And The Bag Goes To...

Wow, you girls know how to party!     Outside of my wedding, I think this is the biggest party I've ever had.   ;)     It was soooo fun to get to hear from all of you!     Thank you each for your sweet encouragement and just for participating in our give away.       That's my favorite part of the business, is getting to know new people!    Not to mention, I love to have parties!     Have I mentioned that?    haha.

I'm sure we'll be doing other give aways, so if you didn't win, you'll have another chance!    And, the bags are only $12 (w/o monogram), so come on over to www.rekonciledesign.com and get one for yourself!    Everyone needs a new summer tote!    And, actually, just because you did the contest, I'll sell them to you for $10 ($20 with monogram)  But that's just for you, not your brother's wife who heard about the website through their next door neighbors aunt.   So come by whenever to get yourself a good deal!      And as some of you have asked, we are in the process of getting paypal up and running on our site, so it will be even easier to place your order.    Thanks for your patience while we're still figuring out the kinks!

Remember, no matter where you live, we can mail to you, for any of your orders.    We'll be sending out newsletters once a month featuring our latest designs and any special offers we have going on, so leave me your email here if you'd be interested in having those emailed to you! 

Without further ado...the winner is...

JUDY!

Item of the month  ;)

dark brown shell stretch bracelet $12 

($22 w/ engraving)

Did Someone Say Party?

Because I love parties, and because it would be absolutely ridiculous to throw a "website release party", I have decided to celebrate here instead!   We are not brilliant computer people, but with the help of a friend who is, we have finally been able to publish our website!    To celebrate, we are going to give away something from our shop, to one of you!    Just comment here to enter, and then if you link back to this post again on your blog, I'll count it as a double entry.   Then, a week from today, I will choose the lucky winner.    We're excited about our growing business, and wanted to let you all have the chance to celebrate with us!   Wanna see what you could win?   Here she is...

Cute, fun, and so versatile!    I use a different color almost every day - as a purse, diaper bag, beach tote, travel bag, or just to look cute on the go.  If you win, you can pick the color (they come in solids and polka dots, too!) , and tell me how you'd like it monogrammed, and I will send it to you, for free!    Ready to party?

Saturday at it's Finest

What a fun morning I had. First I went shopping to get a few things...

found some fun new clothes, and this great leather travel bag (with 2 smaller travel bags inside)

floor lamp for a few dollars (all she needs now is one of those tassels from the Nester!)

i love Degas, and i found these prints that are already mounted and just need to be framed, that will be fun wherever. my mom used to take me to art museums and i loved the dancers the best. so i got a set of three for the big price of $2.

And the best Father's Day present ever!

Yes, that's a like new, Thermos Gas Grill 2 Go, for $45. We love camping and I'm always on the hunt for good camping deals. Well, I scored big today - at the sales and on the homefront!

Then we went down to our neighborhood's People's Market to pick up our free rain barrel. It was really fun to meet some of our neighbors who love living in our inner city neighborhood and have a similar vision to us. To love those who look and live very differently than you, to restore what has been broken, and to care about being kind to the Earth we've been given.

Some people may look at our neighborhood and see run down old houses, weird alternative people and low income families - and think, "definitely not a place to raise a family." When we chose to buy our house 4 years ago, we knew that we wanted to be in an area where we could live simply, be around people who were different than us, and stand for racial reconciliation, and justice and mercy in the little ways of life. And living here has definitely been a journey of faith in many ways. But recently I have really come to love living here more.

From meeting new friends, to going to the best storytime in town , it has been neat to be given back a heart of love for where I am. As I was speaking to one of the men at the market today, he said, "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. I feel like we're making history." It was encouraging to hear from someone I've never met, but am living around the corner from.

Beauty from Ashes

I live in the city. On a busy street. And sometimes there things going on around our house that are not always the most wholesome. I usually call my husband when I'm almost home if it's at night, and have him meet me at the car. And once inside, I feel safe.

When I was a little girl, I lived in the country. Like wayyyy out, in the middle of nowhere. Down a 1/2 mile dirt road. We had a very small farm, with dogs, cats, horses, and sometimes geese. At night, it was mine and my sisters job to feed the animals. So we would walk up to the barn, which was probably about 1/4 of a mile walk, maybe not even (you know how when you're a kid, everything seems so much bigger), and feed the animals, and then head back to the house. Well, I would not walk back. I almost always ran. And sometimes I would pretend that there were wild dogs chasing me, and I had to run as fast as I could, and as soon as I reached our back door, I would grab it and yank it open, like the dogs were about to get my feet, and slam it shut behind me. But once I was inside, I was safe. And the dogs couldn't get me.

I can't imagine living in a house where I didn't feel safe. Or having to stay in a place where the people around me made me afraid, and at any moment I might fall victim to whatever malicious thought or deed they had in store.

