I seldom write a blog without pictures, and truthfully, this one might actually be the first.  But my heart is so full, and my shop is currently so empty & messy that I felt I wanted to write to you to encourage you in your own faith-walk at the moment.

At our “new” church last night, our pastor stated that he was going to push us….and then he retracted that statement but it was too late, because my simple brain had already latched on to his words…and I remembered my own experience of years gone by.  So from my archives, please allow me to share this story with you…

 

P-U-S-H!!!!!

Anyone who has ever given birth has heard those words at least once.

Though long gone are the days of child-bearing for me, the words resound in my ears again this morning as thoughts of my now 22-yr-old son (he’ll be 27 this year as I am reliving this story) flood my brain.

And I wonder…who is pushing who?

From the pages of my son’s blog at age 20, he spoke of the comfortableness of his life…of having become numb to the  people around him…their needs, their lost state…and of how sick he had become at being comfortable with his life.

Then came his earnest prayer:  God, make me uncomfortable.  Break me.  Tear down all my walls that I have put up to protect me.  Put me in places where my gifts and abilities can be used to Your glory.  Break my heart for what breaks Yours.  And open my eyes to the needs of people around me.  Enable me to act in Your will and purpose.  Fully equip me for everything I may encounter.  Make me uncomfortable.  Break me.

P-U-S-H!!!

He was six years old, and his devastated mom lay in a crying heap on the floor.  his tiny hand touched my shoulder, thrusting the note card in front of my face before kissing my cheek and retreating back to his room.  Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  Psalm 125:1

P-U-S-H!!!! 

Translated, that means Get up!  Stop crying!  Trust in the Lord, Who is your confidence!

From that time on, my son has been pushing me, but not in the way you would imagine.  Not to gain his own way.  Not to be in control.  His push was more in the way you would push your child on a swing….gently at first, but building momentum with every touch on the back as the words ring out, “Higher, higher!”

From that day, he has pushed me to go before him, to know God so I could make Him known.

And lest I should ever forget….P-U-S-H!!!

Am I willing now to be pushed out of my own comfort zone to be awakened to the faces and heartbeats of those around me?  Can I honestly ask the God Who made me and knows my every thought to break me?  To make me uncomfortable?  Because He will, you know.  I have learned of His faithfulness, and I know that in the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.  Psalm 138:3

So I am crying out, Lord.  Make me bold with strength in my soul.  Break my heart for what breaks Yours.  For my good, and for Your glory.

P-U-S-H!!!

Coming back to last night’s message from our pastor, I choose to remember his words as he first stated them….I appreciate being loved enough to be pushed OUT of my comfort zone and into the realm of the unknown, where only God….did you hear that?…..only God….can move.

To Him be the glory forever.  Amen.

~Blessings, Connie

 

 

 

While it would seem a bit odd to begin my blog with a huge picture of The Tin Roof Antique Market, let me explain why to me it is not one bit odd….

To quote, in part,  from The  Message  Bible-

A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge.  It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.  If the foot said, “I’m not elegant like the hand, embellished with rings: I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so?  and if ear said, “I’m not beautiful like eye; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body?  If the body was all an eye, how could it hear?  If all ear, how could it smell?  As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where He wanted it.  And no matter how significant a part you are, it is only because of what you are a part of.”

I wish I had a picture to place here of every business I am about to name.  Sadly, I don’t, but I’ll try to give you the next best thing….pics from their businesses (i.e. finds I have had or now have in my own home!).

You might remember these photos from a previous blog where I introduced you to Billy & Pearl….two characters I have never met but would have loved to do life with.  These photos were in a bin at Underground Salvage Company….Since 1996,  Tim and Nancy together with their grown children, Tyler and Jenny, have equipped Brevard with salvaged goods, first in their collection of Architectural finds, then in their vintage treasures.  Having moved from Main St into the Railroad district of Brevard (off Caldwell St) has only given them more space to display their finds.  I invite you to go plunder!  This old ladder made picture frame in my guest room came from Underground Salvage as well.  If you haven’t been there, you need to find them and check out their great items!

Another favorite of mine, located also in Brevard, is Shabby Shack Antique Mall, owned & operated by Travis Rhodes.  Travis has a number of vendors that display their wares in his shop (over 30 I believe)….and you will always be met with a smile from Betsy on the days she works the counter for him.  Do you need dishes?  Furniture?  A doll for your grand-baby?  Artwork for your home?  The finds are limitless…and vast!Yes, these wall planters are now gracing Burlap &  Lace’s entrance, but where did I find the galvanized wall planters to begin with?  You guessed it!  Shabby Shack!  I simply took something that I found and fell in love with and made it into something even better for my home, and now my shop.

