Introducing the Family Collection by Lovely Dwelling Design

Lately, I've been pondering family legacy — what was left to me and what my husband and I will in turn leave to our children. Certainly not great wealth and maybe not the most exciting of all experiences, but hopefully more than anything — that God loves them no matter what and wants to have a relationship with each of our boys. That he has called each of us to know Him and to make Him known.

I have been so blessed to have been raised in a family who Knew God and made Him known throughout their lives. My Grandpa Bob was a first-generation Christian. He accepted Christ as his Savior at the age of 17 through the influence of his future in laws, and from there he began his life-long ministry as a pastor and missionary. By the end of his life he could say that each one of his four children, eleven grandchildren, and a couple of young great-grandchildren were walking with the Lord.  

There is truly no greater joy than that!

Family Collection {Celebrating a Legacy and Blessings from the Lord}

Last December, I designed this set prints for my mom. They fit so well with the idea of legacy that it seemed perfect to share them now. (My mom's family heritage is equally as rich with many generations of Christ followers as true examples of faith.) She is putting together a wall of family photos in her living room and hallway and requested these prints to go along with her photos.These were some of my favorite prints to send off in the mail!

I just added this special collection to my shop for those who are putting together family photo walls in their homes and need just the perfect verse to celebrate their own family legacy. {Each print can be purchased individually as a 5x7 or 8x10. Custom color schemes are available upon request.}

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be this one from 3 John 1:4! Besides being pretty, it's what I pray my husband and I can thank God for many years from now!

Check out the collection here.

~Erin

It Comes From Within {The Heart} Plus new pretty floral wreath prints.

Today I rolled out three pretty floral designs in my shop and I felt the nudge to share about two of them with you. So this is me being transparent again!

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"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kind ..." James 1:2

Choose Joy has been on my heart since I finished the book The Fringe Hours last week. An entire chapter was devoted to choosing joy. The Fringe Hours is about making the most of the time that you have or to find time you didn't know you had to do what you love. It's a fabulous read. But even as I've been trying to carve out time for the activities that fill me up, I haven't managed to make the choice to be joyful. In fact, I've been irritable, impatient and discontent.

Rather than blame it on the things going on around me: namely losing my Grandfather and feeling so far away from my family, responsibilities that I can't seem to catch up on, my kids not behaving during a very rainy Monday, not getting enough sleep, my sloowww internet connection when I got up early this morning to try to get a few things done while dealing with unexpected kid interruptions, or just not getting enough "me time," for this introvert, I'm going to go out on a limb with you all and call it what it really is.

I've had a heart problem. I haven't given these things to God to deal with in my heart.

I've unconsciously been playing the comparison game on social media and striving for certain things in my life that may be completely unrealistic or ... not what God has called me to. I've used busyness as an excuse not to get into the Word. And all the while, I have not been guarding my heart as I should, nor have I been choosing joy.

I didn't come to this conclusion on my own. In a video series by Andy Stanley {A pastor of a large church in the south) called It Came From Within, he says

"What is in you is going to come out of you regardless of who is with you."

"For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34


You know those times when you slip up and forget to filter your thoughts or don't have time to plan just the right words in your head and are suddenly saying that thing you thought you'd never say out loud? Those things come from your heart! (And my heart too.)

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Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

I don't know about you, but I want to breathe LIFE into my home and my relationships. I want to carry on my Grandparent's legacy of love, service and selflessness. I want it to not be about me. And that takes work and connectedness with the Lord.

It's worth the effort though, not just to create a better self-filter, but to allow God to create in me a clean heart.

It takes careful examination of my motives and my inner struggles, confession and sometimes even reconciliation with the person you have offended. Andy Stanley encourages people to ask themselves, and even their children, some "heart" questions daily, as a way of getting down to the root cause of a conflict or behavior, which I think is a great practice to start as a family!

This is going to be my prayer this week as I spend time with the Lord asking those heart questions and becoming more aligned with His heart:

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 138:23-24

In light of this, I'm thinking about ordering one of these prints in large format (24x36) for my home to be a reminder to me. But I just haven't been able to choose between the two yet!

Which one would you choose?

Thanks for reading!
Erin
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These designs are available as 8x10 prints in my shop, And my sale continues through April 27. Want a different size, font color or different phrase? Ask me!


