by Donya Dunlap | Jun 6, 2017 | Random
If you don’t care about my awkward attempt at humorously telling my penny floor story and just want tips on doing your own, skip to the headings after the pictures.
There once was a young, bordering on middle-aged, writer who dreamed of having an office—her very own space full of beauty and inspiration…and without the consternation of ticking clocks.
One fine, Autumn day, the kind and generous father of this fair-skinned writer granted his daughter’s wish. He commissioned assistance from the writer’s much older (wink), and handier brother to build a wall. It would be a great wall, (not a Chinese or Mexican wall) dividing their screened porch in two. This wonderful wall and accompanying windows framed in a 10 x 12 foot space perfect for a writer’s nook.
Construction began after the first of the new year, adding hope and cheer into the writer’s otherwise dreary Mid-Western winter. The writer grew more and more excited as the weeks passed, photo-journaling the progress for all the world to see on Instagram.
Finally, the day came when the writer’s brother was done installing the wall, making way for the writer to paint and lay a penny floor.
Inspired by Pinterest, and armed with supplies from Lowe’s, the writer primed and painted, penned and listened to podcasts for hours…which stretched into days…and morphed into weeks.
Weary from her labors, the writer grew impatient. She wondered if her efforts would ever truly result in her much prayed for haven. She wondered and prayed and wondered and prayed until she glued her final penny to the floor.
Calling again for the help of her faithful family, the writer took the next step in her journey towards her precious place—she grouted. Dark and gushy, the grout oozed between the pennies, tying the floor together and creating a beautiful, mostly level foundation above which she hoped many best-selling books would be written. The end was in sight! Or so she thought.
Morning came and with the dawn the writer wiped the remaining grout haze from the floor and prepared the polyurethane to seal the floor. With bated breath, the writer applied the first coat and set her alarm for the appropriate dry time. As soon as the tinkling tones sounded, the writer dashed to the doorway and…OH NO!! Instead of a beautiful matte finish on her penny-covered floor, the writer found a hazy, streaky, hardened mess!
The writer scoured Google and called wise experts to determine what went wrong. No one could say for sure, but everyone agreed the film must come up.
The next several days were filled with despair and fix-it attempts. Sadly, nothing worked. Would her penny floor be ruined forever?
Praying for a miracle, the writer tried one last remedy—the citrus stripper. Down went the orange goo and up went the writer’s hopes. Mineral spirits and scrubbing followed and clean pennies emerged.
Hooray!
After many more days of stripping section by section, the writer was victorious. But she still wasn’t done! Back to Lowe’s went the writer in search of better, clearer polyurethane. The writer returned home and applied, one, two, three coats of lovely, streak-free gloss. The beautiful penny floor shined as brightly as the writer’s smile. Her hard work and determination paid off.
The writer waited ever so impatiently for the last coat to dry, then filled her new office with furniture, books, and her beloved non-ticking clock. When the last pen was in its place, the writer admired all that had been done and called it good. She gave thanks to the many who took part in making her writing haven a dream come true: her generous father, handy brother, hard-working niece, helpful nephew, and her Lord, who provided the inspiration, funds, location, and family.
To her faithful blog readers, the writer crafted a quirky missive to share her construction saga and to thank them for sticking by her side during her many days of laying pennies and not writing blog posts. She hoped her penny floor parable makes them smile.
The Moral of the Story
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
Tips for Creating Your Own Penny Floor
Gather all of your pennies at once.
Unless you have a giant bucket of pennies you’ve collected over the years, this step is more difficult than it appears. This is also a step I ignored. I regretted that choice later.
The reason for it is the variations in color of the pennies as they age. Most of my floor looks rather uniform, but there is one section with a large amount of old, tan color pennies, and another section has a larger number of new, bright pennies in it. If I had gathered all the pennies I needed at the beginning, this could have been avoided. All in all, it looks fine. But without furniture, you can see a difference as you walk around the room.
As a guide, I estimated 270 pennies per square foot, or 27,000 for my 10 x 12 room. This estimate came from one of the bloggers I read that made the 12 x 12 squares before laying her pennies. I took her word for it. I didn’t do a final count myself.
