Leah Richardson

During my prayer time this morning, the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart the importance of the word “Selah,” which occurs frequently throughout the Book of Psalms.  The meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain, but it is thought to be musical term or litergical direction…maybe an interlude or time to pause.

I like the word pause.  Pausing causes me to take a deep breath.  Pause for moment and ponder the word Pause.

Did you? (o:

We all lead such full lives, but pausing during our day is so important to our total well being.  When I am working on a design project and things are not coming together or I have a brain cramp, I pause.  I have found if I walk away and change my focus, when I return to the task at hand I see things in a new and different way. Oftentimes I walk outside, taking my heart, mind and body to a spacious place.  So, like instruction from the Psalms, I am encouraging you to Pause…Selah.

Pause to Praise…Selah

Pause to give thanks…Selah

Pause to check your heart…Selah

Pause and behold the beauty around you…Selah

Pause before you speak…Selah

Pause to help the one in need…Selah

Pause to pray…Selah

Pause to remember God’s faithfulness…Selah

Pause and be refreshed…Selah

Just Pause…

Pause…

Selah…

In my Friday blogs, as a “Prelude” to the weekend ahead, I plan to share a thought from a Psalm, encouraging both of us to Pause…Selah.  For some of you this will be difficult.  Especially if your personality, like mine, is one to check off your to-do list before you Selah.

But, let us pause…Selah!

Say it out loud…Selah!

Say it again…Selah!

(are you smiling yet?)

Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!

Say to God, “how awesome are your deeds!  So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.  All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”

Selah

Come and see what God has done:  he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.  He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot.

There they rejoiced in him, who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations- let not the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip…

Selah

Psalm 66:2-9

resting in this moment as I pause and ponder the meaning to these Words of life …Selah!

have a great weekend!   leah

Last Saturday night, Jim and I had dinner in the home of one my clients. They wanted us to experience, first hand, how much they were enjoying the unique contemporary design of their home. This particular job was fun and challenging because I did a variety of things that I have never done before. In our initial interview, the wife showed me a picture of a painting by Georgia O’keeffe, Sky Above Clouds, that she has admired for over 20 years.

original

O’Keeffe was a pioneer of American Modernism and emphasized the essential beauty of all of her subjects by magnifying shapes and simplifying details. While in her 70s, she took her first trip by airplane. At 30,000 feet, she was inspired by the extraordinary view of the clouds below her. Thus came the largest painting of her career, Sky Above Clouds.

Since acquiring the O’Keeffe painting was not an option, We collaborated and came up with a creative way to incorporate Sky Above Clouds in the design of their Master Bedroom. They commissioned an artist to paint a tribute of O’Keeffe’s work on a much smaller scale. Then high-res digital photos were taken of the artwork, which a local sign company printed on a 5′ x 8′ canvas. From that a headboard was made that we floated above the bed.

Tribute

work in progress…getting a visual before the headboard is fabricated

finished room

I left that evening thanking the Lord for variety in design!! How boring would it be if we all looked alike, dressed alike and decorated our homes alike. Each one of us is custom designed by God. Which reminds me of Psalm 139:13-14…

You formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

You are wonderfully made! You are…

singled out

set apart

distinguished

selected to make a difference

supernatural in origin

extraordinary

Yes, You are wonderfully made and uniquely designed

by God himself!

It seems to me that the Lord went to great lengths to insure variety in our lives. Just look around. Today I want to encourage you to not only recognize, but fully embrace, this manifold grace and variety of God’s designs. How you might ask? For one, STOP COMPARING! Jesus commanded unity, not uniformity, in his followers. He is the potter and we are the clay. He has carefully and thoughtfully molded each vessel into his precious and unique design. Quite often comparing breeds discontentment and jealousy, which is a downward spiral. So I encourage you, stop.

If a client asked me to design an interior just like her neighbor, friend, or mom…I would most likely blurt out, WHY? I wonder if the omnipotent Grand Designer of you, me…and everything begs the same question today. WHY?

Conventional wisdom of man, religious tradition, pop culture or copying someone else will never allow you to be all that He has designed and created you to be. Think about it…what is the opposite of the above description…

unconventional

spontaneous

counter culture

unique

Gosh, that describes Jesus! Each one of us has been given all the fullness of God so we can creatively and uniquely express ourselves in everyday life.

