Friday Favorites: Knockout Roses

Awww, spring is in the air & I can hardly wait for it to get here.  The last couple days, except for being a bit windy (but when is it not windy in Oklahoma?), have been absolutely gorgeous. 

One thing I love most about the springtime is all of the beautiful, colorful flowers we have around our house.  For me, the more color, the better!   And of all of the flowers, one of my favorite is the bright pink Knockout Rose.  (For those of you who don't know, Mr. Dishaholic is a landscape designer and contractor, so I'm a little spoiled when it comes to beautiful landscaping.) 

Here's a photo taken of a flower bed in our front yard last spring.

 Aren't they beautiful?

Just a few short weeks and they'll be in full bloom again!

Tablescape Thursday: Lions & Tigers & Elephants, Oh My!

So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them......So make yourself an ark.....I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it.  Everything on earth will perish.  But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.  You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female.....Noah did everything just as God commanded him.  Genesis 6:13-14, 17-19, 22 (NIV)

I must begin by telling you that this is unlike any tablescape I've ever done (& I must admit, it didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned it!).  In fact, it is so different from my usual style that I considered not posting it, but what fun is that?  I tend to lean toward doing more elegant (for lack of a better word) and seasonal tablescapes, but after blogging about "The Flood & The Blood" on Sunday, I thought it might be fun to do something a little different: a Noah's Ark tablescape.  I usually like to come up with a scripture verse that coincides with my tablescapes, but this time I figured I'd do it the other way around. 

Oh, and one more thing, I added a little challenge by attempting to construct as much of it out of dishes & tabletop accessories as possible!  This will all make a little more sense as you read on. 

So I invite you to jump ON BOARD and join me in embARKing on this JOURNEY (after all, the animals did go in PAIRS), but I must warn you, it's a ROUGH and WILD tablescape, and you'll be FLOODED with many pictures!  (Sorry, I went a little OVERBOARD.)  So grab an umbrella, hold on tight, and enjoy the RIDE as I POUR on the explanations!



(In case your wondering about that big cream colored thing in the back, no it's not a robot or a white chocolate fountain!  That's supposed to be a mountain! 
I'll show you a close up a little later on!)

I began by starting with a light tan tablecloth that reminded me a little of sand.  Then I fluffed up the turquoise blue table topper to resemble waves of water.  (As you can see, the water is beginning to subside.)

I decided to do 2 place settings symbolizing the pairs of animals.

I used bamboo placemats to symbolize the wood of the ark.  (I purchased these for $1.00 each at Dollar Tree many years ago!  I've since seen identical ones at other stores for over $5.00!)  To add a little texture and color to the place settings, I topped each placemat with a sheet of moss (borrowed from my spring decor). 

I chose giraffe dinner plates, followed by zebra salad plates, then topped each off with an animal appetizer plate....one with a lion.....

 

.....the other with an elephant.

(When the idea occurred to me to do this tablescape, I remembered having seen these animal appetizer plates at Ross about a month or two ago.  So I made a quick trip, fully expecting that they'd be gone, but they still had a few!  And at less than $2.00, I figured they were worth it!)



Then I layered the plates with bamboo flatware and added animal print glasses.



(I have my giraffe glass lying down in this one for a little better look.)



I chose a mossy green napkin, layering it over a brown & cream zebra print napkin, so that just a hint of animal print was peeking out.  I tied each one with giraffe ribbon & then clipped on a couple of animals. (Those are actually tablecloth weights to keep the wind from blowing the tablecloth around, but I thought they'd be cute on the napkins.)



(Please excuse the black marks on the ribbon.  Those aren't really there.  My camera just decided to add them!)



Now for my centerpiece.  First I'll start with the "Mountain" of bowls, representing Mt. Ararat, the place where the ark landed.  In keeping with my challenge to primarily use dishes or tabletop accessories, I gathered several cream colored bowls of varying sizes, and simply stacked them upside down to resemble a mountain. 

Either those are some really big animals, or that mountain is the smallest mountain ever!

I decided I also need a few animals walking about, although technically the animals weren't out 'til the water was completely dried up!  Hmmm, is that tiger walking on water? 

