March 28, 2011

It's No Secret He Speaks

Hi friends, we have some special guests with us today from Melissa Taylor's online study of It’s No Secret, a treasure of a book by my dear friend Rachel Olsen {Preview Chapter 1 here}. Please welcome our guests as we take a small detour on our Jumping off the Train {of Negative Thought}. Thanks y'all!

One thing I enjoy about close friends is how we develop our own way of communicating over time. Certain words or phrases take on special meaning for us… Likewise, befriending Jesus –
drawing close to Him over time – develops our ability to recognize His still, small voice. Our heart grows familiar with and closer to His…

The Bible
assures that no matter where we go in life, we are never out of earshot of Jesus’ voice. If we’ve gotten to know Him, we’ll always recognize it. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21). ~Excerpt from It's No Secret, Rachel Olsen

He speaks. In the howling whirlwind of emotions. He speaks. In the tedious duties of the mundane. He speaks. High above the fierce boom of shame, doubt and accusation. He speaks.

Along with her free online study, Melissa is hosting a series of accompanying conference calls. Have mercy, Carol Davis and I are her first guests tonight!! Mel posed this question to me to talk about tonight. I've been in your home. From the first step inside, I felt warm and welcome. Please tell us how your share God with those who visit your home without ever saying a word.

He speaks. My knees kiss bare wood in eager pleas that I'd be a minute decibel in His melodic tune. Oh that ears would dare to flutter open, like a newborn's eyes welcoming the light of day! Before precious feet cross my threshold, my feet pitter patter to the threshold of Heaven. I speak: Please, draw hearts to partake in Your peace under the shelter of my roof. May Your still small voice reverberate on delicate ear drums. I don't take lightly that He could use my home to softly, quietly lean down and speak to my guests. I tend these desires in several ways…

Welcome to my home! This old window greets guests by my front foyer.
Anchoring truths are scripted on the panes with window markers.

My petite powder room!
Please note the bowl on the left and frame on the right

I snagged this bowl from my parents {it's from Ethiopia... I love it!}
Tore a variety of paper, crumpled them & covered them in verses
p.s. I edged paper with coal & dipped in coffee for an aged appeal {yes, they smell slightly funky}

Torn, layered scrap paper bears the invitation to hear Him speak
Framed in a $1.00 beaut

Is she a cutie pie? Love my lil’ jam jar that once graced me with my sister’s homemade blueberry jam

A bit of glue and rub-on letters label my jar that I filled with these below

Tags from my precious old roomie Elizabeth
I christened them in coffee & penned sweet scriptures on either side
This jar makes its home in my guest room bathroom

I have a thing for jars!
This one rests on my living room coffee table & fills and empties seasonally
This is Valentine's Day and here is Easter!

And here is a neat idea to make with or for guests!

Thanks for being here today! If you have any questions or ideas you'd like to share, please do. And we hope you'll stick around!

xoxo, Sam


20 comments:

Sharon Sloan said...

I love you. I wanna come to your house!

And you are going to do great as Melissa's first guests!!!!

Hugs,
Sharon

stephanie said...

You are sooooo super creative! What a blessing you must be to those who come to your home. I am doing good just to have all the laundry off the floor and clean towels in the bathroom! HA! You have given me some excellent ideas :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Sam for your inspirations, you have blessed us all with sharing your ideas.

Who is singing that song..."won't back down"? "Like"!

Kandi said...

I love your home! and I love your creative decorating ideas, I may have to use a few of those. You are such an inspiration and I am so glad to know you.

Blessings.

Connecting to the soul said...

Stephanie I'm like you I am lucky to have my dishes put in the cupboards from the dish drainer and tyrash taken out. Since the first room you walk into is my kitchen. But as I read this is reminded me of my grandmas home , you could feel the presence of God the moment you walked in.

Sam your ideas remind me of the story I started where the home was Christ filled from the bible on the mantel to scriptures written and placed in frames around the house.

Rachel Olsen said...

Can I come spend the night and eat the Word of God with you?

Soooo inviting and precious.

I love it! And I love you.

Anonymous said...

I love it! Such creativity! I collect boxes from all over the world (small ones) and now I have an idea of what I can start hiding in each of them. God's word! You don't mind me using your idea do you?

Thanks for sharing.

Connecting to the soul said...

This blog makes me want to start writing my story again. maybe I'll post it on my connecting to the soul blog for others to read. What better way to surround yourself with God's presence.

Fields of gold said...

Sharon, you inspire me!! I borrowed your idea for halloween and lit up my whole house!

Would love to have you over for coffee!!

Love you!

Fields of gold said...

Stephanie, thanks so much!! Girl, I can honestly say it's all the encouragement of the Holy Spirit! He breathes ideas and I just put hands to them. :) I am sure your home is a haven of peace!

Fields of gold said...

Hi Anonymous.... thanks so much!!

Mat Kearney sings the song with those lyrics. It's called, "You Woke the Morning." One of my favorites! Hope you enjoy it too!

Fields of gold said...

Kandi, you're so sweet to say so! Thanks!! I hope some of these ideas work for you. I'd love to see pics!

Fields of gold said...

Debi, that sounds so sweet. Grandma's homes are so precious and hold sweet memories. I'm glad you have that fond place to go to in memories.

Sounds like a neat story!

Fields of gold said...

Rachel... YES!! Please come over and we'll talk all night and "eat" too!!

Love you!!

Fields of gold said...

Hi V~ that's neat you collect boxes from all over the world! Bet they're beautiful! I would LOVE for you to use this idea!! It's all from the Lord!

Julie said...

Samantha,

I just wanted to stop over and say "thank you" so much for being on Melissa's conference call the other night. I could relate so much to your stories of fear. I have always been fearful even as a young child (not sure why)and as I grew older it got worse with panic attacks and many sleepless nights. Things have gotten better but I really loved what you said you did when you had a sleepless night: just starting to thank God for everything (light bulbs, velcro etc). It may seem silly but it is just what you need to do to put your focus back to Him (not the "what-if's) that float around in your head.

I also love your ideas for sharing scripture with others in your guest bathroom- I may being snitching your idea on that one too!

Thanks again for being open in sharing your story....its a beautiful thing to know when we're not alone!

Julie

Fields of gold said...

Julie, thank you so much for stopping by! I'm so glad you did. Your words really encourage me, as I'm still in the midst of the battle of fear. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experience of struggling and overcoming. Glory to God!

One other thing I do is recite verses outloud. I have a few in my arsenal that I pull out and say over and over... His Word truly is our sword :)

Please do use these ideas and if you have some you'd like to share, I'd love to read about them!

Thanks again and bless you as you walk through this awesome book together!!

Weny said...

LOVE your ideas here!! Thanks for the inspiration. I am always looking for ways to incorporate scripture into my every day life. And what better way to do this... invite others to take some home with them for inspiration! :) Brilliant! Thanks!!

Wendy said...

OOPS - the above name is supposed to be Wendy. :)

Fields of gold said...

hi Wendy! it's so neat to hear the testimonies of where the scriptures end up after they leave my home. i hope you get lots of neat stories in return too!