Living Room Makeover...

Before:
Haphazardly thrown together furnishings. Ill-fitting to the space. An awkward, bare corner that housed the CD player/ radio. Let's not forget to notice the ugly air conditioning unit! Oh, and please excuse the clutter, I promise it disappears on the afters...lol!


The problems:
We need all the seating we can get. We have to keep the ugly loveseat with the beige slipcover (we do have two boys after all). The chaise lounge is so underused and sadly neglected in that lonely corner. Plus, in the wintertime, it would be too close to the woodstove for comfort. One major eyesore...the baseboard heating that we never use but still need to keep until we get an alternative installed (that will probably be in about 20 years...lol!). The baseboard heaters run the length of the window and the long wall that joins the living room with the kitchen.





The sofa just piled up against the hard-to-fill long wall that joins the living room with the kitchen/dining room...





Oh and the opposite wall of the fireplace is the TV cabinet. Which, I loved the photos, but the space was still awkward.


All it took was a little creativity and willingness to think about the furniture arrangement with a fresh perspective. A little bit of shifting the sofa, loveseat and chaise lounge. Bring the bookcase from the hallway to fill the awkward corner. Think about a different place to put the photos.


After: And voila! The solution:

A lovely window seat that invites you to sit and read awhile in the soft light streaming from the window.

A color-coordinated bookcase complements the chaise lounge. We managed to hide the very-necessary but very-unaesthetically-pleasing
air conditioning. And it was my husband's idea to place the candelabra on top of the bookcase to finish it off.

Now the long wall has a gallery feel to it...and it includes my favorite objets d' art...my kids! :)





We flipped the long sofa to parallel the window. And the well-loved loveseat (with oh-so-handy washable slipcover) backs up to the couch. When you are cooking in the kitchen someone can comfortably sit and chat with you!

However, my favorite part about this arrangement of the loveseat, is that I don't have to see it when I first come in the front door! It disappears behind the much nicer looking couch :)









Total cost: $0

We just rearranged and used what we had :) I love makeovers that don't cost anything...lol! And I LOVE my new living room. The kids do too. When Miss Precious woke up and I took her into the living room, she just stared and looked all around. When the boys woke up, they were so enthusiastic about the change. Everyone is happy, including my dear hubby who helped me with it all!

Before, our living room didn't reflect our personal style at ALL. Now, we have subtle sophistication while still being child-friendly. My boys still have room to run around and spread out their toy cars and blocks. Miss Precious has plenty of room to roam. And I have a lovely spot to lounge and read a good book. Our living room now works for us! :)

My God, He Meets Me Where I Am!

God truly meets you when you step out in faith!

My husband has been working for his current employer for eleven years. He has also been passed up for a promotion to supervisor twice. He is more than capable to excel in the position. He is an excellent leader and a hard worker. But still he gets passed over for someone with LESS experience and tenure. He has understandably been very frustrated by this.

So he and I have been praying about it. Meanwhile, the paychecks he has been getting have seemed to shrink. And our bills have seemed to be enlarging. Mr. Querido decided that he needed to get a part-time job to make ends meet. I was against it because I knew it would steal time away from our family, but I also didn't want to have to go back to work. I decided to submit to his God-given authority and let him make the decision. He started job hunting.

Thursday night, I was at women's Biblestudy and went up for prayer regarding the whole situation. The lovely lady who prayed with me boosted my faith when she prayed the exact same verse I had found a couple of days ago.

"Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men."
Proverbs 22:29

When she prayed that over the situation, I knew that God was listening to the cry of my heart. I didn't want my husband to have to strive so hard to provide for us. I wanted him to be able to take a break every weekend and enjoy the fruits of his labor. The way things were going, he wasn't going to be taking a break, he would be working himself to death just to get the bills paid.

After praying at the Biblestudy, I was certain that the breakthrough we needed was coming. God had confirmed that with His Word. I knew that it wasn't coincidence that lady had spoken the very verse I was believing on. HE was at work and He was gracious enough to bolster my faith by letting me know that He was moving everything into place.

