Door Decor

Running in the sun, crunch of leaves under paws, rustle rustle, leap, turn around, breathe hard, look up, smile, leap the other direction, and run!!

The sun is starting to go down, and I'm so happy that it was out for such a long time today. It's been so cold and dreary for days. Even I could feel myself wrestling with the "weather blues."

Sperry has obviously forgotten about the shot he received at the vet earlier today as he tears back and forth across our backyard chasing the air. I "pretend" to chase him which gets him even more excited as he runs and leaps off the deck. 

David calls from his cell phone to see if there's anything he can pick up for me as he makes his way home from school. 

I'm so happy he's on his way home. I soak in the sunshine enveloping our little red barn house and wish I could literally put it in a bottle to release when the cold, dreary days return.

Sperry, now worn out from chasing, basks in the sunshine as he lays next to the significant hole he's dug in the ground.

I head inside and open our front door to let more sunshine into the house. Since the middle of January, our front door has been sporting a red "LOVE" sign to get ready for Valentine's Day. 



Most of our neighbors are incredibly festive. Every single holiday is worthy of it's own door decor. 

I head towards the kitchen and try to forget about the fact that I only have one more day left before the "LOVE" sign will need to come down, and I will have to produce a new front door decoration. Often, I feel the need to keep up with the Jones'. I try to think about dinner and begin to clear off the kitchen counter, grabbing my keys to put them into their "spot." I stop and stare at the keys and smile as I look at the liveORIGINAL bracelet attached to my key chain. 



Kevin Cross had given it to me after the evening David and I spent with him as part of our premarital counseling. It was an incredibly fun AND challenging session. (I highly recommend you read his book "Embezzlement: A True Crime Story." It will change the way you think about "managing" your finances.) As we left, he gave us each that bracelet to help us remember that we didn't need to conform to the material expectations the world has for us. Having that bracelet on my keychain has actually helped me on several occasions put back an "impulse" purchase, reconsider a commitment I'm making, and remember that living within our means is just one way we can be good stewards of our resources. 

Over the last few days, I had been thinking about making an Easter wreath, and I still might make one. But, as I look at the bracelet, I feel my body get lighter as I sigh in relief... I don't have to meet the world's expectations for what my life should look like on the outside or for that matter what I hang off the outside of my front door. 

It doesn't matter what the WORLD says I should spend my money on, or my time, or my energy. It doesn't matter what timeframe the WORLD expects for me to achieve certain milestones within. And, it doesn't matter if the WORLD has a problem with my lack of door decor.

What matters is whether or not I'm glorifying my MAKER with my money, my time, my body, my decisions, my achievements, and my life. What matters is whether or not I'm trusting His timeline and His will for my life.

I look outside as joggers pass by our front lawn and the neighbors' cars pull into their driveways. 

I see the sun sink behind the house across the street from us, and I smile, grateful for the reminder in Kevin's bracelet that steers me back towards the truth when I feel the pressures of the WORLD telling me I need to be something different that where I am.

David pulls into the driveway as I close the opened windows. I look at the front door and smile at my "LOVE" sign. It might just stay up for a few days after Valentine's Day. After all, the WORLD can wait. 

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