Being Bold With Deadlines

Our trip to Nicaragua is approaching so quickly.
I am beyond excited for being there with my friends and sharing this place that creates experiences that change lives. But lately my heart has been really heavy and I have been struggling with my feelings towards this trip. Feelings of exhaustion, wanting to give up, feelings of pride, and timidity.

I am writing this to remind myself that those are not feelings from God. In 2 Timothy 1:7-9 we are told this.

 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life -- not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace."  - 2 Tim 1:7-9

But I am also writing this to encourage YOU, my family- friends -blog world -York/Rock Hill community and my home town. I want you to know that even knowing my passion for missions comes from the Lord does not mean I don't worry or fear about the outcome. My heart so desperately wants God to show up in a big way and just let this trip happen, but I am having to trust that sometimes (all of the time) God knows better than me. He knows that we weren't meant to reach our Go Fund Me goal in 1 week like I hoped. He wanted me to call on Him when I saw our deadline approaching and very little funds coming in. I don't think this is "suffering" but I do know that God doesn't want us to worry. He doesn't want us to feel hopeless and that is how I was feeling when looking at our accounts. He has called us to a holy life, a life that we proclaim his power, and share his grace.



So here is the deal. Our trip to Nicaragua is October 30th - November 6th. Flights need to be purchased, basically yesterday. We need to also raise the funds to pay for our lodging, food, and transportation. PLUS we need to have our funds ready to serve. Funds to purchase desks for the children at Los Rios school, gathering medical supplies to give in the hospital, and funds to purchase materials for our construction project in the community. Every ounce of this trip is dependent on funds raised and that TERRIFIES ME.

BUT! God called us to be bold with our finances, to be bold with our lives. So I believe that these funds will come. That God will touch the hearts of those meant to give and our Go Fund Me account will expand, and our mail boxes will be filled with checks. And very soon we will be able to purchase the supplies we need to make the connections that will change our lives and theirs forever.

If you feel like being apart of this trip through a financial donation visit our GoFundMe page or email me for more details! langdon.gracie@gmail.com
>>Ya know, this trip is turning out to be a huge lesson for me. I didn't expect this as I have traveled to Nicaragua so many times, I thought I would just finally be sharing my experiences with others. But God is using this role he has placed me in as a way to teach me how to trust and be bold in my life. He always blows my mind!

What am I doing with my life

Ugh life is hard! I graduated from Clemson University 9 months ago, we moved out to York, SC for my husbands job 8 months ago. We have a home, an income, running vehicles, and the best puppy that anyone could ask for. So really why in the world do I feel like my life is hard??

Part of the human flaw is that we feel entitled and prideful. We may not all see that in ourselves and name it as a characteristic to describe ourselves but we are. We are all prideful. I never noticed how prideful I was until we moved out here and I began the horrible struggle of trying to find a job. I felt like because I have my college degree that I should be able to get the job I want. I mean after all I did give 4 years of my life, graduated with a decent GPA, and paid lots to make that all happen. So why in the world is there no job for me?!

I've struggled with deciding what I want to do. I have my BFA (Bachelors of Fine Art) I'm a creative person who is interested in anything from interior design, wedding planning, to teaching. I've been looking off and on for jobs in any creative field. I've applied to a handful and never heard back. I even applied to Pier 1 and never heard back. That is when I saw how my pride was hurting me.

I realized that I felt like I could do this job search on my own. I was giving myself the glory for finishing school strong. I wasn't giving any credit to 1. my parents who helped pay for it and payed for most of my living while I was there or 2. the Creator and Provider of all things. God was receiving non of the glory that He deserved for giving me the ability to complete school with a high GPA, He gave my parents the opportunity to help me make my dreams of having a college degree come true. I gave Him some praise when Reed received his job, and for how easy it has been moving to a new town. But I was failing to give over my dreams for my future.

Jeremiah 29:10 says " I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."  

GOD WANTS TO GIVE ME THE FUTURE I HOPE FOR! So what is wrong with me, why have I not given Him my hopes and dreams when all he wants to do with them is make them happen. Pride. Thats all I can say, I was proud of myself for finishing school. I was proud of my creative ability and felt like I deserved a good job. As I continue my job search, and the search of what my hopes and dreams are I realize that I am not qualified. Not just because I don't have the 2 years of experience, or the extra masters degree, but because I am a prideful human who has failed to give the Lord the praise and the chance to fulfill His plans for me.