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>>Want to watch Andy Stanley's It Came From Within? The first teaching in the series is on YouTube.

Hellooo, Spring Promo!

It's finally feeling like spring around here you guys! Yesterday's weather was amazing!

Last weekend I finally had my windows open even though it was windy, and it turns out that was a very good thing! Due to a bunch of circumstances including my losing a house key and my husband leaving his at his parent's house 2 hours away, we found ourselves locked out of our house one night as we came home from small group with two very tired little boys.

I rarely lock our garage (because there's no entrance into the house from there. But I think we will now!), so my husband got his ladder out of the garage and climbed through the upstairs window I'd opened earlier in the day which, true to myself, I forgot to lock. You better believe we stopped in at the hardware store the next day to make several copies of that key! And of course I took a picture of him climbing through our bedroom window at night!

The gorgeous weather and my busy boys have kept me more outside than in front of my computer, which is why I'm finally getting around to telling you about this great promotion that's been going on!!

This is the season of graduations, teacher appreciation, baptisms, confirmations, big moves, baby showers, weddings, Mother's Day, you name it! And I bet you'll need a gift or two for those. Plus, maybe something for own home!!


Shopping for Mother's Day? Check out this NEW customizable Home is Where Mom Is print. (It can be customized with any state or country!)

Is your family spread out across the United States like mine is? Then this NEW custom print would be a sweet gift for Mom. {Follow the directions in the listing to request full customization.}

Our family special dates print is another popular gift for Mom or Grandma.

What about Dad? I gave this verse to my dad for Father's Day last year. Consider this print as well.
Don't  forget those amazing teachers who pour endless hours into our children, inspiring them with their words. This one is a beautiful way to honor them and a personal favorite.

If you need a gift for a wedding, check out this customizable wedding print or this 1 Corinthians 13 print.

If you need a graduation gift, this is a great one to send them off with, or even this one.

Celebrating a baptism or confirmation? Consider this one for boys or girls, this boy print, or this girl print.

Is someone close to you starting a big new chapter in their life? I love this verse for those times. Or a reminder during a stressful season.

Are there new babies you would love to celebrate? Bless them with this one or this one.

How about a housewarming gift? Check out this print.

Do you desire to teach your kids (and remind yourself) to THINK before speaking? Me too! And I plan to get this print up in my own home just as soon as I find the perfect frame.

How about a simple mission statement for your family or someone special to you.

Have another idea? I love to customize all of my designs or put your very own ideas on premium cardstock, ready to be framed! Our custom design listing offers 3 rounds of edits to create your perfect Scripture or inspirational wall art.

Remember to place your Buy 2, Get 1 Free order by April 27 to choose your free print. (Designate which 8x10 print you'd like for free in the Note to Seller at checkout.) And if you are local, don't forget to enter code PICKUP to waive shipping fees!

*This deal is limited to physical 8x10 prints and not instant downloads. Purchase the "Printing Services" listing in addition to the instant download listing if you'd like it to count toward the deal. Free print does not need to be the lowest price! 

>>>>Not sure yet who or what you are shopping for? That's OK!! GO AHEAD AND PIN SOME OF THESE IDEAS from my shop, so you are all set when the time comes with the perfect gift ideas!

Happy Spring and Happy Shopping!

~Erin

A few of my favorite Easter basket gifts

Check out some of these fun things that arrived in the mail from Amazon just in time to go in my boys' Easter baskets! (What would I do without a Prime membership??)

I'm excited to have a new Easter book to read to them. The Donkey Who Carried the King by R.C. Sproul looked really cute. It's from the perspective of the donkeys who carried Mary to Bethlehem and Jesus into Jerusalem.

The lullaby CD is another story. We've been having the battle of the music at night with one of our boys. He falls asleep to music at night and insists on the same CD every. single. night. Then he gets up in the middle of the night to turn it back on. It's not slow, soothing music, but rather, upbeat kids' Bible songs. Great for quiet time during the day, not for nighttime. If I have to hear that album one more time at night, I might cry!

So I did some searching and came across this one called "Hidden in My Heart: A lullaby journey through Scripture." I listened to the first song on Amazon and fell in love immediately. Now I'm praying my son falls in love too! I almost can't wait until Sunday to give it to him!

Does anyone else own this music? I bet it would make a great baby gift!

