Warrior Prayers ... praying for your sons

This is a great book and facebook page and MOB society is having a 21 day prayer project as well .... visit HERE or click on the picture in my sidebar to find out more!  (personally I intend to pray for both my boys and my dd's young men)

"The choices we make ....

 

dictate the lives we lead " ...... (Danny DeVito in Renaissance Man)

This has been a reoccurring theme in my life the last few weeks ...  and particularly this morning! Someone's choice impacted my life -- poor honey had to go to work in the wee hours of the morning (after multiple phone calls .. thank you for that!) because of someone elses choice to be irresponsible. 

So often we tend to think that our choices are ours alone, and to a certain extent they are and YET ..... everyone else around us is impacted too from the simple to the complex.... 

I'm sure the soldier who went out drinking last night to have fun never considered how his choice might impact others or possibly himself -- everyone in the Company having to come in early on a Saturday morning, lack of sleep for our family, extra paperwork for leadership, our Battalion "name" on the reader board on post,  not to mention the example he has set/ruined for those under his leadership, his own driving record and legal record and even his own job prospects in the future ....... (going out isn't the issue, the choice to drive afterwards is!)

Or the young man who lies for fear that others might not love/want him,  trying so hard to live up to a standard imposed by others that he feels he must be perfect ..... ends up becoming the very thing he tried so hard not to be ..... and now must bear the consequences of broken relationships, school issues, shame, etc ., even as he seeks to make things right ... knowing others may reject him anyways ....

What about Sarah? In Genesis she chose out of sheer desperation and longing for acceptance to have a baby through another woman .... I'm sure she had no idea the impact that choice would have  - unrest in the Middle East even today! 

Peter -- who lied with Jesus standing RIGHT THERE! ... and said "I do not know him..." even as the words left his mouth did he wish he could take them back? Once the fear of man and physical death subsided and He looked into the eyes of the one he had betrayed? ..... the magnitude of what he had done must have been soul crushing .... 

And Yet ..... God can redeem each of these situations if they are handed to Him! 

Sarah is listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews, which gives me hope! Peter was restored by Christ himself the exact number of times he lied ..... and became a pillar of faith! 

What about the daily choices we make? 

~To respond kindly instead of harshly to my husband when he irritates me or needs me to repeat myself! 

      ~Lovingly & firmly correct my child, instead of yelling out of frustration 

           ~To CHOOSE my words instead of just speaking without thinking, to be cognizant of what others may hear in what I say       

               ~To hold others accountable but with arms of love and faith around them instead of banishment, frustration or anger 

                 ~Choosing to beleive that God can and WILL bring good out of our brokenness, ...   

                     ~ Allowing my children to choose for themselves  what they will do and then loving them anyway, training them and myself that you really do reap what you sow (Gal 6:7-8).... 

                       ~ Continuing to pray and trust  even when all seems lost

The Bible says in Proverbs: 

  "There is a way that appears to be right,

   but in the end it leads to death."   

       Death of dreams ... relationships... hopes .... and sometimes even physical death.

But there is another way .... Jesus says he is that way and will help us to choose the right....

And no it isn't easy at all ... it's so much easier to respond when I am hurt with anger and pain rather than from a place of mercy ...

          a mercy which forgives and yet is wise holding firm to God's word, 

             mercy that is willing to walk through the consequences with you and love you anyways .... 

                      because isn't that what God does for us? ....

"Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won." .... Cadet's Prayer, USMA West Point 


 ...........because our choices do indeed dictate the lives we lead!

Holiday Mantel Party....

A La Mode Maven is having a Mantel party on her site so here's photos of just our mantel.... you can check out my whole home tour here if you like...

Our fireplace has a very large surround and really long mantel (96") it's really just a board on top of the surround and I'd LOVE to change it out and make it look more like a traditional mantel/surround but one thing I've learned from living in various quarters/homes you gotta work with what ya got ..... 

the "wide" shot 

wired Burlap ribbon (both with and without rustic jingle bells), greenary, silver bulbs, magazine trees and an antique mirror .... )

 

I love the glittery ornaments from Gatherings on the Prairie, the pictures really don't do them justice but I hope you like my mix of fancy and plain! 

The Home blocks are from Cypress Bridge  our local home decorating store that is lovely and has the best scented candles EVER! The wreath is Nativity ornaments I collected at Kathe Wohlfarht in Germany.

closeup of my little Chickadee friend ... one of my favorite memories is of them hoping all over our balcony railing in WA in the snow  and I like it when all my little Chickadees (kiddos) are home! :)

Hop over to the link above and check out other mantel ideas!! Thanks for looking!

A "Household Six" Christmas....

Welcome to our home!  

Personally I LOVE home tours, I've gotten some of my best ideas from them! :) Please excuse the extension cord being as it's an old house- built in 1890 -  outlets are at a premium, the branches above the door are spray painted silver and are much prettier then in this picture, hubby did the tomato cage trees for me, and while I wanted more lights on them,  he tried so there they are....

          The kettle is on the boil for tea or cocoa, hubby got a Keurig for Christmas so coffee is "too easy!" and I plan on hot cider too, there's a fire in the fireplace, Christmas music playing (Michael Buble or Point of Grace today), and Scentsy "Oats and Honey" is in the warmer  ...

