common ground

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Vintage Black Friday, Mourning Attire

Vintage Black Friday is here.

What will I do when this party is over?

I have enjoyed it so much.

Thank you Jill, at Gypsy Brocante,

for hostessing this wonderful opportunity

to fulfill all my "vintage black" desires.

When Queen Victoria of England lost her precious husband Albert, in December of 1861 she went into deep mourning. She took the custom of wearing "mourning black" to a new level. All the Victorian ladies of that time followed her in the custom. It became an outward showing of grief when a loved one passed. Many women created a whole new wardrobe for the now fashionable black attire.

Queen Victoria and daughter

with bust of Albert

another image (unknown) from late 1800's

Two current replicas of mourning attire

Mary Todd Lincoln

Two mourning blouses found at a local flea market

When I was in High School, Gone With the Wind

was re-released in theatres.

I had read the book twice by then

and fell in love with the movie.

These two images are from the movie scene where Scarlett is attending a ball shortly after the death of her husband. For you not familiar with the story, Scarlett married a man she did not love, trying to invoke jealousy from her beloved Ashley Wilkes. When her husband died in the Civil War, she found herself in a strict code of mourning, but her heart was not in it.

Please click on this

YouTube link to see Scarlett and Rhett

dance the Virginia Reel.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

"What's In A Name?"

Today I am participating in a "loveleigh" party hosted by Sares. Many of you who know Sares and read her wonderful blog "Loveleigh Treasures" may be like me, wondering where and how she goes by this interesting "Name". I have only heard the name Sares once before, so I am very interested to see her post. To accompany the "unveiling" of her name she has invited us to share something about "names". This could be about our own name, or our children's names, or even why we chose our "blog name". She said, anything to do with names. I have given this a lot of thought, so this will be an intimate post that is about who I am as a person, hopes and dreams, and what God has called me to do. My name holds great significance to me, and I'd like to share it with you.

I am linking to my Bible Study blog also today. If you have not stopped by "a day in the life..." I hope that after you read this post that you will. You will also find a permanent link on my side bar.

I think a name can say a lot about a person. I know as a child, there were so many "Debbies" in my elementary school classes that the teachers did not know how to address us, individually. They used nicknames, last names, initials, and all sorts of things, even separating us so we would at least know who they were speaking to. Because of that I always hated my name, and the fact that so many others had it. I longed for a name that was "special", different, and meaningful.

I felt that way until as an adult I read an article by a favorite pastor and author Francis Frangipane. He spoke about how names in the Bible were most often an indicator of who that person would be; that they were a personal "prophecy" for that individual's life. Names in the Bible have "meaning", so I let God lead me as I investigated what my names meant from a Biblical perspective.

My birth certificate reads "Debra Ann", but my mother had told my father Deborah, spelled in the Biblical way. For some reason, it didn't turn out that way. I became "Debra".

God took me to the book of Judges, Chapter 4, in the Old Testament. Here I read about Deborah, a woman who had been a leader of the Jewish people, long before the time of Christ. She took charge of the nation and called them to battle, something the men at that time were not wanting to do. She enlisted "Barak" to fight alongside her and they conquered the enemy.

He then directed me to Luke 2:36-38 in the New Testament. Here I read about a woman named "Anna". She had been widowed as a young woman, and lived in a room at the temple. She had dedicated her life to serving God in prayer. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple she stood on the steps and recognized that He was her Savior, tiny baby that He was, she knew in her heart that He would be Messiah.

Reading these accounts of the two women in the Bible changed my mind and changed my life. God showed me through these two women and their names that He was calling me to be involved in His work, and to lead a life following after Him. I realized I need to be proud of my name, and pursue living up to my namesakes. I'm encouraging you to study the origins of your own name, and to see how you can identify with it's meaning.

And lastly I want to say that I chose the name Common Ground for my blog because although we may all be different; having distinct likes and dislikes, tastes, and opinions; if we look inside our hearts, as women, we can all find something that we have "in common". Our hearts reflect our love and need for connection with one another.

Blessings to all of you,

and thank you, Sares, for your "loveleigh" party,

Please click on the above link
to read about other names

Debra

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

White Wednesday, Shopping for Christmas at Inspirational Home

Inspirational Home here in Springfield, is really the place to take in a "White Christmas". Monday I took you to the Open House, but today you get to see all the wonderful white displays. Charming and welcoming, Inspirational Home always has a wonderful selection of great finds. Debra has a beautiful antiques, but also carries a variety of gift-ables such a jewelry, candles and soaps, gourmet items, and garden goods. Inspirational Home is a great place to spend a few minutes or an afternoon. If you're in the area try to get by during the Christmas season, you will truly enjoy your visit.