I simply used small clear easels to hold the animal dishes.  (I had originally planned on having pairs of animals - 2 elephants & 2 tigers - but it looked too crowded.)

My pair of birds are actually salt & pepper shakers.  If you remember, Noah sent a bird out 3 times to test & see if the water had dried up.

And last, but not least, what's a Noah's ark tablescape without an ark?  Of course, I didn't have an ark just sitting around the house.  I considered trying to make one out of dishes, but quickly decided that was not going to be an easy task.  Not wanting to spend any money, I figured I'd just cover some boxes with brown paper to make my ark.  Truth be told, my attempt to make an ark wasn't turning out so well, so my super sweet hubby took over!  (I mean, how many husbands out there would take time to make an ark for their wife's tablescape?!)  And about 30 minutes later, I had an ark!

The ark is the only part of the tablescape not constructed out of dishes or tabletop materials, but 2 of the boxes originally came with some of my dishes....does that count?

Now, don't JUMP SHIP just yet.  I have one last surprise.  See those animals enjoying their ride on the ark? 

 

Well, they're actually little spreader knives!  That was another reason I decided to construct the ark out of cardboard.....so that I could use my spreader knives as the animals on board!

Just as I was finishing up, I decided to make one more change.  I wanted something to represent the rainbow that God created as a symbol to never again destroy the earth with a flood.  So I quickly changed out my animal glasses for these "rainbow" colored striped glasses.  Although I didn't like the overall look quite as well (it didn't exactly go with my color scheme), I thought it made the story complete. 

Well, hope you've stayed AFLOAT and survived this TURBULENCE!  Thanks for joining me on the journey!  And don't forget to stop by Between Naps on the Porch to see all the amazing tablescapes!

Tablecloth - Ross

Turquoise Table Topper - Tuscan Loggia (a local decor store)

Bamboo Placemats - Dollar Tree

Giraffe Plates - TJ Maxx or Marshalls

Zebra Plates - TJ Maxx, Homegoods, & Marshalls (I had to go all over to get a full set!)

Animal Plates - Ross

Bamboo Flatware - Steinmart

Animal Print Glasses - Dillards

Striped Glasses - Kohls (I think!)

Bird Salt & Pepper Shakers - TJ Maxx or Marshalls

Zebra Napkins - Z Gallerie

Green Napkins - Burlington (I think)

Animal Napkin Weights - Tuesday Morning

Animal Spreader Knives - either Ross or TJ Maxx

Mountain Bowls - Gracious Goods & Chris Madden from JC Penney

Wildcard Wednesday: Sink Reflections

In my last two "Simplify Saturday" posts, I've referred to a book called Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley, so I thought I'd take a minute to share a little more about this book. 

(I think it's ironic that the flash from my camera left a reflection on the sink!)

It's unlike any other "organizing" book I've read, in that it doesn't tell you the best method(s) for organizing a closet or drawer, and it doesn't talk about organizational gadgets, and it doesn't expect you to get organized in a week or even a month.  Instead, it teaches that doing a little a day, whether it's done perfectly or not, will go a long way in getting you to your goal.  It also talks about the importance of loving and taking care of yourself, something that many of us aren't too good at.  So whether you're living a life of CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome), or whether you're just looking for a little advice in getting your house or your life together, I recommend picking up a copy of this book.

(And one more thing, this last week I've been thinking about doing a "Friday Favorites" post on tassles sometime in the near future because I'm in love with them!  I'm even considering doing a tutorial on making tassles.  Ironically, this week, Susan from Between Naps on the Porch did a post featuring some adorable tassles and is hosting a drawing for a $30.00 gift certificate for The Tassle House!  Stop by both places to enjoy some super cute tassles.  And be looking for a tassle post from me sometime in the future!)

More of Me Monday: Sensing My Senses

The last couple weeks I've noticed a trend, and it occurred to me that maybe God was wanting me to learn something from it.  You see, I've encountered several individuals over the course of the last couple weeks who, due to some physical ailment or another, have either lost or damaged one of their senses or a limb.  For instance, my grandma was recently diagnosed with glaucoma, which has left her struggling to see clearly.  A precious friend, who has a disease that causes multiple non-cancerous brain tumors, just underwent another brain surgery.  She has had multiple surgeries in her life, many impairing her vision and hearing, but she amazingly is one of the most positive people I know and has a wonderful testimony for the Lord.  I also recently met a young lady who only has one leg (and that was the least of her losses!).  It's amazing that all these things were going on around me, but it took a trip to the dentist to really make me stop and think about it......

