Vintage Thrift Decor

Some things can only be told in story form. I could tell you the punch line outright (my hubs would be happy) but where's the fun in that??? So...

Story Time!

A while back Jeff and I went thrifting and among other things, we found this cool vase. I was a bit confused by it but it was metal and obviously vintage so I got it. While rearranging my baking shelf, I decided this vase would work well as a book end because it had a flat side. Stuck some greenery in that thang and VOILA!!!!

Fast forward many moons!

A few days ago my inlaws came to town on an unplanned evacuation visit. Thankfully, their place is fine and they were able to make it back home safely with no damage and power to boot!
My Mother-in-law came in and was looking around in my dining room, she looked up at the top shelf. The conversation went something like this...

"Joy, do you have a urinal in your kitchen?"
"I don't know, do I?" I turn around and see what she's looking at. I said "Is that a urinal? For real? It had a flat side and I couldn't figure it out. Do urinals have a flat side???"
She nodded yes with the funniest look on her face
At this point, I didn't really think it could be a urinal so I thought I would look it up when I got the chance. We both went on about our lives like that was a normal interaction.

Today, I thought about it again and looked it up... Yep.

A vintage military urinal.

In my dining room, holding greenery. Y'all.... A URINAL!!!!

Right when I was showing Jeff and cackling, my DIL walked in. I'm DYING laughing, so I have to share the whole story. She kinda gave me the same look my MIL did. hahahaha

Jeff says "well, it's a good thing you didn't use it as a pitcher and serve tea" LOL

Seriously wish I would have done that now... it would have made this story so much better!!!!!!

Life is short, go buy a urinal and stick some flowers in it HAHAHAHA :)

Yeah but...

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Yeah but...

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

Yeah but...

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Yea but...

Fear. Dismay. Weakness. Chaos. Questions. Confusion. Feeling alone. Discouragement.

If you've walked this earthly road any amount of time, you've seen pain and evil. You're aware that things don't always work out in favor of the "good people". So does that make me less of a Christian because I'm afraid and discouraged.

Tired.

That's the bottom line. Then I remember "Do not grow weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not"

Yeah but...

I'm fainting and I don't want to.

Then I'm reminded of Daniel, he just kept doing what God had instructed him to do. Moses questioned and was confused and yet God in His sovereignty, usded Moses to bring glory to Himself. How human was Peter? The list goes on...

The reality is we can choose to trust God, that He IS all of what/who He says He is or... not.

Evil exist. Broken systems exist. Disease exist.

Yeah but...

God.

I choose to believe in the ONE DAY when God will reign and His righteouseness will be made known.
I choose to keep quoting truths no matter how many times my humanness brings doubt and fear in front of me.
I choose to trust His sovereignty!

"He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereigh Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.'"

Essentially, coming to the realization that here on this earth we may never see the "why".

Yeah but...

One day, WE WILL!

And that my friends is where I will land today. Tomorrow, will hold its own worries and I will once again seek His Word for the reminders that HE alone is trustworthy!!!!!

Precious Memories, they definitely linger

"Ja get up before ya woked up?"

I'm sure my Papaw said a lot of wonderful things but for some reason, this is the phrase I repeat the most. My grandparents got up with the chickens.

I, did not.

When we visited their house that was nestled in the hills of North Alabama, the last thing I wanted to do was get up at 4am and... well, do nothing. Mawmaw and my mom always had an excellent breakfast of biscuits & gravy, sausage, fried taters and usually fresh tomatoes. Once breakfast was consumed, the day was usually spent just talk'n or maybe a visit to the Pig if it was trad'n day.

As I would lay there under the same quilts my mama used as a kid, my mind would take in all the things. My sister and I usually slept in the peach room. There was also a purple room and a pink room. I was never quite sure why the rooms were so bright, I was told at some point my Papaw was color blind but I'm not sure that's truth. The peach room had just enough room for the furniture. The smell was a mixture of cedar (from the wardrobe), coal and just plain ol old stuff LOL Not sure how to describe it other than that but I can still most definitely smell it.

After laying there for as long as I could possibly hold the fact I had to use the one bathroom in the house, I'd mosey down the hallway. Biscuits would be sitting on the table, what was left of breakfast in bowls with plates over them to keep the flies out and Papaw, sitting in his chair sport'n his rainbow suspenders. With a mouth full of dip he'd say with a chuckle

"Ja get up before ya woked up?"