In addition to these special items, I found some Spiderman beach towels and swim goggles at Costco, bubbles, and a couple other outdoor toys for them. We're going with the "Summer-Can't-Come-Soon-Enough" theme this year! And for the first time I didn't buy candy. They are sure to get enough sweets from the Easter egg hunt we will attend on Saturday.

What are your favorite items to put in Easter baskets?

Our Top 5 {Kid-Friendly} Resurrection Picks!

I put a bunch of my Easter prints in the mail on Saturday and now I'm ready to take a little breather from my shop this week, restock my supplies and celebrate the Resurrection with my family!

 
By the way, thank you everyone who took advantage of my Flash Sale to purchase some gifts. You are all amazing! It was a lot of fun to put together orders of some of my favorite designs!

The prints above are still available as Instant Downloads in my shop this week and would make the perfect hostess gift this weekend.

So we are celebrating Easter all week! My husband might be traveling over Easter, so we decided to get a head start on our plans before the boys and I head down to New Jersey for the weekend.

Here are the few things we've decided to do as a family this week.

Resurrection Rolls, Source Eat At Allies

1. Resurrection Rolls

We planned our special Easter dinner for tonight. Levi, who just turned five, has suddenly decided that he's a great helper. (Having a birthday is magical!) So he and I prepared Resurrection Rolls for dinner. {I have a feeling he really just wanted to sneak marshmallows.}

I've seen these before, but assumed they were from scratch and that I couldn't pull them off.

NEWS FLASH: These are SIMPLE and are made with crescent rolls!! 

The longest part is reading the Scripture passage (John 19) they recommend to go along with it, which I do recommend as well! Mine didn't quite look like the above photo, but they were yummy and a lot of fun to cut open and say "He's not here, He has risen!"

2. Resurrection Eggs

We followed up dinner with our nightly Resurrection Egg reading, which tells the Easter story using various objects during the 12 days leading up to Easter. Tonight was the crown of thorns. We ended up with two sets of eggs this year, which is perfect, so each boy can open his own egg and there are no fights! This set I purchased at Hobby Lobby last year and it comes with a booklet with short daily readings.

  This set I made in my MOPS group.

3. Resurrection Garden

We got a late start on our very first Resurrection Garden because terracotta pots were hard to find this early. Maybe it's just that New England isn't out of winter mode yet. {We had flurries today!}

I'm not holding my breath that the grass seed will actually grow, but it's still a great symbol of the three crosses and the empty tomb and another fun Mommy & Levi project. Guess who was the sticks and stone gatherer?

Source We are That Family

{What it might look like in a couple of weeks}

4. You've Been Egged!

Have you ever done this one? I hadn't heard of hiding eggs in a neighbor's yard and leaving a note on their door until I found it on Pinterest. But it looks cute and I love that it's all about Jesus! We plan on doing this later on in the week, so I put Levi to work filling the eggs today. Notice, you only need 12 eggs! The downside is we'll be hiding them our neighbor's snow-covered yard.

5. He is Risen Banner

Our Easter mantel with He is Risen printable banner. I kind of rearrange it every couple of days and the most recent addition was the banner. Perfect for the early reader to recognize letters and words! Free download at Whimsical Design Studio.

So there are the top 5 projects I picked this Easter. During the rest of the week we plan on watching some of our favorite  kid-friendly Easter videos on YouTube and Right Now Media and taking some time to talk about and reflect on Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

 What are YOU doing this week to celebrate Christ's Resurrection?

A Superhero Birthday Party!

On Sunday, my oldest turned five. Five, people. That's kind of a big deal.

For about 6 months he's been insisting on a Spiderman birthday party with all his friends. He hasn't even seen Spiderman, so I gave him some other options, but Spiderman it was, so I gritted my teeth (because I know nothing about superheroes and neither does he) and decided to put together a super hero party fit for my very social five-year-old.

I could NOT have pulled this off without my mom here to help me organize the activities and my husband to figure out the back-up plan for the pinata that was supposed to be outside. (It snowed that morning.) Oh, and my husband made an appearance as Batman! He didn't stay in the costume long enough for me to get a picture though. I think he planned it that way.

So here's a look at our favorite five-year-old Superhero and his super special Superhero Training Camp party. (Our favorite two-year-old Superhero is pictured too!)