I am pleased with my client’s home. It turned out beautifully and captured the essence of who they are and their lifestyle. The design is refreshingly authentic and personal. You are custom-designed by God and He is well pleased with his design…with you! Do you believe that? Do you live like you believe that?

In Him we live and move and have our very being. Embrace variety and uniqueness of design. Because in the end, it brings victory…an unparallel celebration of the Holy Spirit expressing his power through your life in real, relevant, beautiful and authentic ways.

Remember friend…you are fearfully and wonderfully made…freely express your uniqueness in Jesus today!

xo leah

So sorry for the delay or if you are receiving this twice…a feedburner/google issue

Although Pantone, the global authority on color forecasting, released its Spring 2010 color report last November, it is only as I long for warmer days, pedicured toes in flip flops and the desire to help my clients freshen up their homes for Spring that I start consciously paying attention to their forecast.  20 plus years ago I had the opportunity to visit the NY Pantone Headquarters and witness first hand just how the “experts” develop the latest trends that drive the fashion and home industry each season.  It was quite fascinating!

Long before a color makes its debut in mainstream America as the “it” hue for a season, the Pantone color experts travel the globe paying close attention to not only color trends in food, fabrics, and the natural world, but also the current mood of consumers.  It all translates back to specific shades and tints of colors.  There is not longer just BLUE, for example, but periwinkle, navy, pale sky or this year’s Turquoise or Amparo BLUE.  The hot colors you can expect to see this Spring are tomato puree, aurora (yellow with a hint of green) and turquoise, along with the other colors on the story board above.  Color is such a visual experience engaging and affecting all our senses, even our emotions.  If you take a minute and look at the palette above, what thoughts and visuals come to mind? Which hue really catches your eye in such a way that you might want to bring it into to your life, by way of a scarf, lipstick or pillow fabric this Spring?  We all interpret color differently…there is no right or wrong…but it is truly the way we see the world around us.

Like you, I certainly don’t reinvent my wardrobe each season based on the new seasonal colors, but I do like to add pieces that complement and update what is currently  hanging in my closet. Likewise, my clients look for ways to translate Spring, a season of newness, freshness, growth and life into their homes.  The single adjective I hear most often when describing interiors I design, is peaceful.  I achieve this by using core neutral colors like white, cream, taupe, mushroom, sand, driftwood and wheat.  After spending years experimenting with color, I still find that neutrals reflect the light, expand the space, exude a sense of calm, create a perfect backdrop and add breathtaking luminosity to any room.  But then I add a touch of color to match my client’s personal style.

These interior shots I pulled from various websites show you simple ways to introduce Spring in your home.  Try adding some new throw pillows, a light-weight cotton throw, a few new accessories and even fresh flowers in one of the new Spring colors.  By all means, open the draperies and shutters to let the light in too!  If you have a place to store your rugs, I like leaving bare floors for Spring and Summer. Or, a natural woven rug, like Seagrass, creates a simple organic look for warm weather seasons.  Another way to update and refresh your home for Spring is to replace old lampshades. Remember, always take your lamp with you to the lamp shop to insure purchasing the right size. Linen napkins in a Spring color are a great and inexpensive way to bring new life to your dinner table, and practice “green-living”.

There is a simplicity,

a revealing,

a lightness and

a joy that this new season,

new cycle of life brings.

Embrace Spring!

Look for it!   For Winter is passing and

Spring is right around the corner!

When I think about how God created seasons in life, I smile with thoughts of how I can always anticipate His Spring creativity coming into focus in new ways each new day.  That is a promise we can count on…after Winter, there is always  Spring.  After a Winter season in our lives, there is always a Spring season to come, bringing newness and refreshing.  Although you and I may not travel the globe looking for the latest color trend, we can readily look around us right where we are and see God at work in our life in new, fresh and colorful ways. Look around.  What have you passed off as never changing?  Behold, God is making all things new…look around, for your Spring season, my friend, is about to bud!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heaven…

He has made everything beautiful in his time…

Ecclesiastes 3:1,11

Thank you Lord for your promises…paint the canvas of our lives with the new colors of Spring as we anticipate celebrating a new Spring season… soon!

xo    leah

Two things that hover around the top of my list of the HARDEST THINGS to do are…

Waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing

and

Living in the home during remodeling

This week I met with a lovely couple to help them make decisions and selections for 3 bathroom renovations. We are making all the decisions before any work begins, which is a good way to approach any remodeling project. They PLAN to remodel 2 now and the son’s bath after this work is complete.  But experience has shown me that once round I remodeling is complete…round 2 is like that pot we put on the back burner- wearily we decide it can be ignored it for a while!

