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The 3 Giveaway Winners Are…
4 days ago
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Haven't forgotten...
Part three is coming soon! The notes have been prepared, I just haven't had the time to sit down and compose my thoughts :) It happens when you have a 4 yr old!!! We have so many things going on this week and weekend and I'm hoping to carve out some time to sit down and do this!
Love you all!!
XXOO
Love you all!!
XXOO
Friday, June 24, 2011
Part Two of Six
Purpose #1
You Were Planned For God's Pleasure
One of the surprising things I learned here is the true definition of the word, worship. I always understood it to be going to church, singing some hymns, praying to God and that was it. I never considered that worship was so much more than that. A lot of people I attend church with now, think of worship as the music we sing on Sunday mornings or a Friday night Lighthouse service. What I didn't stop to consider is that our lives are lived in worship of the Lord. Anything we do that pleases Him is worship. That's HUGE! Love, trust, obedience, faith, praise and the use of our God given talents are what please God and all of it is a form of worship. We must be authentic and real when we approach God - we must have the right attitude or God won't listen. We need to surrender our lives to Him, trust in Him and tell him everything! God wants us to be in a relationship with Him and to do that we must be willing to release our grip on our lives and invite Him into our hearts. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. When we finally realize that and tell Him we believe in Him and love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength and all our soul we will come into a relationship with Him that trumps anything else we could imagine. God's desire is for us to love Him and love our brothers and sisters as we love Him. This pleases God. This is ultimate worship. And He wants us to remember Him even in our pain and suffering, most especially in this time. This is when being real is where it's at. When we are genuine in our anguish and we cry out to God, He will hear us. He has promised never to forsake us or abandon us, so even if His answer is "no" He is with us.
I've heard "no" before I've even asked Him anything - I made the mistake of thinking I could manage on my own. I didn't want to bother God with trivial matters, after all He is God and I'm only...me. I've always been aware of my sinful nature. For a long time, I fully embraced it with a passion and a reckless desire to find something, anything, that would make me feel better. Anything that is, except God. I was so angry with Him I chose to turn my back on Him completely. I blamed Him for taking my mother at such a young age. Then, I simply stopped looking and merely existed. I never had the right attitude - I never knew, even when I was a child growing up in a solid, loving, wonderful Christian home, what that meant. Even when I was baptized at the age of 14, my attitude was not in the right place. I did it because I thought I was supposed to, not because I was moved by the Spirit. My view of God, church and everything was seriously flawed.
Now I realize that the way I choose to live my life is how I worship God. The decisions I make are being tempered by thoughts of "what would Jesus do" in this situation. It's a learning curve and I'm far from perfect. As I tell my son when he gets frustrated in learning situations...practice makes perfect. I'm going to keep the practice of examining my decisions through the eyes of the Word. Instead of one who says "do as I say, not as I do" I want to be a good example for my son. Someone he can trust will do and say the truth.
Now, onto less thought provoking things like, what's been happening in my yarn world!
Completion of the Shell Stitch Baby Blanket! It took a while only because I'd work on it and then put it down for months. I finally decided who it would be for and then had a reason to finish it! I'm also making a baby sweater to go with it - the right pattern is being searched for continually! I've also knocked off some towel toppers and dish cloths for charity. Otherwise, not much is happening now in yarnville :)
Next up, the chicks!
I feel like a bird woman all right! They are the sweetest things! My three Buff Orpington's are just as friendly as can be while the Silver Laced Wyandottes have complete lack of interest in me - LOL :) Oh, well - they are all growing so fast. By the end of summer I should be able to integrate them into the flock. I'm hoping Mister Sister will be so happy by the addition of new hens he'll help protect them from the rest!
And on the bunny front:
Yup, I've gone nuts over the bunny. He's the sweetest guy and he has the best bunny run a bunny could ask for. Complete with custom made shelter and hutch with added protection from the rain! He's surrounded by bunny luxury! We joke that any animal that strays onto our property is the luckiest animal alive since we treat all our furry/feathered/hairy friends so well!
Time to sign off -it's late and I've still got to change our bed before climbing in. Should head up now since we'll be getting a new charge in the morning. We're dog sitting a gorgeous and sweet golden doodle named Shami for some friends and she's being dropped off in the morning. Must get some shut eye before all the excitement!
Stay safe!
