Makeovers~ Oooh La La!

Let me guess, you are thinking of a facial makeover, right?  Not exactly what I was referring to.  I have some AWESOME friends in my life.  Some give me attitude makeovers, some give me emotional makeovers, and some give my house a makeover.  :)  These 2 friends give me all three!

       

I had surgery 2 weeks ago, and my friends came over to bring me some GORGEOUS flowers!

  

 

While we were talking, I made mention of how boring my formal dining room was.  I asked them if they had any ideas, and could help me bring the room to life.  I knew they had a decorator's touch, but I never imagined what would happen in the next few days!

I got a few texts from them asking what my "style" was, and I told them my only real "style" was a design on a dime.  They sent me a picture of a light fixture and told me a few of their ideas.  I told them I was not picky and completely trusted their judgement.

I got another text from them Sunday night asking if they could drop by.  I said of course, but we should go out to eat first.  So, off to Longhorn Steakhouse we went.  I had not idea the contents of Chevy Traverse the they were driving.

We ate and came back to the house.  It was then that Jake and I discovered that their car was FULL of things for our DINING ROOM MAKEOVER!!!

You will not believe your eyes!

This is what they had to work with...pretty boring!

Good LAWD, look at the DUST!!!

So, we began to bring everything in.  I am beyond excited to see what they have.  We brought in heavy boxes, candles, a flower, mirror, and much more!!!

So, they begin working!!!  Their first mission was to CHANGE THE LIGHT FIXTURE!!!

From this... TO this...

They were great electricians, if I must say so myself!

Once the new light was hung, they got to work on the buffet.  It was in TONS of pieces, but rest assured it looked great in the end.

After a lot of HARD WORK things began to come together and look WONDERFUL!!!

 

a few finishing touches...

and the REVEAL...

aren't these neat???

The finished buffet...

and it's DONE!!!

(well, they say they have  few things to add, but it looks GREAT!)

So, who exactly are the faces behind this beautiful MAKEOVER???

Let me introduce to you my freinds Bobby and Chris.  They are such special people in mine and Jake's life.  I have know Chris forever and we met Bobby at LJES. 

Bobby is the music teacher at Lake Joy Elementary (where I teach), and Chris works at State Bank in Pinehurst.  Although these are their full time jobs, you can see that they are very talented outside of their everyday jobs.

 

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am to have such wonderful friends. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH BOBBY AND CHRIS!!! 

So...if you need help giving a room in your home a MAKEOVER, they would love to help.  They can work on any budget, and as you can see, they do a FANTASTIC job.

I hope you have enjoyed my "makeover"

Until next time....LET'S EAT!!! 

Are you listening???

I have to share what happened to me today...it is truly a "treasure" that I stumbled across in my trials. I woke up this morning to clean the kitchen before the "floor crew" got here to replace the tile in my kitchen. They arrived and began working right away. I am not sure if you have ever been around while old tile is being removed, but it can get VERY dusty. So, I decided to leave the house to get a breath of fresh air. I went to my mom’s house to sit outside and read a bit. I did not have a particular book, so I looked on my mom’s bookshelf. There was a devotional book that caught my eye. It didn’t have a flashy cover, and the title was not breathtaking. It was simply called "A Woman’s Heart: Knowing God Today". I picked it up, along with a few other books, and went outside. I opened the devotion book to today’s message and it could not have been more fitting.

Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t hear the Lord speaking to you? Have you tried to seek God’s will only to be left uncertain? I have certainly felt this way MANY times. I feel as though I beg God to show me His will, only to be left unsure. The devotion I read dealt specifically with that. It was titled “Listening to God”. How appropriate…I began to read. The first scripture it referenced was from Isaiah 41:1 (NLT). It says, “Listen in silence before me…” WOW, that was my answer. I was instantly convicted. There are so many “things” going on in my life that I do not take the time to listen. The most convicting part about this is that I feel the same way about my students. I feel like they ask me how to do something, or what to do, and when I go to help them and give them an answer, they go on to other “things”. I am doing the EXACT same thing with my walk with God. So many times, I feel as though God is “listening”, but the problem is that I am not listening.

The devotion goes on to talk about how there are times that God speaks loud and clear, and I have experienced that personally as well. But, it is the deeply personal things that God wants you (me) to slow down for a bit and LISTEN. He probably isn’t going to fly the answer overhead on an airplane banner, and He probably isn’t going to make the bushes in my front yard speak to me audibly, but He is going to answer. It is my responsibility to listen. With this being said, I cannot help but wonder how many times the Lord has answered my questions and cries in subtle ways, but I was to busy to sit and listen.

I am so glad that I discovered this “treasure” today. I consider it a treasure because it is a glimpse of God’s goodness in the midst of my trials. So, I cannot promise that I will always listen as I should, but it is my own personal challenge to sit and listen as God reveals His plan for my life. Whatever it may be, I know He will be with me every step of the way.

I leave you with this…

“Half an hour of listening is essential except when one is very busy. Then, a full hour is needed”
-Sir Francis of Sales

Why "Trials and Treasures"???

I am sure many of you are wondering why I chose to title my blog "Trials and Treasures". This simple phrase can sum up my life as well as most of you. As most of you know, Jake and I have been dealing with a "trial" for quite some time now. (This also explains the baby feet on my page.) Although we face many trials, our main "trial" right now is infertility. Jake and I have had many highs and lows throughout this journey. We are now three and a half years into this and we are praying for our "treasure". When trying to decide on a name for my blog, I had many thoughts go through my head. As I thought more about it, I felt that "Trials and Treasures" would be perfect. So....once again, I called my friend Melissa. She quickly agreed that it was an appropriate title, so there it was. Once I named my blog and began really thinking about it, I was reminded that in life we will always go through trials. The scale of our trials will vary, but all in all, we will face trials. The greatest part of a trial is that there is a treasure at the end. This can relate to any circumstance in life. The good news my friend is that if you are a child of God, then trusting Him will reveal his purpose for your life. So many times we feel as though we are facing a trial or test, when really, we are trying to plan our lives according to our plan rather than the Father’s. I have added some verses that I found that deal with these trials. I pray that I can bless and encourage you through this blog. My prayer is that you too can see Treasures at the end of your Trials!




"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8



“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” Ecclesiastes 7:8



“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31



“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19



“Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” 2 Thessalonians 1:4



“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3



“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7



“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

New to this...

I have a very precious friend that started blogging a little bit ago.  I quickly became a "follower", but was not sure that blogging was for me.  As days went by, and her posts blessed my life, I began to entertain the idea of starting my own blog.  So, I called my friend and asked her how to start.  When she told me that it could be challenging, but addicting at the same time, she was not joking!!!  I have sat here for quite a while adding a layout, changing colors, deciding names, and the list goes on.  I have texted and called her numerous times over the past 2 hours with questions about this and that.  She never got frustrated and even sent me a sweet text asking how my "blogging" was going.  I cannot begin to tell you how precious she is and how much I value our friendship.  For those of you wondering...her name is Melissa Lee.  She is one of very few friends that I can truly count on. (even if it is walking me step-by-step in creating my blog)  I can only hope to encourage others with my blog the way Melissa's encourages me.  I cannot promise daily posts, but I am going to try my best to encourage you the way I have been encouraged.  Love you Mel!!!