Have you been into Country Creations lately?  Located at 338 S. Broad Street in Brevard, just past the library, it’s a walk on a summer’s day from downtown, and well worth the trek (although I would advise driving so that you can load up all your finds!).  This desk, first used in my home and now repainted and moved to my shop, came from there years ago!  Not just a florist….although you have known them for years if you’ve been in Brevard for long.  Sheila McCall spreads her love for the Lord with her smile, and will help you find just what you need to grace your own home or to give to a friend on her special birthday.  As you walk in, the right side of the store is stocked with vendors’ wares while the left houses antiques and floral designs, as well as jewelry.  Truly, this shop is on my “must go to” list every month!

Let’s move on to Gravy, located on Main Street in Brevard.  When you shop there, you are not only supporting the 20+ vendors who sell their wares there, but you are supporting the Boys and Girls Club of Transylvania County!  The sign above hangs in my shop….I found the old baby bed frame in a booth at Gravy, then painted something on it to remind me of the truth I daily need to remember.  I loved the patina and the chippy paint…two things I purposefully did not “correct” when I painted on it.

So let’s move on up Antique Alley toward Mills River….

My friend Melissa, who is the owner of the Tin Roof Antique Market, owns a fabulous store located on Hwy 191 as you head toward the Outlet Mall.  You’ve seen this hutch in my blogs before.  Melissa’s husband, Bobby, painted it and I immediately knew it had found a new home…mine!  She has a round table and 4 chairs painted to match now….oooh, better hurry there before I do!

I honestly don’t know how many vendors she now has….over 20 spaces for sure…and full of everything from antiques to vintage goods to clothing to farmhouse style goods.  Best just to check it out yourself!  I may even see you there because I know I’m in at least 3 times each month, or more!

From The Tin roof, you can turn left and then take I-26 toward Hendersonville.  Get off at the exit for Hwy 25, take a right and head toward downtown Hendersonville, making sure you stop at Southern Chicks (on the left side of the road)!  Sheila and Mike own this cute house-made-store.

SO many of my home items came from Southern Chicks!  And just in case you wonder about the shoe forms on the wall?  Those are now in my shop….but at home, they were hangers for my guests’ towels in their bedroom!  And the silver water pitchers are also in my shop (not but one left actually)….used for my son’s wedding last year!

As you turn left out of Southern Chicks and back onto Hwy 25, take a right at the first light and then find the purple Honeysuckle Hollow on your right.  Jan will greet you in full fashion attire….from the vintage line she carries in her store.  What else have I gotten from Jan?

Platters..linens…benches….and even this wonderful free gift….Bean seeds to climb my garden fence and bloom incredible purple flowers!  Jan, when summer  comes, gives seed packets harvested from her own bean vines, to her customers.  What a sweet thing she is!

Wind you way back to Brevard via Hwy 191 (turn right out of Honeysuckle Hollow) and take a left onto Hwy 280, coming to the stop light in Brevard across from Arby’s and what will you find as you travel down Antique Alley?

ME!

I hope you see that without my friends in all these other places, I would not even be able to be a shop owner or have goods to sell!  They each in their own unique way have inspired me, helped me find what I was looking for, and let me feed off their individual creativity until I could find my own niche’.  So let me introduce you to a couple of my latest finds that now grace my own shop….

This antique dry sink is on my favorite list right now.  If my home had a  place for it, it would never have made it to Burlap & Lace.   And see that gorgeous bowl and pitcher?  It may indeed come back to my home if it doesn’t get snatched up soon…have a closer look!My love for birds and flowers made this a beautiful find.  I pray it goes home with someone who would enjoy it as much as I have!

I didn’t believe this was actually an antique piece when I first saw it.  But it is, and beautifully intact!  It even has a surprise that I didn’t find until I got it into the shop….there is a slide-out cutting board that I believe would have been used to roll out the pie dough after sifting the flour from the bin!  Come on in and have a peek!

More favorite finds….the two plant holders come separately from the bowls on top…also planters with a rusty patina that quite suits your garden spaces!   The “thing” at the bottom gets the most comments of anything I’ve put in my shop to date, and I love it for the story it holds.  My grandmother (who died at 99 last year) was a hairdresser.  In her day, this would have held her curlers after she had washed them, getting them back in shape for her next client!  I think it would be lovely on a patio, flat side down, with succulents planted in the curler holes.  What do you think?

No matter what finds you are looking for, I guarantee that if you stop into any of the places I have mentioned and don’t find what you are looking for, you will be directed to one of the other spots listed her.  Why?  Because we are all part of the same “body”, and we see the function we each have….separately, yes, but we could not survive without the others.  No two people are the same.  Why should any two shops be?

Until we meet again, happy shopping!

~ Blessings,   Connie