Yesterday, while traveling in the truck, heading to the hunting camp in Georgia, “I” would search the bible for verses to fit into the next decorating journal entry. Nada. But…shocker…God had a plan.
Each morning, before I rise or seek the face of man, I seek the face of God. Prior to opening the app on my phone to read the day’s bible verse, my prayer is “Lord, speak to me and through me.” Well, He did not disappoint. I actually got a little giddy when I read the verse-for-the-day.
“O LORD, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees.” Psalm 119:64
You may be wondering, “How in the world does Psalm 119:64 fit into a decorating idea?”
Well, I guess you’d have to know my love for travel to understand. So…welcome to “my travel room/study”.
My family has been blessed with the opportunities to travel the world. During those travels, memorabilia will be purchased, moments captured in photographs and the mind, lives are being enriched (ours and others), and many amazing memories are being made.
Just yesterday, my nephew and his sweet wife (Caleb and Candace) were staying at our home, as they were ending their weeklong vacation in Florida. They were walking around the home, and knowing that I was writing journal entries regarding making a house a home, I asked her, “Candace, look around and let me know what speaks to you.”
She opened her arms, and with a smile on her face said, “This room speaks to me.”
Which room? My “travel room/study”.
What is it about this room? Is it the stories each piece or picture tells? The biblically based books adorning the shelf for growing in His word? The pins on the map on the cork wall? The coziness of the navy color adorning the walls? My hidden prayer wall for those private times? Who knows! Yet, it spoke to Candace, and it speaks to me as well.
Each hat has a story to tell. When I look at specific ones, precious reminiscences flood my mind. Like the fourth one from the right…it has traveled to Botswana, Cape Town, and Victoria Falls in Africa, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Athens, Greece, and many others places that God created.
The majority of the pieces adorning the walls or shelves were from travels we partook in, yet there are a few passed down from family members: A hieroglyphic urn Tim’s great uncle Wilfred brought back from his days in the war. A large cow bell my in-laws picked up from a trip to Switzerland. An engraved stone tile my dad brought home from the Mayan villages. Again…each piece tells a story.
A cork wall! This is a definite work in progress and will be ever changing and added too. I went to the local home improvement store and purchased two rolls of underlayment. You know, that stuff people lay down on the floor before they install tiles or hardwood. Why not have a wall of it.
It wasn’t long after my idea of a corked wall when I saw somewhere that JoJo (from the HGTV show, Fixer Upper…love!!) had it installed on her office wall. My thought was (after I was like, “Hey, that was my idea!” LOL!) “If JoJo did it, it must be a great idea.”
There are so many photos and “stuff” to add. One day.
Ahhh, my hidden prayer wall. Behind the skillfully created sliding door, I asked my contractor to install a metal backing. This backing hold magnets from adventures, and…most importantly…numerous prayer requests. Whether they are written on a small piece of paper and magnetized to the door, or written directly on the metal wall, requests are being lifted to the Lord. When the door is open (which it always is unless I’m in there studying), no one even knows that my private prayer wall is there. (Your name just may be on there.)
Okay, now don’t you just love our porthole…an online purchase. We originally were going to have it inserted to our outside bathroom door, but it was too large. Then, I thought it would be fun to have at the end of my kitchen island. One side of my island is open, and I could just imagine my future grandbabies opening the porthole and crawling through. (Glad that didn’t happen…my shelves are full of pots and pans.) Finally, the porthole found its home in the sliding barndoor. Perfect! People love taking pics, while sticking their heads through its opened window.
I won’t show my metal prayer wall (too personnel), but this sign hangs above it.
Candace and Caleb. Sweetness.
So, how does “O LORD, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees.” Psalm 119:64 fit into this entry? It brought you to my study/travel room where you can sit on my comfy chair and be filled with inspiration of world travels or, do as I door, and have some quiet time with Jesus.
I hope you have found some inspiration today to either:
- Turn a wall into a corked wall
- Install a metal backing to your door
- Display collected items, and remember the stories they tell from your experiences
- Just find a quiet place for you to soak up The Son
I hope you will stay tuned, have a glass of sweet tea, and sit a spell with me as we take an adventure through my home and share some decorating ideas.
Blessings to you and yours, Stephanie
#home #adventure
