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Love and Dirty Windows.

Melissa Beene Ford/ Uncategorized

If you’ve followed me for very long, it’s no surprise that I love old houses. I mean, take a gander at my Instagram if you don’t believe me. I’m obsessed with 1930s architecture, vintage tile, worn hardwood floors, glass doorknobs… Sigh.

I’ve had a not-so-secret desire to be a real estate agent since way back when I graduated from college, because I love houses. I also (mostly) love people, and I suspect matching the people up with the ideal home would be the most satisfying job on earth, if I weren’t completely terrified of surviving on straight commission, but it’s on the bucket list. I mean, I’m the girl who cries actual tears at HGTV episodes when the makeover is revealed at the end and the people get exactly what they wanted.  

I’m just kidding, of course. Who would cry over HGTV? Psshhh. NOT ME. Because that would be ridiculous. But I digress…

OLD BUILDINGS thrill my soul. I’ve been known to put my life on the line to break and enter, I mean, snoop through an old, abandoned hotel. AND IT WAS THRILLING. Trespassing? Those laws are for OTHER people, man. I LAUGH in the face of danger. *not really, dad, if you’re reading this

I see potential everywhere.

My favorite cousin, Old McDonald’s Wife, shares my love of all things OLD, and has driven many-a-mile through the backroads of East Texas with me to stalk the PERFECT old farmhouse that I JUST KNOW IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE, traipse through tall weeds to peek through dusty old Victorian windows, and drive my favorite realtor insane touring homes that nobody in their right mind would want… but *I want. BECAUSE OLD HOUSE CHARM, y’all.

See: Exhibit A ,The Blue House.

Being the ENFP, Aquarius, Enneagram Type 7 that I am, I LIVE in the world of ideas and dreams. I mean, I would LOVE to live in the world of ideas and dreams, but I’m often restrained by having to be a mature adult, against my wishes…

So recently, I was just out doing what I do, and peeking through the windows of a vacant old house. I could see, literally, four inches of hardwood floor through the crack in the curtains in the living room, and by teetering on a cinderblock I found in the backyard and dragged to a high window and stood on end, I could sort of see into the kitchen, enough to see an old 1940s sink and ORIGINAL 1940s hex tile…. and y’all….

That was enough for me.

I knew that I knew that I KNEW that THIS HOUSE IS MY SOULMATE. I mean, it was 1) old, and 2) had hardwood floors, and 3) IT HAS THE 1940S KITCHEN SINK, OK? Location? Meh. I wanted this house. This house NEEDED ME. It’s THE ONE and I KNOW IT’S THE ONE because I could feel it in my gut, and who really cares about logic at a time like this.

I thought of this the other day when I was reading through 1 Corinthians 13.

That’s the chapter about love. There’s so much wisdom in that short chapter, but the verse that says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror…” jumped out at me.

The King James version says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly…”

And I love how The Message puts it,

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

I know God isn’t talking about the logic (or lack thereof) in pinning all your hopes, dreams, twenty percent down, and a thirty-year mortgage on an old house of which you’ve only seen four inches of the living room floor. PART of me was ready to go ALL IN… call the bank… sign the papers… BET ALL MY CHIPS AND MY KIDS’ COLLEGE FUND ON THIS ONE. Based on four inches of living room floor. Oh, and that cute sink.

A glimpse through the curtains doesn’t show me whether the wiring is an eighty-year-old fire hazard, whether the sewer line under the house is intact, or whether, say, it’s full of ghosts and raccoons. I could only see an IDEA of what was in there…

BUT … basing all of our religious doctrine on something we THINK we can deduce from God’s word, is sort of the same thing.

We can’t really see it all… just glimpses, through a dusty Victorian window.

I see so many well-meaning Christians stirring up strife and dissension and boycotts on Facebook over things that at the end of the day, don’t really matter all that much.

I feel so sorry for NOT ONLY the non-Christians, but all the Christian authors, bloggers, and musicians who are being raked over the coals BY CHRISTIANS over issues of doctrine… when NONE of us really see it clearly and the Bible even says that we don’t see clearly.

And we can tell we don’t see clearly, because OUR OWN doctrine changes as we grow up.