Glue pennies directly to the subfloor.
You may see many suggestions for making 12 x 12 panels of pennies before laying them on the floor. Don’t bother. I used Elmer’s glue (yes, the stuff you peeled off your hands like skin when you were a kid) and adhered the pennies directly to the floor. This was great for several reasons.
- The Elmer’s allowed me to use a hammer to pull up the pennies if they dried out of place
- It removed any potential lines from the panels not fitting exactly right
- This method required fewer materials
- It allowed me to follow the curve of the floor as it was designed to slope towards a drain. I could have used cement to level the floor, but I knew it would be fine once the furniture was in so I didn’t take that step.
Several warnings about the gluing process
- If you use too much glue, you’ll have hard white gunk between your pennies that the grout may or may not cover later.
- If you use too little glue, the pennies will come up during the grouting process making you want to cuss like a sailor.
Grout
This step is technically optional. If you use epoxy it is self-leveling to 1/8″. It also takes longer to dry and can be tricky with mixing and getting any bubbles out so I chose to polyurethane my floor instead. Because of the gray grout used in the two brick walls of the space, I chose to grout my pennies using a charcoal colored sanded grout. It is dark enough to enhance the pennies without being black.
I read blogs where some chose to use a tan color to blend better with the pennies and others used black and said it really made the pennies pop. I suppose it comes down to what you want your floor to look like in the end. If you do choose to skip this step and use epoxy, keep in mind that you’ll be able to see things like paint splotches in the gaps between the pennies.
Polyurethane
If you read the above parable, you’ll know this step should have been the easiest and it turned out to be HORRIBLE.
This happened for two reasons. First, I didn’t want a super shiny finish that looked like a bar top on my floor. I was hoping for a more antique look and thought a matte polyurethane would help with this. Second, the matte polyurethane had been discontinued and the one gallon they had left was more than half off. This should have been a warning to me, but I was all about saving money at the time.
Sadly, the particles in the poly mixed poorly and left my floor streaky and cloudy. They also soaked into the grout and made it dull and milky looking. The stripper pulled the poly off the surface of the pennies and grout, but what soaked in beyond the surface stayed there. Thankfully, when I applied the gloss coat it seemed to mix with the original and darkened the grout somewhat. However, it still doesn’t look as great as it first did before my matte poly fiasco.
If you aren’t super interested in a shiny floor either, you can lay several coats of gloss and then cover it in a semi-gloss poly to dull some of the shine at the end. I read this handy tip AFTER my blunder. Oops. Turns out, I really like the look of it shiny so all’s well that ends well.
I used Minwax Ultimate Floor Finish in gloss. It’s a water-based, quick drying poly. You can walk on it in socks after 24 hours and put furniture on it after 48. I waited an extra 18 hours just to be safe. It takes a full 7 days to cure so be careful and don’t lay any rugs down until the full week is up. It’s expensive, but so is floor stripper, mineral spirits, gloves and steel wool. And those steel wool splinters hurt! Do yourself a favor and get the good stuff. You’ll be done in three coats (2 hours between coats for a total of 6 hours plus dry time) and you’ll be so happy you learned from my mistakes.
Enjoy your penny floor!
That’s it! If you are willing to spend some tedious hours getting a sore back, or if you have several really great friends that will help you lay all the pennies, you can have a beautiful, multi-toned copper floor for less than $3 a square foot depending on the materials you choose.
Even despite my setbacks, I truly love this floor and would do it again. If you decide to give it a try, send me pictures! I’d love to see your special place shine too.
Any questions? Post a comment below and I’ll try my best to answer. Happy DIYing!
by Donya Dunlap | May 24, 2017 | The Spiritual Life, Write Hard Things
A year of firsts has come and gone. Mother’s Day. Then the first birthday. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s came next. February brought the first anniversary of when we were told Mom had stage IV gall bladder cancer. April 28th the first anniversary of her going to see Jesus.
One year of life without my mother, my dearest friend, my cheerleader, my confidante.
