My ways are not your ways

I've been sick this week. The stomach bug was immediately followed by a bad case of spring fever. A sunny day in the 50s is all it takes to get me highly motivated to do something active in the fresh air. So I spent Tuesday cleaning out all my garden beds - raking out all the old leaves and mulch and removing the dead plant growth left from the fall. I really do LOVE yardwork, it feels so good. It's one of my favorite times of year to discover the first little shoots of spring emerging in the garden. It's like FINALLY, proof that spring is here!

To be bright pink peonies!

Crocus

To be tall red tulips...oops, apparently I forgot to rake out this area!

I also took out some of my garden decor, even though there's no plants to fill in around them yet. I have a soft spot for galvanized steel. (Though mostly off topic, I'll take this opportunity to say I'd even love a galvanized steel/zinc counter top like this.)

.

Back on subject, I snagged these old tin watering cans for $2 a piece a year or so ago at a yardsale. They look so naked now along my front walk without any tulips soaring beside them or impatiens cozied up around them or a bed of fresh mulch to sit atop. But they symbolize the warm weather so I had to put them out.

In my opinion there's nothing quite as tacky as putting fake flowers outside but for some reason I make the exception with forsythia sprays. Earlier this month I removed the winter greenery and berries from this galvanized bucket and put these on the front stoop.

They are obviously fake now because not a single real forsythia has bloomed yet. I just get so impatient for spring. If the forsythias don't seem on pace to bloom outside in March, I make sure I clip some and force them indoors, like I did this year.

Love how the blue painter's tape contrasts with the yellow blooms. Maybe one day I can be done with painter's tape...

Each season I plant annuals in this old toolbox that greets me at the back door. I "inherited" this treasure from my best friend's mom when I helped her clean out to move, gosh almost 6 years ago! (Going through 4 generations worth of stuff in her basement was a treasure hunt in itself that deserves its own post, for another time.)

Still hanging in there after six years of weathering.

When I was cleaning out the garden I started making a mental list of all the places I could fit another new perennial or two. I really want to do more plant swapping this year so if you've got anything you can spare to share, please do and I'll return the favor! I could use some more shade plants and am especially interested in finding free or cheap coral bells, monkshood, astilbe, corydallis, lily of the valley and hellebores.

Coral Bells have a special place in my heart because they are featured on the china my Nana gave me.

A demitasse cup and saucer from my coralbell china in front of a childhood picture of my Nana.

I love the color of monkshood. Anything else I have this color blooms in spring but this blooms in late summer, a nice contrast to zinnias and dahlias.

I'd take the lovely light fronds of the astilbe flower in whiite or pink.

Corydallis would tuck in nice around rocks like this.

I enjoyed lots of Lily of the Valley at our last place but its like a persnickity old lady and doesn't like to be bothered so didn't even try transferring any. Now I wish I at least tried.

Hellebores would be blossoming now or soon if I had some.

So I'm on cloud nine after being outdoors in the warm sun for hours and dreaming of what my garden will look like in a month or two. Nothing like a little news of a decent snowstorm due Friday to ground me pretty quick. Really??? Snow in April?? Come on! And to add insult to injury it would likely cancel a family day we had planned - a rare occasion. My first instinct was to complain and grumble about the weather but I was quickly reminded of some things I recently read and it put my attitude in perspective.

Isaiah 55:8-12 says, " 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seeds for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out of my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and acheive the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.' "

So I accept that God, in his infinite wisdom, which he does not need to reveal to me, controls the snow and the timing of spring. Who am I to question what He's up to? How dare I complain as if my thoughts and ways are better than His! But does that mean that I have to like it? Can't I just sulk and let it ruin my weekend?

I'm excited that a friend and I have just begun a study on the subject of joy in the book of Philipians from the Bible. We're using a study guide called Be Joyful by Warren Wiersbe. The introductory chapter overviews the four things that steal our joy - circumstances, people, things, and worry. In contrast it highlights the four attitudes of the mind that a Christian should have to maintain joy. Like most circumstances, the weather is out of my control, so if I rely on it for my happiness I'm going to automatically be miserable much of the time. Wiersbe notes that "The reason many Christians are upset by circumstances is because they do not cultivate 'the single mind'...the attitude of single-hearted devotion to Christ..." Paul, the author of Philipians, was inprisoned with a good chance of being beheaded as the wrote this letter to the church in Philipi. However, he filled the letter with practical advice on how to maintain joy based on his current personal experience. Wiersbe goes on to say, "But his difficult circumstances cannot rob him of his joy because he is not living to enjoy circumstances, he is living to serve Jesus Christ. He is a man with a purpose...He does not look at circumstances in themselves, but rather in relationship to Jesus Christ..."