A few days ago, as I already mentioned, I made a trip to the dentist to get a filling.  As you might know, the numbness stays for a few hours, which caused me to talk funny and even bite my tongue a time or two.  While this was obviously minor and temporary, it got me to thinking how amazing our senses are and how much they're taken for granted.  Can you imagine how life would be without the ability to see or to hear?  Or what about the sense of touch?  How hard would it be to do normal everyday activities?  God really did think of everything! 

Then God brought to mind all of the individuals in my life who had been struggling with a loss of one or more of their senses or the loss of a limb.  And it reminded of just how blessed I am!  It's so easy to go day-to-day and take all of those things for granted, but God reminded that they are all gifts from Him!  As I continued thinking, my mind went from blessing to blessing (and I'm sure it wasn't even a fraction of all that God has blessed me with!).  And I couldn't help but have a smile on my face and a song in my heart!  God is good!  I'm praying that God continually helps me to see all the blessings He has given to me!

And speaking of senses, I have one more thought to share. I believe that God also gives us a sense of humor, perhaps to help us through the difficult times.  I have a dry sense of humor, much like my dad.  I like to think of it as quick-witted, although others may disagree :).  So I have to share a quick story.  (Keep in mind my dry sense of humor). 

After my dentist took care of my filling, he needed to take impressions of both my upper & lower teeth.  If you're not familiar with what that is, basically they fill a small tray-like structure with what I call "pink goo" and squish it into your mouth.....not exactly the funnest thing to do.  He did the bottom teeth first, left the room for a short time, then returned to do the top.  Again he left the room, returning a short time later to apologetically tell me that this is the first time ever that they didn't turn out and he had to re-do them.  Again, he began with the bottom teeth, left and came back, and followed with the top.  He left the room once more and returned shortly, with a very apologetic look on his face.  By now I had the "pink goo" all over my face and even in my hair.  I'm sure I was quite a site!  (Keep in mind that one side of my face was numb, so I couldn't actually feel the "goo," but there was so much, I could see it out of the corner of my eye!)  He stated that the bottom one turned out this time, but that he had to try the top one once more, and he apologized for making such a mess of me.  He left the room again, this time coming back to tell me that it had finally worked.  However, by this time, he was obviously a little distraught, and kept apologizing as he dampened a paper towel and began wiping off my face for me.  As he finished and apologized once more, in an effort to help change the mood and put a smile on his face, I responded (and this is the punch line in case you're wondering), "Well, you definitely made an IMPRESSION."

Hope this made you smile!

Scripture Sunday: The Flood & The Blood

The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.  So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth - men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and the birds of the air - for I am grieved that I have made them."  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord......Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God......... So God said to Noah, I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them......So make yourself an ark.....I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it.  Everything on earth will perish.  But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark - you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.  You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female.....Noah did everything just as God commanded him.  Genesis 6:5-9, 13-14, 17-19, 22 (NIV)

As I was reading this passage a few weeks ago, I began questioning why chapters 6 & 7 were fairly repetitive?  Then it occurred to me that perhaps God really wanted to get a point across.  After all, when we repeat something, isn't it usually because we either don't think someone is listening or we really want to emphasize the importance of something?  So I decided to delve a little deeper.  I believe that God didn't give us the Old Testament just so we'd have a history lesson (although much of that information is helpful), but rather to teach us something of importance.  I also believe that much of the Old Testament foreshadows or points to Jesus Christ.  As I continued reading & researching, many parallels between Noah's ark and the cross of Jesus began to be revealed to me.  

Genesis 6:8 (NIV) says, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.." Another word for "favor", as the King James Version states it, is "grace."  It's interesting to me that Noah was only saved by the grace of God.  Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) states, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." It is only by the grace of God that we are saved from His judgment!  In addition, Noah had to trust God that the flood was actually going to come and that he truly needed to build and enter the ark.  Had Noah not trusted (had faith) in God, he would have been destroyed.

