getting your heart where your home is.

There are things that I'm good at, and there are things that I'm not. I don't explain why I'm not that great at math; I'm just not. So, when there's formulas to decipher and numbers to record, I (if I can) happily pass along the task, I do.

I'm sure there are things you're good at, and things that you aren't.

But did you know that we can all be good at having people over?

It's not about having a clean home or even feeling comfortable at others' eyes roving our corners for cobwebs, it's about loving people.

What if your home was actually your heart?

Obviously, there are dark corners with cobwebs, rooms with doors that will always be closed to non-family members.

We don't expect our hearts to be perfect before loving others, so why do we wait until our home is before inviting others over?

We've lived here for 3 months, and I'll tell you a little secret.

Our house isn't put together after moving at all. I still haven't painted the majority of our walls. We still haven't hung much on them. But, we have had more people over in the past 3 months than we had in all of last year. B and I decided to take advantage of the "we've just moved in" grace people give you, and hosted a birthday party, desserts, dinners, playdates, and more.

And do you know what?

It's been awesome. We basked in the presence of others before our house felt "ready." I've kind of enjoyed having less to dust and the room to think about my potential decor...

but most of all, I've enjoyed letting people in--and in my home, too.

At Rescued Remnant

I'm over at Rescued Remnant today, a blog of sweet friends, Brad and Carrie. Brad and Carrie are two of the most faithful Christ-followers I know, and I feel incredibly blessed to guestpost for them.

Click on the button to go over to their place, where I used the phrase "dancing in between glory and crap" (You're interested now, aren't you?)

Operation: Postpartum sanity

Source

Friends, if you've had a baby or going to have a baby or even seen a mother in the grocery store with a tiny baby who's about to lose her MIND, you know it's not easy to have a baby. Especially after the fact. You've spent so much time planning for said child that it's easy to forget about yourself. I've been trying to implement a little sanity into my postpartum-ness with the birth of my second and wanted to share some of it with you. Hopefully, this will evolve into something regular, but we'll see. I've got a baby, you know.

My first postpartum tip has to do with weight loss, or in my case, the lack thereof. Weight loss with the firstborn was, dare I say it.....easy. This one? Not so much. Weight has made itself comfortable. Weight has been around awhile. Weight is not going anywhere without a fight.

However, I don't want to wear maternity stuff and my nursing clothes (upcoming post planned on what kind of clothes are nursing clothes) forever, so what kind of clothes can I really invest in as a stay-at-home mom or weekend warrior mom that don't feel so temporary?

Listen up, friends.

Workout clothes.

What? Yes! They have stretch, are very forgiving (yoga pants), go well with no make-up and a ponytail, and guess what? You can actually WORKOUT in them!

And.... I'll admit it, this has been my mommy trick of yore. Whenever I have rolled out of bed, late to the preschool drop-off line, it's not a tee-shirt and running pants kind of look I go for. It's a "I'm just about to dash to pilates" or a "I go to the gym so often they don't even check my membership anymore" kind of look. Maybe I'll make it to the gym. Maybe not. But the point? You will THINK I've already been to the gym (depending on how rough a night it was) or I'm on my way there.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll make it there someday.

UPDATE: They're all accounted for!

Ya'll, I still have some pinterest invites left to give. And how else will you ignore work, laundry, and your offspring?

If you do sign up for pinterest, you will have to wait for an invite, which can take upwards of three years. Alright, maybe two weeks. But with my invite, you can INSTANTLY enjoy "pinning" recipes while the hungry people in your household ask where dinner is.

Anyway, my point is, ask me! I'm giving them AWAY.

pinterest

Surely you've heard about Pinterest, right? I would describe it as a visual way of organizing your bookmarks...and the best part is, you get to see other people's bookmarks/ideas/cool things of note. Here's mine, and I definitely haven't made a dent in it yet. But already, I could spend hours on it pinning more stuff and looking at others' pins.

But don't you have enough to do, what with tweeting and linking in and poking (who does that on facebook anyway? what purpose does it serve?)?

Yes, you do.

But here are some reasons I love it, and why you should add it to your social networking repertoire..

--it's a VISUAL way of seeing everything you've already bookmarked. I am always bookmarking some clever idea from a blog, and then it gets lost with all my other bookmarks. With pinterest, I can glance at through them at once.

--very helpful if you're wanting to define your style, whether for yourself or your home. It's the "know it when you see it" philosophy, which is from my marketing days. Clients may not know what they want until they see it. Same with you, right? You know you love that bedroom and that one, too--but now that you can pin them and see them side by side, you see that you really just love lots of white bedding with a dark wall. Interesting, hmmmm?

--I'm nosy. What do you like? Me too! You can follow others pins and they can follow yours. It's one big shopping/brainstorming session without the gas.

If you're on it, I'd love to follow you. If you're not, I have 5 invitations to give. Message me in the comments your email addy, and I'll send an invite your way!

Deathly Hallows-style

B and I finally got to watch the most recent Harry Potter since it had come out a mere few days after Asher was born. It was great, but I was delightedly distracted by the cool 1940s/Urban Outfitters style throughout it, which is a bit of a departure than the other films' more Gothic feel.

Love the style of Ron's parents' house shown here...



Doesn't this remind you of Nazi propoganda?



Fleur's wedding dress was amazing (and apparently somewhat of a scandal in my online search of it, as it was almost an exact copy of one of Alexander McQueen's)



Remember when I promised you the results of Operation De-Wallpaper?

I promise that I will have them soon--we're just chipping away at this project as much as we can without going crazy.

live dangerously-invite people over.

Why is it that having people over seems so hard?

Is it because you have to clean, plan, and sacrifice that time that could be for yourself or your family?

Does it often seem more of a burden than a blessing?

Hosting is often like dealing with conflict in friendships. It's a chance to go deeper, either with grace or with disaster. B and I once hosted a couple where the husband got sick in the middle of their visit and had to leave. Sadly, we were never able to connect with this couple again. Instead, it became an awkward situation when we saw them around town--maybe they were embarrassed, or perhaps we didn't handle the situation better.

But, honestly? That's life.

You mess up.
People get sick.
People will bring over germs and get you sick.
Kids will spill things on your carpet.
Your stuff might get messed up--maybe even broken.

Which leads me to your heart. It could get broken too.

People might not have a good time.
They might think your decor is tacky.
They might think your house smells bad. (one of my worst fears--especially when you're in your house all day and you have no idea that the trash reeks!)
Your child might have a potty accident.
Their child might have a potty accident.

They could leave and never talk to you again.

I'm going to be honest. It could all happen.

But the risk is worth it; I truly believe it is. I'm working on being braver--letting people see the reality of my life in my home. That my laundry room is a disaster. My kids sometimes have meltdowns. My food doesn't always taste good. I'm incredibly clumsy. And even more.

But, like I receive grace from a Great God, I'm also want to give it. He loves me despite my messes, so I want to invite others into my real life in hopes that that they would find refuge in the imperfections. The reality is, I cannot stop my life to invite people into my home, so why not invite them along?

People could love spending time with you.
They could rave about your food and ask for the recipe.
Your kids could charm your guests with their adorableness and talents.
They could ask you where you got that yummy-smelling candle that makes your home smell so good.
Nobody would have a potty accident, including you.

But most importantly, they could feel at home because everything is not perfect, and yet, you honor their visit by engaging them about their life and offering them the chance to be a part of yours.

It's a dangerous thing to let people cross your threshold. Are you so bold?