Now granted, in light of all the difficult circumstances life can throw my way, snow is really not that big of a deal, but the fact is that its something out of my control that is certainly poised to steal my joy. So I must choose to cultivate my single mind and focus on the big picture - my single-hearted devotion to my Savior. In the grand scheme of God's plan for my life and the world, what's one snow day in April? I love how the passage in Isaiah also ends by saying that we will go out in joy, that the mountains and hills will burst into song before us and the trees will clap their hands. It's like yes, God is sending more snow or rain and the mountains, hills and trees will welcome it with joy and clapping because they are getting more water, which will make our eventual spring and summer that much more beautiful.

But I'm still antsy for blossoms so this morning on my way home from an appointment with my friend Naomi at Chromatics Salon, I whizzed past Pete's Oasis, one of my favorite local places to shop for annuals. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a tractor bed full of colorful pansies sitting out front. So I did a quick U-turn and Woo hoo! I came home with these beauties to plant in the toolbox out back...after this darn storm!



Catch Up

Is this technically still a blog if I only update once a month? Oh well, it is what it is. Apparently my priorities have been elsewhere. Including treasure hunting. :) So here's me playing catch up on sharing my finds over the last few weeks.

Going back to the first weekend in March, I spent all Friday afternoon running around my church building and town. I was gathering up supplies to set up a booth for my church at our local Chamber of Commerce's Home & Business Expo. I finished earlier than expected and had 30 minutes to spare before the high school opened its doors for exhibitors to set up. Well what's a half mile down the street from the school? My favorite local hunting grounds - Burnat Mill Antiques. So with no kids in tow and time to burn I raced in for a quick look around.

I spent only $7, walked out with these two finds, and got back to the school as they opened their doors:

$5 for a package of 250 jumbo size (3"x6") green tags. I was intrigued by these but I try not to buy anything unless I know what I'm going to do with it. Then inspiration hit and I decided to scoop them up.

Here is a closeup of one. I'm thinking next year's kid-photo Christmas card? I'll put a photo of the kids in the middle, some holiday ribbon looped through the hole, and on the back a personal note. Knowing me I better get started on these right away if they're going to make it out in time for Christmas!

For $2 I picked up this circa 1953 book. It's full of stories and prayers for kids with Dick and Jane style illustrations. I love that era and have collected quite a few kids books and readers from that period, displayed in the kids rooms.

For those who read my last blog entry, this page opposite the inside cover is why I had to get this book. (If you can't read the words, click on the picture to enlarge it.)  It further illustrates and hit home for me the treasure from scripture I last blogged about. God's timing is so amazing.

I usually do my shopping and errands when my 5 year old is in preschool so I only have my 2 year old with me. Some days I have time to get back home, put away groceries, and then do preschool pickup. Other days I don't quite have time to make the whole round trip but end up a little time to waste. That's what happened a couple of weeks ago when I remembered The Blessing Barn thrift shop that's between the grocery store and preschool. I thought I scored a beautiful $20 set of 4 curtain panels that would have looked great in my dining room but noooo.....there was permanent blue paint conspicuously spilled on two of the four panels. The lady at the shop even let me take them into the bathroom with some cleaner to see if it would come out.  I was so bummed the curtains didn't work out. (Can I still use the word "curtains" or does that automatically invoke images of lace-trimmed, window-length, tie-backs? I think "window treatments" is the phrase of the day but whatever, I will always call them curtains. I choose to buck the trend on that. Just like I REFUSE to describe anything as Fabulous.)

So back to the subject. The Blessing Barn did bless me with the treasures below and I feel good knowing that the proceeds from my purchases helped enable Compassion New England to assist many who find themselves in need.

Loved everything about this little 8" high globe for $4.

$8 silver plate gravy boat. When I host my family for the holidays we use 2 tables to fit everyone but I only have one gravy boat with my china set. Now I have a 2nd formal gravy boat that nicely matches the silver rim on my china.

$1 bud vase, 3"x4". The pictures doesn't show it is oblong shaped. I'm forever picking flowers and berries and greenery, if not from my yard then from nature walks. I needed something that was classic enough to put anywhere in any room of the house.

2 Thomasville 15"x18" frames $4 each. I've been searching for a long time for cheap frames that will fit vintage magazine ads for my china that I found on eBay years ago. I'll have to swap out the matts for custom ones to fit the ads, and I may paint the frames...we shall see. I'll share the finished results whenever that may be.

