Robyn Harry 1/25/25 Robyn Harry 1/25/25

Hidden Hospitality

For those of you who don’t know, the biggest part of my life story is being affiliated with the Air Force. For the first 21 years of my life, I was an Air Force “brat”, meaning ‘the child of an active duty airman;’ and for the following 22 years, I was an Air Force spouse. Only recently, in 2022 did my time with the Air Force officially come to an end with the retirement of my husband. With the exception of one assignment, I have never lived in one place longer than 3 years. Not everyone’s experience as a nomad is the same. It can feel like you are just bobbing in the water with nothing to keep you from sinking or being tossed around. I was very fortunate to have an amazing experience. My life vest was Jesus and He used hundreds of people like you to hold me up and keep me from sinking. That is hospitality.

Hospitality is defined as generous treatment, reception, or disposition. So, what does it mean to show biblical hospitality? Of course there is no “official” definition. But I like to think of it as treatment, reception, or disposition that is filled with the fruits of the spirit. In case you need a reminder, as I oftentimes do, the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So, how do we walk this out? I would like to share a few examples from my own life of how others have shown biblical hospitality to me.

Love seems like such an obvious one, doesn’t it? Sometimes, many times, the smallest act of love can speak so much volume. When my firstborn was two weeks old, my husband left for a three month deployment to the Middle East. Over the next week, my mailbox was flooded with cards from our church small group. Each one noted how we were being prayed for and some included specific scripture. Being overwhelmed with worry for my young husband’s safety, I adopted one of those very verses to pray over daily. My fear turned into hope as I opened each card. Those cards cost a few dollars, a few minutes of time, and a trip to the post office. But the impact they had on me was immeasurable.

Joy is not the same thing as happiness. Joy is a deep seated feeling of knowing that everything really will be okay because we have Jesus. Joy overflowed from my friend Kathy when I called her to ask if she could pick me and my baby up from the shop because my car needed work. She didn’t just say ‘yes,’ she exclaimed, “I would LOVE to.” Until then, I was so scared of asking for help when Brett was deployed and her one sentence reply let me know it was safe to do so.

Kindness is the quality of being caring and helpful. It can look like using your talents, skills, or even your professional titles to lend a hand to someone. One Thanksgiving, I found myself in the middle of nowhere, Massachusetts with quite a severe respiratory infection. I took to facebook to complain about it, as one did in 2009, and within an hour I had a friend calling a prescription into a local Walgreens. She saved me from being sick in an unknown place and likely saved me from an even more severe infection.

Faithfulness is being steadfast in affection and allegiance, even when it isn’t easy; even when it downright puts you out. Faithfulness is rearranging your schedule and life to make room to show up. During one of Brett’s deployments, my dad unexpectedly passed away. A handful of friends drove hundreds of miles, across state lines to simply be there at my dad’s funeral. Seeing familiar faces from throughout my life made me feel held.

So, where do I even begin?

Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. If a man does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers.” We must remain rooted in Christ in order to share fruit with others because we cannot share fruit that we do not have.

Just this week, I came across a wonderful post about the fruit of the spirit that deeply resonated with me. We are called to bear fruit, not produce fruit. Doesn’t that take the pressure off? Jesus simply invites us to come, sit at His feet, read His word, communicate with Him always. It is when we accept this invitation to abide, to remain in Him, that we will then begin to bear fruit.

Here are three simple things I strive to do daily to remain in Christ.

1. Pray.

At its core, prayer is communication with God. There is certainly a time and place for deep, reverent prayer, But prayer is also praising God for His exquisite creation as you watch the sun set each night or thanking Him for His provision as you cook dinner or even praying for protection over your children as you fold their laundry. It doesn’t have to be complicated. God knows our hearts. He doesn’t call us to come with eloquent, grammatically correct prayer. He simply calls us to come.

2. Read scripture and commit it to memory

Florence Littauer, a speaker from the early 2000s said this about scripture; “It’s amazing how the Lord can give us a verse when we need it. But it’s very difficult for the Lord, even the Lord Himself, to pull a verse out of us that we never put in there.” Admittedly, this is something in my life that needs a lot of work. But it’s work that will not return void.

3. Listen to Christian music

For some of us, music has a way of imprinting on our minds. It is true for me that in quiet moments, I will find myself singing a song I have recently heard. When I’m driving in silence, when I’m taking a shower, when I’m trying to fall asleep EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, these words will be on repeat. So, for me, these words matter. A recently popular singer painted an accurate picture when she said these things can get stuck in your head like espresso. I don’t know about you, but when I am laying awake at 2 am worrying, I don’t want to be thinking about espresso. I want to rest soundly on the peace that can only be provided by my Father, Jehovah-Shalom. There are so many amazing Christian artists out there, there truly is something for everyone.

