Paint Colors and Change

What's new in the guest house these days?

Well, for starters, someone volunteered to help us repaint the apartments.

We picked new paint colors - lovely, fresh neutrals that are also used in the main school building.  This means retouching or repainting in the future can be done with paint the school has in stock instead of having to special order some random, obscure color.

Side note: paint color names are funny -

Comfort gray.

Jogging path.

Alabaster white.

Even though during a paint project a place always looks like complete chaos, it makes my heart so happy to see steps taken towards progress.  I can't wait to give you some good before-and-after comparisons.

We'll be replacing those dark burgundy curtains with new off-white curtains and updated curtain rods.

Side note: finding the right curtains was quite the process.  Casie, Kristi, and I all looked for options that might work.  We ordered seven or eight different ones, hung them up for a trial run, and made our decision.  Once we settled on the curtains we wanted, I waited for them to go on sale, then spent most of a day hunting for coupons and crunching numbers (replacing curtains on 12 windows is no small investment, so I wanted to be sure we were getting the best deal).  Who knew guest house ministry would take so much math sometimes...



The bedrooms will be comfort gray...which is really more gray-blue-green than just gray.  Pictures never seem to capture the nuances of different paint colors, but what does one do?

- - -

I've been so thrilled by everything moving forward in the guest house.  New paint, updated furniture and decor, new flooring, new curtains, etc.  It's not going to be completely different overnight, but each little change is a step in a good direction.

Normally my attitude towards change is less-than-enthusiastic.  I tend to be mistrustful, even resistant to change.

Turns out changes are an unavoidable part of life.  (I know.  What a surprise.)

It's something I've had to learn to trust the Lord with again and again.  Am I only okay with the changes that I have (some) control over, the ones that are my idea?

These guest house updates, as completely straightforward as they may seem, have forced me to look at my attitude toward change, control, and fear of the unknown.  (And math, but that's another story for another time.)  They've also reminded me of how lovely teamwork is, how growth almost always requires change and stretching, and how faithful and unchanging God Himself is no matter what changes we face.

How glad I am for that.