my space
welcome to the little space i have come to call my own in our little home.
on most mornings, if i'm smart, i wake early to brew a pot of hot water for tea and settle into this quiet corner for about an hour. if i'm even smarter, i will resist the urge to open the computer lid to check blogs and e-mail, reminding myself that this time is reserved for opening my heart to God. i will sit with a psalm or two and pray quietly, and then i will read a small section of two books by henri nouwen that are teaching me much these days about silence and prayer, and about the selfless way of christ.
i have come to need this morning time spent in my quiet little space each day. on the mornings i do get up to spend time here before formally entering back into the dailyness of the world, i feel such a tremendous difference in the tenor of my day. i carry a greater peace with me, a greater sense of centeredness, and the little gremlins that often tear at my heart seem to flee far from me. i'm always so grateful for the time i spent with God in that space, and i'm always aware of having missed it when i don't make the time for it. it has become a discipline, but also a gift.
as a sidenote, i'm positive this little desk wanted to be discovered by us. back when kirk and i had the conversation that led to our decision to stay in florida, we decided to start investing more of ourselves into furnishing our little house. this little desk was a great find we discovered on the first day we went on the hunt, but it was a total surprise. not only was it nestled in a crowded corner of the very last antique shop we visited that day, but it was also covered in just the kind of trinkets that normally give me the willies. somehow, though, i was drawn closer to the desk in that shop and became completely dazzled by its beauty.
i love the simplicity of its basic design combined with the intricacy of the wood carvings on its sides. i love its thin, spindly legs. i love the darkness of the wood. i love that it is totally feminine and totally me.
as a bonus, the owner of the shop wanted to sell it. for this early-1900s antique desk that was priced at $225, we got it for just $100. what a steal!
posted by christianne at
4:45 PM
19 Comments:
i love hearing about your time in the morning. i've cleared out a space in my home for the same purpose, and i'm finding the same kind of gifts coming out of this dedicated quiet.
and $100 for that desk? i think if you contact the vatican that might qualify you for the miracle you'll need to be named a saint. saint christianne...i like that.
what a lovely space (and much better than the social networking i was afraid you were out-of-characteredly endorsing when i read the title on my feed reader)!
i love your desk...st. christianne...nice ring to it...but please don't become a martyr...at least not before august...
What a precious, simple, open space. I think place is very important to me. I'm still trying to get over having to leave my house of dreams. So many memories of meeting God by this window, sitting on the front porch, walking through the surrounding fields, cozied on the couch. Can only imagine how wonderful the rest of your house is! Nice taste!
Absolutely LOVE the desk and the way it totally completes this little personal space where you can go to meet, speak, and listen to God.
The little room now looks far, far better than when hosting a queen-size blow-up mattress -- but that was out of your and Kirk's generous spirit and kind act of hospitality for a long-ago visitor, of course. :) How I miss it in THAT regard! Wish I could be there again sometime soon!
The new/old desk makes it a beautiful place. May you have many wonderful "heart-to hearts" with the Lord there.
Love,
Mom
Ooohh that’s a beautiful desk. I love the carved wooden legs. I had a similar experience last week when my new desk found me at a yardsale. It needs some TLC, but it was still quite a bargain.
What perfect, peaceful space for welcoming the day.
Nice desk, great price.
Glad you have niche' of your own! Blessings upon it!
Now, I wonder a disco ball would look hanging overhead...forget it, it looks too cool in the bathroom to move!
;]
simply intricately lovely! that is a space i'd love to spend lots of time in, too. will be fun picturing you there, having tea with joy in the morning.
sigh.
i love that desk & i love hearing about how you're using it for those peaceful, breathing in & out moments in the morning with God. just a twinge of jealousy here as i had a morning that was SO not that (my own doing, of course!!).
this desk was waiting for you, waiting to be uncovered
breathing in, breathing out.
p.s. i love that corner. :o)
[Homer Simpson]
...window....view....[drools/]
[/Homer Simpson]
Yeah, I need to work something out like that too. I have a small table space in our den for the moment, but I'm getting up so early in the morning (the girls seem to want to be up anywhere between 5 and 6 AM lately 8^D) and I get a bit of the sunrise. Maybe I'll try the deck until I can get a nice desk like that!
* terri: i'm glad you're being blessed by just this sort of thing these days, as well. it's funny to me how much i resist doing things that are truly good for me . . . like carving out time to get up early and spend time in the quiet, like reading the scriptures on a regular basis, like eating food that is good for my body. it's like, once i do them and get into a regular pattern, i begin to wonder how i ever lived without them and also why i dragged my feet so long to do them.
saint christianne . . . ha ha! :)
* sarah: i'm definitely not a myspace fan, that's for sure. but i thought, too, about whether my post title would give that impression. that's why the little space between the two words became infinitely important to me -- because i wouldn't want to be associated with the social network, either! :)
rest easy . . . i have zero plans to become a martyr before august. they've scheduled my stake-burning for september 19th.