     I love to decorate and enjoy making things lovely, especially with unexpected mixtures, whimsy or repurposing items. Since we are an Active Duty Army Family this also means beauty on a budget and that much of our Christmas is eclectic gathered from various duty stations around the world..... I try to have at least a little touch of Christmas in every room.... Come on in out of the cold and enjoy a peek at our home...

Entrance hallway .... 


       This year I chose real garland instead of lighted so the lights are tucked along the stairs instead ...   as a Christian family we want to keep Jesus birth and the reason He came in the forefront so the Willow Tree Nativity is right by the front door...

 

I

      (There's Rilla our Westie waiting on you....)


"Front Parlor" or Living Room....

this room was pink and green when we moved in but now it's a lovely butter yellow! We rearrange at Christmas so the tree can be in front of the bay window .... 

Exalt Him, Precious Moments - Camo heart to remind us to pray for all those away from home this Christmas -- my Army Wife Ornament

       
Our tree is dressed in burlap, plaid and grapevine garland this year and as always ornaments from all our travels and our children....

The coffee table holds our new "Way of Light Wreath" from Caleb Voskamp it's beautiful and another reminder that Christmas is about so much more than material gifts! Rather it's about the best Gift of all, God humbling Himself in order to bring us salvation ..... Also on the coffee table you'll find some holiday magazines and this stack of our favorite Christmas reads ....

"Back parlor" or dining room..... 

   Also our school room, game room, etc ... I love to set a gorgeous table but this is what it looks like on a daily basis .... 

 

 


                   Our German "schrank" (pronounced shrunk) or china hutch was a built in quarters in Giessen and they were getting rid of them, yes please! At Christmas it displays some of my nativities as well as our tea cup collections ....

 

  Windows are dressed in garland and snowflakes this year, and I wrapped my normal grapevine wreaths in garland as well..... 


Our Jesse Tree for advent graces the top of my antique school desk -- which once was in the school my great-grandfather attended in Arkansas -- and adds a lovely glow to the corner.

All our Jesse Tree ornaments were made for a PWOC  program at Fort Irwin CA and not only point us to the meaning of Christmas but remind us of each family that made them! 

 Our Kitchen ...

    Eventually those cabinets will be white ... our kitchen tree is decorated with metal cookie cutters and candy canes, and is guarded by a group of nutcrackers..

 

    

Still loving my corner "tree" from fall nesting  ....

a few red balls and greenary added ala Nell Hill's ... really brighten up the spot! 

 

 Back door greetings 

And now for the DEN ...

    This room is a challenge as it can be rather cavernous ... I love having a mantel to decorate BUT it's really, REALLY long .... nevertheless here it is..... (we have a FABULOUS little 

store in a nearby town called Gatherings on the Prairie   which has all kinds of fun stuff most of what's on the mantel came from them -- trust me their website doesn't even BEGIN to give the full picture!) .....   and I had fun making the little trees thanks to Martha Stewart  and Pinterest! (They're magazines!)

 

 

The Wreath above the mantel is made up of Nativity ornaments from Kathe Wohlfahrt if you've never seen their Christmas selection you're in for a treat and if you're ever in Rothenburg Germany you simply MUST stop in the main store!!!  ....... I also got the Weinacht's (Christmas) pyramid from them ...

 

Downstairs Bath ....

       I told you I try to put a touch in each room! My Mom was using jars, bowls and plates of bulbs for sparkly, inexpensive decorations before it was stylish!

As we head back through the den upstairs you'll see my snowmen adorning the top of our Antique piano ..... aren't they cute? 

Another Kathe Wolfahrt treasure ....

 

On the stair landing ....... 

Our Girls Room .... 

     The girls aren't home yet from college so I don't think they'll mind you taking a peek .... bright ribbon, ornaments and silver swirlys adorn the tree and door wreath. Cute, easy and I love seeing it every time I walk past -- and how bout that tree skirt? Rainbow chiffon tossed around the stand! Easy and completes the look, don't you think? 

  

Master Bedroom ...

   The next room is ours .... we have a "vintage" silver tree that I chose to do all in silver and white this year which really makes it sparkle! a wreath on the bed adds a homey Christmas touch and I stole a pair of hubby's boots for the corner this year!

 

The Boys Room ....

       

   

camouflage, a small tree with multicolored lights and little green army men spray painted gold, a strand of multicolored lights on the curtain rod and voila! Boys!! .... trust me you don't want to see the rest of the room right now....

Upstairs Bath ....

  

just touches to bring Christmas to the room ( a frame I already had, a picture off the internet and $1.00 ornaments, sparkly trees from Hobby Lobby after Christmas sale -- pretty and budget friendly!) ....  why shouldn't bathrooms be pretty too? :)

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Just so you know ...We live on "Christmas Tree Lane" here in Abilene so be sure to enjoy your drive down 3rd Street or Buckeye as well .... 4 -5 ft trees are set up by the city every year and lit by homeowners Dec 1st -31st giving the two main streets in town a homey touch and a lovely Christmas light! .... 

Thanks again, come back soon and please leave me some comments as you go! I'd love to hear what you think ......  

Be sure to check out all the other homes at  :
The Inspired Room 
Jennifer Rizzo 
Hooked on Holiday House Tours  
The Nester (Dec 15th)

for inspiration and fun! You can click above or on the photos in my sidebar....  

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our home to yours!!