XXOO
You Were Planned For God's Pleasure
One of the surprising things I learned here is the true definition of the word, worship. I always understood it to be going to church, singing some hymns, praying to God and that was it. I never considered that worship was so much more than that. A lot of people I attend church with now, think of worship as the music we sing on Sunday mornings or a Friday night Lighthouse service. What I didn't stop to consider is that our lives are lived in worship of the Lord. Anything we do that pleases Him is worship. That's HUGE! Love, trust, obedience, faith, praise and the use of our God given talents are what please God and all of it is a form of worship. We must be authentic and real when we approach God - we must have the right attitude or God won't listen. We need to surrender our lives to Him, trust in Him and tell him everything! God wants us to be in a relationship with Him and to do that we must be willing to release our grip on our lives and invite Him into our hearts. Jesus is the only way to God the Father. When we finally realize that and tell Him we believe in Him and love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength and all our soul we will come into a relationship with Him that trumps anything else we could imagine. God's desire is for us to love Him and love our brothers and sisters as we love Him. This pleases God. This is ultimate worship. And He wants us to remember Him even in our pain and suffering, most especially in this time. This is when being real is where it's at. When we are genuine in our anguish and we cry out to God, He will hear us. He has promised never to forsake us or abandon us, so even if His answer is "no" He is with us.
I've heard "no" before I've even asked Him anything - I made the mistake of thinking I could manage on my own. I didn't want to bother God with trivial matters, after all He is God and I'm only...me. I've always been aware of my sinful nature. For a long time, I fully embraced it with a passion and a reckless desire to find something, anything, that would make me feel better. Anything that is, except God. I was so angry with Him I chose to turn my back on Him completely. I blamed Him for taking my mother at such a young age. Then, I simply stopped looking and merely existed. I never had the right attitude - I never knew, even when I was a child growing up in a solid, loving, wonderful Christian home, what that meant. Even when I was baptized at the age of 14, my attitude was not in the right place. I did it because I thought I was supposed to, not because I was moved by the Spirit. My view of God, church and everything was seriously flawed.
Now I realize that the way I choose to live my life is how I worship God. The decisions I make are being tempered by thoughts of "what would Jesus do" in this situation. It's a learning curve and I'm far from perfect. As I tell my son when he gets frustrated in learning situations...practice makes perfect. I'm going to keep the practice of examining my decisions through the eyes of the Word. Instead of one who says "do as I say, not as I do" I want to be a good example for my son. Someone he can trust will do and say the truth.
Now, onto less thought provoking things like, what's been happening in my yarn world!
Completion of the Shell Stitch Baby Blanket! It took a while only because I'd work on it and then put it down for months. I finally decided who it would be for and then had a reason to finish it! I'm also making a baby sweater to go with it - the right pattern is being searched for continually! I've also knocked off some towel toppers and dish cloths for charity. Otherwise, not much is happening now in yarnville :)
Next up, the chicks!
I feel like a bird woman all right! They are the sweetest things! My three Buff Orpington's are just as friendly as can be while the Silver Laced Wyandottes have complete lack of interest in me - LOL :) Oh, well - they are all growing so fast. By the end of summer I should be able to integrate them into the flock. I'm hoping Mister Sister will be so happy by the addition of new hens he'll help protect them from the rest!
And on the bunny front:
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| New hutch |
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| Wild Man helping with hardware |
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| Bunny's cozy hutch under the umbrella |
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| Favorite hang out! |
Time to sign off -it's late and I've still got to change our bed before climbing in. Should head up now since we'll be getting a new charge in the morning. We're dog sitting a gorgeous and sweet golden doodle named Shami for some friends and she's being dropped off in the morning. Must get some shut eye before all the excitement!
Stay safe!
XXOO
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Part One of Six
My faith story is a work in progress much like many people I know. It is rare to find the individual who can claim they have nothing more to learn about the direction their faith is heading. More like impossible or that person is lying through their teeth! In any case, my journey has been and continues to be fraught with doubts and fears and the voice of Satan in my ears is louder than I care for. I have had a difficult time really believing that Jesus died on that cross to save me...worthless, sinful, prideful, full of holes me. I know better than anyone, with the exception of the Almighty, how much my life has reflected the temptations of this world! Yet I am choosing to believe in hope and to believe in hope one MUST believe in the Cross and everything that signifies. Despite the machinations of the evil one, I find myself believing more firmly now than I ever have. In fact, I thirst for more and more of God's precious presence. I find myself going to the Word to find answers instead of the world. I'm spending more time reading studies that are helping me understand certain truths and one of those studies is The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
Now this book isn't perfect - not one that has been written by man is - but it has helped broaden my base and see this life really isn't about me...it's about God and how I can learn to live His purposes for my life which is ultimately to His glory. My one HUGE criticism of this study book is the fact that Pastor Warren plugs all his other books and materials in it. It's rather annoying actually to read a really great point that is insightful and provoking only to have it followed up with a plug like "my book X would be a great place to explore this or please see Appendix 3 for a list of my X," etc. He should have saved his self promotion for a more appropriate place!
So here goes...