I can proudly announce I shopped my first official Yard Sale of the season. This past Friday was a gorgeous day and my husband had the idea that our family walk the mile or so up the hill between our house and his parents house for an early evening visit. One house on the way had a little table piled with castoffs and a "For Sale" sign at the end of the driveway. It totally counts. The only thing worth taking a second look at was a box of gardening tools. Some vintage rusty ones, some kid-sized ones, and a few quality trowels etc. I really needed to replace mine this season and the girls love to help garden so I wanted the whole kit 'n kaboodle. With only $2 on us we asked the homeowners if they'd set the box aside so I could come back Saturday morning to pay and pickup.


Here's the whole lot of gardening tools for $8. There's actually two identical sets of kids tools - perfect, no fighting!

Now comes the hard part - waiting until its warm enough to dig!

Eye on the Sparrow

I've never been a bird lover or a trendy decorator but over the last couple of years I've found myself sort of hopping on the "decorate with birds" bandwagon.  I didn't set out on a bird-theme mission but various feathered treasures started catching my eye on my hunts so I began picking them up and nesting them around my house.  I've tried to be careful not to overdo it with the birds because I believe themes need to be very subtle. I'd like to say I'm at my limit but we'll see what the 2011 yard sale season holds.

Here's a look at my bird collection. And I apologize for the low-grade pictures. I really need a new camera.

I found this print at a yard sale down by the Douglas Res on "Opening Day" Spring 2009 for $1.

On this table ($5 yardsale find) is a bird I actually picked up at Pier 1 with a gift certificate the fall of 2009, before the folks at Pier 1 went bird-crazy themselves. Behind the table are branches I took inside after a nature hunt with the girls this fall. I put them inside a Pier 1 vase that my mom picked up for me at the Salvation Army. On one branch hangs a bird ornament that was a gift from a dear friend I don't get to see much of these days and in another branch rests a real bird's nest I found on the ground (fake robin's eggs inside).



This planter came from the same yard sale as the print above, also for a buck or two. Sometimes it holds a green plant or flowers, but more often it does not!



The shelf the planter sits on came to be by accident. It was originally the edge of another small square tabletop (from same yardsale as table in previous picture) but after being left outside on a damp night the edge literally fell off. So I repurposed it as a shelf (with the help of my handy, dandy father-in-law) and I still use the table; I just face that side with the missing edge to the wall.

Random bird statue "Made in Mexico" found at a yard sale for dirt cheap. He's probably my least favorite bird treasure but I will hang onto him until something better takes his place.

I just love this little piece of framed bird art that I discovered at Burnat Mill Antiques. The birds are crafted out of real feathers. (It's not actually striped, that's just a reflection.)

Behind it hang both the key to my Lane hope chest (another yard sale find) and the skeleton key to our basement.

I found three of these tea-light candle holders at a yard sale for 25 cents a piece, each with slightly varied coloring. I was hesitant at first because they were a little too cute but the colors were perfect for our family room and 75 cents was worth a shot.

One of the others.

I must have found this book many years ago at a yard sale and completely forgot I had it. I rediscovered it tucked inside our built-ins around this past Thanksgiving when Darren did a major clean out of his book collection. It's now displayed out in the open on a bookshelf.

Some of the few bird-themed decor that I didn't purchase second hand were throw pillows and book ends I fell in love with from Etsy's Pillow Happy shop last year before Christmas. A new room and new couch justified new pillows. :)

Cardinal in winter branches from Pillow Happy - Etsy.

Bird and nest pillow bookends from Pillow Happy - Etsy. Books all from yardsales.

This past fall I was up at Mount Monadnock for a women's retreat and some friends and I spent our free afternoon investigating a few of the curiousity shops in downtown Jaffrey, NH. It was at Elaine's Antiques & Collectibles where I picked up this plate, along with a small collection of mis-matched individual butter dishes. (When my vision for those becomes a reality, I'll share it here.)

I'd like to hang this on a wall eventually but don't have the perfect spot prepared yet. For now it collects jewelry on top of my dresser.

At some point before Christmas this year, I had about 15 minutes to spare when I happened to be driving by Burnat Mill Antiques (BMA), one of my favorite places to go treasure hunting. So I ran in for a quick fix. At my favorite booth I came across a set of three antique bird prints by J.J. Audobon. I really liked them but wasn't sure; I needed time to think about them. And think about them I did - from that moment until after Christmas when I hurried back with a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket (thanks to my M-I-L)! Apparently they were meant to be mine. I only picked up two, still unsure about the third. They were $25 each, and for me, that's pricy!  These prints will eventually find their home after I finish painting and rearranging things in my entry/den and dining room:

Poor picture...lots of glare...will get a better shot when they are on a wall.

