Where is your accent from? DIY Home Accents

Three. More. Weeks.

Only three more weeks until my sweet man and I get to move into our new place!

YAY!

So, naturally, I'm thinking constantly about how I can "jazz it up" without draining my wallet. Surprisingly, I'm finding quite a lot of different ideas and can't wait to get started! As I've said before, our home is small (roughly 1,100 square feet), so I have to get creative. A few of my favorite ideas thus far (some I have shared and some I haven't) are:

1. Paint
2. Hanging plates on the wall
3. Bar stool accents
4. Floating bookshelves

and on, and on, and on...

Today, I'm looking at the plates and bookshelves. See, one of my favorite things that we are putting into this new place is a beautiful, black upright piano that my fiancé got from a friend. Since it is so dark, I wanted to take something bright and decorate it without junking up its top ledge. So, what I'm going to do is collect ten of my favorite decorative plates and hang them on the wall above the piano. That way, I instantly have more color that accentuates the classic look of the instrument.

One of my other favorite ideas for the house is floating bookshelves. Ever since I was in high school, I have adored these tricky little accents because they just look so cool. The shelves themselves form the shape of a small "L" (about 6-8 inches tall with a 4-5 inch lip on the bottom). They hold about four medium sized books stacked on their sides. The cool part, is that the cover of the bottom book goes over the lip of the bookshelf, giving the impression that the books are floating. These pieces are great because they remove items from what may be an overcrowded bookshelf and place them somewhere else that doesn't crowd out another surface. They are also great conversation pieces!

Only three more weeks! I can't wait to share pictures as soon as these master plans are put into action!

DIY Deep Interior Design

Normally, I'm more of an interior design type of writer. Today however, I want to address an entirely different type of "interior design". 

I was on Twitter the other day, and kept seeing tweets that looked like this:

"Every girl deserves this.."

"Every girl should have this kind of guy.."

I am totally for dreaming about the kind of guy you'd want to be with. That's healthy and I sure did my share. But when we start to demand that guys be chivalrous, the situation becomes completely unfair. We, as women, cannot expect guys to be Jesus-loving gentlemen if we aren't first willing to be Christ-centered.

We sure can make it easier for men to be gentlemen if we're willing to meet the same high standards we expect from them.

Here are a few of the things I do to empower myself as a lady and Jacob as a gentleman:

1. Call him out
My pastor, Chris Tomlinson, says that inside every man is either a prince or a punk. It's up to us to speak to the prince, not the punk. I think this applies across the board. Often times, we waste so many words on negativity that people just stop listening. It hasn't always been easy for me, as I'm sure it hasn't been for you, but it is my heart's desire every day to speak life into my guy and others around me because they're worth it. Remember that your guy has the weight of your world on his shoulders too. Let him know he's doing great job and that he's strong. Don't just refrain from the negative. Strive for the positive.

2. Enjoy his company
After you've been together for a long time, the tendency is to get comfortable in your relationship and stop enjoying each other's company. It doesn't have to be like that. There was some point in time where you actually enjoyed spending time together; some point when he was your favorite person in the world. Remember to choose that.

3. Pray for him 
This is a biggie. I never realized how powerful prayer is as spiritual warfare until I started praying for Jacob. Satan doesn't like people that follow God. He launches full-scale attacks on those who love the Lord, and let me tell you, Jacob loves the Lord. I've seen him fight some heavy spiritual battles, and in those moments, it's up to me to fight with him. As women, we are called to be ezer kenegdo, or "help meet". That Hebrew phrase means we're to fight with them. Yes, men are created to carry more emotional, spiritual, and physical weight than we are, but that doesn't mean we can't help them carry it out.

4. Modesty
Don't write me off just yet. I'm not going to advocate for swapping out all of your shorts for capris and committing to turtlenecks forever. I live in Florida, guys. It gets hot here. Like, drive your car with oven mitts, hot. What I am saying though, is that there's a much better way to show people that you're confident in your own skin. God created you so beautiful and so special. You were custom made for a purpose. Do you understand that? You. Are. Beautiful. By wearing clothes that cover a little more and are super cute, by the way, we create an image that perfectly embodies that. Don't sell your incredible self short. You are worth too much for that. The kind of guy you're looking for will be thankful for it.

5. Gratitude
After all is said and done, be thankful for what he does do for you. He opened the door for you? Say "Thank you". Tried (and possibly failed) to surprise you by doing something extra thoughtful? Be thankful. Tell him you so appreciated the gesture and that he is wonderful for thinking of you. You'll both be encouraged to continue the behavior and strengthen the positive communication.

And that's it.

Do you know what happens when I strive to treat both Jacob and myself with the respect and love that Jesus would require? I get my prince. He..

Opens doors for me.
Takes me out on dates.
Texts me to say "Good Morning" and "Goodnight".
Fixes things in my house without me having to ask.
Tells me he loves me and that I'm beautiful and his favorite.
Prays with and for me.

Stands up for me every day.

Too often, we demand chivalrous men but expect punks. We cry when they put us down but are shocked when they shut us out over our negative comments. That's not fair.

If you want a punk, treat him like one.

If you want a prince, treat him like one.

It's that simple.


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