During these times I carefully, hesitantly, but truthfully, choose my words.  When any of us are excited about making changes for the New and Better and have dreamed with faith about transformation, we certainly don’t want someone to throw cold water on our head and bring harsh realities into focus…but…with a gentle warning, I try to prepare my clients for the

DUST,

invaded privacy,

DUST,

demolition noise and commotion,

DUST,

lovely construction-worker boot tracks everywhere,

DUST,

Neighbors’ grimace-like smiles as they ask, “Could the truck blocking our driveway be moved, again!”

DUST,

living like “little house on the prairie”,

DUST,

did I mention DUST?!!!

If you have remodeled, you are probably smiling yet shaking your head cringing in remembrance, if not, I think you get the picture.  Living in remodeling will test the stability of the strongest family. So, again, I try to prepare my clients by giving them some idea of what they can expect.  In the Design/build business, Prep Work is a term which simply means to prepare or make ready a space for change.   Proverb 24:27 in the Amplified Bible tells us,

(Put first things first.) Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field;

and afterward build your house and establish a home.

It encourages sensible preparation before we build or remodel our home so that we will pay attention, or attend well, to the life lived in it!  That preparation is an external and internal work in order to readily receive the New and Better.  I think about how often I have asked for the New and Better from God, but have not prepared my heart, my life, or my home to receive the very thing I asked.

I didn’t make the effort

take the time

open my  mind

enlarge my heart or

unfurl my hands to do the prep work first.

I really can’t emphasize enough just how important the Prep Work step is before remodeling.  Preparation does take time, money, sacrifices and paying attention to what seems like innumerable details, but it is so worth it in the end.  Jesus, the greatest master carpenter who hung door jambs on the earth and stars in the Heavens, understood the importance of making preparations in advance-

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.

I am going to PREPARE a place for you.

And if I go and PREPARE a place for you, I will come back and take you with me so you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3

I am so thankful for all the preparations Jesus has made for me, but how can I make the necessary preparations for the New and Better, whether it be in my home or heart?  I can start by taking note of my motives behind this desire for change.  When our motives are pure, our heart is right.  The Bible tells us if we handle the “little” well, we will be entrusted with “more”.  If the “little” trips me up, how much more would I stumble and fall over “much”.   Often times it is the times of prosperity that trip us up more than the wilderness times.  For me, when I start my day or project with the Word of God, stay in the Word of God and prepare through the Word of God, I am better equipped to handle all Jesus wants to remodel in my life.  Preparation begins and ends with the Word!

In case you are considering remodeling any time soon, I want to share some tips I give my clients for their earthly remodel:

1. MAKE DECISIONS BEFORE WORK BEGINS- Prepare. Do your homework and start a file with necessary names and phone numbers.  Get everybody, including family members, on the same page, so-to-speak. Coordinate and select all finishes and fixtures before work begins (sink, faucet, paint color, grout color, etc…)  This alleviates stress and curbs last-minute mistakes.  Make sure you post a copy for the contractor to be able to review at any given time

2.  ADDRESS AS MANY QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE UP FRONT- Prepare. For example, where will the contractor stage work, tools and purchases?  How will trash be disposed?  Where do workers use the bathroom, park and eat lunch?  What day/time does work start and end?

3.  THE DUST FACTOR-Prepare. Close off the heating/air ducts in the rooms being remodeled.  This helps prevent dust spreading throughout the home.  If possible, have the contractor install a large trash shoot out of one of the windows in the room being remodeled.  This helps prevent dust and debris from being carried through the home.  If at all possible, vacuum daily.  Even in surrounding rooms, cover the draperies and anything that will be difficult to clean because sheetrock dust is very, very fine.

