choosing to be content

rumor has it everyone has an addiction. mine? home decorating/diy blogs. (and coffee, but that's an entirely different post...)  so i spend a lot of time on blogs like Young House Love, Just Pleased as Punch, A Thoughtful Place, and The Yellow Cape Cod, just to name a few.  i just LOVE looking and learning from all the creativity.  i love that these ladies (and men!) take so much pride in their homes, i love that they are thrifty (especially sherry and john over at yhl!), and i just love stealing their ideas learning from them.

here is the problem::  we currently live in a one bedroom apartment.  one that we cannot paint.  one that is not even big enough for all of our stuff, let alone, big enough to add to with re-done furniture, and all the awesome diy artwork i've found browsing all of my favorite blogs.

the bigger problem?  i've been struggling with discontentment.  i know. it's ugly.  i look at these sites, these lovely houses, paint colors, re-done furniture, diy projects and i want to have it, i want to have it all and it makes me unhappy with my own home.

this past week i kinda had a "come to Jesus" moment.  i realized that the root of my discontentment was spending all this time on all of these fabulous sites.  well, the thing is, i love this new hobby of mine.  i love reading blogs, i love getting an inside look at how other moms and wives decorate and take pride in their homes. i love learning all the fantastic diy projects and how to decorate on the thrift.  so i made a decision. i made a choice - because, let's be honest, i am choosing to allow this discontentment to grow as i look at these other sites. so from now on i'm choosing to turn that discontentment into motivation, and let me just tell you.... i have organized every nook and cranny of this one bedroom apartment in the last couple of weeks.  laundry closet: check. bedroom closet: check. linen closet: check. our itty bitty but cute little deck: check. (the list goes on.) we have the most organized one bedroom apartment in all of lexington.  i'm sure of it.  i've also started an idea book.  i just took a 3 ring binder, some page protecters, and started printing out the ideas that i just love, for when we do have a home that we can call our own.  this way i'll be ahead of the game when the day comes.

here's the thing:: at the end of the day, jonathan and i have everything we need.  we have a home. we have jobs. cars. food. clothes. our sweet, and weird little pup. and we have each other. i am reminding myself often that this is more than most of the world has, and i am choosing to be thankful.  and one day....one glorious day, when we are blessed with our first house, i will go ape crazy decorating and diy-ing from wall to wall.  and until then,  i'm going to do what i can to be a good steward of the home we've been blessed with, choose thankfulness, and turn that ugly discontentment into motivation.

"....I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty."  -the apostle paul