Do I have faith when the stuff hits the fan?

Last week I wrote about how God has provided in a BIG way to our family this year. That we have been saving toward something BIG, and that He has been so faithful to bring us extra work to cover the costs. I wish I could tell you more, but someday I’m going to have a big story to tell you. It’ll be worth the wait.

Well, a few days after I praised God for providing for us, our air conditioner bit the dust. On Father’s Day, while I waited for Mr. Right and Wrenn to return from a weekend at a relative’s ranch, the house started getting hotter and HOTTER. Texas summer heat is no joke, y’all. We called our trusty AC guy, who we had just paid $2,000 about a month before to fix our ailing unit… and he came out and declared our AC dead. As a door nail. Unfixable.

I cried. Like, ugly cried. And then we quickly threw a bunch of clothes in a bag and headed to my in-law’s house for an extended stay.

I wish I could tell you that my first response was, God’s got this. Not fear or worry or anxiety, just trust. But no, my first response was to ugly cry. And feel sorry for myself. (Not to mention I had dinner reservations to take Mr. Right out for an amazing Father’s Day dinner in Dallas… all the details arranged… and instead, we were hurriedly packing our things. In the heat.)

That was Sunday. On Monday, I woke up with my stomach in knots, and cried some more. Sweet Wrenn even prayed for me, that God “would help mommy feel better.” I took her in the car to run an errand, and in the car, while she slept soundly, God and I had a heart to heart. Here’s how it went:

Me, crying:

God, I’m so scared. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We have worked SO HARD to save money for {that thing}, and I know it’s your will. I KNOW IT. And now, we’ve got to spend all that money on an AC instead. Why? It’s not fair! We can’t afford it right now. That money has a NAME. What are we going to do???

Here’s what we’re going to do. God, I trust you. You are a good God. This didn’t surprise you. You knew all along our AC would break and we’d have to pay for it. I have to trust you. HELP ME TO TRUST YOU. I have to give you my fear. I don’t know what to do, so I am giving it to you. I trust you with this problem. I trust you to provide. I trust you to give us wisdom. Help me to FEEL that trust in my gut. I am laying this at your feet. I know you can handle it.

Y’all… God loves real, raw prayers. Don’t be afraid to tell Him you trust Him, but you are going to need Him to help you FEEL that trust. God can handle it.

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Here’s what I know. My God isn’t just worth trusting when things are going smoothly. When everything is falling into place. When it’s easy. No… my God is worth trusting when the you-know-what hits the fan. When there is no good solution. When things hurt. REALLY HURT. That’s when I’m going to trust him too.

My friend is claiming Romans 4:20-21 as she walks through something hard. Really hard. She asked me to design a print for her, so she could continue to keep this promise in front of her. It turns out, I needed to dwell on this verse as well. This is mine, too. It can be yours, too. If you need to remember that God has the POWER to do what he had promised to Abraham, and to YOU, then please enjoy a free print. On me. Just download it here.

Let’s be people who cling to God’s promises when we’re being tossed around on the waves. When we feel like we’re drowning. When there’s no way out. When our feelings don’t match what we know to be true. When it’s really, really hard to trust God. When we’re holding on for dear life… He can handle it.

I love you, friends.

Let’s try this again… a free print!

Dear readers, for some reason this morning’s post is acting wonky, so I’m republishing it tonight. Dang you internet gremlins!

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Download free 8×10 print

Isn’t this the loveliest verse? That the God of the universe, the one who created the heavens and the earth, who created me… that he would promise to help me?

My friend, whatever it is you’re struggling with today, don’t fear. Your God – the biggest and most wonderful and most powerful God you could imagine – wants to hold your hand as you walk through life. He wants to help you. This means that today, you can choose be brave.

{The fine print: Prints are for individual use only. Please do not email, sell, or distribute to others. Feel free to print and give as a gift to a friend or share via social media but always link back to this original source. Thank you!}

God of Hope

God of Hope

Doesn’t this verse just encourage your soul? Whether you’re in the midst of a major trial or enjoying a time of peace, you can celebrate that we worship a God of HOPE, who wants US to overflow with hope. He wants to give us joy and peace… not just a little, but ALL joy and peace!

If you need a little reminding of that this week, I hope you’ll enjoy a free download of this print I designed. Blessings, my friend!

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be strong and courageousFor prints and other lovelies, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely

Dream BIG, Little Girl

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I can’t tell you the amount of joy this little girl of mine brings me. Her giggles, her sloppy kisses and generous hugs, the way she climbs into my lap when she wants to be held, and then climbs right back out again to go back to playing. The way she kisses each page of her book, or gets SO EXCITED about ice cream (like her mama).

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One of the greatest joys in my life is watching little Wrenn discover the world, one tiny piece of it at a time. Whether it’s discovering that if she rubs her hands over our chalkboard, she can make pictures from the smudge marks, or learning how to stir water in a bowl, or getting up the courage to take her first steps (her record is five in a row).

I want my little girl to DREAM BIG. I want to show her what that looks like by DREAMING BIG myself. After all, I have these little eyes watching my every move.

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The Dream Big, Little One print is available for instant download in my Etsy Shop.

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be strong and courageousFor prints and baby dresses, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely

Free Download: Keep Running

keep running

My dear friends, I’m overwhelmed by the response to yesterday’s blog post! Thank you so much for your kind words, encouragement, support. You know how to make a girl blush.