Well, about a week or two after scoring these prints, the latest Ballard Designs catalog arrives in the mail and as I'm thumbing through, what catches my eye? Reproduction bird prints similar to mine (though not by Audobon himself) for $130 EACH!!

Nozeman Bird Prints by Ballard Design $369 for set of 3, confirming my satisfaction with my $25 prints that I happen to like better anyways.

The only other feathered treasures I've bought recently were at the craft store. My evergreen wreath on the front door needed a little something to carry it over until its safe to break out the spring wreath. I simply placed some birds and nests into the wreath and they can be removed just as easily:

Extending the life of my Christmas wreath.

So I've had an eye for bird treasures lately but it's God who has his eye on the real birds and on me. Matthew 6:26 says "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" He said it! I'm much more valuable to God than the birds, yet he provides for their physical needs. Much of this chapter talks about why we should not worry and are told not to worry. If God takes care of the birds and I'm more valuable to him then they are, then of course he'll meet my needs. I'm blessed to have experienced this truth in my life and I know Him personally as my faithful provider.

In 1905 a woman named Civilla D. Martin wrote the words to the song His Eye is on the Sparrow. I happen to like Lauryn Hill and Tanya Blount's rendition of it (Sister Act II?). Listen while reading the lyrics here:

My Idols & His Image

Over the past few weeks I've started a few different blog entries but have gotten distracted by other priorities and left drafts in various stages of completion.  So here's to finishing a post I started a couple of weeks ago...

My hunting season slows way down during the cold months. While I anxiously await for that first Yard Sale sign to pop up in the spring, I do make a few winter treks through indoor hunting grounds to satisfy my itch. I have claimed a few treasures this winter that I'm anxious to share but not before one more long and picture-less but important "caveat" post.

I already admitted in my previous post that I really like things. Cheap and interesting diamonds in the rough. I know that I can't take them with me into eternity (he who dies with the most toys still dies). I know that they can't provide me with any true joy or peace. I always tell my kids "People Are More Important Than Things" and that's a motto I truly believe and live by. However, finding things and decorating with them does invoke some sort of passion and happiness inside of me. I often question this and wonder -  Is this wrong? Am I materialistic?  I've even second guessed whether I should have started a blog with the intention of focusing (in part) on things. I really don't care so much about the finer things in life. I am content to live simply, but I am still drawn to things and I wonder what God thinks about this.

Over the past couple of weeks God, in his perfect timing, has led me to various places in the Bible that have reminded me of some truths related to these passions of mine - things and decorating. Here are the verses I've read, thought about and prayed about, how I've worked through my questions, and the conclusions I've come to.

My ongoing study of Isaiah has covered the topic of idols quite a few times already. In the historical context, idols were false gods that people crafted out of precious metals and wood. People would blatantly worship, pray to or even sacrafice to these "gods". In Isaiah 2:7-8, the prophet Isaiah speaks regarding the Israelites, "Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures...Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made." While the thought of worshiping or sacraficing to a statue of metal or wood sounds absolutely rediculous to me, I was presented with some convicting questions in my study materials.

What preocupations of the Israelites also consume my mind and energy? Hmmm....I do become preoccupied by things that people have made and the work of people's hands (including mine) in displaying/arranging them BUT I would not say my thoughts and time are consumed by these questioned desires. Consume is a strong word but I'll admit to being preoccupied.

What other idols do people in our culture worship (evidenced by the fact that their thoughts, emotions and time are consumed by them)? Work, status, success/accomplishments, power, entertainment, children, fashion, art, houses, cars, competition, sports, significant others/relationships, alcohol, partying, attention, social media... OK, so I guess a few of the items in this list, along with my desire to hunt for and display physical treasures, do collectively consume much of my thoughts, emotions and time.

Other truths I've gleamed from God's Word about idols:
Psalm 115:4-7 and Psalm 135:15-18--Idols have no mouth to talk, no eyes to see, no ears to hear.
Jeremiah 10:8 - 16--Idols are worthless, senseless, foolish, fraud, objects of mockery, can not create but are created, will perish and will shame their crafters.
Habakkuk 2:18 - 19--Idols have no value, teach lies, cannot be trusted in, cannot give guidance, and are not alive.

