The disco ball

Yesterday, I stood in the bathroom holding a disco ball and wept.  Never mind that I felt like a lunatic.  His beauty of light surrounded me.  Our black walls were lit with hundreds of reflected mini rainbows, and before I knew it tears were streaming down my face.  Golden hour had made its way into my bathroom and I couldn't help but feel God's presence.  What is it about beauty that brings us to our knees?  For me, it's the intimacy I feel from my Heavenly Daddy, the master artist.  It's like a warm hug.  An "I see you" moment.  And no matter how many times I experience it I never stop marveling at His goodness.  A disco ball!  

I've wanted one for years.  But until recently it wasn't a top priority until I saw my friend Honey's collection over her bed, and then I went on a little road trip with her and voila!  When I say shopping with Honey is a fight for the fittest I mean it.  We have the exact same style and spot stuff simultaneously:)  It's fun;)  

My precious friends and co-speakers - Honey Holden and Tara Dickson with a new friend Carol Howard 

Tara Royer Steele's Round Top event

Recently we road-tripped to Round Top, Texas for a women's event.  It was my first time speaking on my own and I was nervous, to say the least. It went amazingly!  But that's for another post.  Before the event started I spotted the disco ball...just as Honey bought two!  What did I tell ya;)  Anyway, who knew that little mirrored ball would bring me to tears, but it did.  The good kind.  The "I can't believe how amazing God is" kind.  

Speaking of beauty bringing me to tears... On the road trip, my daughter Maggie chauffered us.  And we got to visit Honey's momma, brother and sister-in-law, and daughter.  It was such a sweet family affair.  Her brother Marvin, in Louisiana, took us out on his fishing boat.  We're talking about the sweet bayous of Texas/Louisiana.  Cypress trees, just days away from breaking forth into bloom.  It was so incredibly amazing to see, of course, I broke out into tears then as well.  

I think tears are a way of tapping into what really matters to you.  I'm peri-menopausal, and hormones are a constant thing I'm analyzing...but these tears are different.  They're an overjoy of gratitude.  Gratitude for eyes that see Him in everything.  Just food for thought.  What makes your heart weep, but in a good way?  

You are so loved,

Becky

 

Gratefuls this week:

Easter morning! He is RISEN!

Fresh new sugar scrubs

1 cup sugar

1 cup Epsom salt

mix in cheap oil until desired consistency

essential oils of your choice - these are cocoa butter/jasmine,

rosemary mint, ginger grapefruit

Pansies will be pulled out soon and zinnia seeds will replace them!  Bring on all the cut flowers:)

The Great Reset

Hello, my sweet friends,

Gosh, I've missed you.  If you're reading this it's probably because I directed you to my long-forgotten blog.  I'm resurfacing after a month-long Instagram break.  I felt a strong NUDGE to get off social media.  Usually, I take a day or two off and this time I just knew it had to be longer, much longer. 

Remember the train derailment in Ohio a little bit ago?  That freaked me out!  I think we get a little acclimated to all of the fear-mongering and the constant bad news, but the thought of our water supply being messed up and those people's lives being completely disrupted by something out of their control.  Well, it wrecked me.  I don't lose my peace easily, so it was time to evaluate my emotions and I felt the need to back off from screen time.  I don't watch the news, so the accounts on social media were influencing my emotions and in complete honesty, I was getting out of the presence of God's perfect peace.  Because when we stay in tune with Him all the crazy has a way of getting less scary. 

The day after I uninstalled Instagram, I was taking my walk on our hill, and I felt the Lord say, "Finally!"  It was like He was just waiting for me to put my phone down and get my eyes back on Him, so He could speak to me.  And speak to me He did, and not just on that walk, but revelation after revelation all.month.long!  When I say it was good I MEAN IT!  I'm changed.

The first "epiphany" I had was that I wasn't going back to the way I'd been doing Instagram.  Aside from this week, I'm keeping it off my phone. This week is hard, because I'm traveling to Mississippi and Texas for the "Love is a Battlefield" event in Round Top, TEXAS!!! There are tickets STILL AVAILABLE!! Please come hear my talk about breaking free from friendship hurts!  It's a word from the Lord 100%!!  I don't speak in front of people because it terrifies me, but I'm filled with so much peace!  That HAS to be Him.  I finally get to share my story and I just know it's going to set people FREE!  