As a thank you, I wanted to offer you a free download of yesterday’s quote. I searched and searched online and couldn’t find who the original author was. If I find it, I’ll add it to the print.

Click here to download. Print some for yourself or for gifts, but please do not email, repost, or copy this file.

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5For prints and baby dresses, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely

Baby Girl Dresses and a Print Sale

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Do you remember that handmade dress I made for Wrenn’s birthday party? I had so much fun making it, I decided to make a few for my shop! The best thing about these dresses are that since the straps are adjustable, the dress can grow with your baby. In fact, as Wrenn continues to grow taller and taller (hello, 90th percentile), I plan on her wearing her dress with leggings or skinny jeans, layered with a cardigan throughout the fall/winter.1This pink floral dress comes in size 12-18 months (Wrenn’s size… I’m tempted to keep it for her) and features pink contrast stitching and the cutest little strawberry floral fabric for the bottom. I love it.

2 This other dress features some gorgeous red florals (almost feels Hawaiian) with red trim. I should say that the red is a gorgeous color – a mix between red and deep orange and pink – it’s so pretty in person. I loved it so much, I made myself an infinity scarf out of the same fabric. I made two of these dresses: one is size 3 months, the other is size 12-18 months.
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I have also slashed the price of all my digital downloads in my shop to just $5. I hope that if you’ve been eyeing something that would serve as an encouragement for you, that for just $5 you’ll now be able to snag it. You can print these on your home printer, or for less than $1 you can print yours at Office Depot (just upload it on their website and you can usually pick it up the same day from their printing counter). We have these prints framed all over our house, and I absolutely love visiting friends and spotting them at their homes too!5

As life continues to get busier and busier, I’m really rethinking how much longer I’m going to keep my shop open, so I hope you’ll take advantage of it soon! I’ve also got a few quilts in the works that I’m quite excited about that should be in the shop in a matter of weeks.

Have a lovely day, my friends.

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il_570xN.524050111_subdFor more prints, visit Texas Lovely on Etsy.

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely

No Fear & a Free Printable

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Free Download

In 2014 I am praying God’s promises over my life. Won’t you join me?

I am a pro at worrying. And you know what? It robs me of my joy. I remember doing a Beth Moore Bible study on Esther many years back, and one of the things she talked about was the great risk that Esther took to visit the King, uninvited. She was scared, but she told her uncle Mordecai, “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

Beth Moore led us in an exercise where we talked about our fears. What was one thing we were afraid of? If that happened, what were the implications? What’s the worst-case scenario? And if that worst-case scenario happened… would God be enough to get me through that situation?

The simple answer is yes. The hard part is living as if that were true. But oh what a life we would all lead if that were indeed the way we felt, deep in our gut. That God would be enough to see us through our darkest days, our biggest fears, our worst crises.

What if, instead of letting fear consume me, I remembered the promise that God has given me the ability to be POWERFUL, LOVING, and SELF-CONTROLLED. I want nothing more than for my baby girl to grow up being strong… may she see a strong, loving, self-controlled mama living as an example to her.

Join me in praying this promise over our lives. Because God keeps his promises.

“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” Joshua 21:45

As a gift to you, my dear friends, I’m offering this as a free download. I’d love it if you would share it with your friends on Pinterest, Facebook, etc. Print as many copies as you’d like, but please do not email or sell.

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il_570xN.553634680_5tueHave you seen my newest print in the shop?

Other places you can find Texas Lovely:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

I want to dream BIG in 2014

DreamBig-copyrightTexasLovely

Free download from Texas Lovely

My goal for 2014 is to dream big. The past few years my goal has been to rest, to pace myself, to slow down, to not overdo. And in those seasons that was what I needed because my life was filled with work and stress and growing a baby and then having a baby and learning how to be a new mom.

It was an amazing season in my life. And now it’s time for a new season. In this season I want to get back to doing something I feel like I haven’t done in a few years.

I want to DREAM.

I want to think and plan, not just for this week or this month or this year, but for the future. I want to try things I’ve never done before, to experience thrills, to conquer fears. To live with reckless abandon. To do things BIG.

To worry less about failing.

To worry less about what others think.

One of those things I want to do is to grow my little blog. Would you help me? I’m offering this print as a free download – would you tell your friends, pin it on Pinterest, and help share the love? You would make this girl very, very happy.

Keep dreaming, my friends.

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Other places you can find Texas Lovely:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/texaslovelyshop
On Instagram: texas_lovely
On Etsy

Fall and a free printable

I am home from Portland, happily reunited with Mr. Right and in the process of unpacking my 51 pounds of luggage. I may have missed the first wave of fall’s cold weather (boy did I hear all about it on Facebook), but it doesn’t mean that I’m not super excited about the next round of snuggly cold weather that’s sure to come our way soon.

And regardless, I’ve busted out the tall boots and scarves and tonight may be the first night I flip that switch on my heating blanket. It’s kind of like my birthday… which coincidentally happens to be in the fall. And which coincidentally may involve me getting some new fall boots. But I digress.

In honor of fall, and because I needed something to distract me from the scary turbulence on my plane ride last night, I decided to create a free fall printable. Mostly to say thank you for the way you’ve supported my transition to the new blog and the opening of my new shop. I really do appreciate my friends who keep coming back.

Click here to download a Free fall 8×10 printable. For personal use only.

For more printables, visit my shop – Texas Lovely.