From now on I want to give Him the chance to have all the glory. My battle cry when going out and job hunting will be "For The Lord!". Why do I want this job?? I want it for the Lord! I want to be able to use the talent and the degree HE has provided me for HIS glory, not my own.

I hope we can all live our lives this way. If we continue to trust in the Lord and give Him all the glory than there is no reason for us not to be able to defeat this Goliath of a problem in our lives, whether it is job hunting, house hunting, or just trying to make friends. God wants to fulfill our dreams, he wants to give us Hope and a Future!  

Tote Bag giveaway

Hey guys so I thought to get back on track I would do a giveaway! I haven't done one in ages but thought that maybe it would get you guys excited for my return to the blog world!! 

First, Tepe is ridiculous. It was beautiful outside today and all she wanted to do was be in side watching me paint. Most of the time she was sitting on my feet but I think she got hot and had to cool down for this picture :) 

Back to the task at hand :)

Here are some of the other things have recently added to the store so go check them out!! 

Link to the shop: https: Etsy Shop

I've added some illustrations to the shop, just little doodles that I enjoy and some of my favorite quotes :) These things are fun to bust out and so relaxing to make! 

And here are the tote bags that I'm trying out! In the giveaway you can win either one the winner gets to pick! These are tan canvas tote bags measuring 13.5 in x 13.5in x 3.5 in. They aren't the biggest but would be perfect to carry a few books with you or to take with you down to the beach or pool. And don't forget the end of the year is coming up so your gonna be needing teacher and grad gifts! If you like one of these or have an idea for a personalized one let me know, I'd be happy to work with you! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will be open until Wednesday of next week (Wednesday the 22nd) and the package should be sent out by Friday the 24th. 

This post was written on my phone, and the images are off of my phone. So I'm sorry if the quality isn't too hot. 

But good luck and don't forget to share! 

Long time no see!

Hey friends!

Sorry I have been off the grid for a week or two. 

Things have just gotten so busy and whatever free time I've had between school and other projects I just wanted to spend cuddling with the Tepster and Reed :) 

I have so much to catch up on for you guys. 

Lots of school projects that I think you'll like and even a few tangents of my own thoughts. 

But I've gotta take small steps to getting caught up cause I don't wanna miss anything! 

First I figured I would go back to the week of Valentines day. 

I did a few projects for customers of my Etsy shop that week and never had the chance to share. 

First was for some good friends and returning customers :) 

I have done 3 or 4 things for them in the past and so I was able to have a little more fun than normal with this piece. I was working on it for a while but I am so happy with how it turned out. 

Lots of fun trying to figure out a way to do the typical "house divided USC vs. Clemson" sign with a little more artistic flare. 

The second project was for a new friend and customer that saw one of my pallet paintings and wanted one for her boyfriend. She chose a quote that he knew well and let me kind of illustrate it as I saw fit. 

It took a while to do the script but we are both really happy with how it turned out. 

Finally. I've shared these pictures before but wanted to make more of a comment on them.

The weekend after Valentines day I did the photography for a friends small intimate wedding. 

( I'm still working on editing. I don't know how professional photographers do it!) 

But not only did I have the chance to try my hand at photography but I also got to do some of my favorite crafts :) 

This was the main decoration for the wedding and was seen as soon as you walked in the door. 

The theme for the wedding was "Love Is" going off of the verse  1 Corinthians 13:4-8. 

Instead of writing out the entire verse I went through and picked out some of the more predominant words/ phrases and wrote them on the pallet in different fonts. 

Once I finished this project I didn't want to send it away! 

I love it so much!

But it fit better on their mantel than it would have anywhere in our itsy bitsy house. 

Another kind of last minute contribution to the wedding was their "guest book". 

Lindsey & Rhett wanted something they cold keep in their house and asked me to come up with something they could frame later on. 

I've seen many of these thumb print guest trees and decided to go with that and just personalize it. 

Going with the theme "love is" I wrote out the verse, date, and their names beneath the tree that their closest friends and family would fill out with their thumb prints. 

It was so fun to be apart of a wedding and getting a chance to just make pretty things. 

And it was even better because it was for a family that I love. 

Now that I've caught yall up on my "fun" projects I can say I've checked one thing off my  list!

Now I've gotta catch you up on the Thankful Project, 5 week Review, New York, school and a fabulous dinner that Reed made me :) 

What I've learned from 2012

I wasn't going to do an end of the year post just because I feel like I've shared my heart fully with you through out the year, so why recap?

