Leah Richardson

Just a reminder about THIS and wanted to share a bit of my teaching…

AS IRON SHARPENS IRON,

SO A {WO}MAN SHARPENS THE COUNTENANCE OF HIS/HER FRIEND.  

Proverbs 27:17

God wants to accomplish His purposes through your life. He delights in doing the impossible! We look over our lives and the lives of others and see the vastness, the vastness of need. But Jesus encourages us to consider trading the vastness for the daily. When we do, we tend to relax in God’s sovereignty.

Just for today Jesus, just for today.

During this season of life I offer the Lord a blank page in the morning and ask Him to write His will, His ways. Show me “the next right step”.

Jesus entered a village one day and was met by 10 lepers who stood far off crying out for Jesus to have mercy on them and heal them. Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests and

AS THEY WENT THEY WERE CLEANSED OF THEIR LEPROSY…THEY WERE HEALED. Luke 17:14

Jesus told them to “go show” and the Priest would have said “go wash”.  The point being, go do something! And as they were going…as they stepped out in faith and walked that path Jesus required, they were healed.

Sometimes the “do something” is MOVE ON and sometimes it is BE STILL.  But whatever Jesus is asking you to do so He can use you to make a difference in this generation of vast need, take that step of obedience.

Life is a journey of taking one “right step” after the next in obedience. And so often, it is in the AS THEY WERE GOING that our deliverance, our healing takes place.

What obstacles are in your path? What are you holding on to that encumbers your freedom to MOVE or BE STILL? There is a beautiful word in the Bible that can help us, and that word is SIMPLICITY!

The base of the word SIMPLICITY, it’s core, means properly folded together, to twine, braid…it’s about our life in Jesus.

Paul said…Christ, who is my life…  It’s that simple.  Does SIMPLICITY define your home, your heart, your life? 

Come join me Saturday morning for an inspiring, encouraging teaching on living a Beautiful

Life of Simplicity.

Iron sharpening iron…

xo

leah

via Pinterest

super garden!

It’s Spring…a new fresh season of life!  A time to do some house cleaning, editing and paring down so God can bring something new and fresh into our lives. Are you ready? Is there any room? Need some “Interior Wisdom”?

Please join me at The Lighthouse Church in DeLand, Florida, on Saturday, May 19th as I share a message on The Wisdom and Beauty of Simplicity..for our home and heart! 

Fellowship begins at 9 am at the Cafe’, and Praise and Worship at 10.  Come be inspired!

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

xo

leah

Jim and I very rarely argue, but recently, we had a terrible argument shouting words that wound. Fortunately we didn’t let the sun go down without asking each other, and God, for forgiveness.

WHAT HAPPENED? The question I pondered before the Lord.

My fleshly nature. A fear. A really scary, ugly, selfish fear.

WHAT HAPPENED? I repeated.

I reacted to the fear instead of waiting and responding to my faith.

WHAT HAPPENED?

I was trying to, once again, over plan! Which, really, means control. The variable, that scary, ugly, selfish fear…those 2 measly words that flame a little spark of a question into wild fire, “what if?”

There is a delicate balance of working in a business where every single tedious detail counts and living a life of trusting life’s details to God.

When my response is:

God knows the plans he has for my life and they are good plans…God causes all things work together for my good and His glory…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me by the power of the Holy Spirit…I will choose to walk in the Spirit and deny my flesh…God will keep me in perfect peace when I keep my mind on Him…If I lack wisdom, I will just ask God who gives it liberally without finding fault…and I will do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider the other person more important than myself…

When my response is to remember Words deeply planted in my soul, I lay down the tendency to over-plan and live, truly live, in the present…in His Presence, where I can breathe again.

WHAT HAPPENED? I was trying to get my way the wrong way, by compulsive planning, which leads to that terriorist “what if”!

The Garden at The Farm is a good place to ask WHAT HAPPENED? I can plan all day long, but that idol is futile, vain and of no use at all in the Garden. For in God’s appointed time all will bloom and grow and die. Yes, the Garden is the perfect spot to respond by fully surrendering and filling the air with praise. I ever so carefully uproot those blooming weeds…for they are still weeds. For that which is not faith is fear, and there is no room for fear in our Garden.

WHERE IS YOUR GARDEN?

That place where awe comes upon your soul. That place where fresh air clears your perspective until rest returns. The bounty of your heart’s Garden is in the palm of God’s hand. If you are struggling with a “what happened” in your life, return to the Garden with God, He restores completely.