Saturday, Mr. Querido and I were at membership class at church and during lunch we got a chance to chat with the pastors. The subject of employment came up and we casually mentioned the whole job situation. Pastor said that maybe Mr. Querido needed to hone his leadership skills. That perhaps they were looking for someone with better managerial skills that could get the other people to work well. Then it was onto a different subject. Class ended and we went home to get ready for Saturday night service. Mr. Querido and I chatted about what Pastor had said and we decided that Mr. Querido might need to work on his leadership skills.

Saturday night service was awesome! The presence of God was so tangible and I was so grateful that the answer to my prayers was on its way. The service ended and Pastor got up front and told us all that God still wanted to do some things. He started praying for people with needs. Whatever the need, God can meet it! As we had already received the confirmation from His Word, we didn't go up. Then out of nowhere, he told Mr. Querido and I to come up front.

"I could not stop thinking about your job situation Mr. Querido. You were on my heart all day long." Pastor said.

(God put our need on Pastor's heart all day long?)

"And I believe that God rewards faithfulness. You have been faithful in your job and He is going to reward it."

Pastor prayed over us, over the situation, over our marriage, and our children. It was done! I knew that the answer was on its way.

And so I write this, not having yet seen the benefit of the prayers, but certain that the answer is coming swiftly. I write this in a spirit of faith and trust in the One Who provides everything. And I write this in gratefulness and appreciation of a God Who expects me to step out in faith and trust, but Who loves me enough to put my situation on the heart of someone who can come alongside my faith and steady my gait.

With anticipation I write this post. Anticipation of the blessings that are going to come about from the Word being worked in our lives.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:23

He is faithful to meet every need, even my need for reassurance that He was listening and moving in my life. He is faithful.

The Sacrifice of Love

Have you ever truly stopped to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made when He decided to die on the Cross? I have been a Christian for 22 years, and I don't think until today I truly comprehended what He did.

In Matthew 27:26-53 you can see what He went through for our salvation from sin.

First, He was scourged. Scourging consisted of being beaten with a whip that had pieces of glass, bone or metal attached to the ends so that when the ends met flesh, they tore through down to the bone. He did this for our salvation from sickness and disease.. Then the soldiers and people mocked Him by placing a heavy robe over the back that was now sliced into ribbons of agony. Picture getting a sunburn and having a heavy coat resting on your tender skin. Now you can only imagine what pain He was in already. The cruelty and humiliation continues. They placed a crown of thorns on His head. A more apt description would be they jammed a crown of thorns (with thorns that were approximately two inches long!) into His head. More mockery (remember, He is the King of all kings and He deigned to endure the mockery for our salvation), then they spat on Him. Imagine how much spit hurts in a little papercut, picture that intensified a thousand times. Think about how disgusting and degrading it would be to be spit upon by people. To be hated so intensely. After that, the whole Roman soldier garrison beat Him on the head with a reed. A big, thick reed. These soldiers were used to torture, they had perfected the art of it. Picture being beat over the head (which is still being punctured with a crown of thick thorns) with a thick stick by trained burly, unfeeling men. After that, they tore the robe off of His back and put His other clothes back on Him. They brought Him to Golgotha (the Place of a Skull) and they gave Him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. He refused to drink it once He had tasted a little. The wine mixed with gall would have acted as a painkiller, dulling the pain a little. He refused it because He wanted to feel every bit of agony, for us.

The Scripture then just says four words..."then they crucified Him." Those four words cannot begin to detail what crucifixion consisted of. The soldiers didn't hoist the victim up to the cross and then nail them to it. No, they started with the cross on the ground, pounded the spikes (think railroad-tie nails) into the person's feet and wrists. Into places of the body where there would be enough bone to hold them up on the cross. Then the Roman soldiers would hoist the cross up and drop it into a hole that had been pre-dug. Imagine how much more flesh was ripped off His back as the rough bark from the cross scraped up against it. Stop and think a bit about how the rusty, blood-stained nails shredded the nerves and tendons in His feet and hands. Yet He endured, for us. I cannot even picture the agony that must have sent shockwaves through His tortured body. And then He hung there for hours. Unending pain.

