Copy "Cow" Guest Room

Last summer I was clicking through blogs and ran across this picture of a bedroom on a blog that I frequently visit. I just totally love Heather's style.  Seriously, look at that cow! Oh my word!! I couldn't even stop talking about that cow. I showed that cow to everyone.  Well, anyone that would listen and maybe even a few that wouldn't.  Who am I kidding? I talked to myself about that cow.

 The Heathered Nest

This room rang my bells.  I was completely drawn to every aspect of this room but didn't have anything to make it happen. I did have an empty bedroom though.  A few weeks later,  my aunt Sonja, after having their house on an off the market several times, sold their house and downsized. She called and said, "I have a bedroom suite. You want it?"  What??? Yes!!!!  Whoa!!! Wait just a second horsey!! We need to paint. I need curtains and bedding and holy moly, I need a cow!!!  This bedroom can't happen without a cow.  I stalked Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, Overstock, you name it, I searched  and searched and finally  after digging on Heather's blog I found where she purchased her cow painting.  I rushed over there and Whoa again! It was totally out of my budget.  I couldn't even mention that I wanted a cow that cost that much to James. Well, I could have, but he would have thought we would need to pasture it for raising and eating in the future. I think decor, he thinks steak. Seriously! So...I put the cow on hold and off we went.  

We got busy stripping the popcorn ceilings.(I'm thinking cows.)  James' dad came over and helped us paint and we changed out the door knobs. (I'm still thinking cows.) I painted the hardware on the furniture from brass to silver and then I got busy shopping for a cow.   After shopping at World Market, Home Goods, Target, Hobby Lobby, etc. and not finding a cow in my colors, it happened. One Sunday morning, I had an "AHA" moment. Ever had  one of those?   I decided to ask a precious artist friend. Carrie, who attends our church, if she would consider painting me a cow.  I showed her a picture of the cow above and she agreed to paint one. She named her Fifi. Haha! She is gorgeous.

My aunt just happened to have white bedding and asked if I wanted it after seeing my inspiration picture, Yes! Of course! My niece went shopping with me and we found Toile pillow shams at Kohl's for 50% off and I found the ruffled pillow at Target. The last ruffled pillow in town. The lamp was on clearance at Home Goods and the curtains came from Lowe's.

Although, my room isn't totally like the one at the The Heathered Nest, I still love it. What do you think?  Do you like it?   When I get ready to redo a room, I start looking for inspiration pictures. Blogs, Pinterest and magazines are great places to start getting ideas of what you like. I always look for deals and shop with a budget in mind. I shop consignment and thrift stores for  similar pieces. It doesn't have to be exact and I love a can of paint. Anything can be updated with a can of paint. My mom says that she is always afraid to come over for fear she might get painted.  Right now we are working on a downstairs den/man-cave, Rustic/Industrial/Farmhouse style. I know. Weird.

Our fearless helper

Be sure to stop by and see Heather and view her awesome blog. She was so gracious to give me permission to use the picture of her beautiful room. You won't be disappointed.

Until we meet again,  Fifi

Psalm 50:10  For every beast of the forest is mine and I own the cattle upon a thousand hills.

Linking to: Savvy Southern Style
All Things Heart and Home
The Scoop At Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Your Hair Becomes You... or Does It?

Most of the time when we hear something like the phrase, "your hair becomes you,"  we think of it as a flattering statement .  "That dress is becoming" "Your outfit is becoming."  What I'm talking about here is a tad-bit different.  I'm playing on the words, so to speak.   Does our hair define us?  Does our hair become who we are?  Should it?

This might come as a shock to some of you, and then again it might not be shocking but I've been highlighting and/or coloring my hair for many years. Having a hairdresser in the family for 30 years (not including the practicing she did on me before becoming licensed) made hair adventures really easy.  I've had every color you can think of. Every length and style possible.  Seriously, I don't even know the true color of my own hair.   I do know that it is truly a different color than it was 30 years ago when I started the coloring journey.  Hide a couple of gray hairs here today. Hide 20 of them five years from now and before you know it, the roots have you rushing to the salon every four weeks. 