Lord Jesus, we release our tightly bound fists into open palms of praise…FOR EVERYTHING you have allowed into our lives. Yes, we unfurl fingers in faith, revealing surrendered palms ready to embrace your perfect plan for our lives. Forgive us when we over-plan our lives and argue in defense of our best efforts. Uproot those deep fears and replace all those scary detailed places with your good plans, your ways, your love. We lay down our human resources, and in response, we simply believe. Thank you Father!

One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after;

that I may dwell {live, abide, grow old} in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.  

Psalm 27:4

Have a weekend filled with beauty and holiness!

xo

leah

P.S.  Tomorrow watch for a Save the Date!  I am speaking in DeLand on May 19th.

MORE Spring Organization ideas…convert a closet into a walk-in butler’s pantry.

via Pinterest

If you are near Florence, Alabama on Tuesday, May 8th, please join me at this beautiful shop, The French Basket.  Jenny Hill has planned a wonderful day, which will include a book signing and luncheon, where I will share some Interior Wisdom.  Please stop by, and if you would like to attend the luncheon, please contact The French Basket.

Live a life of beauty and holiness!

xo

Leah

When I was fired from “Corporate America” years ago, I was devastated. Emotions of anger, frustration, revenge…all that junk that does nothing but eat holes in our soul rumbled through my head UNTIL Jim {whom I had been married to just 4 short weeks} came home that Friday evening. He offered to send me back to college to get a degree in Interior Design.  Somewhere deep within I knew he was right. Corporate America was not a good fit for the natural gifts and talents the Lord had so generously given me. I really didn’t enjoy my work and this opened a door for change.

During that time, I read the book Do What You Love and the Money will Come by author Marsha Sintar. It is all about finding the right livelihood. I highly recommend this book. As graduation draws near, you might want to consider gifting it. Like me, Marsha longed for her life and work to count…she longed for change. This book is the result of her “leap of faith”, as she says.

Earlier this week, I moved my Studio to the attic so I can spread out and have more room to work. The view is fabulous too!

The internet was spotty up here, so I called my provider for help. While the technician was working, he mentioned that his real love was photography…BUT {I hear this a lot!} He couldn’t make a living doing it. I shared with him how God gave him his gift and talent to use and to share… and in doing so he brings glory to God. 

What natural gift, talent, love has the Lord planted in you?

When you recognize these and resist listening to what the world tells you that “you should” be doing, you will find great fulfillment in using your gift as your work. Ask God, for he gave you these gifts and he will show you how to integrate them into your work, until they are your work.

Do you love what you do? Take a leap of faith…

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was hosted by my friend Hattie while recently working in New Orleans. She was reading a book about our work being our ministry…no division!  Have you thought about that? Whatever we do, our work can count for God.

One more book I would like to mention as a great graduation gift, Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus. It is also one of those books that encouraged me to take a leap of faith…step out of what everyone expected of me and do what the Lord Jesus called me to do.

Back to Hattie.  She mentioned to me that if I ever saw anything for the center of her dining room table please let her know. Walking down Magazine St. with another client, I glanced over and there was this piece of pottery I knew would be perfect. I took a picture with my iphone and sent it to Hattie…

She went in to see it…

and it looks wonderful on her dining room table!

Use your gift. Do what you love. God will provide.

Have a wonderful weekend and THANK YOU to my sweet designer friend, Stacy Naquin, in Baton Rouge for the shout out on her blog.

xo

leah

p.s. Please consider  INTERIOR WSDOM as that special Mother’s Day, Wedding or Graduation gift. Thanks!

Yum!  Daughter fun!

Exceedingly abundantly…beyond expectation…over and above.  Is that the way you think or do you find yourself settling for mediocre and small?

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly

than all that we ask or think,

according to the power at work within us,

to him be glory in the church

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,

forever and ever. Amen.  

Eph 3:20-21

I pray for the Harvest and then go about my day, leaving all securing in God’s hands knowing deep within the Lord of the Harvest is good, and huge.  He’s a God of abundance in every way and He is in our midst.

Ephesians 3:20 Zucchini

and fresh eggs

make sweet zucchini bread

and abundant praise.

What harvest in your life needs an Ephesians 3:20 prayer? Shout it out and trust the Lord of the Harvest this week more than ever. Let not pest nor caterpillar deter you from believing God for your beautiful, abundant harvest.

move over mediocre…this week we embrace the “how much more” of God!

xo

leah

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