Yesterday, I indeed got up before I woked up

Lately, I've had the liberty of waking up when my body wants to which is usually 6:30 or 7. Yesterday, I had to... well, I THOUGHT I had to set my alarm for 6. My body wasn't a fan. As I laid here trying to pry my eyes open, the thought crossed my mind "it's much easier to get up when I wake up"

DING DING DING DING

So THAT'S what he meant... I laid here and chuckled at the thought of him chuckling. I'm get'n closer to 50 every day and I'm just NOW understanding what that means. Here's the thing about getting up before you wake up - your body may fight back.

It turned out to be most definitely a Monday in all the ways BUT I'm happy to say that today - I woke up BEFORE I got up :)

My Papaw passed away 37 years ago today.

I'm grateful for the times we did have but if I could go back, I'd get up a little earlier and sit a little longer. Wrap the quilt around me and shuffle down the hallway in my black bottom socks (coal heaters make EVERYTHING black) just to hear one more time...
"Ja get up before ya woked up"

What's Your Story, about HIS Glory?

There's just something about a good story. Make no mistake a good story is made even BETTER by a great storyteller! Can I tell you something??? God is THE BEST author!!! Of course, the Bible comes to mind when I think of God's love letter to us. How many of us can name a book that tells a story that hits us to our core? It allows us to connect to the main characters and almost feel what they are feeling.

Years ago, 2005 to be exact, a song came out by Matthew West "Next Thing You Know". One line stood out to me and I've repeated it hundreds of times since.

"What's your story, about His glory? You gotta find your place in the history of grace"

This line comes to mind every time I hear one of God's children telling their story, giving glory to the Author! God's story like any good story has many characters, plot twists, highs and lows. Villians and ultimately if we allow it... one hero!

Memoirs of people sharing their faith stories are among my FAVORITE things to read! As I was finishing up my latest, I was in tears. I related to so many things. It encouraged my heart to see the perseverance and hope carried out in her life. Then it hit me, I think I've cried with EVERY memoir I've read as I've related to many of their struggles.

Then it hit me again...

In each of our stories we share common threads.

We are human. We are broken. We have pain. We desire to heal.

Of course, there are differences that make each of our stories unique but these common threads are what help us show compassion to each other. Joining alongside each other as we press forward on this path is hard at times - most times actually.

Here's one thing I know... I want to give God all the glory with every chapter He allows me to be in. I want to greet each character He writes in with the love He's shown me. Trusting Him when a plot twist shakes me to my core. Believing He is writing my story indeed for HIS glory!

My desire is to allow Him to be not only the author but the main character AND the hero!

Almost 48 chapters into this story and I can tell... the best is yet to come!

"I Don't Think That Means What You Think It Means"

Our family has phrases and lines we use often. Some are from movies, some are from life experiences. For instance, when the boys were younger we went through Jack's drive-thru, I believe it was after karate one night. We didn't go to Jack's often so it was probably for a special occasion milk shake. We sat and sat, the famous muffled speaker didn't make a sound. Jeff says

"Hello?"

A very disgruntled employee replies "You gon hafta wait a minute".

"No, no we don't actually" Jeff chuckled as we drove off. Of course he didn't tell them that and we are fully compassionate to someone having a hard day so don't come at me and miss what I'm say'n here... haha We have laughed about that for years and used the line many times when it applies and sometimes when it doesn't :)

There's one line that I've found we use often but it actually means so much more than these 2 words.

Be Careful

We were watching our feisty 3 year old grand Princess last week. We had baked cookies and we were going to share with a friend. I was telling Papi that we would be back in a minute, she pipes up and says "and we'll be careful ok". It made my heart smile because, she had obviously heard those words many times but does she fully know what they mean?

This has sat on my heart as I've come and gone in life's many tasks and adventures this last week. Each time I hear those words from friends and loved ones, I stop and think of all they are REALLY saying...

Stay alert
Don't take any chances
Watch out for distracted drivers
Don't text and drive
Obey traffic laws
Consider the cost
Let me know when you make it there safely

I love you
You're important to me
I want to see you again
I'm aware of all of the possibilities and I'm trusting you to care for you like I do
Thank you for being in my life

But it comes out in 2 words

Be Careful.

