As I sat at my husband’s new store waiting on a woman from a nearby neighborhood to join me, I sat there and thought … “What am I going to say to her when she asks?”
You see, I knew why she wanted to meet with me. She is the editor and chief of a very high end magazine and we were discussing Interior Inspirations having an ad in her magazine. So, I knew the question was coming, “What exactly is Interior Inspirations? What services do you offer?”
This is an easy question to answer when it comes to paid services –
decorating – designing – remodeling – staging – decluttering – organizing – simplifying
But when it comes to the “others” of this business, well, it goes something like this:
The heart of Interior Inspirations, what makes all the services not robotic or mechanical or routine, but what makes it all very “custom” to each client is this – the purpose.
I do believe the “others” of this business is what sets Interior Inspirations to the side a bit . It is how God faithfully allows me to help women in their homes. The “others” include:
Encouraging fresh life in the home – Sometimes this is with new color, textures, redesign or redecorating, etc. Nothing is more fun than transforming spaces and rooms to have a new heartbeat of color and design!! And other times it’s by creating a new atmosphere of order and serenity; a much needed newness in how the home works and flows. Other times this fresh life begins while helping them to pick up the pieces of home after devastation or loss.
Some homemakers have experienced loss, and their home simply needs “arms” that hold them through their suffering. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2
So, I’ll create a wall grouping that celebrates the life of their loves ones with photos and scripture and inspirational words. A simple display like this can serve so many purposes – celebrating life, the healing of hearts, daily & divine inspiration, and pointing to the goodness & glory of a very attentive and loving God. There are several other things I like to do inside a home where there is grieving, and the purpose behind it all is this: to help the family in their new reality to feel the compassionate presence of God, while also helping them take what they need to take day after day after day – their next step forward. A life being renewed – a fresh life home – is a home that is made new again but with a very touchable & resurrected reality … one moment at a time.
Some homemakers have experienced some season of life change – graduation, kids leaving to start their own life into adulthood, a new baby, a new career change, weddings, and moving to a new city or state. “New seasons of life” in any home deserve recognition and celebration. They serve as a marker in our life, and a fresh home can surely reflect that. Abandoned rooms become sewing or craft rooms. An emptied bonus room becomes a new master suite. One client I am working with currently has experienced it all in her home – raising children, her daughter’s wedding, plenty of family gatherings, etc. and she is now ready to bring fresh life into several rooms and spaces of her home.
Interior Inspirations is more than a business that provides redo’s and updo’s, but a ministry of renew’s. Where does renewal need to take place? Where in the house does there need to be fresh smiles, fresh aromas of love and laughter, fresh creativity and fresh dreams. Where in the home does there need to be a fresh beginning? Or maybe even fresh remembrances, along with fresh second chances. Where do they need fresh routines, fresh outlooks, and fresh approaches? Where do they simply need a fresh family lifestyle?
After all that … my new friend closed her magazine, gave it a little pat on top, and with a smile on her face looked at me while shaking her head and said, “Well, no…I don’t think this is a fit. But, I do see quite a need for your ministry in this community. I’d like to get together again, but on a more personal level.”
As we chatted over Morris & Co. coffee, come to find out…she’s a Christian. She loves Jesus and has also authored a devotional book. I can’t wait to read it! But she and I, from that point forward, simply enjoyed some good o’ sisterhood chatting…and I can’t wait to be with Susie again!
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Renew Home is the mission behind the ministry of Interior Inspirations.
Renew Home are two words that are full of hope, promise, intentionality and purpose.
Renew Home brings back to life – gives a second chance – blesses with a do-over – restores, rejuvenates and rebuilds.
Renew Home brings beauty and brings newness that is first … wanted.
And that is plum exciting to me!!
Your purpose my dear Lisa, is more than an mile high and an inch deep. The message of your ministry fills a home with beauty that is more than skin deep or just surface beauty. IT floods a home with God’s precious Holy Spirit…Thank you for keeping the main thing the main thing. I promise You will reach more women that way. I love you Lisa Rippey!