Genesis 6:14 (NIV) says, "So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out."  The King James Version says it like this, "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."

I thought it was interesting that the KJV used the word "pitch" twice.  As I researched, I discovered that the Hebrew word for "pitch," when used as a verb ("shalt pitch") is "kaphar," which is used seventy times in the Bible to mean atonement as it relates to blood sacrifice.  The Hebrew word for "pitch," when used as a noun ("with pitch"), is "kopher" and means "price of a life" or "ransom."  In other words, Noah & his family were protected from the flood (God's judgment on the earth) by atonement.  Could it be that the pitch is symbolic of the blood of Jesus, who sacrificed His life, covering all our sins, so that we would be protected from God's judgment?

I also found one reference that stated that wood in the Bible often represents man.  If this is so, could it be foreshadowing that God would become "flesh" or man (John 1:14) in order to be our salvation?

"Put a door in the side of the ark...." (Genesis 6:16 NIV).  Notice that although the ark is huge, there is only one door to the ark....only one way to enter.  In John 10:9 (NIV), Jesus states, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved."   The KJV uses the word "door" in place of  "gate."  Just as in the ark, there is only one way to be saved.....through Jesus!

"...and make lower, middle, and upper decks" (Genesis 6:16 NIV).  It makes sense that the bottom deck is likely where the larger animals were.  It was probably crowded, dark, & smelly (and it's possible you'd get trampled on by animals!).  The middle deck likely had the smaller animals, but it was still dark & probably smelly.  The upper deck, however, had a window, which could allow both light & air in.  I began to see that although every creature on the ark was saved from the flood, there was definitely a difference in the decks.  Sometimes as Christians, we may feel that just being saved (entering the ark) is enough, but God wants so much more for us!  He wants us to grow in our relationship with Him!  He wants us to have abundant life (John 10:10)!  (This may be a stretch, but I also think it is interesting that a window's primary function is to let light & air in because in the Bible, Jesus is referred to as the light & the Holy Spirit is referred to as wind or breath.) 

Genesis 7:1 (KJV) says, "And the LORD said unto Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark..."  Notice that God gently invited Noah into the ark, but Noah had to make the decision to enter.  ("Come" also implies that God would be there with Noah.  In Matthew 11:28 (NIV), Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  We are gently & graciously invited to come to Jesus, to trust in Him, but ultimately, we have to make the decision.

After Noah had done all that God commanded him & entered the ark, ..."the Lord shut him in" (Genesis 7:16 NIV).  What powerful words!  God, Himself, seals us in. John 10:28 (NIV) says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."  That does make me wonder though, did Noah have no control over the door?  Hmmm....that gives me something to think about.  (We do know, though, that he had control over the window.....how much light & air he let in.)

After the flood had receded, the Bible states that "the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat" (Genesis 8:4).  After researching, I discovered that "Ararat" likely means "curse is reversed."  The curse of sin & death was reversed by Jesus' death on the cross (Galations 3:13)!

Although the flood represents the judgment, the thought also crossed my mind regarding it's similarity to baptism.  Besides the obvious fact that they both involve water, with the flood, the old was gone, and the new began.  Isn't that what baptism represents, that through faith in Christ Jesus, we are a new creation and the old is gone  (II Corinthians 5:17)?

Finally, Genesis 9:13-15 (NIV) states, "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth......I will remember my covenant between me and you....Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life."   I found that Revelations 10:1-2 refers to an angel who is robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head, his right foot planted on the sea and his left on the land, and he is holding a scroll containing a message affecting the destiny of the world.  In my research, I also read that it points to "no judgment" for those who are in Christ.  It's interesting that the rainbow God set in the sky represents the very important message to the world that God will no longer destroy the earth by a flood.

One last note: Although I didn't completely research this myself to confirm it's truth, I did find an article that spoke of the meanings of names from Adam to Noah, and if accurate, it is very interesting.

Adam = Man
Seth = Appointed
Enosh = Mortal
Kenan = Sorrow
Mahalalel = The Blessed God
Jared = Shall come down
Enoch = Teaching
Methuselah = His death shall bring
Lamech = The Despairing
Noah = Comfort (or Rest)

If you put them all together, it says, "Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.”