But sitting here in bed New Years day with the worst cold I've ever had (I sound like Batman) 

I've done a lot of thinking and realized how unbelievably blessed this year has been. 

2012 taught me so much. 

But I don't want this post to be focused on 2012 but rather what GOD has done for me in 2012. 

I started the year of 2012 trying to figure out when Reed would propose to me. 

I wanted it so badly, I was reading in to every little thing that everyone said and was literally losing sleep over it. 

I've always been a planner. I like to be in control of my life and know what my next step is. 

But the Lord showed me this year that its ok to just chill and trust that whatever he has planned is so much better than anything I could have ever imagined. 

I found this version of Jeremiah 29:11 just a few months ago and think it is so fitting, 

"I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

I was proposed to by the only man I've ever dated, in a way that I never ever would have come up with. (read about it here) 

I excelled in school and made sure that the wedding wasn't going to consume my life. 

Reed and I focused on what was important. 

GETTING MARRIED with all of our dearest friends and family to share it with. 

We were beyond blessed by the people around us. 

I never lifted a figure and rarely had to make a decision planning wise. 

Our wedding day was perfect and it was all because God has surrounded us with the most generous of His children. 

I've never felt more loved in my life.

(Read some of the details that made it so special here)

We found our teeny tiny house and despite all of its flaws, its perfect :) 

We've had fleas, mold, and heat issues. But God has fixed each one and it has made for some great bonding and has added that much more charm to our first home. 

I've done house tours that you can check out here, here, here, and I just realized I forgot to post about the guest room/ studio.... oops

Basically I've really enjoyed what God has given me this year. 

I never in a million years would have thought of these things but I wouldn't change them if I could! 

God knows exactly what I want and need and because he is full of grace and mercy he has chosen to give Reed and I an unbelievable 2012 and am so looking forward to what He has in-store for 2013! 

A work of outstanding artistry, skill or workmanship

mas·ter·piece/ˈmastərˌpēs/

Noun:

A work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship. An artist's or craftsman's best piece of work.

As I'm sure you know I am an artist. 

I've been creative most of my life. 

I love crafting, and always have preferred to DIY something rather than buy it. 

I'm now pursuing a degree in Fine Art from Clemson University. 

The pursuit of this degree has been eye opening. 

I did not realize what I was jumping in to, at all.

Now as I am about to enter in to my final semester as an undergrad art student I've taken the time to really sit back and evaluate everything that has been crammed in my head over the past few years. 

At the top of this post I posted the definition of masterpiece.

I've been really pushing myself to make good work that I feel proud enough to show in my senior show coming up in late April. I've always strived to produce my best for every critique but there is a different standard when I'm making something knowing that it will be viewed by more people than my peers. 

While I was working on a piece for a 10 week review and really pushing myself to get it show ready I was listening to Pandora when "Beautiful Things" by Gungor came on. 

If you haven't heard this before please listen to it. 

Actually, even if you have heard it. Listen to it again :)

I just thought this was such a beautiful song. It holds so much truth. 

I was sitting on the floor trying my hardest to make something beautiful and "perfect" while being surrounded by Gods perfectly beautiful creation.

As an artist I'm constantly looking around me and thinking to myself "oh that would be a great painting/picture/sculpture" but I rarely give the artist credit. 

I've learned a lot about how much goes in to making art its not just about looks but about the concept, meaning, and purpose that the artist puts behind it. 

Every artist hopes to evoke something with their work. 

Usually I want to evoke thought and appreciation for the forgotten and unappreciated things in life. 

When I was working, totally immersed in studio mindset, then pulled out by the lines

"You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us".

I was taken a back by how blessed I am to be created by a master-craftsman. 

He made me out of dust and has given me an ability to make art. 

I know that my talent as an artist is a tool I can use to show appreciation for the real Master and His unmatchable creativity.

I hope that some how my mediocre arts and crafts can bring attention to God and His ability to create all of the beauty that we take for-granted daily. 

The month of November is often associated with giving thanks and I want to use this specific time to thank the Lord for allowing me to pursue what I love and giving me the ability to succeed in it. I love creating and knowing that my creator is the real Master. 

Thank you Lord for allowing me to understand, appreciate, and make art!

