b6fb.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veranda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPc500-wz1LtwOz_LVNroAdGCwOEKrywDoDntazLddA2RDNqP0Rpd2JU1UvLbRfkVIYZPNTzwQj-LbbmDUb1VMlNa6YCxV2SdGuIssg21-T0HaOPzjmo9TYhnbjl8kxBOvWxPVrA8FsHm/s1600/670f90cc283b3e4c32012c7198781b42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQPc500-wz1LtwOz_LVNroAdGCwOEKrywDoDntazLddA2RDNqP0Rpd2JU1UvLbRfkVIYZPNTzwQj-LbbmDUb1VMlNa6YCxV2SdGuIssg21-T0HaOPzjmo9TYhnbjl8kxBOvWxPVrA8FsHm/s640/670f90cc283b3e4c32012c7198781b42.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ballard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix9gp1lcXH4dTggn_9Mi-HTDaX0mofhyhCiEh1ncr-qw6hTWkwgXrCqDhEl_1nrVKW7Vi0ygJWNKI0O7rTHJG4gh2XP3qCO2lZEJnUypMUV9jzlerc1o7Bdnc-CLWHF_At8q5LpVpJfO2/s1600/ba96ca7290024c36b4884cf2e8c21165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix9gp1lcXH4dTggn_9Mi-HTDaX0mofhyhCiEh1ncr-qw6hTWkwgXrCqDhEl_1nrVKW7Vi0ygJWNKI0O7rTHJG4gh2XP3qCO2lZEJnUypMUV9jzlerc1o7Bdnc-CLWHF_At8q5LpVpJfO2/s640/ba96ca7290024c36b4884cf2e8c21165.jpg" width="442" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Home</td></tr>
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I included photo credit everywhere I could find it. Please let me know if you know where a picture came from that I did not credit. I'll be back this week with more of our rooms all decorated for Christmas.<br />
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I hope you'll have a beautiful, blue Christmas~but only in your decor!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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"So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2<br />
<br />Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-34639126686351401972016-12-03T08:53:00.001-05:002016-12-05T17:37:41.498-05:00Christmas in the Dining Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas season and are getting all your shopping done!. We try to keep Christmas simple but there are eleven of us, so when eleven people buy eleven people gifts, it piles up!</div>
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I'm slow at shopping and a slow Christmas decorator. I never start until the day after Thanksgiving. Instead of shopping on that day, I have my guys get all the Christmas boxes down from the attic and start at it. I only bought a couple of new things this year. I mostly just like to try putting the old things in new places. </div>
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Our main floor is all open and our dining room is between our family room and our living room. It's also open to the kitchen. We love the open floor plan and it's especially nice at the holidays when we're all together..</div>
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My husband made our dining room table several years ago and we love it! He made it out of $125 worth of 'white wood' and it's still perfect. I did the sanding and staining. We add a smaller table to it on the holidays so that we can all sit together.<br />
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My favorite thing at Christmas is the trees. I've had as many as four decorated before but I gave one to our daughter a few years ago. The last few years, I've had this one in the dining room.<br />
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This year I decorated it in blue and gold to go with the toile and ticking in here and the living room.<br />
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I love this sleigh from Hobby Lobby. I got it last year and it's perfect as a centerpiece for our table.<br />
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I recently painted our china cabinet a soft blue. I also lightened the deeper blue that I had on the back inside the cabinet.<br />
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My parents were stationed in Germany when I was born and when they returned to the States, they brought back lots of treasures. One of them is this beautiful set of De Haviland china.<br />
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This china has been put away in the bottom of our other china cabinet and after I painted this blue, I brought it out to display it. I love the softness and dimension it adds to this area.<br />
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I know the holidays are hard for some who are missing loved ones. We have lost family members too and miss them even more this time of year. I'm praying that God brings comfort to you and happy memories of your times together.<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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<span class="text Luke-2-4" id="en-NKJV-24978" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>"</b></span></span><span class="text Luke-2-4" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><span class="text Luke-2-5" id="en-NKJV-24979" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">5 </span>to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,<span class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NKJV-24979a" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NKJV-24979a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2#fen-NKJV-24979a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</span> who was with child." Luke 2:4-5</span><br />
<span class="text Luke-2-5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text Luke-2-5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I'm joining these parties:</span><br />