How is God different from these idols, especially in relation to people? In Isaiah 40:18 I read,"To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?" In verses 25, God again asks, "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" My answer - No one and nothing can compare to God. Unlike all the aforementioned examples of idols, He is the creator of all things. He made us and the materials we use to create. God talks to us, sees us, hears us. He is the Wonderful Counselor, full of wisdom and understanding. He is real, true, and alive. God saves. He is eternal, everlasting. He can be trusted and has proven to explain the past and know the future. He gives us strength, power, help and hope. No idol can ever be or do these things.

I can honestly say I am at a point where I think my priorities are straight. I know and have experienced these things about God to be true. I don't seek to find these qualities in other places. These truths about God usually consume my thoughts and time more than things, though I will always be tempted by idols. Another verse to hold me accountable is Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So on top of my passion for things, I've also been questioning my interest in designing, creating, and decorating. Again, God recently landed me at the beginning of the Bible when the Trinity (God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) were at work in the creation of the world, Genesis 1:26 says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." and verse 27 says "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female..." and finally in verse 31, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." So I know that God designed, created and decorated the whole earth. After doing this, he looked at what he had done and acknowledged how good and beautiful it was. Being God, he had every right to take pride in what he had made because it glorified him.

I am made in his likeness. Like God, I have these same desires to design, create and decorate. Like God, I also experience that feeling of pride in my work and consider what I've done to be good and beautiful. But here I go back to my first post. Humility. There's the tempation to take too much pride in what I do. Isaiah tied it back in for me: "...everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made" (Isaiah 43:7). God made me for his glory. I need to acknowledge my creator for any of my gifts and talents. How can I design, create and decorate to his glory?? Still pondering that.

What I have concluded is this: Admiring things and hunting for physical treasures is not wrong unless these things become idols, consuming my thoughts and time. Hunting for and sharing spiritual treasures must be where my heart is (and God knows my heart). My designer-creator-decorator God created me in his image and he deserves all credit and glory for the gifts and talents he's given me to use.

My intention in starting this blog is to be transparent. I've shared some of my passions and desires and some of my tempations and struggles. If, by following my blog or observing my life, you witness idolatry or pride, I invite you to speak the truth in love and call me out on it. If anyone does want to keep me accountable, I ask that you do so in private please. While humilty is my goal, humiliation is not! :)

Motivation

For a few years people have hinted here and there that I should start a blog, usually after I've told a funny kid story. Though flattered by these suggestions, the last thing the world needs is another mommy blogger. And I've never felt like I had anything else worth writing about or the desire to do so.

Recently though, I have felt compelled to blog as a way of sharing some things I've been doing and learning and interests of mine. One of my interests that I've already begun to catalog on Facebook is that of finding bargains at yard sales or thrift shops and showing how I incorporate them into my home and life. I often refer to my excursions as "treasure hunts". I'll admit materialism is one of my biggest temptations. I really like things and I love to look at home design catalogs and decorating/collecting magazines. However, I have an even stronger desire for treasures of an eternal nature that I cannot see or touch. Lately I've been discovering so many of these that I cannot help but want to share. So combine these two interests and the idea for my blog, Hailey's Treasures, is born.

From the moment this blog desire sparked, I've consistently questioned my motivation and the goal I'm trying to accomplish. I've been studying the book of Isaiah from the Bible and one consistent theme God has been hitting me over the head with is humility.  Before the holidays this study brought me to the book of Genesis 11, the story of the tower of Babel. Verse 4 shows the Babylonians' motivation at the time, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..." 

After reading study questions and hearing a lecture on this same topic, I was presented with some pretty convicting questions. When and where in my life do I have to look out for this attitude the Babylonians displayed? Are there any characteristics of Babylon in my heart? Who do I credit for my gifts and talents? I, too, am tempted to make a name for myself. I also desire control, independence, self-fulfillment and to display my success and my talent. My tendency is to credit myself, the created, instead of pointing to my Creator, who made me in his image (according to Genesis 1:26-27).

2 Corinthians 4:7 says "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." Eugene Peterson, who loosely paraphrased some of the Bible in The Message, puts that verse in his own words: "If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us." I am just a person, a simple, ordinary, easily-breakable vessel, yet by the grace of God I'm able to hold, carry and pour out his treasure.

So I am moving forward cautiously, knowing that I must continually question and set straight my motivation for blogging - to praise God, not myself. And I invite my readers to keep me accountable. Follow me as I hunt for, find and share treasures!

(P.S. If anyone has HTML and/or graphic design skills and wants to help me dramatically improve and customize my blog design, please let me know!)