I have a dear close friend who doesn't mince words. She is as honest as the day is long and a couple of years ago she walked right up to me before church and said, "your roots look awful, you need to do something." YES!  I knew that already. Thank you very much.  I love her dearly but that truly hurt my feelings.  I knew I was a couple of weeks late in getting to the salon but really!!!! I am quick to forgive so she need not worry that I haven't moved on. I really have and to be honest here, I am as equally honest with her. We keep an even score in the most kind and loving way. Seriously, we are wonderful friends. 

Deciding to not color my hair has been a process. Yes, I'm going to do it! No! I'm not going to do it! Yes I am, No I'm not. Off and on for several years.  Then a few weeks ago the tide began to turn.  I had a defining moment at the cardiologist's office of all places.  We were discussing  my cholesterol levels and he was very frank with me about my health.  We got a little off topic as we were talking and he said something to me that had absolutely nothing to do with my visit. Much to the contrary in fact, but it made quite an impression on me. We were talking about the natural aging process.  A subject that keeps coming up more and more in my life lately.    He said that women and men are so consumed with being younger than they are. They get plastic surgery and Botox and etc. etc. to make themselves look younger. They take medications to enhance their passion and prowess and it's making them sick.   There is nothing wrong with being 50 years old.  50 is great! What is wrong with 50?  God made you 50. You've already been 30.  It's time for someone else to be 30.  There is nothing wrong with  being healthy but be happy with the age you are and be a happy, healthy 50 year old and stop trying to keep up with someone that you see on TV. Someone that you think you are supposed to look like. What?  Is that what I've been doing, trying to be someone that I'm not? Me? Really?

After thinking on this for many days, I consulted with my best friend, (who is always up for "partner in crime adventures" and because there is safety in numbers) and proposed my latest adventure. She actually had proposed this to me a couple of years ago and I said to her in my most convincing voice, "friends don't let friends go gray!!!"  and she is IN! We are doing this together. We are no longer going to color our hair.  I personally am done with chasing roots to the hair salon.  So with my theme in mind for this year "Behold, I will do a new thing," I am embracing the new me, a more free me. A woman not bound by the color of my hair.  God gave me this hair for this time in my life and I'm going to embrace it.

Will you join us for this journey to freedom and liberation from colored and dyed hair? Are you fed up with the process of hair color as well?  If so, I would love to know and Sharon and I would love company on this roller coaster. Remember, there is safety is numbers!

I will be posting updated pictures as we go along this journey.  (Oh, by the way, Yes! Our husbands are totally on board and are giving their full support.)  Keep your eyes open for updates and changes.

I will leave you with this verse. Psalm 119:37  "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways." ESV

My sweet friend Sharon and her husband James.

Me and my James

Until we meet again,  Fifi

Love Grows

I was singing in the choir as usual. This particular Sunday we were singing a song entitled  "Love Grew Where the Blood Fell."   We finished the song part of the service and the choir went down from the choir loft to sit with their families. My daughter Kristen, who was probably five or six years old, was sitting with her dad.  I have no idea why she wasn't in children's church this particular Sunday. She usually was. However, today she was tucked in under her dad's arm. Snuggled in close, she was drawing on the back of a church bulletin.  I sat down beside her and settled in for the message. I  gave her knee a gentle squeeze and smiled at her. As I looked down I noticed something very interesting about her drawing.  A simple box style cross with heart shapes dropping from the beams. Drops of blood in the shape of hearts.  "Love Grew Where the Blood Fell."  Simple childlike faith, drawn out on the back of a church bulletin.  I sat with tears in my eyes. You see, I just sang that song with no feeling. Just sang the words. It wasn't until I saw that my precious little girl had actually heard the words to the song that they began to mean something to me. Precious words falling on precious ears going straight to a precious heart. A precious drawing meant to speak to my heart as well. 

This video isn't of our choir but this is the same arrangement we did.

