Linking Up

The Hidden Reward of Income Tax Prep

December 29, 2015

A participant in a Bible study I was teaching gave me this Before & After—what a relief she must have felt to have her Income Tax forms completed and organized! So often I get discouraged by this kind of messy project.

Sample Pinterest Pin Description:

Though I know I function much better when I get right to a task, the thought of starting can leave me feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes this leads me to procrastinate. It is good for me to remember that:

God is not a God of disorder but of peace…(1 Cor. 14:33a, NLT)

Another possibility: The death and resurrection of Jesus brought peace where chaos reigned. When we bring order to our jumbled lives in any way, we are walking in a manner that demonstrates His Way.

For Instagram

Sample Instagram Post:

Even in the mundane details of our life, we see that God is not a God of disorder but of peace…(1 Cor 14:33a). Jesus came to rescue us from chaos and bring peace—when we bring order we are walking in a way that demonstrates His Way.

#MeetMeintheMiddleProj #LentenCuration #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchYear #orderoutofchaos

When “After” Means Repurpose

December 29, 2015

My friend Heather has a super smart job as some sort of special analyst for a credit card company…but decorating/renovating homes and furniture is her passion. And cooking like a chef. And being an amazing mom…yeah, this girl is really busy!

She found this cabinet and wanted to give it a well-loved feel as she brightened up the color. Wayyyy back in 2011, this was her very first chalk paint project. Like I said, she is amazing.

Sample Pinterest Pin Description:

This DIY project reminds me that God sent His Son, to redeem and repurpose us, and to make all things new.

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:8-19, ESV).

For Instagram

Sample Instagram Post:

Through faith in Jesus, God is able to refine and repurpose us. #RefinersFire #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchCalendar #SeeGodatWork #MeetMeintheMiddleProj #ANewCreation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17, ESV).

Just a Little Paint…

December 29, 2015

My sweet friend Heidi is a creative momma. She takes little wooden pegs with no faces or personality and, with just a little paint, she makes them into families, giving them lives, and names. What a before & after!

Sample Pinterest Pin Description:

This reminds us of how God is a great Creator. He created us and our families. Though Adam, the first man sinned and broke relationship with God, through Jesus, we all may become part of God’s family. Because of Jesus, we are called children of God (1 John 3:1).

FOR INSTAGRAM

Sample Instagram Post:

God is a Creator. He created love and relationships and family. Through Jesus we are able to be part of HIS family. #MeetMeintheMiddleProj #LentenCuration #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchYear #FamilyofGod #ChildrenofGod

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are (1 John 3:1, ESV).

Learning to Love the Middle

December 27, 2015

I’m a huge fan of the Property Brothers on HGTV. If I am folding clothes, I am usually watching Jonathan and Drew Scott as they help families purchase and remodel rundown properties. At the end, after showing all the ups and downs of the process, they tour the beautiful renovation. It’s a dream home! As the astonished homeowners gawk and sob, one of the brothers always says—this must be their catch-phrase—”You deserve it!”

It’s the same thing every episode…so why do I watch this show? Why do any of us love Before & After stories? New hairdos, wardrobe overhauls, refurbished vehicles and kitchens, weight-loss/fitness makeovers…we LOVE to see the evidence of change.

But what does it take to get there? To get to the beautiful ending? Work. Sweat. Maybe some tears. We crave the perfect, the product, but, often, we despise the process it takes to get there.

Most of us dread the workout, but want to look great in our jeans. We don’t enjoy cleaning, but we love the shiny, sweet-smelling endpoint. We don’t like waiting, We want results, and we want them fast. We don’t want to wait for anything. This is the way of the world.

Yet, this is not the way of the Lord:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecc. 3:11, ESV

What if…we realized that most of life is lived in the Middle? That most of life is work, sweat, and tears?

What if…we saw a Before & After and did not covet the result, but admired the effort exerted?

What if…we acknowledged that every “Big Reveal” pales in comparison to the biggest reveal of them all—the Resurrection?

God made us. He knows how we appreciate object lessons. Every Before & After points to real work…and ultimately to the Worker of all improvements. God is our Redeemer, Reconciler, and Renewer. He is the Powerful Provider, the Perfecter of Our Faith, the Purifier of Our Souls.

As much as we want to hurry projects along, God determines our pace. As much as we want our growth to come quickly, He sets the schedule. And though we hunger for change, we are designed to crave the Change Agent.

So, welcome to my little project! This website is the home-base for a Lenten Curation. Here we will work together to collect, or CURATE, Before & After pictures. But in this place, we will always see a different purpose for Before & Afters—they are meant to point to God in the Middle, always at work, making things right.

So, Meet Me in the Middle! This is a journey of learning to be satisfied with the work and pace of the Lord. I’m glad to have you with us!

The Maddening Joy of Solving a Puzzle

November 10, 2015

BEFORE & AFTER SOLVING THE PUZZLE…

We left the puzzle pieces on the homeschool table and worked to solve it in between math tests and latin conjugation. We snuck moments together before dinner and after the dishes were done. Working on a puzzle is a maddening joy.

We lost pieces for days—they were under the bench. We joined shapes the wrong way…we forced things to fit together that weren’t made for each other. We had to keep going till we came to terms with the original design for each piece.

God has a design for each of us. He has plans for our moments, days and years. We might try to force things to go our way, but they won’t work that way. Constantly, faithfully, He is at work to create the picture that He created our lives to be. Through the work of jesus Christ, He is always making good.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28, ESV).

For Instagram

Sample Instagram Post:

Jesus takes all the pieces in our lives, that don’t seem fit, and uses them to create a beautiful picture of His love for us. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Col 1:17, ESV).

#MeetMeintheMiddleProj #LentenCuration #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchYear #FamilyTime #FamilyGames