Smith - The nesting place: your home doesnt have to be perfect to be beautiful

Simply: The Nesters brilliant. I couldnt stop reading. Seth Godin meets Martha Stewart meets Emilie Barnes this is one wise, real, winsome book you cant put down and will be picking up years from now. These pages will have you making more than the home you dreamed of. They will have you receiving the life you always dreamed of.

ANN VOSKAMP , New York Times bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts: Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

My family and I move around quite a bit, so were quite used to transforming houses of all types into homes. But I think Ive still held on to the fear of messing up, hammering in too many nail holes, and generally having a home thats just a bit too imperfect. Well, The Nesting Place is the perfect cheerleader I need to take risks in my house, so that it can be the place it needs to be home for those of us who live there. Myquillyns big-sister approach is encouraging, hilarious, and heartwarming, just the kind of house book I love. So many families will be encouraged by her words. Im so glad shes shared them with us.

TSH OXENREIDER , author of Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World

This highly personal account about embracing imperfection and finding contentment in your home is like sitting down with a good friend and talking about the stuff that really matters. The Nesting Place is full of approachable ideas, encouragement, and a whole lot of heart.

SHERRY PETERSIK , home blogger and bestselling author of Young House Love

If youre anything like me, the words, It doesnt have to be perfect to be beautiful, sum up more than my approach to design. In this gorgeous book, youll see that Myquillyn lives it out in a spectacularly inspiring and yet inviting way a rare combination of gifts. I laughed at her recollections of previous homes and stared wistfully at my own walls, willing them to grow antlers or a collection of frames before I finished reading. She has the ability to sit beside you with her words as a gentle, kind, inspired friend, and to urge you to make a space your own not just for the sake of paint or furniture, but because its good medicine for the heart to feel at home. Shes a storyteller, a do-it-yourselfer, a God-chaser, and a woman who knows what its like to put down roots wherever the Lord has planted her and grow them into something beautiful. I know youll love her the same way I do, so open the pages and let her words plant a seed wherever you are.

ANGIE SMITH , Women of Faith speaker and bestselling author of I Will Carry You; What Women Fear; Mended; and Chasing God

Confession: making my home beautiful and inviting has always been intimidating. The Nesting Place makes me feel like I have not only my own personal decorator but also an encouraging friend beside me. Whew.

HOLLEY GERTH , bestselling author of Youre Already Amazing

Growing up I always wished my sister would play Barbies the right way make them have conversations and relationships and drama. Instead, all she wanted to do was set up their pink plastic houses. Now were all grown up, and as I read her words in The Nesting Place, it all finally makes sense.

Myquillyn is the home evangelist to the tired perfectionist, and what she preaches is permission to make ourselves at home right where we are.

If you have ever felt like youre waiting for your next place to be the home youve always dreamed of, I beg you to read this encouraging, personal, hilarious book and let the Nester change your mind. It doesnt have to be fancy, expensive, complicated, designer, or perfect to be beautiful.

EMILY P. FREEMAN , the Nesters little sister and author of A Million Little Ways

The Nesting Place is so much more than a decorating book. Each chapter is packed with creative insights that helped me define my personal style and discover hidden beauty in my home. But also, without meaning to, Myquillyn helped me see hidden beauty in my life in the most unexpected ways. Her personal experiences had me laughing, and her practical ideas had me daydreaming about rooms in my house that could be made new through simple yet brilliant ideas that fill the whole book. If youve longed for a friend to walk through your home and help you see beyond obstacles to the full potential of the spaces you live in, The Nesting Place is for you.

RENEE SWOPE , Proverbs 31 Ministries radio show cohost and bestselling author of A Confident Heart

This book made me look at every room in my house differently, with a new lens of creativity and beauty and possibility. It inspired me to reclaim my home as sacred space, ripe with opportunities to celebrate and create memories and moments.

SHAUNA NIEQUIST , author of Bread & Wine

ZONDERVAN

The Nesting Place

Copyright 2014 by Myquillyn Smith

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition February 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-33791-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smith, Myquillyn.

The nesting place : your home doesnt have to be perfect to be beautiful / Myquillyn Smith.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-310-33790-4 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-0-310-33791-1 (ebook) 1. Home--Religious aspects--Christianity. 2. Home economics. 3. Rental housing. I. Title.

BR115.H56S65 2014

248.46 dc23

2013034145

Scripture quotations are taken from the Good News Translation (Todays English Standard Version, Second Edition), Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency The FEDD Agency., Post Office Box 341973, Austin, TX 78734.

Cover design: Michelle Lenger

Photography: Myquillin Smith

Calligraphy: Lindsay Letters

Interior design: Jody Langley

Printed in China

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 /CTC/ 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FOR YOU,

because every house has a silver lining

BECAUSE OF CHAD,

the most encouraging man in the world

INSPIRED BY HEATHER,

who taught me that life doesnt have to be perfect to be wonderful

IN HONOR OF LANDIS, CADEMON, AND GAVIN:

home is wherever you are

IN MEMORY OF GRANDMA MORLAND AND MELISSA COLE:

growing up, your homes were my favorite places to be