Neon Toys, Mismatched Socks, And God's Gift of Color.

I have been afraid of color, the last few years.

As the rainbow has gained popularity with a culture I neither endorse or participate in, color has felt off limits. 

And on the opposite side of the pendulum swing, we see the “sad-beige”, sterile, neutral-everything trend. 

Embracing color felt like rebellion. 

It felt like blending in with culture, or trading “visual peace” for colorful chaos. 

I have always been a natural minimalist but I have also always loved color, but after a few years of scrolling, I started to forget my own unique taste.

I traded my favorite pops of color for all-beige everything. I filled my home with pretty things that didn't mean anything to us, personally.

My home wasn't telling my family's story.

My daughters cheerful toys were shoved into beige baskets.

My husbands colorful hat collection was crammed in the closet behind a white curtain.

We stopped eating on the sofa for fear of staining the cream fabric.

I loved it, until I realized how exhausting and unauthentic it was. My family felt like they couldn't live in their own house without messing something up, or just being themselves.

Among many things, I have learned:

Couches are for eating chips & salsa together!

Living room floors are for toys!

Bedrooms are for displaying hat collections!

Color is God's gift to us!

I have (rather painful) learned that beauty and function can coexist. But I am not the only one who gets to define beauty.

As I raise kids and marvel at their interest in neon toys & mismatched socks I am reminded of the beauty of color. As I look outside and see the beauty of the rainbow skewed by culture, I am inspired to bring true color back into my home. As I experience the pain of Pride infiltrating the church, I am determined to display Truth within these walls.

I want my kids to know that we, Believers, had the rainbow first.

It is a sign of God's covenant promise. I want my kids to know who they are in the light of stained glass church windows. How could they possibly know who they are without first knowing who God is?

This is my calling.

To know God, and to make Him known.

Discipleship can be laced into everything I do as a mom, wife, homemaker!

I pray God's mercy, grace, and love is evident in me. I want my kids to walk in authority and identity when they venture into the world that is obsessed with finding themselves anywhere but in Christ. I love who God made them to be, and it's a joy (and a choice) to look for the clues every day. Keeping my eyes wide to the wonder of God’s unique identity over them; to call it forth in them and to celebrate it!

This is my motherhood. 

May it be yours, too.