try this: painted terra cotta

(I'm loath to call this a full-on DIY tutorial, because...well, it's self-explanatory. I want to share, anyway. I hope this inspires you to try it if you haven't already. It's an easy project and a nice way to release some creative energy.)

I'm starting a little collection of plants in our apartment and I wanted a pretty pot for my newest one. Instead of buying a pricey planter, I just got a cheap terra cotta pot ($3?) and some paint. I wanted a chalkboard look with copper accents. I love how it turned out, imperfections and all. It's a modern take on the chalkboard trend. 

Supplies:

Chalkboard paint and a metallic paint (I used Martha Stewart brand and was pleased)

Paint brushes

Chalk

I painted the whole pot with the chalkboard paint. I did 2 coats and let it dry overnight. I used chalk to condition it and give it the chalky look. I then painted the copper accents. I ended up doing 3 coats to really cover the black. Let it dry overnight. Finally, just add your plants! Mine is a peace lily my husband got me for my birthday. 

In general I really like handmade and the hand-drawn look, so I free-hand painted this. If you prefer something more polished you could use painters tape. 

If you try something similar, be sure and let me know. Tweet at me! I'd love to see. 

room at the table – the story of our refinished table

What I yearned for was more than just a table.

Tyson and I have lived without a dining table for the past year or so. Our original hand-me-down table was awkward for our space and didn't match our style at all. We assumed we would be moving soon, so we got rid of it. I didn't realize, though, the value of a dining table until we no longer had one.

After a few months without, I started pining for a table. Not only for family meals (it's hard to balance 2 plates on a couch while trying to feed yourself and a baby), but also for our friends and extended family. I browsed the internet and resale shops for a used one. I even considered taking a day trip down to DFW and hitting up IKEA. I'm so glad I held out, though. We found this one on Craigslist and it fit our small budget. It needed some major TLC, but I saw potential. It was perfect.

After we brought it home, I could not wait to get started. I browsed Pinterest, settled on the look I wanted, we picked up the materials, and I went to work. While I sat outside on our driveway sanding and painting, I thought about my big dreams for this table. I didn't just dream about the finished product, but the experiences we would have sitting around it.

A place for community.

For me, a table represents community; a place to gather, and share food and conversation. While refinishing our new-to-us table, I dreamt about family dinners, morning coffee, and game-nights with friends. A place where all who come feel welcome.

I love how our table turned out. When I stepped back to take in the finished product, I immediately knew that this table was going to be a part of our home for a long, long time. It came with 2 extra leaves for expansion so it offers room for growth. There will always be room at this table. 

Project Details:

• The table top was sanded with our power sander until it was completely bare wood. I hand-sanded the legs just enough to rough them up.
• I used oil-based primer on the legs and black latex paint (2 coats). I sealed it with 1 coat of polyurethane.
• I stained the top and sealed it with 5 coats of polyurethane.
• We haven't done anything to the chairs, but ultimately plan on refinishing them.

(For once, I started and finished a project completely by myself. I usually enlist Tyson's help, which means he ends up doing it. ;) But not this time! If you have any other specific questions, leave a comment and I will answer in the comments.)

real talk: counterfeit joy

Occasionally you will find these "real talk" posts. These are posts that are more like journal entries in which I want to share some of my personal struggles or revelations. I hope that you find them helpful or can relate on some level. 

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You want to know what I struggle with? Like big-time struggle, on the daily? Discontent. Or covetousness; wanting more than what I have; not being happy with what has been given to me. It goes beyond the normal desiring of something better, to feelings of bitterness because I don't have those things, or obsessively thinking about them. As a Christian, there's nothing inherently wrong with desiring things. But if my desires lead me to discontent, that is sinful.

I could give you dozens of examples, but the big one is a larger house. Not a giant house, a modest one so long as it's bigger than our current one. But regardless of the size or newness, it still has become an area of covetousness. I become angry when I dwell on our current living situation and why we are still in this home, the 3-year home that has somehow become a 5-year home. The just-married home, but now married with 1 child and running a home-business home. The bursting at the seams and stunting our growth home. See that? I have a lot of feelings.

I have known for a long time that this is problem, but only recently began to openly admit it and call it what it is. Rather than wresting with my problem and trying to fix it, I'm surrendering. I know that by my own strength I will never be able to overcome this.

Joy or happiness?

Tim Keller differentiates joy from happiness: 

There's a big difference between joy and happiness. Happiness comes from the comfort of having things that you want. Joy is a deep kind of rejoicing; an assurance, a security, a mirth...down deep that says, "I've got the only thing that really matters." ...The counterfeit of joy is happiness, which rests in the blessings, not the blesser.

I have been taking stock in "the blessings" to make me happy, and not the blesser. I think a lot of people struggle with this, but blessings can appear in different forms. It can be materialistic, or it can even be something noble. What is the one thing, besides God, that you count on to make you happy? Is it a child? A career? A significant other? Recognition of some kind?

"Comparison is the thief of joy." We see this quote all over Pinterest. But the more I think about joy, the more I realize what steals mine. I don't think it's comparison (which is just a nice word for envy anyway, right?), I think it's looking to anything but God to give me joy. Houses crumble, people pass away, awards can be taken or forgotten, but His love never fails.

I don't have this all figured out; my struggle is still very real. But being aware of my sin and my struggles makes me all the more grateful for God's grace.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:7–19