Ikea Hack Office Project

I recently had the opportunity to create an office space for myself.  I really wanted shelving along one wall that was built in.  My husband was super busy with work and didn't have the time to tackle such a project.  I looked at bookshelves that would give me a built in look, but they would have cost me a small fortune and not quite give me the look I wanted in the end. That's when I decided to do an "Ikea Hack".  I took the truck and headed to Ikea, about an hour and a half away from where I live.  I was actually pretty proud that I did it by myself.  When you are determined, it's amazing what you can accomplish!
We first pulled out the old, nasty carpet from the room and put in hardwood.  Then a fresh coat of paint.  (This was going to be done even before I decided to make it an office space for myself.  My husband had his office here for years, and he was moving his office to a new space.)
Sorry for the picture quality.  I found it difficult any time of day to get the lighting right for pictures.

Once the room was complete, I put together my Billy's shelving units that I picked up at Ikea.  It took me a few hours to complete the task, but was very easy. (I have the same shelves in my closet for my shoes, so it's something I have done many times!)

My son helped me move the shelves into place, and then it was my husbands turn to help.  He added trim between each shelf and then some boards on top to bring the height to the ceiling.  Once he accomplished this, he added more trim and some crown moulding to help give it that built-in look.  I painted everything white, and was THRILLED with the outcome.

I moved my desk into the space from another room. It was black, and I used chalk paint to make it grey.

All in all, I think the project was easy and inexpensive.  I paid less than $70.00 for each book case.  I would say the whole construction aspect of the project, including the shelving, was under $400.00  The book cases that I had priced for the wall unit would have been a total of close to $4,000.00 and they would not have had the trim or moulding to make them look built in.

In my next post I will show you how I decorated the room, and the great storage options I purchased for it.  Thanks for checking out my project!

In His Love ~ Kim

"With Jesus in Her Heart, and Coffee in Her Cup" 

Sunday is here!

"That's what I love about Sunday . . . . . " ~ What do you love about Sunday? My list could go on ~ But always excited to worship together with our church family. ~ It may be a brief amount of time in our week, but oh so precious and important. ~ "Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God." Have a Blessed day of rest! 
Don't take this opportunity lightly, friend.   We hustle around and tarry all week. Sometimes going in circles, not accomplishing much.  Is it not too much to ask, to go into the House of the Lord for a couple of hours once a week and give your time and attention and praise to Him?  
"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

In His Love ~ Kim

"With Jesus in her heart and coffee in her cup"

The View for a Friday ~

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” 

In His Love ~ Kim
"With Jesus in her heart and coffee in her cup"

Contentment ~

You only have one life, so live it! Create a life you can love.  I truly enjoy my vacation time ~ I love the ocean, it calms my spirit. Just the sound and the smell of it makes me relax.  The awe of it makes me praise God with each glimpse of it's beauty. But you know what makes it even better? Being there are enjoying it with my husband. And that, I can do anywhere.
More and more I think about creating a life you love.  So many around me hate their daily lives.  They dream of their vacation days in a way that makes their daily lives sound like misery.  They need to escape and when they come home, they are more discontent and miserable than before they left. They dislike their jobs, their bodies, their neighbors, their homes.  So much discontentment.  What if we worked to create a life we are satisfied and content with?
As much as I love to travel, I'm finding more and more joy and peace in my home. I love my husband and my children and grand babies.  I love my puppies and my chickens! Nothing like running out to the coop to get a few fresh eggs for breakfast.  I love my little herb garden and my veggies.  I love the sound of the wind chimes hanging out back, and the feel of the breeze on the hill coming through my bedroom windows.  I love waking to the sound of the birds, and watching the mama deer and her twins out the window.  Sitting in front of the warm fireplace with a cup of coffee and my Bible or greeting my hubby at the door after a long day. I love when the house is filled with fellowship and laughter and the smell of coffee and fresh bakery. Perfect? Never.  I groan about the mud that I sweep up, the leaves that the dogs bring in on their fur, the long winters and short summers, the mosquitos.  But you know what? I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Count it all joy! Life is beautiful and messy and joyful and sad and there are days that we are just waiting to lay our heads down on that pillow and see that joy that does come in the morning.  A new day, a fresh outlook.
But seriously, how can you create a life you don't need to "get away" from? It's not all about the material things.  I admit, I find joy and a certain sense of purpose in creating a space that is warm and welcoming.  I love trying to be a Godly, Proverbs 31 woman.  I love beautiful things just as much as the next person.  I love to decorate and oddly enough, organize! I add things around my rooms that have memories associated with them.  Something from a special day, a special person or a special trip.  I try to create a space that my hubby loves to come home to at night. That my kids are comfortable being in, and like to spend time here.  One that we can invite people in and share a bit of warmth and love and Jesus with them. But that isn't where my fulfillment and joy comes from.  My contentment is not in the next room I redecorate or the new shoes I buy.  It is in the One who dwells in us, who is invited into our home and who is Lord over our home. He is the one that brings that peace, love, joy, contentment.
Are you content? It is said we all have a God~shaped hole in our hearts that only He can fill.  Through Him, and his strength we are made whole and that is the only way true contentment can begin.  We can weary ourselves in creating the home of our dreams, but until our hearts are set on Him, it is all in vain. We will strive and never get the satisfaction we are looking for.
Our hearts will always deceive us, but the Word of God will always point us in the right direction. Focus on Him and doing His will for our lives.  Find your joy in Him.
Where our treasure is our heart is also. Does this mean we can't have nice things? No, it certainly doesn't.  But at the end of life is it that new car that mattered most? What did you do for Him? How did you live for Him? How did you share His love with a hurting world?  Did you share that beautiful home that you have created?
Go and plant your garden and your flowers and your herb garden, but don't forget to cultivate that heart of gratitude.  When we show gratitude, we are automatically thankful to the One who provides so lavishly for us.  Remember what your greatest treasures as followers of Jesus Christ are to be.  Focus on those things that are eternal, for this is where our true contentment will come.  "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:   For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