So Instagram... it's staying uninstalled.  Did you know you can use it from your laptop?!!  I have to figure out how to do stories, but that's a price I'm willing to pay.  I'm going back to blogging.  And the freedom I feel with that decision is enough to make me weepy.  Blogging is where it all began.  Looking for joy in the small things...  Seeing God everywhere, and in all the things around me, and sharing it with you was for me the highest high, and it saved me from a deep hole of depression.  I got lost along the way.  Instagram was easy and accessible, but it became a huge distraction and I'm ready to get back on track.

The second "Epiphany" was about my health.  This is a long story and I'll make sure to share it soon, but basically, I've been bouncing around doctors' offices all month long and I'm so full of hope.  Not from the doctors, but from doing my own research and finally laying down some bad habits and picking up eye-opening insight that is breaking chains.  There's a lot to tell you and I'm still on this information-gathering journey, but I promise to keep you in the loop.  

The third epiphany is that I love painting!  I knew I did, but due to the constant distractions, I didn't make time to do it.  With my head clear and no self-imposed deadlines, I created seven new paintings this month! Seven!!   I have 5 more to go for my Maine Series, which I plan on turning into this year's calendar.  I've been marveling at my Creator once again.  He's helping me paint people! That's not my specialty and I'm doing it!  

So that's where I'm at friends.  This blog is getting dusted off and I'm hoping to post new epiphanies once a week!  There are other things on my heart I'm praying about too, but I think this is a first step.  I pray you follow along.  Good things are coming:) 

 

You are so loved! 

Becky 

 

                                                                            

 

Farmgirl Paints... what's next?

Hi friends,
Most of you know from Instagram and the newsletter that I said change was coming.  I've been getting so many letters I thought maybe I should just quit being quite so vague and explain some things.  I actually tallied today how many cuffs we've made over the past 7 years and about fell out of my chair.  We've handstamped, handpounded, custom sized, convoed back and forth relentlessly with customer after customer for approximately 25,000 cuffs.  TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND CUFFS!

I'll never forget the first one I made.  I was like... well this is cute, but I'm not doing that again!  The process was lengthy and not all that fun.  I held my breath while stamping.  I worried about getting it just right.  My hands hurt.  My ears rang.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it becoming what it is today.  And the only reason it did was because you wanted them and the Lord opened the doors. So I walked through it...

He gave me a dream a few years in to "let it go and watch it GROW".  That was so hard to do because it was my baby and I truly thought you bought them from me because you knew I was making them all!  Where's my laughing emoji?!?!  But then He sent me my Tamara.  And I remember telling her I'll never hire you because it will ruin our friendship and I just value you too much!  Well 25,000 cuffs or so later and I can tell you it did nothing but bring us closer.  I could never have done it without her, nor would I have wanted to.  I'm sobbing writing this because if any of you've ordered from us you know Tamara is wonderful at what she does...which is to nail down the blank details. She's an artisan.  She does beautiful stamping and CARES so much about getting every detail just right for you and for me.  She's been my solid.  My sounding board.  The one to keep me from leaving this a million times over and I'm forever grateful for her.  I love her with all my heart.  He also brought me Adele, Deanna, Dawn, Nicole, Tisha, Pam, Mike, Meg and Stacie!!  Gracious.  These people are so dear to me.  I don't even know how to express it into words.  They all filled such a need and made this job fun.

That leads me to the next thing.  You've asked if we are going to close the shop for good, and the honest answer is I don't know.  I know I've felt the urging to go deeper.  To make the business more ministry based and He's planted the seeds in me.  I have an idea of what it's to look like, but there are a lot of details to nail out before I can move forward.  I'm going to a quiet place.  A place I haven't known in years and I'm going to listen and obey.  I do know that custom words are not part of it, and that some gifts I've been sitting on for the past 7 years ARE.