The pain, though not as sharp as at the beginning of this journey, still runs deep. An undercurrent to everything I do. Mom visits me in my dreams, happy, whole, and smiling. Always smiling. I cry through worship nearly every Sunday. I fight back tears when I smell her perfume in a crowd. The sorrow is now part of me, shaping my thoughts and emotions as I navigate through life with a giant hole in my existence.
In the midst of my heart pain, I’ve been dealing with physical pain as well. A few months ago I dislocated my shoulder in my sleep. It took a while to diagnose the problem. During that time my muscles tightened around my shoulder, protecting it from further injury. And though the joint is now where it should be, my muscles are still tight and unyielding, reducing my arm’s usefulness. In order to get back to full range of motion, I have to work on breaking up the scar tissue that has developed and stretching out the muscles. The process is painful, but it’s the only way I’ll have true healing. The spiritual implications from both experiences of grief have been evident throughout.
A Biblical Response to Emotional and Physical Pain
Because we are tripartite beings, (body, soul, and spirit) physical suffering and emotional suffering can both impact our spiritual lives. Withdrawing protects ourselves from potential sources of additional pain. Lashing out at others for the slightest grievance becomes common, using our pain as an excuse. We can act defensively and self-protect, causing increasing harm to ourselves in the process, or we can do the hard work of healing, turning to our Great Physician for guidance and help to face the hurt.
1 Peter 5 speaks to our suffering in a powerful way. Peter reminds us that Christ understands our suffering. In suffering He became our Good Shepherd. We are to follow His example by shepherding those in our care with love, gentleness, and above all, humility.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:6-7
Humility may seem like an odd response. You may be thinking that pain is the issue, not pride. But what I believe Peter is saying is pain, or suffering, is a catalyst. It is done to you or happens within you. Our response to pain can either be pride or humility. We can turn our focus inward, causing caustic attitudes and further damage to ourselves and our relationships, or we can submit ourselves to what God is doing in our lives. The proper response, according to Peter, is casting our concerns and anxiety on Christ’s shoulders, freeing us up to love those we encounter daily rather than withdrawing from them.
Working out our spiritual scar tissue is a difficult task. One God never intended us to endure alone. This is why He sent Jesus to take on the pain of this world at Calvary. Every minute of every day we have to choose to give our pain and concerns over to Him. Our suffering never truly goes away this side of Heaven. It’s part of this fallen world. Part of us. But it doesn’t have to limit us.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. – John 16:33
We will always have scars, but we don’t have to be bound up with scar tissue or walk through life with open, festering wounds. Humility brings healing. Humble yourself to God and others. Seek His face through your tears. Let Him help you carry your load, so you, in turn, can help others.
by Donya Dunlap | Feb 23, 2017 | Making a Difference, Modern Day Slavery
Today is Shine a Light on Slavery Day, established and promoted by the End It Movement. (You can read my first post on its inception in 2013 by clicking here.) As explained on enditmovement.com,
END IT is a Coalition of the leading organizations in the world in the fight for freedom.
The #EndItMovement has mobilized thousands of people, corporations, and organizations to bring awareness, prevention, rescue, and restoration on behalf of the 20-45.8 million people trapped in modern day slavery.
How YOU can shine a light on slavery
The topic of slavery seems overwhelming…and it should. There are more slaves today than at any other point in human history. It appears impossible to conquer, but you can make a difference!
Begin:
Draw a red X on your hand, take a selfie, and post it using #EndItMovement. That’s all it takes to add your voice to the growing number of freedom fighters around the globe.
Keep going:
Want to spread the word, but don’t know what to say? Share this post on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using the sharing buttons at the bottom. For more information on Modern Day Slavery, follow the link at the top of the page.
If you want to go farther, visit End It Movement to share stories or videos to help raise awareness among your friends and family who might not know slavery still exists. When I first became a freedom fighter, most of my circle of influence had never heard about modern day slavery. You can be the one to tell those you love about those who have no voice.
You can also donate to one of the End It Coalition Partners or find a local organization in your area like:
Are You in it to END IT?
If that doesn’t satisfy you, consider using your unique gifts and talents to take part in the fight.
