I Declared Thursday "Pajama Day"

It had been a rough week. I was feeling blue and flat. Lacking energy to come up with one more meal. Lacking patience for my precious family. Lacking positivity to be able to respond to the emails awaiting me in my inbox. Lacking interest in decorating projects yet to be completed. Bottom line: all the things that normally make me tick, felt about as desirious to me as eating a piece of cardboard. And that scared me.

So I declared Thursday to be "Pajama Day". A day to sleep in and hang out in my pajamas until noon. A day to forget my laundry, and allay any guilt for feeding my son chocolate bombs for breakfast. A day to read as many decorating blogs as I wanted and watch a girly movie. It sounded really good to me.

And the truth is, it FELT really good to let go of all the work and expectations for one day and just enjoy myself. At least along until about 1:00.

I was taking a long, hot shower, congratulating myself on the wisdom of my Pajama Day Declaration. And then, He spoke.

Everything slowed, my heart dropped, and I was rebuked. I was no different than Adam and Eve who sewed clothes out of leaves, or the children of Israel who built the golden calf. I was looking for my own redemption. Trying to figure things out on my own. Trying to fix it in my own strength.

But just as soon as my disappointment started to rise, He spoke again. This time, with familiar comforting grace.

So then and there, I rested. I truly rested. Pajama Day was redeemed. Not by me, by Him. By the One who interrupts my feable attempts to rescue myself with His voice, with His truth, with His rest.

Have you been dreaming of your own "Pajama Day"? Oh, you might call it something different, but are you longing for an escape from the mess of your life? For something to bring you alive again?

I'm here to encourage you to look deeper, to look behind "Pajama Day" and see what you are really longing for. I bet it's redemptive rest and it's only found in Him.

"I suspected that all the yearnings for I knew not what that I had ever felt - were in truth yearnings for him. For God. I yearned towards Him." Sheldon VanAuken, A Severe Mercy

Nuestro Refugio en Paraguay

Welcome to My Place of Peace, now broadcasting from our new HOME in Paraguay! So glad you're here!

My vision for our home here was "Farmhouse Revival" and I repurposed lots of beautiful salvage from this barn. So much, in fact, that my husband was overheard muttering, "You don't have to repurpose everything in the barn, dear".

The view from my kitchen window

Beautiful light filters into our bedroom when the shutters are open. Yes, we actually have functioning shutters!

This project cost less than $1 for supplies but delivers major impact

Quite possibly my favorite piece of art ever

The laundry room was really dark because the ceiling is very low so we lightened it up with a few coats of paint.

I have always really enjoyed laundry, but never so much as now! It's wonderful to have a beautiful space, especially I spend a lot of time in the laundry room! :)

These plates have been from the US, to Venezuela, back to the US and now to Paraguay. So pretty.

The kitchen has very little counter space (or storage for that matter), so we changed this freestanding cabinet into an island. Lots of thanks to honey for going forward with the project even though he was skeptical!

I think she turned out beautiful, don't you? The extra counter space is a life saver and honey wired the island with 110 so I can run my kitchen aid too!

Ode to a math teacher (and all his patience as he painted, fixed and hung pictures!). Love you, honey!

I fell in love with this dining room table, but didn't think we would be able to get it. Honey surprised me on our anniversary with the news we could! It seats 10 easily. Come on down for a home cooked meal!

Special thanks to my friend Jen for coming to the rescue with a fabric that would make my brown and yellow swirl tile look good! :)

Bathroom Before. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. :)

And after. Much better! Guess where the old bicycle basket in the window came from? :)

Thanks so much for coming on a little tour of our new home. Even though it is a one year rental, it's so important to be surrounded by beauty and feel at home! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! :)

I Should...

Do you have a list of things in your mind, that you SHOULD be doing at this very moment? Maybe it's folding the laundry, maybe it's starting dinner. As women, we tend to be real doers. We don't slow down very often...and when we do, we feel guilty about all we could be accomplishing.

Today I SHOULD be packing. But instead, I've been holding my baby, and sitting down to visit with family. And strangely enough, I don't feel guilty. I wonder if I'm finally believing the message I've been preaching to myself for so long. The message that says I SHOULD be still and listen, that I SHOULD slow down and enjoy.

