2016 found us renovating a house; that was quite far off from my “purposeFULL” plan. Yet, I found myself overflowing with purpose preparing a warm, inviting home to invite our family and friends too.  It was a lifetime longing come to fruition; a culmination of years of faithfulness and perseverance.  I will admit I was not always patient in the wait but the wonder in me has not ceased as I stand back and enJOY the odyssey of 2016.     If you missed my post about a purposeFULL life you can read it here.  click

As I reflect back; all I can say is GOD BLESS our renovator (I think he’s still our buddy), our jump in and get dirty friends and most of all the Home Depot paint lady.  I adore her; she routinely answered questions and guided me regarding color palettes, finishes and what paint supplies to buy.  I may be a paint dummy but did you know that the same color can look different in 4 different rooms?   Or agrevatingly enough just by walking outside the Home Depot store!  The wisdom she shared saved me, well maybe our renovator, the headache of painting a minimum of 47 sample patches of color in every room to ensure my complete comfort with our final choice. Have you ever seen the “FOBO” commercial?  If not, google it.  Fear Of Better Options – that’s me.  What if I find a less expensive price or a color I just plain like better??  My poor patient husband, well and maybe our renovator too; next time you see either of them have a high-five ready for putting up with me. 🙂

Long story short – I didn’t know, what I didn’t know about painting.  We won’t even talk about what I didn’t know about plumbing and floor tiles. LOL  Until I was told that lighting, hard wood stain, even ceiling color would shift the hue of my paint choice, I didn’t know. Ok, so maybe I was being generous when I said I may be a paint dummy. 🙂  If you’re curious the winner was, Pebble Gray by Glidden.  A classic tone yet also crisp, fresh and invigorating or soothing, homey and inviting depending on which room you enter.  All from ONE can of paint!!  I love simplicity.  Jesus:

Maybe you think you know Him or maybe you don’t know what you don’t know.

That belief that you’re condemned for yesterday’s mistakes is really an offer of loving acceptance.  The conclusion that He’s oblivious to your circumstances is a summons to see him patiently waiting for you.  Those unrealistic expectations you think He holds over you to are opportunities to step into your purpose.  Pain.  It’s is a proposition to embrace JOY.  And all of it, it’s ALL an invitation to tread from ineptness into His generous of grace.

So if you find yourself sitting in the dining room of despair, lounging in the guest room of grief or sinking into a basement of heartbreak, hang on, there is hope.  Often we get stuck viewing Jesus through the saturation of ONE life situation.  What you need to know is it’s our circumstances that are the ever shifting color wheel, not Him.  His paint can always says Pebble Gray but we need to draw back the curtains and dispel the shadows that keep us from viewing all facets of His character . Like the paint lady I’m here to tell you:

Stop searching for several shades of gray when one hue of GRAYce does it.

Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves.  Philippians 4:23 The Message