We will offer small, very scaled back mini opens a few times a year possibly, but I'm not sure when or how that will look.  So stay tuned for the rest of His story... And it is His story because He's writing something beautiful and I just want to be a part of it.

Be a blessing.

Photo by Meshali

And then someday came...

I had two family members tell me recently that they missed my blog. I miss it too. I miss sharing my thoughts.  Documenting life as it happens. Instagram is great, but it's filtered and only a snippet.  So I'm making it a point to blog more this year.  I wish I could go back with an extra hour in each day over 2016 and write out my heart. It was such a powerful year of transformation for our family with HUGE steps of faith, attacks from the enemy that led to a deeper relationship with the Lord, new friendships, enlarged territory and promises fulfilled.  But with two moves, driving the girls all over the place with school and a major house renovation there just wasn't time.  It's not too late to document it I suppose... So I'll start here with two videos that show our Hesed Hill property.

Let me first start by saying this whole journey started in December of 2015 and honestly years and years before that when God started laying the ground work for us to move to Tennessee.  In 2015 we thought Texas was going to be home.  My honey had a job lined up, realtors were in place on both ends and during a house hunting visit it all fell apart.  There was disappoint, but also immense peace that it was right...there was somewhere else we were supposed to be.

Tennessee kept popping up in my Instagram feed.  The landscape tugged on my heart.  I always envisioned farms around me.  Being closer to family in Illinois was something I really wanted.  My parents are getting older and the thought of being that far away felt wrong. So Tennessee beckoned and then I saw pictures of a cabin in Leiper's Fork and I had a strong pull that we needed to come.  So I booked it as a surprise for our family on New Year's. We made the trip, fell in love and decided to add it to our "maybe someday we'll move there" list.  And then someday came.  We bought the house after a friend and realtor went through it for us.  It has SO much POTENTIAL they said.  There's some negatives...  A road that's almost impassable.  A nasty trailer eyesore that you'll have to deal with and a smell that knocks you over.  But all that can be fixed...  OH MAN!  So here's the beginning and almost the end of our reno journey.  Maybe I'll share some of the in-between sometime because that's where the real story lies.  The waiting.  The hard.  The shake your faith to the ground, what have we done moments.  The oh my gosh we're in hell.  Why did we do this...  But here's the first steps.

BEFORE

AFTER (a decorated version will come;0)

Click below...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/43976fxrk5ns3do/2016-12-16%2021.27.27.mp4?dl=0

Be a blessing.

a view that knocks my socks off
an office space that turned out better than i could have imagined
decisions that could only have come from Him
easy transitions
a new year full of great promise

Six months later

Someone just wrote and asked me if I'd abandoned my blog🙊 I knew it had been awhile, but looking back it's been SIX MONTHS since my last post. I'm so sorry if you are one of the few who still read blogs. I've transitioned to primarily posting to Instagram @farmgirlpaints because it's just easier and life is so very busy.

And by busy I mean...

Wait for it.....

We've up and sold half of our belongings, our Virginia house and bought a fixer upper on 16 acres online (sight unseen) in rural Tennessee about 30 miles South of Nashville🙌🙌🙌 Say WHAT!!!

Seriously it's the craziest thing we've ever done. I could have blogged a novel about what God has shown us through all of this, but the underlying lesson is GET YO HANDS OFF THE WHEEL AND TRUST. Yelling seemed necessary right then cause we're a little dense sometimes😂 So in a nutshell we made a big move and it's been all sorts of scary and stressful.

The house we bought ended up being a complete money pit. We're on our second contractor. There have been opportunity after opportunity to get discouraged, but our initial freak outs have made way to a strange sort of prone position of peace. We've warred over this property. There have been struggles all along the way, yet with each hurdle He's boosted us up. We feel carried and loved on and RIGHT where we are supposed to be.

So for now we are living in an apartment. The girls started school yesterday, and they are doing SO well. Leaving Virginia was hard...it was like trying to crawl out of quick sand. But the transition after we left has been the easiest in the history of EVER. We truly love it here, and are so excited about what God has in store.

