HOW IT ALL BEGAN

This is where it all began.

The inspiration for the FC Elementary room makeover started with a Christmas service at Grace Church in Noblesville, Indiana. We loved being a part of this church when we lived in the Indianapolis area, and we try to visit once or twice a year. The Grace sermon series was called "No Other Name", and the messages highlighted the different names of God and how they portray different qualities and attributes of God. The artwork for the series was a collection of paintings and pallet art, with the pallet and 'No Other Name' string art front and center. This video shows the string art that inspired us.

I worked with Wendy Ahlstedt on this project, a devoted friend and conspirator whose personality and determination are a good match for projects of this scale. I showed her the video, described the artwork at Grace Church, and we started collecting ideas on Pinterest.

Our husbands have been through this before. We prepare their favorite meal, let them relax in front of the TV, offer to rub their feet, then casually mention that we've agreed to take on another room makeover at the church. "Oh, by the way..."

They know this means they will be involved. Deeply involved.

In this case, it was no big deal. Just build an 8 by 10 foot wall out of reclaimed wood, transport it to the church, and hang it on the wall.

That's all.

Oh, and could you also move about 90 percent of your workshop and tools to the basement and endure two months of terrible cooking and scant housekeeping and laundry? And would you mind showing me how to use your table saw? And could you please pick up the right kind of drywall screws to hang 46 signs on the wall on Hanging Day?

God bless those husbands of ours.

Here's a recap of the project:

Central Idea
Showcase the many names of God as communicated in Scripture

Materials
Repurposed and recycled material, scrap metal, junk, trash and random donations

Timeframe
Two months

Results
We made a total of 46 signs. Some had more than one name of God, so I tallied up 63 names of God. We printed a scripture "placard" to accompany each sign to make sure the children understood that these names of God are straight from the Bible.

Impact
Unbelievable. I never imagined how immersed I would become in this project, and how deeply the children, parents and volunteers would be impacted by the names of God and the transformation of the room.

In the next several blog posts, I plan to share the signs we made for this project. I hope one of the Names of God speaks to you.