Intimate Conversation: Master Bedroom Reveal "The Love Note"

Of course, Mama's room comes last! Well, almost last, this summer we finally remodeled the boys' bathroom. Eeek! Can't wait to show that one!  Actually, I meant to reveal this bedroom for Valentine's Day and just in time to celebrate being in the Stinkbug Reno for 3 years! But in those 6 months there was running late, missed school functions, spoiled food in the fridge, and just SO MUCH life, which allowed 6 more months to pass. 

So today, I'm really excited to share this room.  In the search for inspiration I was for real tempted to decorate it like a little girl's playroom. Goodness they have the best ideas!  Eventually I got over all the polka dots and I'll show you what I found! 

Here is the before! Like waaaay before!  

The bedside Styrofoam cooler, used in lieu of the kitchen, was stocked with fresh bananas and Twinkies. 
Hey, if the renewed master bedroom is called The Love Note, maybe we should name the original, The Love Shack, featuring red carpet and a water bed, straight from 1989. This made me laugh ridiculously and Josh didn't laugh at all...good bridge into my more serious convo today.

Confession: This stems from a week or two or three of really hard marriage days for me.  Truth. Do you agree marriage is full of waves…a really great moment followed by a crash?  The comparison game tempts me to not say these things, as if those of you who I consider perfect don’t experience the waves of “I like him..hmm, but not today”.  Yours, maybe, is a house of steadfastness and even tempers.  But the rest of us have to choose daily to start again. It is every single day showing new mercies. Forgiving over and over and over.  I assure you my husband has the harder end of this deal. I am incredibly hard headed.  He is so very quick to forgive. All day every day!

Marriage, by design, exposes the roots and the self. It strips you to a raw starting point.  It is also an opportunity to rebuild! You dig deep, get rid of the old, surround yourself with a tribe of people, and create something beautiful.  

Marriage isn’t a fun outreach that is well planned with happy people ready to serve.  I love those! Real serving is you and your spouse over and over choosing to give again.  Maybe it is renewing your mind daily so that you can come to it new and ready to serve. It is learning to say sorry.  It is every day laying down your own agenda for someone else and yet it is worth it all because in that surrender you receive the real thing. Love.

A fellow believer recently got engaged and was sharing that he has observed that “coming out” is celebrated and supported but when you announce an engagement to be married you are faced with doubting questions, “are you sure?”, and warnings, “be careful”.  I didn’t really know how to respond. I nodded. I’m not very quick with words! But later, I kept thinking, maybe those people with warnings have been there. They know it takes everything. They understand the forgiveness required and that forgiveness is absolutely the hardest piece of life. It is every day, every moment giving.  It isn’t a project that ends.  I wish I would have suggested he listen to the wisdom.  Marriage is beautiful and good and certainly worth it.  In a healthy relationship, every sacrifice and gift you give your spouse brings the life and peace Jesus offers.

We, as humans, want to do the hard things.  Dang, we want to be superheroes!  We think we have it in us. We want to overcome. We want to love big. We want to be the one who rises above.  And that is wonderful! And we should!  I think that guy should get married! I also think he has a lot to learn. Am I right? 

Joshua was a true super hero when he gave me these love notes! I love how this display turned out.  It's kind of a game to find all the "love notes" around the room, though, in fairness to you, they are not all photographed and posted well. Just come over! 

 Decorating our bedroom felt like a gift of creating a safe place.  It felt like building something beautiful together. Finally!  Hopefully you didn't have to endure too much to scroll to the fun!  Here it is!

We found these ceiling tiles in an antique shop in Greenville. Love at first sight!

 The flamingo is a reminder to laugh! Anytime I get a change to write marriage advice I always encourage the bride-to-be to find laughter. Laugh at yourself (I’m terrible at this). But the flamingo in boots is my reminder to relax!

 I want our bedroom, our Love Note, to be a safe place. It was so fun to decorate.  Everything is pieced together.  One lucky find to one clearance piece at a time!

Last came the black out curtains because SLEEP!

And can we talk about my unicorn lamp sometime??? Because I NEEDED something from the little girl section and K-Dub said I could have this.  Permission accepted. It's dreamy. And the pink car too. sigh! 

So I promise I am not trying to be dramatic because, at times, emotions rise and crash and that really is how it feels.  Emotions are tricky and I’m not saying how it feels doesn’t matter, but often times it just isn’t the reality.  I’m learning there is so much power in intentionality.  Being intentional in renewing your mind.  Being intentional in forgiveness, moment by moment. And being intentional in loving.  I have to fight my own mind on a daily basis in order to offer my family the best.  I have to renew my thoughts and choose to love. 

My marriage is beautiful and my marriage is really hard. Both are very true.  I'm thankful I can build it with my man and that he wants to build with me.