* joelle: leaving your house of dreams . . . that sounds quite painful. i can so relate to the importance of place, too. i've decided this is an aptitude of being sensitive to one's environment. not everyone has this sensitivity or feels the need to place importance on what surrounds them, but i certainly do, and i can appreciate it in another who does, too. i hope you continue to find places that expand your soul and comfort your heart.
* mom: i agree! this use of the space is much better for this purpose than for hosting a blow-up mattress! but it's all good . . . there's still a way for us to fit the mattress in the larger floor space in that room when people (hint, hint) come to visit. :)
* chloe: a divine appointment with a desk at a yard sale, huh? i totally love that! i'm trying to picture it on my mind . . . but i'm thinking you should provide pictures of your own! so glad you and that desk rendezvous-ed together at just the right moment.
* 23 degrees: i agree! besides, moving the disco ball from the bathroom would totally defeat the purpose of having bought those mirrored star-and-moon shapes we plastered all over the wall and ceiling in there for an even more sparkly getup in the loo.
di: thanks, sweet girl! and besides imagining me there in the morning, you could add imagining me there in the afternoons, in the evenings, in the late night hours . . . it's where i get all my productive work done these days, too!
* kirsten: yes, i know that corner holds a special place in your heart, girl. it does to me, too!
so sorry to hear about your morning . . . bleh!!
yes, breathing in, breathing out . . . lots of good breathing in-and-out-ness happens in this little corner of my world. i'm loving it!
* dillie-o: i can appreciate your homer simpson impersonation. that was funny. especially with the bracketed backslash, denoting the end of that script. :)
a quiet space on the deck in the early morning hours sounds divine! especially where you all live . . . i bet you get all kinds of fresh air up there, huh?
Yeah, it is quite nice. Though we're on a "typical street" our back house is on a corner lot of sorts and the back yard points out to a nice view of Thumb Butte and a nice and sequestered feel.
Heck, now you've got me all going, I'll have to try that tomorrow morning and just close the door to our room so the girls don't wake up mommy by mistake when they come trotting out. It is the second start to the day that is most pleasant 8^D
You have a lovely little space! So bright and airy, and elegant!!! I would spend a lot of time there, LOL!
so beautiful! When I first saw this title, I thought you'd be blogging about something much uglier (ahem, a particular online thing). What a great surprise! :) I smiled when I saw the picture and I just love the woodwork. Thanks for sharing! I also identify with it being very tempting to "lift the lid of my laptop" which can totally sidetrack the whole morning. :)
So, here's what I'm seein'... the long, dark, curly legs of the desk replace Christianne's long, dark, curly curls that she removed just days ago. And she sees herself, somehow, in this little desk with the dainty, fragile and (dare I say?) miniscule legs. Waiting, just waiting to be swooped up joyously into the arms of the right yard sale-er. It is the Velveteen Rabbit of desks. And it has been waiting to be real.
Yes, I was an art major.
Yes, I adore antique furniture.
Yes, I like to make up human interest stories about antique furniture.
Yes, I am a bit tweaked.
* dillie-o: so . . . what's the report? did you get a chance to try the back deck this morning? i love the sound of your view!
* claudia: yes, it is quite addicting! i spend more time here than i'd like to admit, actually! :)
* seen by mercy: ugh, yes . . . myspace = bleh. i cannot for the life of me understand the appeal. it is not aesthetically pleasing, nor is it intuitive. i much prefer blogs! :)
* erin: awww . . . the velveteen rabbit of desks, huh? that is so cute! i love that story. makes me cry every time. and, for the record, i don't consider you tweaked. i consider you highly creative! :)
Great space. :) There's nothing quite like the early quiet hours with hot coffee, gentle sunlight mist, and time with God.
The biggest temptation that I have that will pull me away from my morning time is the computer. It makes no sense b/c the computer PALES in comparison to prayer...and yet, there it is. I don't always go to it, but...there it is.
udesks and tables tell a story of nicks that got on them during moves or a pen or screwdriver hitting the surface of them. and the wear from many generations that have used desks.
A good way to have a dedicated quiet time.
* christine: thanks for visiting! and yes, i wholeheartedly concur about the temptation of the computer. i can't believe how routine a part of my life my computer has become that it's the first place i want to go when i get up in the morning. this routine is helping fight the computer's ownership of me, but this good routine does not always win in the battle. :)
* scott: i agree! i love the stories old things tell. you can't help but wonder about the previous owners, how certain marks got there, whether the owners enjoyed the piece as much as you do. so fun.
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