It's safe to say these words carry over into all aspects of our lives, not JUST driving.
We know accidents are going to happen, "life" is going to happen, being careful doesn't eliminate all booboos and ouches I totally get that.. but can I just say...

Be Careful.

You are loved.
You are cherished.
You are important.

Be Careful.

Duality

Death and life seem to find their way in my heart at the same time. It seems God orchestrates these polar opposites to co-exist as a reminder of the circle of life. This has occured with human life and death but also with seasons and sometimes... plants. God uses anything and everything to speak to us! Yesterday He spoke through an aloe plant. Well, not literally of course although that would be AMAZING! Instead of the burning bush it could have been "The Amazing Aloe"! I digress, ok, the story of the aloe plant...

Once upon a time there was a girl in need of an aloe plant. She sent out an SOS to friends and BOOM! Aloe plant!

Oh geesh, I can't keep up that story telling throughout this... k, a couple of years ago I needed aloe, a friend provided. She prayed over the situation and even the aloe that it would bring healing! It was used and loved and then died.

I killed it.

Or so I thought...

After seeing it brown and dead for quite some time I decided to toss it so I could use the pot it was in. There was a part of me that couldn't stand to throw it in the trash so I just tossed it to the side of the yard.

Quite some time later, months later... the hubs came in and declared "Joy, I think that aloe wants to live. I put it in some dirt"
We were amazed and amused! This aloe with bare roots not only came back to life but had new growth!!! We bought some cactus soil and that was that.

Or so I thought...

I go outside one day to find my miracle aloe had BABIES!!! Y'all, it was so fun! It was then I realized once again that I may need a life haha No seriously, I had so much fun watching these lil pups grow. Gave my niece one and through the summer they got so big they were squeezing out of the pot. I kept saying "I need to split those" over and over until well... It's mid January now :)

A couple of weeks ago I bought some cactus soil with the intent of splitting the Aloe plant to allow it to grow even more babies. Between life, weather and my professional procrastination it didn't get done until... yesterday. What better day to split an aloe plant than a day we are expecting tornadoes right?! I hurried as the wind started picking up, certain I could beat the rain. I did! To my surprise as I separated the babies there were 14... yes FOURTEEN!!!! Say wha???

Here's what God was speaking to my heart "Death brings life".

His death (Jesus) brought life.

More often than not when a loved one in my life has died, God has brought new life!!!

The storal of the mory is this...

When you experience a death of any kind... life, a dream, a marriage, friendships... any death. HOLD ON TO HOPE!!!

Death brings life!

It hurts, grieve it! New life is amazing and beautiful, embrace and enjoy it!

Duality

It's not either or, it's BOTH!

A Granny

Most people at some point in their life have been asked the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?". Many of us are still trying to figure that out. In this season of empty nest I've given it a lot of thought.

Some people get their mind/heart set on one career path as a child and it stays there. They just KNOW what they want to do and they do it! Kudos to those annoying, overachievers.

Most of society it seems, bounces around like a warped bouncy ball trying to find where we fit. How do our likes, dislikes, personality, talents... all of that - fit into making a living in order to EAT? :)

The first half of my adult life was laid out for me. I was a wife and a mom. Not just a mom but a homeschool mom. Secretary for Thomas Inc. Dabbled in pretty much every career without being a "professional".

Wouldn't.
Change.
A.
Thing.

Thoroughly enjoyed those years and they FLEW by way too fast! There is a part of me however that wonders if I would have had a career path and edumacated, would I have more direction now??? That wasn't my life, I'll never know so I ain't dwell'n on that...
And we're walking...

What is my answer now when someone inevitably crosses that line and says "so what do you do?". Well, first of all Susan, I survive. Thank you. BUT... other than that, I'm a wife/mom/GrandLady!

As I was thinking about this, my mind wondered back to a Texas restaurant - Grandy's

Grandy's had the best fried chicken livers other than my mom's. My dad was very fond of Grandy's so we went as often as the wallet would allow which wasn't a ton but it was enough for me to be influenced by "Granny". At every Grandy's they had a "Granny" who would welcome you, walk around the restaurant clearing things, talking, filling drinks etc. I remember thinking "I want that job when I grow up".

You see where I'm going here... I've hit my goal!!! I'm a GranLady AKA "Granny"!!! Imma perfect my fried livers and get a soda fountain :)

Every place of business should have a "Granny". I think it would enhance businesses in general.

But... what do I know? I'm just a GrandLady ;)