INSIDE

There has been little time for reflecting in the last couple weeks. My desire to blog at least once a week took a dive. The last three weeks have been filled with a lot of "life" activity, in addition to the continuing process of getting this house in shape. 


But today is a new day. In the past weeks I've been wanting desperately to be outside; to tidy up our yard, plant flowers, decide where to put a garden for next year and to give our house a curb appeal makeover. However, with all the work still to be done INSIDE the house, I had to tell myself that we will concentrate on the outside next year. So I've carried on with the work INSIDE. Each weekend has been filled with lots of painting. I've been very grateful for the help of my mother who came on Fridays to lend a hand. We were able to finish painting several spaces in the house. Finishing details (the fun part) will come in time. But the house feels cleaner and more organized as each room is painted. This has been my routine during these past weeks...

1. get a bucket and rag and wipe down all the surfaces
2. prime all the surfaces
3. paint the ceiling
4. paint the trim (windows and baseboard)
5. paint the walls
6. vacuum the space and replace furniture and hang pictures 






My stash of paint is dwindling down. In the end I will have used about 43 gallons of paint (including primer). That's a lot of roller covers and paint trays.





This sink in my laundry is a wonderful place 
to wash out brushes and clean rollers at the end of a day.



Here's a look at the spaces I've been working on...

Hall bathroom BEFORE demolition

Hall bathroom DURING

the hall bathroom now...I'm looking for some artwork to hang on the walls yet.

The back entrance (mudroom) also contains a powder room and laundry room. It took a long day and some evenings to finish this frequently used area. Here are some before-and-afters...

BEFORE: This is the way the room looked when we purchased the house. After stripping it back to the studs, we built some walls to make a specific area for a laundry and half bath.

And NOW. . .

                                       LAUNDRY

A shelf with a clothing rod helps
to organize clean clothes as they
come out of the dryer.

We hung some cabinets above
the washer and dryer for cleaning supplies.

POWDER ROOM

Finishing these small spaces mattered greatly to how we live in the house. Working on the INSIDE projects helped make life go more smoothly.

Last Sunday in church we sang these words...

"Take my heart and form it

take my mind, transform it

take my will, conform it

to Yours, to Yours, O Lord."

As I sang those words, the Lord began to speak to me about how he works on the INSIDE of our hearts. He begins on the INSIDE. His work is an INSIDE job. We are told in scripture that the Lord looks on the heart. We tend to look on the outside. Once again I felt Him nudging me to deepen my relationship with Him. I must give attention to the INSIDE of my being. 

Lord, today again, I give myself to you. I give you permission to work on me; to work on the INSIDE of me. No one else sees what you see. Please renovate me and change me on the inside. It is for You and for your glory. Amen.

And so I continue to trust in Him and His timing. And come to think of it...with the amount of rain and flooding that happened in this past week, I'm certainly glad that I continued to work on the inside...instead of the outside. It would have all been in vain. And now the ground is even softer. 

And here is one more room. I am finished painting it, but I have yet to furnish it. This space is meant to be a quiet place for reflection and prayer. I'm looking for it to be one of the places where I can escape to allow God to do His "INSIDE" work in me.

BEFORE: it was a tiny bathroom at the top of the stairs.
This picture was taken after we removed the tub and sink.

And NOW...



























We call it the study. A small desk and/or bookshelf should complete the space. 






How is your INSIDE work going? Stay soft so God can tend to His work in you.