4. BE PATIENT.   Rarely is remodeling completed on time or within budget.

5.  KEEP REMINDING YOURSELF THAT IT WILL BE SO WORTH IT IN THE END!!!

This is a word for our heart remodel too….prepare, prepare, prepare, be patient and know that in the end- JESUS MAKES EVERYTHING SO WORTH IT!!

xo,   leah                     (some photos are my work and some from a great website you can go to for ideas for each room of your home- click here

Just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! to my little family…

BUT Before I do, let me say,

CONGRATULATION NOLA SAINTS ON WINNING THE

SUPERBOWL!!

Last night was quite ELECTRIC in New Orleans with people dancing in the street, fireworks and the repetitious shouting of “WHO DAT” on every tongue!  The Headlines of the Times-Picayune this morning-

AMEN!

After 43 years, Our prayers Are Answered

With faith and perseverance, along with a huge dose of God’s favor and grace, the Saints have “tasted and seen” first-hand that the Lord is Good.  Or to quote our quarterback Drew Brees as he was handed the Lombardi Trophy last night,

“GOD IS GREAT”!!

This Saint will give a shout-out of AMEN to that!

So, back to my original celebratory post planned for today…Just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little family…

I am sort of the odd man (woman) out…Mom, dad, Frank and Eva Anne’s birthday all fall in January and February.  And today is my Daddy’s 75th birthday- OH HAPPY DAY!!

I thank my God every time I think of you…

Mom, always the cheerleader,

Dad, a fountain of sound advice,

Frank, a portrait of loving kindness,

and Eva Anne, courage personified…

I love you deeply.

leah       xoxo

So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. love.  love.  love…

As the economy continues to recover slowly, I am getting more and more calls for consultation on updating and rearranging “existing” accessories and furnishings rather than starting over and buying new.  With each new client comes a new personal style and new way of looking at things, which I consider a wonderful challenge. Thoughtful and loving consideration to all the details can transform “existing” to beautiful and functional with a brand new look!  It is always my prayer that I bring something of worth to the table, and in the end, my purpose, as a designer, is to help make the home a lovely reflection of my clients’ likes, desires and dreams.

Last week I worked with this precious couple to use the “good stuff” they have acquired over their marriage.  I arranged and rearranged the same items in numerous ways, presenting a different look each time.  It always amazes me how I can take, for example, 5 elements in a room, and depending on how they are

carefully combined

purposefully put together

orchestrated and ordered-

the end result is 5 totally different looks!

As I was busily working away, rearranging, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper into my heart…I love to do this in my friends’ lives too, when they take me out of the box!!   Do you put God in a box and think that there is absolutely no way he can take certain things in your life like a …

broken relationship

troubled child

lost job

major disappointment

untimely death

unwanted news

or

scary medical test

and ARRANGE it for your good and His glory?

FOR WE KNOW, FOR WE KNOW, FOR WE KNOW…

that God

works (arranges) all things together

for our good and His glory

for those who love him.

Romans 8:28

AND

HIS WAYS AND THOUGHTS ARE HIGHER AND BETTER THAN OURS

Those promises in the Bible are mainstays in my life and work.  Both tell me that He is not even close to being finished with me yet; which means there is hope for a better day and a better way.  His supernatural arrangement of our life and times changes everything…changes everything.  When we take Him out of the box and give Him permission to get in our stuff, He will give us a new look, a new pattern of living, a new style.   There is no beauty that compares to a life custom arranged by the Grace of God.  There is no freedom of design that compares to a soul set free by God’s interior design.

However, as it is written:

No eye has seen

No ear has heard

No mind can conceived

what God has prepared (arranged) for those who love Him…

but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

1 Cor 2:9

The Lord God Almighty is ready to reveal to you revelatory knowledge, interior wisdom, on how He desires to arrange your life- IF you will take the lid off of the box.  Go ahead, don’t be afraid.  The Holy Spirit stands ready to help.  Take God out of the box in 2010!  Remembering that he loves you with an everlasting love and His plans are always for your good…for your good.  I sure wish I had some before and after interior shots to share with you today.  But let me share this…

For years I kept God in a box.  My life was full of boxes.  I’m a designer, so my boxes looked good too- all tied up with raffia ribbon and sporting architectural lettering on the cards.  But as the Holy Spirit tugged, the ribbon began to unravel.  And, as the ribbon started unraveling, life started to change.  I knew there was something more and as I took my Savior out of the box and allowed Him to rearrange my life, a deep abiding joy began to seep in.  As I opened up to the Holy Spirit and asked Him to influence my thinking in every room of my home and every area of my life, my beautiful boxes began to crumble…    There is not enough room on this little blog to share my entire testimony of what happened when Jesus rearranged my life and set me free, but you can read more about it if you would like in my book, Interior Wisdom.  I am eternally grateful that what the Son sets free, is free indeed!  Jesus did this for me; Jesus set me free!