First Baptist Church-Jacksonville, Florida

Love Grew Where the Blood Fell

Until we meet again, Fifi

"Where Are They Now?"

As I wrote this post, I was listening to my little brood, giggling and marathon watching old reruns of reality shows they used to watch years ago when they were teenagers. Brad and Kayla were here for Christmas and when they are in town, Kristen is "in town." She moves back in and they are all "here."  It's great and I love having a full house.

I began to notice a pattern as they were watching their shows.  As an episode would end they would Google the people to find out "where are they now." I started thinking to myself. It's always dangerous when I start thinking, but bear with me a second. They do this for child actors and stars all the time.  The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Boy Meets World, Saved By the Bell, etc.  What if we did this for general, everyday people.  Would it be something that we would want people to see? As I was thinking through this process, I was reminded of a funeral service that I attended and provided music for recently.  Pastor Sears was speaking and my heart was blessed to hear all of the wonderful things about this precious lady. Things about how she had lived her life before God and her family and friends. As I sat there listening, I thought to myself, what will someone say about me someday?  I mentioned this to another lady that was there and she said that she had the very same thought.

Where is Felicia now?  Is she making millions of dollars? Is she in a foreign country feeding the hungry? Does she go straight to work and back home again every day, day in and day out? Does she party all day and every weekend with nothing to show for her life but a good time?   What good has she done? Did she make a difference in someone's life? Does she live her life in a way that is acceptable to God? If someone put our life up on a screen in front of everyone with a headline that read "Where Are They Now"  would we be able to  look at it and say that we made our life count for something?  What will someone say about you someday?  You know, it's never too late to write your story.

I saw this on a website http://spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com/ and I thought it was very appropriate for this post.

You are not too dirty for God to cleanse.
You are not too broken for God to fix.
You are not too far for God to reach.
You are not too guilty for God to forgive
And you are not too worthless for God to love.
Anonymous
(I've tried to find the author. If you know who it is, please let me know and I will give credit where credit is due.)

Until we meet again,  Fifi

"A Little Boy and Frogger"

Me:  I don't know how to make the frog jump.  We played with a joystick when we played years ago.
Luke: What's a joystick?
Me: Well, it's one of those things that you hold when you are playing a game. You know, the thing that makes the frog jump.
Luke: Huh?  Why don't you just hit this button?
Me: Right. Right.

I was playing Frogger tonight with Luke and was trying to get the frog to swim across the river by using the mouse. ( I know, don't say it.) I so don't know how to play a game on the laptop. I do know now. Thank you very much and thank you Luke.  It's a bit humbling to be schooled by a five year old.

Luke is one of those kids who goes full steam ahead, 100% of the time.  However, tonight he wanted to "watch" me play video games. He didn't want to play himself. Just watch me. (insert hysterical laugh)  It had to be the most riveting thing he has done in days. He was the quietest that I've ever seen him.  This was a new thing for us. Usually he is on the go and doesn't have time to sit with me but tonight we sat.  He had fruit snacks, I had goldfish.  I learned to play a video game on the laptop. He taught me. I listened and learned.

It's the little things.  It's those moments when you tune out the outside and sit quietly with a precious, 90mph little boy and he patiently watches and teaches you to play a game and you soak it all in because this moment will be lost in time if you don't. You may never get it again. We need to slow down and grasp these moments.  Life is just too fast. It is folks.  We rush and rush and we miss it and then we wonder where has time gone.

I reflect back to the days my kids were little. Those times of sitting and reading books, curled up on the couch with our blankets.  We would read the same book over and over and over again.  I would finish the book and they would say "read it again mommy" and I would think can we please read another book. Back then I wanted to move on but now I smile when I think of those little bodies cuddled up next to me. All they wanted was to be with me. We can't go back but we can make now as good as it can be. We can cherish the moments we have.

Take time to cherish the moments that we have with those we love. Slow down and enjoy your people and those around you.  Say no, to the things that aren't important and yes to the things that are.  Make life sweet. Listen to a child.  You might just learn something.