I am convinced that all of these parallels aren't just coincidences, but that the great flood definitely is symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ.  What do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Simplify Saturday: Daily Routines

Last week I focused on tasks that need to be done on a weekly basis, & talked about assigning each of those tasks to a different day of the week.  But what about those things that need to be done daily?  Well, you can use the same strategy, only this time assign them to a different time of the day.

You might remember that last week I mentioned a book called Sink Reflections (which I highly recommend).  The book suggests developing a Morning Routine & a Before Bed Routine to help get those daily tasks accomplished.  For instance, the author shares that before bed she puts dirty dishes in the dishwasher, opens mail, lays out clothes for tomorrow, etc.  Her Morning Routine, on the other hand, not only consists of taking a shower & getting dressed, but also putting on a load of laundry and checking email.  While those particular routines didn't meet my needs or work with my schedule, I did like the general idea, so I went to work assigning my daily tasks to the different routines.  I found it helpful to add an Afternoon Routine, too. 

Now I must admit that in writing this, I am talking to myself as well!  There are many weeks, especially lately, when I don't follow my routines, but I've found that when I do, I feel much more in control, organized, & energized!  While it may seem complicated, it really simplifies life!  When your routines become a habit, you can fly right through them, and once finished, your mind can be at ease for the rest of the day!  I also found that gradually adding tasks to the routines, rather than trying to do everything right away, helped keep me from becoming too overwhelmed in the beginning.

To give you an idea of what my routines look like, here is what I put together for my Afternoon Routine, which I do immediately after I get home from work (when I'm actually following my routines!):

 - Clean Trash Out of Car (as I'm getting out of the car)
 - Sort Through Mail (File, Shred, Trash, etc.)
 - Pick Up Clutter (When I'm keeping up with my routines, things don't seem to get nearly as messy.  So I simply spend about 5-10 minutes walking through the house & picking up any clutter that's accumulated in the last day....shoes, dishes, etc.  Now when I'm not following my weekly schedule & routines, there is way too much clutter to pick up in that amount of time, but at least I can get a few things picked up.)
 - Start a Load of Laundry if needed
 - Start the Dishwasher or Unload Clean Dishes if needed
 - Change into My Workout Clothes (I find that if I change into my workout clothes, I'm much more likely to actually workout!)
 - Charge Cell Phone

All of this takes me about 45 minutes tops.....less if there is no laundry or dishes to do.  The important thing is to adjust it to fit your own needs.  Maybe an afternoon routine doesn't work for you, but a dinner time routine would be helpful.  In the beginning you might try only one or two tasks, and after they become habit, add another one or two.  Do what you have to do to make it work for you! 

I'm ready to get back to simplifying my life!  How about you?

Friday Favorites: Cross My Art

I want to share one of my recent purchases that has quickly become one of my favorite things!  Last fall at An Affair of the Heart in OKC I saw & fell in love with this cross art. 

(For those of you who aren't familiar with An Affair of the Heart, it's so much fun.  Twice a year in OKC, hundreds of vendors - enough to fill up 7 or 8 buildings - selling everything from jewelry to decor to kitchen utensils, gather in one place to sell their merchandise.  It's the ultimate shopping experience.....you never know what treasures you might find!)

Not only did I love the layered crosses & the distressed wood frame,  but I loved the colors.  And for those of you who know me, it's a given that I loved the animal print!  Right away I knew the perfect spot for it........it coordinated perfectly with our bedroom colors and we had a blank wall just begging to be decorated!  The only problem was it was already sold.  I was so disappointed!  But my disappointed quickly turned to excitement as I was told that if I wanted to order one, she would bring it with her to the February Affair of the Heart! 

At the time, it seemed so far away, but before I knew it February had rolled around.  I excitedly went to pick up my new treasure! 

Getting back to the car with it, on the other hand, wasn't so exciting!  It's not the easiest thing to carry, & I had to walk close to a mile, avoiding muddy "snow puddles," along the way.  I even had a couple strangers remark that I was probably regretting having bought it now.  While I courteously laughed and nodded my head, inside I was thinking it was worth every step!