So, let me ask you again, How boxed up is your life?  What would happen if you allowed the Holy Spirit to untie the ribbon and manifest His presence in every area of your life and your home?

I encourage you to leave room for the unexpected gifts and ways of God…He is waiting to help you rearrange and give your heart, life and home a new look!

Holy Spirit, arrange my days…..xo        leah

Have you ever experienced a season in life that literally everywhere you turn you see the same thing?  Right now Abraham, the Patriarch in the Bible, and I are becoming fast friends!  As the crowds in New Orleans hang out at Mardi Gras parades, I am hanging out in the book of Genesis…in the beginning God…

In my Bible study, my devotional book excerpts lately, and, my current bedside reading-  Anne Graham Lotz new book, The Magnificent Obsession, all give insight and example to the life of this man who simply believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.  Soooo, I have been pondering, meditating and drawing comparisons on Abraham’s life.  May I share?…

Abraham’s life was about

going out

leaving behind

letting go

His decision to be radically obedient, even in the vast unknowns, led to a deeper trust, a deeper knowing…  He made mistakes and faltered in his journey, but he always returned to his Magnificent Obsession- His Lord.

I relate all to easily to the faltering along life’s path like my friend Abraham.  But each time I choose to return the One, the only One who can help me find my way again…my faith is fortified and my life filled, once again, with hope.

The Lord watched over each step of Abraham’s life.  With each step God

protected

provided

guided

befriended

and blessed beyond measure

Abraham was called out into the desert, Moses was called out into the wilderness.  And on July 9, 2007 as Jim and I drove away from all we knew and loved in Destin Florida, to step out in obedience to the voice of God and move to New Orleans, that, at the time, seemed like our wilderness… it was a

going out

leaving behind

letting go

How about you?  Is there a someone, an unhealthy relationship, or something, a secret sin or bad habit, or some place, as innocent as your comfort zone, that Jesus is asking you to do the same?  To go out, leave behind or let go…  We all experience “wilderness” times in our lives, but, like Abraham, we can choose how we spend that desert-dwelling season.  We can continue to mumble, grumble and complain wanting the “good part” of our old life back, or we can draw nearer and nearer to our Savior until He makes springs burst forth in our desert.  He can do that you know.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Psalm 46:10

Be quiet, stop running- physically, emotionally, mentally

and seek to truly know your helper in an intimate, fire-burning-in-your-belly kind of knowing

for the sovereign I AM is acting on your behalf beyond your natural borders- He has risen to meet your every need

Just around the corner there are 2 springs and 70 palms.  There is an oasis of refreshment and encouragement just around the next turn.  Although I can’t see them today, will I keep going in faith?  Will you?

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

Let these words nourish your soul and encourage you, because He is your help and His eyes are upon you, especially in the wilderness places of life.  But what are our eyes gazing upon?  The Lord told Abraham to look up.

Look up!

Are you looking down at your Blackberry or iphone for answers and replies?

Look up!

Are you looking eye-to-eye at the circumstances, impossible relationships, merry-go-rounds and rollercoasters?

Look up!

Or are you looking up to Heaven with a closed or questioning mind, hard heart or unforgiving soul?

Look up to Jesus, the one true living God

who knows you from the inside-out and longs to graciously

heal

deliver

provide

and bless you

even in the wildernesses of your life

Look up!

Look up right now for your helper is here

let us not stop looking up until we KNOW THAT HE IS TRULY GOD.

looking up to Jesus…   xo    leah

P.S. Thank you to 2 precious women who blogged about Interior Wisdom…Susan of Designing Your Dream Home (click here) and Paula of Two Ellie (click here).  If you are building or remodeling you definitely want to check out Susan’s website and Paula has a simply beautiful and creative blog.  Thank you Jesus for sweet sisters everywhere!