"We are Gods masterpiece. He created us a new in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."
Ephesians 2:10

PS> it's blowing my mind that I AM considered a masterpiece?! 

Learning to be a wife.

WARNING: this post may be a little heavy. 

This is my heart tonight and hope it doesn't scare anyone away.

As of this past Tuesday Reed and I have been married for an entire month! 

Big step I know!! 

I was planning on posting something ooie gooie on Tuesday but refrained myself in order to give a real peak in to how I have been learning to be a wife. 

IT'S HARD WORK! 

Balancing school and work PLUS learning how to live with Reed, love on Reed, and help Reed the way God has told me too. It gets a bit overwhelming. 

Often the feeling of being overwhelmed comes on the long school days where I leave Reed in the bed and don't see him again until he comes home from work at about 10pm that night. 

It sounds so lame when I say it, but it really sucks not seeing him during the day. 

By the time we are both home, he has homework, I'm exhausted and feel like I haven't had time to accomplish anything. 

Today was one of those days. 

I went to class at 8am, came home for a quick lunch at 11, did a few projects, went back to school for class at 2:30, got home at 5:15 and Reed was walking out the door to work. 

I decided to go on a run (I've been making myself run lately just to fill the time with something that makes me feel good both mentally and physically). 

Once I got home I started doing research for my senior show. 

This is a downer in itself because there are so many things to consider. 

What is my art saying?

What are the viewers taking away from it?

How do I convey my message?

Am I using humor or trying to stay on the more subtle end?

What artists should I reference or research?

SO MANY QUESTIONS! 

And looking around right now I need to

 make dinner

  vacuum

 sweep

 clean the bathroom

 do the dishes

 rearrange the guest room

 return some gifts

 finish the thank you notes

go to the DMV

get a new passport

 start a new commission piece

BOO REAL LIFE! 

So, all that sounds pretty negative. 

And I hate that. 

MARRIAGE IS NOT A NEGATIVE THING!

Reed and I have so much fun!!

We have learned so many things about one another that I had know idea I didn't know!

We laugh ALL THE TIME. 

We find time to watch at least 1 episode of something together every night. 

We go out with friends on weekends. 

We get to go to church every Sunday with family. 

And the best part is

 that every night we go to bed together and just get to enjoy the silent presents of each other. 

(Cheesy but true). 

So of course there is good and bad. 

Balance is the key to life. 

I don't think I will ever find the perfect balance between everything in my life. 

But that is ok because God has already been perfect. 

One of my favorite verses is one that I was introduced to my junior or senior year of high school. 

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This verse is one I apply to everything. 

It encourages me with school and the unknown of what I will be doing in the future (near or far). 

It helps TONS when I freak out about finances. 

I share it with family and friends constantly as a quick reminder of our perfect Lord and how he has already taken care of us and that we have no need to worry. 

All of that to say. 

I don't need to worry about being a perfect wife. 

As long as I am pursuing Christ and Reed I can not go wrong. 

I love both of these men so much. 

I want to be the best helper to Reed I can. 

That may not mean always having a good home cooked dinner, or freshly vacuumed floor. 

As long as I am constantly encouraging him with words of affirmation and loving him to the best of my ability, our marriage will continue to grow in the Lord and stronger over time. 

1 month is nothing bring on forever!

PS. Photo credit goes to our wonderful photographers The Mondays

GIVE A WAY!

Ok, I need to raise awareness of my blog, my etsy store, and mainly my ART WORK.

So, I'm going to do another 

GIVE A WAY! 

I will be picking

  TWO WINNERS

One will receive a 1ft x 1ft personalized wooden sign 

and the other will receive a 16in x 20in personalized wooden sign. 

Here are a few examples that I have done in the past. 

How to enter:

Leave a comment below stating what size and how you would like it personalized (ie. quote, colors, name, monogram, image).

The 2 winners will be announced Monday May 14th. 

PS. PLEASE share this with your friends I'd love to get a huge response 

so I can keep doing give-a-ways!! 

Uploading images now! Hopefully I will get fully caught up on my school work posts this week and can start working on my new summer projects!!!

Midterms, wedding stuff, or crafts?