The more you curl yourself up at the feet of Jesus and fill your minds with His words, you will be surprised to see the fruit that He produces. You will find your tanks of love, peace, and joy are quickly filling up. Your patience and gentleness are miraculously expanded. Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and even self-control are suddenly becoming second nature. And when we are filled with these fruits, it is only natural that they will start to spill out into every aspect of our lives. We will smile more at people in the grocery store, we will extend grace to the slow driver in front of us when we are in a hurry, we will be quick to compliment our server’s beautiful hair at lunch, and yes, we will even be brave enough to invite people into our home. Because the joy we have in Jesus is only multiplied when we share it with others.

Robyn Harry 11/5/21 Robyn Harry 11/5/21

Dear Younger Me

This month Brett and I are celebrating twenty years of marriage. T W E N T Y. Two whole decades and I simply cannot believe it. It’s not the fact we are still married that I can’t believe or even how quickly life has gone by. What I can’t wrap my mind around is how little we knew going into this thing…. and what we know now. I am sure thankful that we didn’t know what was ahead of us. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to step down that aisle. Here’s the thing though, he is the best partner for me.

We now find ourselves the parents of three children who are either dating or getting close to that age. And I have to admit, I feel pretty confident in telling them what things to look for in a lifelong partner. I decided to go ahead and share in on the internet because, ya know, it’s forever. And maybe they will want to share these tips with their own children one day.

Shared Faith I would say without a doubt, this is the number one most important thing in a marriage. When things get hard - and they absolutely will - faith is what will carry you through. Brett and I are Christ followers and our faith has been the sole thing to sustain our relationship more than once. Because of our shared faith in Jesus, we can remind each other of the promises we have in Him when things are looking pretty bleak. And there is nothing quite like praying together every morning… even if one of you happens to doze off occasionally. (It’s me.)
A Sense of Humor This is something I am constantly telling my children. No one, and I mean NO ONE can make me laugh as much as Brett. I have lost count of times my children have blankly started at us and uttered the words, “You guys are so weird.” They often don’t get our humor and that’s okay. What’s important is that we get each other. Humor is very personal. There’s a humor soulmate out there for you too. I promise.
Enjoyable Company Y’all, this is ultra important. You are going to be spending a LOT of time together. A lot. Even a military couple like us with 7 deployments and countless TDYs under their belts…. He’s always there. So, make sure you LIKE this person. I am thankful that I truly enjoy Brett’s company. Whether we are doing chores, working on a home project, or driving cross country, we are (almost) always having fun together.
A Servant’s Heart Hear me out on this one. I know it isn’t a popular opinion. Something I didn’t even pick up on about Brett is how he jumps up to do things for me. They are always really tiny things, but they make a huge difference. Look for someone who will offer to refill your drink or grab you a napkin without you having to ask. Because that same person will be the one who walks you to the toilet and helps you remove your blood soaked underwear with such tenderness after you have had an emergency caesarean to deliver your third child abroad. And he will also learn German so he can communicate to the midwives that you would really prefer to breastfeed your baby, so please do not give him any more formula. You think romance is what you see on tv or the movies, but I guarantee you, there is nothing more romantic than this. Your heart will stretch and grow and you will be completely astonished by how much further you can fall in love.
Long Suffering This one seems strange, I know. But there will be trials ahead of you that you will never see coming. It is a fact of life. You will need someone by your side who can hold you up. And you will also need to be able to hold him up as well. Everyone has a style of suffering. Some shut down, some become control freaks, some people cry uncontrollably for days. You need to know how you handle hard times and you need to know that your partner can handle it too. In our marriage, we had to test this out pretty early on. We had only been married 3 years when my dad suddenly passed away due to Melanoma. And thanks to the Air Force, Brett was in Afghanistan when that occurred. It was tough, there is no doubt. But we made it through together.
Someone Who Surprises You We have to keep things fresh. I think we all appreciate that. Brett is a pretty steady guy. He isn’t overly emotional and that balances me out perfectly. So, when he used my late dad’s major rank at his own promotion to major, I was shocked. He hadn’t told a single soul. And I promise you, there was not a dry eye in the room.
Hard Working I think this is pretty self explanatory. And if you have read any of my blog at all, you know how I am always asking Brett to do projects for me. He has fixed toilets, painted walls with me, and even made our son a bed from scratch. He works hard and work and he works hard at home too. It is a gift to our entire family.
Complementary If you could medal in over-thinking, I would get the gold every single time. My emotions and my imagination tend to run away from me quite frequently. Brett- he is my voice of reason. We’ve been together so long now that I literally call him up at work so he can talk some sense into me. I know I am too sensational at times and he balances me out. He helps me see the other side. The really cool thing about this- I also help him to see the other side. We all need someone who complements us. This goes for many things, not just feelings. Brett has taught me many things and I like to think I have taught him as well.
Genuine Is this the same thing as honesty? I guess it could be in the same vein. Here’s the thing with my husband. What you see is what you get. He isn’t going to talk about you behind your back. He isn’t going to tell you one thing and then go do something completely different. He is real. And I love that about him.
Generous Something that attracted me to Brett very early on was his generosity. Yes, he is a good tipper, and I appreciate that. But he is also generous with his time, his compliments, and his encouragement. That generosity translates into commissary stops on the way home from work or even picking up take out when I’ve had a bad day. No questions asked. I can’t adequately express what a gift that is.