Blood dripping into His eyes, nose and mouth. His arms tire from trying to hold Himself up to breathe. Laboring for each precious breath. The feet that had traveled all over healing the sick, now were nailed to a rough tree. The hands that had tenderly reached out to the lost and dying, now clenched in agony.

What was on His mind, those hours He spent hanging there? You were, and I was. He did it for us. Would you have given yourself over to be sentenced to death in this manner for those who would spurn your love and sacrifice? I surely would have not. But that is the beauty of grace. He did it even when we didn't deserve it.

" For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17

The physical agony was nothing compared to the emotional agony he would endure as well. He was abandoned by God while He hung on the cross. God had to turn away from the sin that clung to His son as He paid the price of redemption for our souls. Imagine being with the person you love most, then imagine if they turned their back as you were put through horrible physical and mental anguish. They had the power to stop all of that with one word, yet they said nothing. Did nothing.
Jesus too, could have stopped all of His suffering with one word. Yet He endured for your sake and for mine.

And then He gave up His spirit and died.

Are tears running down your face as they are mine? I cannot comprehend why He did this all for me! How many times do I disappoint Him, how many times do I refuse to listen to His voice? How many times will I miss the mark? And yet, knowing all of this, He still went to the cross for me. For my sin. For my shame. For my shortcomings. For my pain.

But there is more, it doesn't end here! He was resurrected and lives!

My Savior and Redeemer is alive and He loves me! And He loves you! He died and rose again so that we could be free from the penalty that our sins demanded.

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 10:9-10

It's that simple. He went through all of that, and all we have to do is believe and confess and it's done.

Thank You Jesus, for the sacrifice that You made for me. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You. I believe that Your death and resurrection is the only way I can be saved. And Your Name is the only name that I can be redeemed by. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me from everything I have done that has not glorified You. I want to live my life for You. I confess You as my Savior, my Lord and my Master. Take rule over my life, I give it to You. Thank You for making me a new person on the inside. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins. Thank You for Your grace that covers me. I love you Jesus.

Refreshed

I just wanted to add a big thank you to all of you who responded to my Friday post. I appreciate all the concern that you guys showed to me. Thank you for all of the prayers and kind comments. :)

It was nice to rest from the computer over the weekend, although I did blog on Sunday...lol. I have renewed vision for what I need to be doing as a wife, mother, writer and blogger. That is mostly what I was praying about. There were other things too, but that can wait for another post.

So, I hope that my renewed vision blesses you, inspires you and points you to Him, my true Source of Inspiration.

Called to Completion

This morning, I woke up at 5:48 am. For those of you who are unaware, this is not an everyday occurrence...lol...I am NOT a morning person. I laid in bed and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep eluded me. So I got up and decided to continue reading in my marriage biblestudy that I have been doing.

I was reading the part in Genesis about when God curses the man and woman for their disobedience to His Word. (Gen. 3:16-17)What specifically arrested my attention was the part "Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife," As I continued further into the study for that day, it went on to question was there anything that I was trying to control in our marriage. And of course, the blithe answer would be OF COURSE NOT! My man is in control...I don't manipulate.

Then God gently tapped me on the shoulder "Um, Mrs. Q, are you sure about that?"
Me: "Well of course I am. I am a good wife who allows her husband to lead in ALL areas (note my exaggeration of reality, I am trying to convince myself of my goodness)!"
God: "I think you should think that answer over again, Daughter."
Me: "(whining a little)But why?"
God: "Because you are tearing down your marriage word by word when you usurp the authority that I have given your husband."
Me: "(meekly)Oh."

God and I went on to have a much more involved conversation about what areas I was STILL attempting to control. Sigh. I have a lot of work to do.