I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off the past couple of weeks. My schedule went from being pretty consistent to not having enough hours in the day for everything I needed to get done. So, I don't really know how to fit everything in right now.
Because my brain is basically spaghetti I don't think I can hold a good enough train of thought to write a good post. So, this one will just be a quick update to try and clear out some of the mumbo jumbo floating around up there :)

Alright well, these are some more signs. The one on the leftt was a custom order for The Fizz and the one on the right is a gift for my new nephew! (If he ever gets here). I just hope he doesn't wait much longer cause I already wrote in March :)

 And these are a few new tins for family. The one on the right is for my cousin who is getting married in April. Annnd the Red Sox was for my cousin-in-law.

Annnd finally! This is the scarf that Deborah won a while back. I love the verse she chose "She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25. PERFECT for this scarf.

Now thats all I've done for crafts recently. I have a lot of stuff lined up for the Fizz that I need to get done later this week.
This was  my most recent sculpture project. It was my first group project in an art class and at first I was not excited about it. But I got a really great group and we came up with a fantastic idea. This project was to come up with a sculpture that could be placed outside of the future CVA building. We had to create a design proposal complete with a budget and materials list.
This is the site model, meaning we made a scaled down version of the proposed CVA building site and the sculpture.

Our idea behind this sculpture was to combine the 3 different arts, the plastic arts(sculpture/painting/ceramics ect), structural arts (architecture etc.), and the performing arts (dance/theatre/music). This sculpture is a place that will bring the 3 arts together and reach out towards the rest of campus to create a gathering space. Each of the arms/branches represents one of the arts and they meet and swirl together before spreading back out towards campus. We have then placed leaf like swings and chairs that would create gathering places for students to come and sketch, relax, eat lunch, or even hold a class lecture.

The image below was created by one of my group members to show the birds eye view of our sculpture. 

This was a lot of research and not a lot of actual building but it turned out to be more fun than expected and I totally learned a LOT.

Basically, thats all I have done art wise recently. I've been making progress on some wedding plans which I'll try and update you guys on soon. I love sharing how God is blessing Reed and I. He has shown us so much grace and given us more than we deserve that it makes us even more excited to share our story with everyone.

Next week is spring break so I will hopefully be able to catch up on life. Reed will be flying to Nicaragua with one of his good friends for the week. I wish I could go with him but I know he needs some man time and I have loads to get done here.

But in less than 5 months I will be marrying my best friend!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

I know I haven't done as many posts as promised but I have a good reason. This holiday season wasn't too terribly hectic so I was focusing on having good time at home. What I qualify as good time is quality time with the people I love, it doesn't have to be full of exciting parties or really anything at all it's just uninterrupted time. I got back to Columbia the third week of December and got to spend a lot of time with my family. My original goal was to finally catch back up on my blogging and to even do some revisions for you guys; however, I was enjoying my good time with the fam.

So, I'm just gonna give a quick over view of all of my projects from the holiday season.

The Holidays are great because I get lots of fun projects! This project was for a friend from Clemson who is engaged to a pretty big Gamecock fan.

I also got to do another pair of TOMS for a friend while I was home over break. I really enjoyed this pair because she gave me free rein and just gave me a few things that she thought could inspire me. Her only requirement was that she wanted 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ("Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus").

Even though I love the free time over the holidays to do projects on my own schedule, I do think that my friends and family get a little tired of my gifts... This year I did better and didn't give EVERYONE a homemade gift. But Reed will get one every year...

This year I knew that he really wanted a large cooler. He talked non-stop about his buddy Cody's cooler that he could fit all of his deer meat in when taking it to the processor. So I decided to make a Reed a meat locker for Christmas. I was attempting to make the top of it look like the cooler was open and full of meat ready to be grilled. Sadly, I think the cup holders messed up the illusion. This was a new techinque that I had never tried before, I think it was pretty successfull for a first try.

-Funny story- I got the pictures printed at Wal-mart and when I went to pick them up the lady asked what my pictures where of so she could find them quicker. I tried to avoid saying raw meat so I just told her the size and number of prints I was picking up. Sadly, this did not suffice and she asked for the content. Once I said raw meat she didn't talk to me again. I guess it would be kind of creepy for some random person to print 16 pictures of raw meat...

Now I'm back at school and ready to start the Spring semester. I can't wait to get back in the studio I'm taking nothing but studio classes which is WAYYYY exciting! Be looking out for new sculptures, photographs, and prints from printmaking!! All of these classes are going to be very tedious and time consuming but I can't wait to get my hands dirty again! 

-Also, I have made a Facebook page for the blog and am working on an Etsy store, if you have any advice pleeeeeaaassssseeee share. I am most definitely not tech. savvy.