For most of my own life, for example, I would have died of thirst before I dared drink a drop of alcohol. I would have been the one posting scathing anti-alcohol, “you’re NOT GODLY if you drink,” articles all over Facebook, had it existed then. It’s not a hill I’m willing to die on anymore. It’s not worth alienating the PEOPLE to spew my opinions about it on Facebook. BUT WHAT DOES JESUS THINK OF ALCOHOL?! Gosh, I don’t know… I’m just teetering on a cinder block trying my best to see the whole picture.

I DO know what IS important to God, because 1 Corinthians 13 says it’s important:

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

That’s from The Message version of the Bible, which is one of those proverbial hills that some Christians are apparently willing to die on, because it isn’t the holy King James version. So for those people, here’s the same thought in ‘Godlier’ language:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Love God, and love people, basically.

I Corinthians 13 goes into more detail about HOW to do it, but those are the highlights. I’m trying to do a better job of showing love to people, even if we disagree on doctrine.

I’m better at loving old houses, hardwood floors, glass doorknobs, and vintage sinks, if I’m honest, but I’m working on it.

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About Me


Hey there... I'm Melissa! Texas girl. Mom to three + one goldendoodle. Believer. Old house fanatic. Creating a happy + healthy home with purpose is my passion. I'm so glad you're here!

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I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 years of paint off of this door down to the wood and start over… but that person has no business starting new projects. 😅 My neighbors must have thought this project would never end. *I* thought this project would never end. 😰 If you’re thinking of doing this yourself? Just don’t, ok? Throw the whole door away and buy a new one. 😂🤣 Just kidding.  Old house weirdos like me… we can’t just do things the easy way. Anyhoo… after some trial and error, @sherwinwilliams Celestial is what I landed on, and I have to say… I like it. Periwinkle-ish blue looks great with the yellow house and will look even better when the azaleas are in bloom. Was it all worth it? That’s not important right now. 🤭 Will I do this all again in two years? The magic eight ball says… without a doubt. 👏🏻 I’ve already picked the next color. #gluttonforpunishment #somefoolsneverlearn #oldhouselove #oldhomelove #makinghome #southernliving #gardenandgun #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in an 80-year-old house completely worth it … what broken pipes, icy hardwood floors and drafty windows? 🤔 I forgot already. #comeonspring #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Happy Saturday ☀️ Happy Saturday ☀️
Salt Lake City is always magical ✨ Salt Lake City is always magical ✨
2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrollin 2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrolling through my pics from the last twelve months made me realize how blessed and content I am. Prosperity, love, and peace have been ours in abundance, in spite of the pain of losing my dad. The second picture is the last picture of him… the last time I saw him. 💔 But God has been good to my family this year and 2022 is ending far better than it began. 😄 #2022inreview #thanksforthememories
Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍ Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍♀️
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That’s it. That’s the tour. (Slide two). 
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It’s a new trend I’m starting: bare Christmas tree. Lowe’s tag still attached (so quirky and unexpected)! Christmas ornaments still in boxes. Coming soon to an Anthropologie window display near you. 
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Every year I think, “next year I’ll do better. Next year I’ll have it together.” And then, here we are on the SIXTH Christmas that we’ve been in this house, the sixth Christmas I’ve dragged our chaotic bunch of Christmas mess out of a chaotic garage I still haven’t unpacked from our move six years ago. 
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Maybe this year is the year I’ll organize it all and put it back neatly so that by Christmas number 7, it will be smooth sailing. People will flock to my social media to see how I’ve pulled everything off SO PERFECTLY. Next year will be my year. 
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Seems every year there’s less and less bandwidth for all these things. There’s more grief and stress, less money. More demands, less grace. 
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I put this sign on the wall in my office so I could keep it in front of my eyes: Love. Joy. Peace. And all that. I am SO unlike Jesus most days. So lacking in all of these character qualities. And that’s WITH waking up most mornings and spending my first 30 minutes with God Himself. 
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How lost would I be without that? Geez. I can’t fathom. I REQUIRE being transformed by renewing my mind every single morning, and even then, responding to people and life with love, joy, peace and patience doesn’t come naturally. 
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It’s the goal, though. 
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This weary world needs that from us Believers during this season, more than ever… even more than an Anthropologie-window-display worthy Christmas home tour. 
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I’m working on both.
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