Grace at Home No. 238

Hello and welcome! I'm so glad you're here for this week's Grace at Home party, where we celebrate the ways we make our homes places of grace.

Here are some links from last week's party I thought you'd enjoy.

Handan at The Navage Patch put together a super-helpful post with everything you need to know about painting a room. So much useful information here!

Tarah at Grandma's House DIY converted her old furniture into outdoor furniture. Hmmm. . . this has the wheels of my mind turning.

Pattie at Olla-Podrida shared a recipe for Avocado Corn Salsa that looks absolutely delicious. I want to try this!

As for me, I reflected on the lesson I learned from the experience of dealing with falling trees in my yard. I'd love to know what you think!

A big thank you to everyone who joined last week's party!  I'm so grateful for each person who links up each week. If you've been featured, feel free to grab the "I was featured" button.  I'd be so proud if you displayed it!

Now for this week's party!  Grace at Home is a place for you to share anything related to making your home a place of grace. I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

A lesson from the trees

One of my favorite things about our house is the fact that it's surrounded by trees. Lots of mature trees.

Over the years I've heard people say their souls are fed by different aspects of God's creation. The seaside, with the crashing waves and water as far as the eye can see, inspires many people. Or the mountains, with their majestic peaks. For me, soul food has always been provided by trees.

A couple of weeks ago, though, a soul-sickening sound rent the air as I was making my morning coffee. Creeaaakkk—crash! A quick trip to the back door revealed the source of the noise:

A huge pine had been blown down.

Here you can see that it fell across our back fence. What's hidden in this photo is the fact that the tree stretched at least 20 feet into the woods behind our house.

Now all that remains of this beautiful old tree is a pile of enormous logs.

As it turned out, this particular tree had some rot at its core. As we surveyed the damage, I uttered a prayer of thanksgiving. Honestly, it looked as if an angel had guided the tree to fall in the direction that would cause the least harm to our property.

As you can imagine, though, the loss of this tree had us scurrying to check out the health of other trees on our property, especially the pines.

This photo, taken last summer, shows the trunk of one of the oldest trees on our property:

The tree experts determined that this tree was healthy, but they warned that if a wind storm were to take it down, it would likely fall squarely on top of the house.

And so, sadly, it had to come down. I watched the operation with sorrow.

Where once stood a beautiful old-growth pine—perhaps as old as 100 years!—now stands only a hole in the earth. 

As I mourned the passing of the tree, I couldn't help but think how often our lives involve choices like this. Although it wrenched my heart to lose one of my beloved trees, how much worse would it be to suffer the damage if it were to fall? 

It's easy to wish that life would proceed without this kind of choice, to hope that no such sacrifice would ever be necessary. But that's not reality. Even though tough choices may be painful, they must be made. 

In many ways, life is a series of small sacrifices made in faith that the greater good obtained by making them will be worth the price. 

Thank God that we have His spirit to guide us as we go!

Grace at Home No. 237

I'm so glad you're here for this week's Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace and beauty.

Here are some links from last week's party that caught my eye.

Kristi from Making in the Mountains created this beautiful board and batten wall for her dining room with a technique she calls the easiest ever. I may have to try this.

Jolena from While I Linger crafted this "BBQ" sign. Isn't it great? I've been wishing for something to decorate the area by my husband's Big Green Egg; I think I've found it!

Staci from Frugal Family Adventures shared some tips for using apple cider vinegar that sound almost miraculous—including a couple I've never heard of. Check out her post for details.

Dr. Michelle Bengston shared some stellar advice about how to live when your prayers aren't being answered as you would like: trust God's character.

A big thank you to everyone who joined last week's party!  I'm so grateful for each person who links up each week. If you've been featured, feel free to grab the "I was featured" button.  I'd be so proud if you displayed it!

Now for this week's party!  Grace at Home is a place for you to share anything related to making your home a place of grace. I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!