I'm writing this on my phone. It's the first blog post I've ever written from my mobile, but that seems easier than sitting at the computer and uploading pics. So the few pics I'm sharing are from Instagram. I hope they turn out. I'll try to do better with updates. As you can imagine a big move, a complete reno and trying to reestablish my shop has been a full time undertaking. Speaking of the shop we are planning a mini open in a week or so, and then our full Holiday open in October as a pre-order sale. Thank you for sticking with me and for being patient through all these transitions. I love you people!!

Becky

she was an artist and her life was her canvas

For those of you that have followed along and watched things unfold over the last few years...you know I didn't set out to have a full time business.  I started painting and dabbling in cuff making a few years ago as a hobby. Since then a complete whirlwind has happened, and this once little side thing is MORE than a full time thing.  There's a lot of guilt that comes from being busy.  Too busy.  

There's a lot of shuffling of priorities.  There are weeks without real dinners and weeks without working out.  There are weeks where I don't leave my house, and when walking to the mailbox feels like a glorious fieldtrip.  And in all that time there are weeks filled with birthday's, homecomings and exciting new mommy/daughter talks about firsts.  There's the changing of seasons, a husband that needs attention, there are deadlines, people to manage, and orders to fill. It's a lot, and it's more than I ever bargained for.  It truly is, and yet God knew.  He knew this was my destiny.  This was the path.  And He's made it clear that every step of the way He will bridge any gaps.  He provides the need...before I fall flat.  

My little chick turned 12!

My big chick went to homecoming with a BOY:0!!  

Years ago I went to a flea market show and saw this pendant at a crafter's booth. It immediately made me well up. I was in the throes of young motherhood. Life was a mix of mundane and routine. I had so many things brewing in my spirit, things I wanted to do...hoped would happen, but I was in a quiet season. These words, she was an artist and her life was her canvas, made it beautifully clear. I didn't have to be "creating" something every day to be an artist. God had given me the purest form of self expression through my daily walk...living in the ordinary. 

Even now in the season of hustle, we are all growing and stretching together, and I still feel like I was made for more...that something else is coming.  That this is another holding pattern and He will bring me to that next place when the time is right.  It's a beautiful thing to just know that He's got you...and in the middle you have to remember to "paint"...and splash color and be the "artist" of your life.  Because those strokes of love, grace, mercy and JOY are the real masterpiece.

Be a blessing,

just because flowers

living through the first behind the wheel with my oldest

a teenager with a burden for the lost

my youngest who is becoming a young woman

parents who are still alive

a thriving business that i know is from Him

a day to paint

a day to blog

that my big girl camera still works

grace upon grace

RISE AND SHINE...the extended FGP open!!!

Hi friends!  Can you believe Summer is over?  I'm a smidgen sad, but at the same time glad.  It's time for some change!  In all things there are seasons and that goes right along with this little business of mine as well.  We've been running on fumes for awhile now.  

The occasional, very short opens started out as a great idea for me to balance life and work.  I believe it was a God inspired, "DO THIS right now", kinda thing.  It really helped grow the shop.  There's something about knowing you only have a limited time to buy that creates a frenzy, and in the world of business FRENZY is good, but it also causes heart palpitations and panic attacks for the people actually fulfilling allthoseorders!  It's a mixed blessing, and now it's time to try out something else.  

We are officially announcing that this next open will not be for just 5 days.  We are going to try staying open for SEVEN WEEKS!  I know!  Crazytown!!  It will hopefully make shopping less stressful for you and help us pace ourselves a little bit more.  This is all trial and error, as is everything I ever do...  But it's worth a shot:)

We've streamlined things in the shop as well, adding a simple listing, that combines all our basic leathers together.  Every week we will add in new arrivals.  Also keep your eyes peeled for ornaments and designer cuffs in the weeks to come.  Including a special cuff designed to help promote our FGP gives back campaign a little more.

We've also added pre-stamped blanks, so for those of you who struggle with word ideas we will have some wonderful easy options available making check out easier and faster! 

There's a new wordy listing...for those of you with a lot to say.  

And we are now offering affiliate positions for those tried and true loyal customers who are FGP Fangirls.  You know who you are!  See newsletter for more information.