1. When I survey the wondrous cross
   On which the Prince of glory died,
   My richest gain I count but loss,
   And pour contempt on all my pride.
2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
   Save in the death of Christ my God!
   All the vain things that charm me most,
   I sacrifice them to His blood.
3. See from His head, His hands, His feet,
   Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
   Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
   Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4. Were the whole realm of nature mine,
   That were a present far too small;
   Love so amazing, so divine,
   Demands my soul, my life, my all.

In His Love ~ Kim

"With Jesus in Her Heart, and Coffee in Her Cup" 

Brimfield Treasures ~

Rolling Pins ~ A Brief History

Bought these gorgeous rolling pins on my Brimfield trip on Tuesday. I love them!
Started researching a little bit ~ the larger one is from England. The coin inside shows when it was made ~ but is too old and worn to read.
I found that rolling pins had significance other than baking or decorating.
Sailors at sea would often spend their long days carving beautiful, intricate rolling pins to give to their loves back home. They were often made with Lignum Vitae, a trade wood found in the Caribbean and northern coast of South America. It was used in many things, especially on ships due to its strength and density. The handles were often fashioned from whale bones. 

In the 18th century in England, companies began making glass rolling pins. They were hollow and sailors would give them to loved ones or to girls they hoped to marry. They were often filled with fine vinegars, cocoa, baking items or even bath salts. One end had a cork and when they were emptied, they could then be filled with cold water to help the ease of rolling out fine doughs and pastries.
They were often engraved with things like ~ "be true to me,” “for my mother,” and “may the eye of the Lord watch over you.”
There is much more in the way of history, but I loved the fact that they became an item that men put so much time into creating for the women they held so dear.

In His Love ~ Kim

"With Jesus in Her Heart, and Coffee in Her Cup" 

Focus ~

"Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you." Proverbs 4:25

Rejection ~ Shake the Dust Off

I couldn't sleep last night, so turned on "Turning Point" with Dr. David Jeremiah.  Perfect.  It had a bit of perspective about rejection.   These are points that I got from his message.
He taught that Jesus was rejected His whole life.  The one who saved you from your sin has felt the sting of rejection.  What did He say about it? Shake the dust off your feet and go on.  Get on with life.  God's already prepared other people who will receive you.
You cannot get someone to be who they are not.  You cannot change someone.  We are not responsible for what other people do to us.  Rejecting a Child of God is a serious offense.  God says if you are a rejector it is more profitable for you than it was for Sodom and Gomorrah.  You can shake off being rejected, but you cannot shake off being the rejector, because it will come back.  God is the great avenger, and He will make all things right. Leave it up to Him.
While we can be rejected here by people who know us, and have grown up with us and supposedly love us,  we will never be rejected by the Lord.  We are accepted in the Beloved.  God is continually accepting people into His family.  We go though life always trying to find our way, bumping our noses into the wall, till one day somebody crosses our path and says "There is a God in Heaven who has put his hand on you, and He has said 'I want this one for me.'" Then it is that we intimately know what it means to be accepted.  That doesn't mean that all rejection in our human life goes away, but it means the ultimate form of acception has already taken place.   We have been accepted by God. He wants you for himself.

"Some of the most poisonous people come disguised as friends and family."

"Family isn't always blood.  It's the  people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what."