Happy Birthday, Paige Tillotson!

I'm so blessed by your joyful spirit, my friend!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I LOVE YOU

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart." 

Proverbs 3:3

Happy Birthday, Kipper Bush!

Cheers.

King Ave: Site and Programming Board

(Board design by the lovely, Lauren Edmunds)

Happy Birthday, Erin Todd!

I could design a mansion full of rooms inspired by every single outfit you put together. 

No lie. Your wardrobe rocks my world.

Random

Ran across this design book today. I'm a fan of the title.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

I'm so thankful for you and your beautiful family!

A Christmas in Color

John 1:9 

"The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world."

This December there is a sweet joy in my heart and great anticipation for the celebration of the birth of our Savior. I am tickled with delight as the Christmas season is now upon us! The festivities and decorations proclaim to me one Truth-- Our Great Redeemer has come! 

Happy Birthday, Amelia!

Woman, you are such a classic beauty!

Painting Revision

 Red for the Holidays

Previous Pink

Thanksgiving in Color

Lately I've developed a fascination with and a passion for color--what inspires it and how it works together. As it is the week of Thanksgiving AND a full week off from classes, I wanted to take some time to enjoy the beauty of the holidays. Below are several color palettes I've put together to bring the Thanksgiving table to life. Enjoy!

Endings Are for Gratitude, Beginnings Are for Faith

A message of Thanksgiving from:

 

Since every moment is the beginning of the rest of your life, and every moment is the end of the past, every moment should be governed by the glad affections of both gratitude and faith. 

Looking back is looking on the past providence of God: "As for your, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20). And looking forward is looking on the future providence of God: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father" (Matthew 10:29). "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6).

Gracious Father, grant me a lowly spirit of gratitude. 

Make me feel the preciousness of past grace.

Give me an honest memory of mercy.

Forgive me for the pride of unremembered

gifts and callous thanklessness.

Waken faith in my wavering soul

and give me strong confidence

in your solid promises.

Where past and future meet

make me humble and bold. 

In Jesus' name 

and for His sake, 

Amen.

Happy Birthday, Betts!

Rub some dirt in it.

"Oh, sing to the LORD a new song"--or picture, or poem, or figure of speech, or painting.

A Meditation on the Imagination from:

One of the great duties of the Christian mind is imagination. It is not the only thing the mind does. The mind observes. The mind analyzes and organizes. The mind memorizes. But imagination is different. It does not observe or analyze what we see; it imagines what we can't see, but what might really be there. 

God's world--all of it--rings with wonders. The imagination calls up new words, new images, new analogies, new metaphors, new illustrations, new connections to say old, glorious truth. Imagination is the faculty of the mind that God has given us to make the communication of His beauty beautiful. 

Don't mistake what I am saying. Poets and painters and preachers don't make God's beauty more beautiful. They make it more visible. They cut through the dull fog of our finite, fallible, sin-distorted perception, and help us see God's beauty for what it really is. Imagination is like a telescope to the stars: It doesn't make them big. They are big without the telescope. It makes them look like what they are.

Dear God and Creator and Father,

I praise You for Your infinitely wise imagination! 

I bow with wonder at Your power to put in place

the universe so full of marvels for our joy.

I pray for the grace of imagination, 

lest I fail to love my fellow man

and fail to render Your glory

for what it really is, 

most beautiful of all beauties.

Through Christ, I pray,

Amen.

Happy Birthday, Miss Kennedy!

Erin, you are an inspiration to my inspirations! 

King Avenue Color Palette Brainstorm

This is super premature for where we are in the design process (ahem, still deciding on the building footprint), but I couldn't resist dabbling in a little color!

King Ave: Site Vist Pictures

This is the lot we will be building on for one of our Sustainable Senior Studio Projects. We had our official site visit today and I am absolutely inspired by builders desiring to create long lasting quality in homes that are responsible and serve the occupants well (low maintenance, healthy indoor air quality, energy efficient, cost effective, etc.).