- Raise money through a 5K or freedom ride
- Write articles on your blog
- Make jewelry, blankets, downloadable art, stationery, or whatever makes you happy
Use the resources in your hands now to impact others. God gave you these special gifts as tools to be a blessing. Get creative!
Love your neighbor
When asked what the greatest command in Scripture is, Jesus responded,
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. – Mark 12:30-31
Personally, I cannot imagine a better way to love my neighbor than to fight for those enslaved in my town, my state, my country, and around the world. Will you join me?
Click EndItMovement.com to find resources, read freedom fighter stories, locate partners, brainstorm ideas, and even purchase clothing to promote the End It Movement.
Click here to sign the International Justice Mission petition to ensure the End Modern Slavery Initiative (EMSI) is given the resources it needs.
by Donya Dunlap | Jan 17, 2017 | Book Reviews, The Spiritual Life
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about brokenness. If you read my last post, you may have a sense of what I mean by that. Grief does many things to different people, but for me, the one word that best describes how I feel most of the time is broken. I’m not myself. I feel scattered, distracted, unsettled. I find it hard to remember things and the energy that I once depended on to get me through long, busy days is lacking in vibrancy and easily depleted.
Maybe you know how that feels?
Today I’ve had the lyrics to an old Steve Green song running through my mind.
Broken and spilled out
Just for love of you Jesus
My most precious treasure
Lavished on Thee
Broken and spilled out
And poured at Your feet
In sweet abandon
Let me be spilled out
And used up for Thee
It’s a beautiful song and a heartwarming story in Scripture. I remember being touched by the poetic idea of my life being spilled out for Jesus when I first heard it sung in church. But real brokenness isn’t always beautiful. It’s messy and complicated and uncomfortable. It makes you cry at inopportune moments and wonder if life will ever be the same again.
The Provision and the Problem
In The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life by Ann Voskamp, she repeats a conversation she had with her husband, a farmer. On a day when she was feeling especially fragile, he spoke these words to her:
The seed breaks to give us the wheat. The soil breaks to give us the crop, the sky breaks to I’ve us the rain, the wheat breaks to give us the bread. And the bread breaks to give us the feast. There was once even an alabaster jar that broke to give Him all he glory. Never be afraid of being a broken thing.
But isn’t that just the problem? We accept pain will come to us all at some point. Life and death are inseparable. Love and grief are too. Success and failure. Abundance and loss. All sides of this same coin of existence. So why then is it so hard to admit that we’re hurting? That we don’t have it all together?
I think it’s because we are afraid. Afraid to be seen as weak. Of being judged for our messy emotions. Afraid people can’t be trusted to handle our fragile hearts carefully. Afraid of greater pain, deeper loss, wider shame.
So we stuff our feelings and every day we’re “fine” when on the inside we’re crying or raging or simply lost. We plaster a smile and save our tears for the shower so no one knows just how broken we really are.
The Broken Way
Ann offers another path. One of healing and communion. Of honest prayers and united hearts. She offers the broken way—leaning into the suffering of Christ and thereby entering into the suffering of His followers. And it all begins by admitting your own need.
Before we can be honest with others, we must be honest with God and ourselves. Are you angry? Tell God why. Are you confused? Confess to Him that you don’t understand. And then give yourself grace. Take a nap. Write your feelings in a journal. Call a friend you know can handle someone ugly crying on the other end of the phone.
You don’t have to be afraid
Does this sound unChristian to you? Possibly selfish? I know I worry about being a burden to others or dragging them down into my pit of despair, but again, Ann offers another perspective. She says we don’t have to be afraid of our brokenness because in this sharing of hearts we find community. Friendship. Intimacy. Healing.
There is no fellowship for brokenhearted believers while protecting others from our own brokenness—because we are the fellowship of the broken…and fellowship happens in the brokenness. The miracle happens in the breaking.