Just had to add in this last one so you could see all the snow still on the ground on March 21. :/

Because of His Great Love We are Not Consumed {Heartbreak + Lamentations Print}

It was a typical bedtime routine earlier this week. We read a couple of stories {as quickly as possible because it's already a half hour past bedtime}, then our Jesus Calling Bible. Before we can get to the part where we "talk about our day and what we did well" followed by prayers, he launches into talking about heaven. Heaven is a favorite topic these days.

"When can I go there?" he asks. "I want us ALL to go there. EVERYBODY I love. {My friend} is going to heaven too, right?" This is where he pauses for an answer and I pause wondering how I should answer. The friend we are talking about is a neighbor. Someone he absolutely adores. We are slowly getting to know the family. But he already knows this friend is THE. BEST. And I just don't know the answer to his question. "And if {my friend} isn't going, then I'm not either." {In my son's four-year-old perspective, heaven is like Disney World — you travel there, have a good time, do some fun stuff and see some cool people, and then come home and beg to go back} 

But I of course know it's much more than that. It's eternity. And this sweet question coming out of my son's mouth is the most important question we can ponder. The weight of it and its implications sent a wave of panic over me that threatened to CONSUME ME. The feeling was surprising. I admit I don't often feel that way. There was guilt that I should feel this burden more often — that weight on your heart that overwhelms and brings sudden, deep sadness — for the people in our lives. Both the people we pass in the store and the people we call friend. It's truly devastating to think about.  

What else in this world really matters other than this?

I pondered this  as my eyes began to burn with unshed tears. And why am I so concerned about everything else? There are so many pains and disappointments in life that I focus on and complain about, and yet I can't answer my son's innocent question. This child needs to know that Jesus loves her! And maybe she does. But, more likely, she doesn't. What if nobody ever tells her? What if WE never tell her? Why doesn't my heart break more often for the people around us who don't know Him as their Savior?

That night we prayed for his friend, and I reminded my son how and why people go to heaven — by making a decision to follow Jesus and accepting his free gift of mercy. Just a few months ago, my son made that decision for himself, and that day was one of the greatest joys in our life. We talked about how we can tell this friend about Jesus and then I said goodnight.

But the feeling lingered through the rest of the evening, during the night and into the next day. That burden that could only be from the Holy Spirit.  He's working on my heart, breaking it, molding it, changing my priorities and my concerns. Raising the important things to the surface. The heartbreak I felt did not consume me, because I have the hope of Christ in me!

So, He changed my plans. The post I was going to to write today. I had been excitedly working on this new Scripture art print with these amazing verses in Lamentations ... and then the conversation with my son took place. And I just couldn't ignore it. I couldn't sleep. The Holy Spirit spoke in my heart, and I couldn't go back to writing about how much I'm enjoying watercolor and new fonts and looking forward to spring. Because maybe I'm supposed to be about more than that.

The Words in this passage offer the very same hope that our friends and family and neighbors so desperately need!

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak." 2 Corinthians 4:13

When I read this passage from Lamentations I hear it in the soft, southern drawl of a mentor and friend who has committed it to memory. There have been so many times over the last few years when a friend or I needed to hear it and it comes tumbling out at just the right moment. I want to impress it on my heart so that the sweet truth and wisdom of these words comes tumbling out of my mouth at just the right time.

When things are falling apart around us and we are feeling discouraged and hopeless, we will be able to call to mind what we KNOW about God. That he is LOVING and He is COMPASSIONATE and He is FAITHFUL. That we are NOT CONSUMED, because of who He is. Not because of who we are or our circumstances.

And for those who don't know Him, He is holding out His hand of mercy and his free gift of salvation for anyone to accept and to join him one day in heaven. And He keeps offering it. Over and over again. Because He has GREAT LOVE for each of us. This is it! The hope that ultimately conquers disappointment and despair and urges us on to love others and to call out to God for their salvation.

I know that He can use my family and yours in the lives of our friends, family and acquaintances if we will boldly share that love and share the word of God. If we will ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for us with our Heavenly Father when that burden and heartbreak comes over us for our families, our neighborhoods and our world. Will you join me in prayer? Will join me in finding ways to love our neighbors and friends? Will you join me in knowing and speaking God's Word?

May you know God's love, compassion and faithfulness!

~Erin

Watercolor prints in four colors now available here.