Luke 

(Picture used with parental permission)

Getting the Knack of Being Still

I decided way back, sometime last year, like at the beginning of the year, that I needed to simplify. Remember, I needed to "be still." Life had gotten out of control.  I was busy all the time.  I was burning the candle at both ends.  Just as I started into my "be still" mode, I had surgery to repair my rotator cuff, got the flu, etc, etc. moved into the spring and summer and had yet to find stillness. I had used up practically all my vacation as sick time in the first quarter of the year, no stillness there and big changes at work were causing me anything but.  No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get it. So, I tried even harder to "be still."  You know what I've learned, sometimes the harder you try the further you get from your goal.  I also have found that the harder I tried the more trust I put in myself and the less trust I put in God.

In the process of obtaining this goal of "being still" I built a wall around myself.  I went to work everyday. I came straight home from work and I actually planned to not leave the house all day long on my off days. The "stillness"  (and I use the term in this context lightly) was great. I'm not going to lie about that.  However,  there is a price to pay when you shut yourself off from the outside world. You lose emotional contact.  Sure, I still called my people, my family and friends, but I didn't "see" them.  I didn't realize what I had actually lost until tonight.  It's so easy to make excuses. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I'm too busy. I'm this. I'm that and then you fall into that trap and before you know it, two, three, six months have gone by and you have no idea where they went. The truth is,  relationships don't grow unless you feed them. You can't sit at home by yourself and expect everything to still be the same when you decide to come back out again.  While you've been wasting away life has been progressing along on the outside.  There must be balance. Trying to find that is the key. Right? Balance and moderation in all things.  

I'm still learning that to "be still" has a more deeper meaning than just being free of activity.  Sure, I definitely needed to cut down some of  my schedule but there was so much more to this verse.  "Be still" and "Listen" for His still small voice. No matter what is going on He is still speaking. We just have to be quiet enough to hear Him.  

So, with my new theme for this year coming from Isaiah 43:19, it IS a NEW day.  Today is the day to make time for those I love.  Isaiah 43:19 says: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up: do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Until we meet again,  Fifi

Happy 2015 and a New "Theme"

Can it be 2015 already?  It seems like yesterday that I was choosing "be still" as my theme for the year and here I am revealing my theme for a new year.  "Be Still" took on a life of it's own.  We faced things in 2014. Uphill battles. Hurdles.  Some we are still climbing.  I can't say that I've conquered being still.  I CAN say that I've learned huge, valuable lessons this past year.  I've learned that being still and knowing that God (not me) is in control gives me a certain amount of peace.  It has gotten a lot easier to turn things over to Him as opposed to handling things myself.  "Be still and know that I am God" is much more dear to me now than ever before.

Now, on to 2015.  My theme for this year is from Isaiah 43:19 "See, I am doing a NEW thing!  Now it springs up;  do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." So..."NEW thing" is my theme for the NEW year.  I'm already amazed at how many times I've seen this verse crop up since I've claimed it for the year.  I have a friend that I've been sharing this with.  She calls this "God winks."  I'm excited to see what NEW things that God is going to do in the next days, months and year.  I'm think it is fascinating to watch God work when we open ourselves to His will.  So, with that being said...fasten your seatbelts and hold on to your seats.  Open your hearts, pray for your family, friends and neighbors.  Take your pastors and your churches before the Lord. Really, really pray for them. Let's trust God and see what NEW things He has in store for us in 2015.  I'm excited are you?

Source

On another note:  Facebook is now controlling how we "advertise" our blogs.  So...if you like reading my blog, please look at the top right hand side of this post and "subscribe" to Fifi's Filosophies.  All you have to do is type in your email address and you will get email alerts when I've put up a new blog post.  There will be a link in the email that will take you directly to the blog.   I also love to hear from you.  Please leave comments on the blog as to what God is doing in your life.  I think it is exciting when we share with others how God is working.  I know I love to hear about it and it inspires me to live more for Him.

Thank you so much for reading and following along with me on this journey.  I can't wait to hear and see what God is going to do in and through us this year.

Until we meet again, Fifi