So be aware…the next time you ask how I’m doing, I might just tell you. And the next time I see you faking a smile, I might just push a little back. Because we are all in this life together. We need each other…even though we might not want to admit it sometimes. And if you find yourself feeling fragile too, I encourage you to get The Broken Way. To quote dear Kathleen Kelly, “read it with a box of kleenex.” But do read it.
by Donya Dunlap | Jan 13, 2017 | The Spiritual Life
A few months ago I was asked to volunteer for Passion 2017, a conference for 18-25 year olds who want to draw closer to Jesus. Since my first, life-changing encounter with the Passion movement in 2012, I have wanted to take part in this event. I was thrilled God worked out my holiday travel plans to allow for the extra few days in the south. I had a few reservations about jumping into such a big event after being out of the loop of service for so many months, but I assured myself it would be just like riding a bike.
Except it wasn’t.
In times past, serving at events and conferences in any capacity was one of my favorite things. And of all the conferences I’ve known, the Passion Conference has been the most integral to my spiritual growth—albeit digitally and not in person. So you can imagine my dismay as January 2nd drew closer and closer and my heart still felt as empty as it has since my mom passed away. How could I pour out to others when I had nothing from which to give?
Words of wisdom from my Elijah friend
During that first early morning drive to the Georgia Dome, I confessed to my friend I didn’t think I could do it. The desire was there, but my emotional and spiritual reserves were gone. I don’t recall her exact words, but she spoke from a well of understanding grief and pain. She knew exactly how I felt—a comfort in itself.
She told me not to worry if I had lost my spark. It is still inside and will return when the time is right. She encouraged me to do what I could, but not to feel a pressure to perform or hold myself to a standard of past accomplishments. She reminded me that living in grace means accepting yourself and others as they are. I shouldn’t fear condemnation or reproach for not measuring up, but should simply take the next step and walk through the door God had opened.
As I walked toward registration, the anxiety I had been feeling melted away. In the first door holder meeting, tears streamed down my face as the worship leaders guided the crowd of volunteers in preparatory praise. I prayed the Holy Spirit would do what I could not. I prayed for physical endurance, emotional strength, and supernatural ability. God answered my prayer.
Just enough
I never felt a surge of power or the voice of God telling me everything would be okay. There was no mighty, rushing wind of confidence. Just enough strength to do the next thing. Unpack the boxes. Organize the shelves. Smile encouragement to the frazzled leader. Speak grace. Keep moving. Answer questions. Engage with students. Rejoice in rescued children, salvation testimonies, and open hearts.
Every moment I needed to pour out energy, ignore the screaming muscles in my legs, and do the work of the ministry, I had what I needed. Not an overflow, but enough.
Rest and reflection
Upon the conclusion of Passion 2017 and my seven week skip-the-holidays tour, I returned to Michigan exhausted. In taking time to rest and reflect I’ve thought much of the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17. I’m sure she would have felt more secure with cupboards full of groceries, just as I have often felt secure in my abilities and talents. But sometimes God sends famine into our lives to draw us near to Himself.
Dependence isn’t easily learned. Without the famine, there would have been no need. And without dependence, there would have been no miracle. And though it felt more like desperation than a spiritual breakthrough, God carrying me though those three days of service was every bit a miracle.
Empty but oh so full
In my lack, I have discovered what it means to lean into the Spirit on a whole new level. It’s one thing to pray for Spirit filling as a boost to your natural accomplishments. It’s something else to need His help to put one foot in front of the other.
In reality, though our talents are given by God to be used by God, they can become idols that replace God in our lives. I know I’ve been guilty of this. In the stripping bare of my life this year, I’ve learned what no sermon could ever teach me. It is the paradox of 2 Corinthians 12:10:
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient of you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It’s a lesson I keep encountering over and over again. I am enough in my brokenness, my pain, my weakness, my emptiness, my portion of talents—not because what I have is sufficient, but because He is. He never expects us to have it all together. Perfectionism is a burden man has invented, not God. Jesus is all in all so we don’t have to be.
I still worry at times that I’ll be rejected as not good enough. But Passion reminded me that if I take my little, empty pot of oil to Jesus, He will provide and sustain. And in the process, He is making me into a vessel fit for the miraculous. Only an empty pot has room for Him.