Then I continued on in the biblestudy...
And I came to this part:
"Is your husband's God-ordained authority in the home an issue for you? Do you vie for control? In what areas? Finances? Parenting? Career? Color-coordinating his clothes? What does competition in your home look like? How is it impacting your relationship?" Judy Rossi-Enhancing Your Marriage

Uh..gulp..guilty. It seemed ridiculous at first, but I love being coordinated with my husband on Sunday mornings. He hates being coordinated. He thinks that it's stupid. I think that it's cute and a sign of true one-ship in a marriage. Probably because my parents always matched when going to church. I think I also viewed it as a way to identify myself with him. "I'm obviously with him and he is obviously with me." I have fought for control with him in this area our whole six years of marriage. No more, I am not going to attempt to match him any more. Upon further heart inspection, as I am writing this, I discovered the real root reason for wanting to match. I am afraid that he doesn't want to be a part of me or be associated with me. Like his defiance of wanting to be matchy-matchy is declaration of his independence. Which, is true, but it doesn't mean he wants to be independently independent from me! He wants to keep part of his identity rather than me determining it for him.

Which brings me to the next revelation...

"Whether or not we're in a dual income marriage, it's necessary to drive home a very important point here: the frightening reality is that God will hold every husband accountable for his God-ordained role in the home as a leader, provider and protector, even if he's not a believer. That role was established in his soul from the beginning. A wife's competition for her husband's role as head of the family will yield one of two reactions from him: either he'll withdraw and let her take over, or he'll fight back. If she deliberately and willfully cajoles, manipulates and nags in order to impose her will in an area of her husband's responsibility (which is not the same as offering wise counsel), she is in sin.If he allows her to take over his role, he is in sin." Judy Rossi-Enhancing Your Marriage

Did you get that? It hit me square between the eyes. I AM IN SIN if I attempt to control or manipulate my husband out of his GOD-ORDAINED place of authority. Wow. That was revelation to me. I never knew that! I have been sinning this whole time thinking that I was just helping him. And if he were to abdicate that authority to me, he would have been in sin. Thank God I have a husband who is willing to fight for what God rightfully gave him.

Judy Rossi said one sentence that really stopped me and got me thinking:
"Instead of being my husband's completer, I was his competer."

So I encourage you ladies to let God search your hearts and stretch your faith a little. Let Him show you areas that you are competing in against your husband. As for me, I am going to make sure that my husband is wearing whatever color he wants to, regardless of what I am wearing! I think that not being identical shows off the beauty of and uniqueness of both, don't you agree?

Just as my skin color differs from that of my husband, so do our personalities and God-given callings. We are equal in God's eyes, but that does not mean we are the same. We have the same value but different functions. Put together, we are beautiful and harmonious. Celebrate the harmony in your life!

**I know that I said I was taking a blogging break, but I just had to share what God had showed me. Plus, writing it down helped to cement it in my heart.**

Taking a Little Break

I have decided to take a blogging break over the weekend.





There are some things I need to seriously pray about and I need to focus all of myself on the Lord to do that!





So I hope all of you have a lovely weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

(And these are actual flowers from my yard...my husband has the green thumb, not me...lol!)

Becoming an On-Purpose Woman....and a GIVEAWAY!

Today I got an unexpected blessing and an answer to prayer! Do you ever feel like you know you should be doing something, but you cannot figure out your purpose? Well, I have felt like that for a long time. But I couldn't figure out how to start becoming who I wanted to be.

Then a couple of days ago, this lovely lady named Lylah Ledner came to my blog. She read my bio about strugggling to find my purpose and decided to send me a copy of her book "Becoming an On-Purpose Woman"!

And, she also wants to give away ten copies to the next 10 ladies who go to her site and mention the book as well as the fact that you came from my blog! So go over to her Lylah's blog and post that you want to become an On-Purpose Woman and that you came from Five In The Potter's Hand :)

You can check out the book here
And here are Lylah's words about the book:

Becoming an On-Purpose Woman is for the woman who is ready to be changed from the inside out. It’s
for the woman serious about her life. It’s for the teachable, the willing, the one who is tired of how she’s
living. It’s for the woman who wants more out of life. It’s for the woman who really wants to leave a good
legacy for her children's children. It’s for the woman who’s soul is desperate for God—to know Him, to
follow Him and to love Him. --Lylah Ledner, Life Coach Moms Ministries

I just started the book today, and I am so excited to see where this journey will take me!