If you want to keep up to date on all the changes, coupon codes etc...sign up for our newsletter at the top of this page, under sign up.  Thank you as always for supporting this handmade shop.  We work hard to use our gifts and talents to make something meaningful for you.  

The shop will open 

Monday, Sept 14th at 8:00 am EST 
and will close Monday, Nov 2nd at 5 pm EST :)

And if you would please pray for us in this new season.  

Change is good, but it's also hard.  
When the shop is open we always find ourselves under somewhat of an attack from the enemy.  

This is not just a little hobby...this is Kingdom work and the enemy is not a fan.  

Please pray for our hands and minds as we handstamp these orders.  

Please pray for the customers that are buying these cuffs and giving them as gifts, 
that they will be a blessing and a witness.  

Please pray for health and harmony in our shop as every team member is vital.  

Thank you SO MUCH!  

Love you friends.

Be a blessing,

The mountainversary

 

We married young.  Fell in love in High School.  Navigated through a year of Junior College before we said I do.  I put him through school, then him me.  I tell my girls that other than your faith walk and asking Jesus into your heart the number one decision you'll ever make is who you'll marry.  Choose wisely.  

It's not always easy.  We have such different personalities.  I'm a risk taker, go anywhere...wanderlust girl.  He's a fixer.  A homebody.  A non-adventure type...that is very into the details.  Which is actually great.  We balance each other out.  Heaven forbid if it was up to me we'd be living in an RV in Hawaii somewhere.  And although that would be cool, there's something smart about not being too wanderlusty.  You have to make a living somehow.  There needs to be a plan;)

I know I've talked about this before, but I'm reminiscing.  I once was a teenager with a broken heart that wrote out a prayer and asked God to bring me someone special.  Then I had a dream and my honey was no longer just a friend, but the man I had prayed for.  And I think of that gift.  The gift of answered prayer and despite our differences I know God put us together for a specific reason.  

Maybe it's to raise these amazing girls we've been blessed with.  It's teamwork, trial and error and I can't imagine being a parent with anyone else but him.  Again he's the problem solver, detailer, fix everything. I'm the nurturer, listening ear...creative.  Regardless of the roles we fall into they are both needed, both invaluable, and I'm so glad once again I didn't marry someone exactly like me.

Here's to 25 1/2 years of looking into your eyes.  Of knowing that you've got my back.  That you see me and stay.  That you love me even when I'm unlovable.  The Lord I knew I would so desperately need you.  Happy 23 years baby!

Be a blessing.

**All pics were taken in the Blue Ridge Mountains:)  

Wintergreen Resort area.

love hugs

At times I honestly feel like God is smiling down on me.  I can feel His hand on my life so strong.  I like to refer to those moments as love hugs from heaven.  This was one of those beautiful weeks.  I struggle with the blues sometimes.  I can feel lonely often.  I'm in my basement.  Working by myself. A lot. Sometimes I feel like I don't have community here.  I think that's the enemy lying to me. And for reals God kinda gave me a whack upside the head over the last few weeks.  He gently reminded me that HEY THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE! And you are loved.  You are remembered.

There was the recent blueberry picking.  A thrifting extravaganza with a new friend.  A dinner date with a dear friend that moved away.  A catch up lunch date with a friend that I'd lost track of.  There was an adoption shower for a sweet friend I'd met over Instagram, and then an impromptu room decorating thing for her sweet girl she brings home soon.  There was a park date with another friend I met through blogging.  There was an art night at my house with the Gather Girls.  The list goes on... And my girls!  The older they get, the closer we get!  Who knew;)  They were always there, but our bond has gotten deeper. They truly are my forever friends.  And that brings joy deep to my soul.

I do believe with all my heart God brings people in and out of our lives.  There are seasons and it's a good thing.  It can be confusing.  It cannot make sense at all, but each person that sifts through is a gift.  Maybe they are meant to refine you. To challenge you.  To help shape who you ultimately become.  I'm just grateful for a heavenly Daddy who knows just when I need a hug from Him.  His timing is always spot on.

Be a blessing.

my gather girls

 going redder

preparing for ellerie's homecoming!

impasto oil painting...more on that soon

my parent's come this week!!!