I think that's why I so easily love "Beauty" again. I'll call her "Beauty" because she truly is beautiful. And you would instantly agree upon seeing her, but after a minute of being with her, you would see the knives come out. And they are sharp. Beauty doesn't know peace. Beauty doesn't know safety. Beauty does not know love. And because of that, she hates. And she pushes you away with her hurtful words and her sharp eyes.

But last night I saw her smile. Her big beautiful smile that I never get to see. And that she seldom cracks for anyone. No matter how much you encourage her. And no matter how much you try to show you care. She won't trust you enough to show you her smile. Not only did I get to see her smile, but I got to see her dance. She danced with others for the Lord, about healing, and about racial reconciliation, about forgiveness, and about trusting the Lord. But the beauty of her smile was all I needed to remember that He can bring "beauty from ashes" and that He longs to restore. Her broken places, He can fix. And maybe, just maybe, one day she'll let Him. For He is the only one who truly can.

Adding Principals and Good Gifts

Sometimes, less is more.

A lot more.

We went to the Farmers Market today, because it's just so fun to do on Sat. mornings. And I was a wimp today - I only went to one yard sale. Because my car AC is broken, and it was like 200 degrees at 10am. However, the one that we went to, we scored big time.

We've been wanting a TV armoire for some time, but as usual with us, don't have an extra $500 bucks laying around. This is what we got today for $100.

Y'all are gonna think that I'm crazy, but I swear to you, just as I was leaving the house, I was thinking how great it would be to find a really nice TV armoire for a good deal. And as the guy drove it in his truck to our house, I just praised the Lord for how sweet He is. And how He loves to surprise us with good gifts that we don't have to have. And we don't really "need". But just like I love giving my kids something I know they'll love, He loves to give us fun gifts. And surprise us out of the blue with something that He knows we'll love.

So since I don't have tons of things to thrill you with this week, and last week was filled with the dance recital, let me hear what you have been finding over the last couple weeks!

If the heat is getting to you, and you're feeling kind of deflated in all this yard sale drama, here's my second addition to the principals:

Don't Give Up!

Just like the saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again." The more you go to, the more chances you have of finding those amazing finds. I know sometimes getting up and going out to yard sales is a task in itself, and then if you don't really find anything, it can feel like it was all for nothing. But don't give up! Your treasure is out there waiting for you to take it home!

The Gift of Dance

This past weekend my daughter River had her first dance recital. As you've seen before here, she absolutely loves to dance. And loves to be in costume, and loves to learn the steps, and loves to watch others dance. Growing up, I was the same way. I could sit and watch the bigger girls dance in the studio I took lessons at, and just be in awe. How could they move so beautifully, and how could I learn to do that?

What I learned at an early age was that to be one of them you had to be perfect in poise and skill, as showy as possible, and that even if you were one of the best, if you didn't have money and popularity, you wouldn't really get too far. Oh, and one other thing....you could never be skinny enough. The sad thing is, is that I really believed some of these things. Thankfully, I was not one of the most perfect, popular or best, and therefore, did not have to succumb to as much scrutiny as those who were. But that was often really hard to not be one of them. To not be wanted as much as someone else. Looking back, I am thankful, that I only had a small amount of damage, as opposed to some who developed terrible self images, eating disorders, and other self deprecating practices to "make themselves better".

However, this past weekend, I was able to participate in something so different. The studio that River has been taking lessons with is not at all about those things. They truly believe that we are to "praise His name with dancing". That the gift of dance, is a way to worship God. An expression of who He is in us, coming out in such an expressive way. The studio does also have a desire for excellence, but it is not so proud that it shames any who don't "measure up". Rather, the dancers and teachers here, seek to encourage each dancer, not just in their accuracy, but also in who they are in Christ.

I've been able to dance with them, too, a little bit. I still dance some, even though I'm not anything like these girl prodigies that are pirouetting around me! But that's the thing, I am still seeing it in that skewed way, of me "not being good enough" to really count. And I'm so thankful that that isn't true, even though I struggle to not believe it. I think being able to see them and hear them long to worship through their dance, and seeing how young they are, but still knowing the true reason why we are dancing, has been so amazing for me to see. They really get it, and they're truly ministering through this gift. What an honor it has been to dance alongside these women of God!

I think all of what I've experienced could be summed up in something I asked River about the other day. She was doing a beautiful dance, just making it up as she went. She likes choreographing and I love to watch and find out what she's thinking as she's dancing. So I asked her what her dance was about. She said, "It's a dance to ask God into my heart."

I'm so thankful to have her in a place where instead of idolizing the showy and proud, she's already seeing the true gift of dance. How beautiful a thing it is to "praise His name with dancing".

"Let them praise His name with dancing!" Psalm 149:3