Arts and Crafts...and Truth

Someone's creative juices have been flowing.

Since we've moved in to our new place the empty wall space above the TV has stumped me. I've wondered what would fit best for over two months now. Mirrors? Wall decals? Hanging something? I just couldn't figure it out.

But finally, I think we've got something that we're happy with. On some random blog I came across a similar DIY piece of art, but had long forgotten about it. Until one day while I was browsing Michael's and had a vision. Lucky for me someone left a 40% off coupon laying lonely on a shelf so I used it to pick up a 24" x 36" white canvas. Then I scoured the aisles for vinyl lettering and finally decided on 2" Helvetica vinyls. On a separate trip I picked up some granite spray paint at Home Depot. I couldn't wait to come home and get to work.

And work it was. Cutting out each letter, peeling, sticking, and aligning just right (with the use of painter's tape and a yardstick). Unfortunately, I quickly realized vinyl letters don't stick very well to canvas. Nuts. But I pressed on, crossing my fingers, since I had no back-up plan. Several days later I conned Jeremiah into spray painting for me. He of course was nervous and didn't want to screw it up, but I assured him I had no clue how to properly spray paint either. Ultimately, he did a great job, especially given the letters kept curling up, making it difficult to get crisp edges around the letters.

So what did I spell out on this canvas? Ever since our pastor shared this verse probably a month and a half ago I've wanted to use it somewhere in our new place.

"He brought me out into a spacious place, he rescued me because he delighted in me." Psalm 18:19

I don't think this verse would have struck me nearly as much had we not just moved into the place we now call home--a spacious place. Our condo is nearly twice the size as our apartment. We have so much more space to stretch out. We're not piled on top of each other and on top of our things. It's much more comfortable, calming, and relaxing. We can finally breathe. And that made me think of other crammed spaces. A crowded grocery store on New Year's Eve, traffic on 95, squeezing into a seat in Beaver Stadium. The agony! And then I thought about how it feels to be OUT of that small space, how absolutely wonderful and freeing it is to be out into a spacious place. And God does that. He brings us out into a spacious place--a place where we can feel free and not crammed. He rescues us from places like that. When I'm in those horrible situations I really feel like I need to be rescued, like I can't get out of there soon enough. And not only does he rescue us, but he does it because he delights in us. Now that is something that is harder for me to think through. That's a significant word, delights. That says a lot about who God is and who I am to him, and it's a lot for me to take in. And I hope that reading that truth everyday in my living room will help me believe it one day, really really believe it.

Hopefully you enjoy this little piece of DIY wall art as much as we do. It's not perfect, but we kind of like it that way. It's got a hint of character to its modern feel. And most importantly, its got a lot of truth.