Identity

“What do you do?” is a question I get asked by a lot of people and is something I have been wrestling with since we arrived back in the states.  If I were to give a literal answer then we would be standing there for hours as I list off everything I do.  But I know they are not asking literally everything I do, I know the appropriate response is to tell them I’m an interior decorator.  Then my response is usually followed by the question “oh are you getting any work?” or what they mean is “are you successful at what you do?”  This is the exchange that takes place when we meet people and I find myself asking people the same questions!

As I wrestle with “what I do” as my identity I realize I don’t want to be defined by what I do, even though I love what I do and am known by a few for what I do.  I know there has to be something greater to I love.  Something greater to put all of my life and heart into.  Something that won’t fail.  Something that isn’t wasting away.  In my short 28 years of life I have found God alone is that something.  What I do to make money is a big part of my life but my life is so much richer than how I make money.  I want to be known for who I am and who I am becoming.  What is my character?  Who does God say I am?  I realize to ask someone, in a first introduction, a deep question about their character can be a quick dive into the deep end, but I have to ask myself, would our relationships be much more fulfilling if people knew who we are and who we are  becoming?  Why not just lay it all out there in the first introduction?  If others opinions of me, even my own opinion, is not defining me but something greater gives me identity, then I am safe to be open and honest about who I am.  Being a successful interior decorator does not give my life worth.  Being a stellar stay-at-home mom does not mean my life has value and purpose.  Sitting on the couch for a week getting over jet lag and morning sickness does not mean my life is aimless and wasting away (even though it has greatly felt like it).  Surely, there is so much more to life than our successes and failures.

I have come to a place where I am asking myself, “am I ok if God takes me into a season of rest?”  Will I not be ashamed to give an honest answer if someone asks me what I do and if I’m successful at it and my response be “God has gifted me as an interior decorator but right now he is telling me to rest.”  Which may mean my days are filled with activities that would seem to society as wasteful and lazy.  Would I be able to rest in that?  Would I be ok if my self-worth isn’t defined by what I do and others opinions of me?  I think I would find great freedom!  So I have two options, I can try to fill my schedule with things to keep me busy so I feel like my life has purpose or I can rest and wait for God to tell me to move, even if that direction doesn’t come for months… I think I will choose the second option.

With love,
Lauren

Here We Go Again

The song from Mama Mia that goes “Mama Mia here we go again….” is playing through my head.  Here we go again seems to be a theme around here.  After a few days of lying around, Joel needed some purpose so he decided now was a good time to start remodeling our master bedroom.  Sadly, I am having to sit this one out because of the baby.  Believe it or not but I love a good deconstruction project.   It has been weird not being in on the action but I am really excited to see the finished product.

Lately, I have really been digging the Swedish Country Gustavian style. According to the Decorologist,  it is a style that is “marked by grayed pastels, lots of whites and creams, painted furniture, clean simple lines and fabulous lighting.”  Gustavian style is a mix of the formal and informal, comfortable and refined, and the elegant and the rustic.   Let me give you a few pictures to better explain.

Ahh I just love it!  This style is easy to look at and makes me feel at rest. So this will be what I’m going to try to capture in our master bedroom.

Like I said, deconstruction started this week and we are hoping painting will start tomorrow!
Since I couldn’t participate we called in back-up, our friend, Mike.

Thanks Mike for everything!

As you can see the walls under the drywall are solid wood so it has taken a few days to take all of it down.

This is what the room looked like this afternoon.

Our bedroom is a wooden box!  Which is going to look so fabulous painted in a cream color.
Speaking of cream color, color is something we are having a hard time deciding on.  This is what we are leaning toward right now.

Sherwin Williams Summer White for the walls.

Impressive Ivory for the ceiling.

Greek Villa for the trim.

What do you think?

Stay tuned for more updates.

With love,
Lauren

Ahh Home and Future Plans

Big inhale now exhale….we are home.  I love home!  I am so grateful for our little Rescued Home.   After a month of living in Greece we are back home and trying to get over jet lag.  I have pretty much been in bed since Thursday!  My schedule is all off and I’m not quite sure what to do with my time.  It is weird transitioning back into a normal life with routine it kind of feels like I’m standing on the edge of a pool waiting to jump in. Ooo pool….. maybe I will go swimming today???  I think I’m avoiding responsibility!

Greece was definitely life changing.  I have never before experienced a culture or people like the Greeks.  In our month of living there we saw some beautiful places and made new life long friendships.  I will always remember the amazing things I saw God do during our time in Greece.  Here are the last few pictures I want to share with you.

The churches were beautiful! A lot of the old churches sit below the current ground level because the city over time has been built on top of existing structures.

This is the ruins of a roman market place where the apostle Paul preached!

This area of the city is called Aristoteles Square.  It was my favorite place to hang out.

After weeks in the city we decided we needed to get away for a couple of nights so we headed out on a 3 hour bus ride then a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride to the island of Thassos.

The island was beautiful! The mountains went right down into the sea.  This is the view from our patio.

The rock had sparkles in it so the sand sparkled in the sun.

     

Just because I was in Greece didn’t mean I was free from dumpster diving! Yep that’s right, I found some architectural blue prints next to a dumpster and you better believe I brought those puppies home with me!

Hey have you checked out my blog?

So we had a pretty big game changer around here, before we left for Greece we found out we are going to have our first baby in January!  I am so excited and can’t wait for motherhood.  I fought morning sickness the whole time we were gone.  I think I will one day look back on this time and ask myself, “what was I thinking?”  Now we are making decisions that will involve a little one.  As soon as we got back we went into our newly remodeled guest room and started coming up with plans to make it a nursery.  Oh it is soo much fun! I wrote a post a few months ago about ideas for a nursery you can read that here.  I think I will stick with those plans depending if it is a boy or girl.  We know we will have to slow down on the pace of our projects which kind of bums me out but I think we are going to try to remodel our bedroom before the baby arrives.  I have been poking around online and found a few inspirations for our bedroom.

I saw this picture in a Country Living magazine a few months ago and knew this is what I want my bedroom to look like.

We will rip off all the sheet rock and paint the ship lap underneath a creamy white.

I love the vintage touches in this picture.

I hope you enjoyed keeping up with our little adventure in Greece.  I’m looking forward to sharing the next chapter in our lives with all of you.

With love,
Lauren

A Little More Greece

We are a little over half way through our trip and I feel like God is teaching me so much.  Greece has forever changed me.  I have missed the comfort of our home!  Being here makes me realize how much comfort I gain from being in our house.  I have had to lean on God to be my comfort and home and not my surroundings.  God is stretching me!

I have a lot of pictures I want to share.  Here are a few from around Thessaloniki.

This is what much of the city looks like, high-rise apartments built up around ancient ruins.

Boys will be boys!

This is the White Tower it is located along the Aegean Sea.
It was originally a prison in the middle of the water.
Due to lowering sea levels it now sits right on the edge of the city.

One day we took a hike up to the top of the city where much of the old city wall remains.
The wall was built during the Byzantine Empire.

I just love old doors!

While we were exploring I found a few fixer-uppers I would love to get my hands on!  Maybe The Rescued Home goes to Greece???

We had the opportunity to take a day trip to an area called Halkidiki for much needed r & r.  It was breathtaking!

Here is a picture of the group, our family!

With love,
Lauren