So, there it is. My current list. I am sure I will probably think of some more things that need to be added, but it’s a good start. Our kids have even started making lists of their own.

Happy anniversary, Brett. Thank you for our beautiful life together. I love you.

Robyn Harry 8/19/21 Robyn Harry 8/19/21

August Thrift Challenge

I have been wanting new to me end tables for our living room for quite some time. I knew I wanted to buy vintage pieces because they always have so much more character than mass produced furniture tends to. And in most cases, they are built better. I lucked out and found this beautiful pair of Provincial tables on FB marketplace. They each have one large drawer, a reversible faux marble insert, and loads of beautiful details.

The first step in my makeover of these pieces was sanding the old stain and gloss top of the surface of the table. Once that was done, I applied one coat of a medium toned stain I had on hand. I allowed the stain to mostly dry and added a thick coat of white wax. The undertones of the wood had just a bit too much red for me and the white wax really helped to tone that down.

You can really see the red undertones in this picture.

This is the final look after the white wax had time to soak in and cure. It’s just what I was hoping for. I also flipped the faux marble top over to show the white side.

After getting the top just right, I painted the rest of the piece in a matte black with a chalky finish paint I picked up at a craft store. The final step was touching up the hardware just a bit. I used Rub N Buff in antique gold and sporadically added it to the existing pulls to give them the look of age.

I love how these tables turned out. I am glad I was patient and waited for just the right pieces for our living room. It definitely isn’t easy for someone so impulsive like myself, but it was so worth it.

I hope this inspired you to look outside the box (stores) when you find yourself needing or wanting some change in your home. Thanks for visiting me! Please go say hi to my friends who are also sharing some great thrift store finds today!

Robyn Harry 7/15/21 Robyn Harry 7/15/21

Christmas in July Thrift Challenge

For this month’s challenge, I am hopping on board the “Christmas in July” train. I know it seems a bit crazy to be thinking about Christmas right now, especially with the record heat most of us have been having. However, when you are an avid thrifter and/or DIYer, it pays to think ahead. For this thrift flip, I was inspired by Ellen at FeatherGlass. Ellen knows how to do Christmas decor. I fell in love with all the little details she shared, but there was one thing in particular I could not stop thinking about. This mini brass set.

I love the brass look. In my opinion, it just adds that special something that nods to Christmas magic. Since I spotted that set she shared in her stories, I’ve been scouring thrift stores for just the right size and style of small porcelain houses. I have found a grand total of four so far, but I will continue to look. When I find them, they cost between $2 and $4 and look something like this:

I just gave them a simple little makeover to give them a vintage brass look. If you’d like to do this, all you need is black spray paint and Rub n Buff in either Antique Gold or European Gold. I actually tried both and will show you the difference.

First step is to spray the houses black. I used satin finish because it’s what I had on hand. I don’t think the finish will make much of a difference. Also, don’t overthink this step. The paint job does not have to be perfect.

The second and final step is to apply Rub n Buff onto your dry black houses with a very fluffy, beat up paint brush. The more frayed and messed up, the better. You can either paint it on like normal paint or stipple it as if you were doing a stencil. I like a very organic and uneven finish for this type of project. I love how it gives the houses a more antique feel.

Once the houses are fully dry, you can display them however you’d like. Or, you can be like me and store them away until it’s time to deck the halls. ;)