No doubt the battle in my mind will be on again tomorrow. But for today, it's laid to rest and I'm thankful.

The Legend of Nanduti

Like most beautiful things, Nanduti is said to have been born out of love...

Two young men loved the Cacique's (Chief's) daughter. While he alone determined her destiny, he loved his daughter and desired her happiness. He devised a contest that would be sure to show which young man would be best suited to marry his daughter. Each one must bring a gift. But not just any gift. A unique gift. One that would cause the Cacique to release his daughter to marriage.

One young man was very rich, and there was nothing he could not buy. He gathered every kind of animal and prepared them to be taken to the Cacique.

But the other young man was beyond poor (you knew it would be so, surely). He had nothing, and no way to buy anything for his beloved. As he wandered through the woods, he looked up and saw an elaborate spider web hanging from a branch. He thought to himself, "How perfect! I will take this as my gift!" But as he reached up to grab it, it disolved in his hands. He left the forest weeping, completely defeated.

His mother heard his cries and found him. As he poured out his dilemma, she assured him that all would be well. She found another spider web and sat down to mimic it's pattern and create her own beautiful web. Using the hair from her own head, a stunning salt and pepper, she weaved the first nanduti.

When the poor young man presented his gift, the Cacique gave his daughter to him. Since that day women all over Paraguay have been creating nanduti out of lovely colored thread.

Nanduti means web in Guarani, one of Paraguay's two official languages.

Understanding Doesn't Equal Exemption

It's begun. Culture stress. The inevitable process of adapting to and becoming part of another culture. And yes, it is inevitable. Even if you've lived in another culture previously. Even if you are walking with Jesus daily. As long as you are human, you will partake of this process as you integrate into another culture.

But that doesn't mean it's always a welcome process. I have found in the missionary community, there is a lot of acceptance of culture shock and culture stress, as long as we are not the ones experiencing it. But we tend to be very demanding of ourselves and believe that we shouldn't experience this natural and necessary process.

For me, this stems from the misbelief that if we UNDERSTAND a process, we somehow believe ourselves to be EXEMPT from the effects of said process. Do we really educate ourselves on culture stress to prepare ourselves to walk through it...or deep down is it in hopes we can avoid it all together (wouldn't that be nice!)?

To all my missionary friends out there, my deepest desire for you today is that you would accept the grace that is there for you as you go through this process (and it can take years), that you would stop begrudging yourselves for experiencing it! You are a beautiful creation of His and as painful as it sometimes is...He designed you to adapt, with His grace and by His power at work in you!

I encourage anyone who is a missionary or who loves missionaries to click here for a brief description of culture stress. I found it a helpful reminder.

We've Got Wheels

We are so thankful for the Lord's provision of a 95 Mitsubishi Delica 4x4 van. THANK YOU to everyone who gave so generously to this project!

It's hard to believe we have been here for 3 weeks already. Our orientation is going really well and we are enjoying it, though I confess I'm starting to feel VERY anxious to get settled in our home up north. It's always hard to be in limbo, but my longings for a home of our own bring me back to the sufficiency of my REAL HOME.

Historic Asuncion

With Cacique (Chief) Lambare, who is known for opposing the Spanish rule of Paraguay. His monument is at the highest point in Asuncion.

The oldest Cathedral in Asuncion, over 450 years old (though it was demolished and reconstructed in 1842).

Right next to the Cathedral is the Catholic University. The brick work is beautiful on this building. I adore all the columns and arches, don't you?!

This is the President's Office. He actually resides in another location. This lovely estate was built by the first President, Carlos Antonio Lopez, as a private residence for his son, Mariscal Lopez (who suceeded him in the presidency). Later it was turned over to the government.

This week I hope to get out to Mariscal Lopez street to take some pictures for you of the fabulous mansions! Their architecture is so spectacular! And across from the American Embassy there is a house build as a replica of the the house in Gone with the Wind! I'll be sure to get a picture of that one for you! :) Come back soon!