<span class="text Luke-2-5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.net/the-marietta-pilgrimage-christmas-home-tour-2016/" target="_blank">betweennapsontheporch</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/12/make-pretty-monday-week-201.html" target="_blank">thededicatedhouse</a><br />
<a href="http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/inspire-monday-141/" target="_blank">myuncommonsliceofsuburbia</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stonegableblog.com/the-scoop-252/" target="_blank">stonegableblog</a><br />
<span class="text Luke-2-5" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301871774434544967.post-27266251280890635782016-12-01T14:54:00.000-05:002016-12-19T20:58:34.573-05:00Christmas in the Family Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hi Friends!</div>
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I hope you're all having a joyous holiday season! Our family was all together on Thanksgiving and we'll all be together for Christmas. There's no sweeter blessing than that!</div>
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There are lots of changes around here since this summer, so I'll just be including them as I share each room decorated for Christmas.</div>
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Our family room is the room where we spend most of our leisure time. </div>
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I recently found a new entertainment center/armoire on Craig's list. I was instantly in love with it but thought I was silly to get it - our old armoire was so nice. But when it was still there a few weeks later, I mentioned it to my husband, and we got it that same day - for $75!<br />
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It's much more my style than our old armoire.<br />
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I decked it out with bows of evergreen for the holiday.<br />
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I filled our sofa table, that my husband made, with glittery trees and deer.<br />
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Michigan gets a lot of snow during the winter, even though we haven't had much yet. I love to fill this room with fur and snuggle up on the couch on cold, blustery nights.<br />
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This fur throw is from Pottery Barn.<br />
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We've had this tree for several years now. I filled it with snow flakes and icycles.<br />
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I got these large fur pillows at HomeGoods.<br />
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I'll be back soon with more rooms, all decked out for Christmas. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!<br />
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love and blessings~<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">"And it came to pass in those days <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">that</span> a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. </span><span class="text Luke-2-2" id="en-NKJV-24976" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. </span><span class="text Luke-2-3" id="en-NKJV-24977" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city." Luke 2:1-3</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">all furniture - second hand</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">fur pillows - HomeGoods</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">fur throw - Pottery Barn</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">rug - HomeGoods</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text Luke-2-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">baskets - HomeGoods</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">pillows (Joy/Peace) Joss&Main</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">mirror - HomeGoods</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">candlesticks - HomeGoods</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">I'm joining these parties:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/2016/11/home-sweet-home-299.html?utm_source=bloglovin.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCharmOfHome+%28The+Charm+of+Home%29" target="_blank">home-sweet-home-299</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.impartinggrace.com/2016/12/grace-at-home-no-229.html" target="_blank">.impartinggrace</a></span><br />
<a href="http://betweennapsontheporch.net/the-marietta-pilgrimage-christmas-home-tour-2016/" target="_blank">betweennapsontheporch</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/12/make-pretty-monday-week-201.html" target="_blank">thededicatedhouse</a><br />
<a href="http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/inspire-monday-141/" target="_blank">myuncommonsliceofsuburbia</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stonegableblog.com/the-scoop-252/" target="_blank">.stonegableblog</a><br />
<a href="http://seekinglavenderlane.com/creative-circle-week-95/" target="_blank">seekinglavenderlane</a><br />
<a href="http://too-much-time.com/handmade-hangout-132/" target="_blank">/handmade-hangout-132</a><br />
<a href="http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/2016/12/foodie-friday-and-everything-else_15.html#more" target="_blank">RattlebridgeFarm</a><br />
<a href="http://www.elevengables.com/2016/12/christmas-past-christmas-present-and.html" target="_blank">christmas-past-christmas-present</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Lynda Brandlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00904166933638843933noreply@blogger.com46