When we know our purpose in life we can operate more confidently, right? When that purpose is given to us by God so we may build up our character for our eternal home in heaven there is no greater purpose. We were made for God, for His design. We are living a temporary existence on this earth. But to imagine we are only here as ambassadors for God, that our permanent home is with Him and all this stuff around us is foreign soil, is overwhelming for me. Joy will come, I'm sure of it! But I never thought about our life on earth in such terms. Everything we do here builds our character for our heavenly home because when we die the only thing we take with us is our character - who we are. We get that from the sum of our life experiences and if we experience life through God's purposes, our character will become more Christlike. This is highly desirable for this sinful chick! WOW! So in other words, I shouldn't get too attached to life on Terra Firma...! It does make sense - the things of this world are earthly things, materialistic and fleeting, I can't take them with me when I die but the things of heaven are permanent and eternal. So I should fix my eyes on the end prize - eternal life with my Lord. And so here enters the voice of hope for me - the Voice that is slowly but surely drowning out the voice of the tempter. I want Jesus to shove aside all the negative and evil thoughts that pop up with unnerving regularity! As far as I'm concerned, I see no other choice for me if I want hope and love in my life. Life with no purpose equals life with no hope and I just can't reconcile that. We were made for something bigger than this life. So, for me? I choose to believe that Jesus died on that cross for me - to wipe the slate clean, to give me salvation. I choose to live my life with purpose. What that is I'm still working on but at least now I have a direction and I know that whatever God chooses for me I'll trust in His guidance.
Ok, I warned you! It's unpolished and rough but it's real. I've never felt so compelled to be involved as I am right now. Because of my weaknesses and my sinful past, full immersion is the way to go! I need to be surrounded by my church family and listen to Christian music and learn to pray with the right attitude. I am too weak to do this on my own. Thankfully I have the love and support of my family along with my church family - I've developed friendships with some really awesome people! With God's help and a little determination on my part (as well as some really "out of my comfort zone" experiences!) I plan to stay on the right path. I don't expect to be completely successful, I am only human and as such, prone to human failures but I do hope to deal with those failures in a more Christlike way. One can only hope! Which is, after all, the point!
Enough for now - must go snuggle my freshly bathed handsome wild man! :D
Stay safe!
XXOO
Now this book isn't perfect - not one that has been written by man is - but it has helped broaden my base and see this life really isn't about me...it's about God and how I can learn to live His purposes for my life which is ultimately to His glory. My one HUGE criticism of this study book is the fact that Pastor Warren plugs all his other books and materials in it. It's rather annoying actually to read a really great point that is insightful and provoking only to have it followed up with a plug like "my book X would be a great place to explore this or please see Appendix 3 for a list of my X," etc. He should have saved his self promotion for a more appropriate place!
So here goes...
When we know our purpose in life we can operate more confidently, right? When that purpose is given to us by God so we may build up our character for our eternal home in heaven there is no greater purpose. We were made for God, for His design. We are living a temporary existence on this earth. But to imagine we are only here as ambassadors for God, that our permanent home is with Him and all this stuff around us is foreign soil, is overwhelming for me. Joy will come, I'm sure of it! But I never thought about our life on earth in such terms. Everything we do here builds our character for our heavenly home because when we die the only thing we take with us is our character - who we are. We get that from the sum of our life experiences and if we experience life through God's purposes, our character will become more Christlike. This is highly desirable for this sinful chick! WOW! So in other words, I shouldn't get too attached to life on Terra Firma...! It does make sense - the things of this world are earthly things, materialistic and fleeting, I can't take them with me when I die but the things of heaven are permanent and eternal. So I should fix my eyes on the end prize - eternal life with my Lord. And so here enters the voice of hope for me - the Voice that is slowly but surely drowning out the voice of the tempter. I want Jesus to shove aside all the negative and evil thoughts that pop up with unnerving regularity! As far as I'm concerned, I see no other choice for me if I want hope and love in my life. Life with no purpose equals life with no hope and I just can't reconcile that. We were made for something bigger than this life. So, for me? I choose to believe that Jesus died on that cross for me - to wipe the slate clean, to give me salvation. I choose to live my life with purpose. What that is I'm still working on but at least now I have a direction and I know that whatever God chooses for me I'll trust in His guidance.
Ok, I warned you! It's unpolished and rough but it's real. I've never felt so compelled to be involved as I am right now. Because of my weaknesses and my sinful past, full immersion is the way to go! I need to be surrounded by my church family and listen to Christian music and learn to pray with the right attitude. I am too weak to do this on my own. Thankfully I have the love and support of my family along with my church family - I've developed friendships with some really awesome people! With God's help and a little determination on my part (as well as some really "out of my comfort zone" experiences!) I plan to stay on the right path. I don't expect to be completely successful, I am only human and as such, prone to human failures but I do hope to deal with those failures in a more Christlike way. One can only hope! Which is, after all, the point!
Enough for now - must go snuggle my freshly bathed handsome wild man! :D
Stay safe!
XXOO
Monday, June 20, 2011
Back soon...
I will be back among blogland again very soon! I miss you all so much!
Hubby and I have just finished our 40 day study of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and I can't wait to share what I've learned. It's been a remarkable journey, one of many "aha" moments and "WOW" comments. We did this study at this time in memory of our little angel, Owen, who only lived for 40 days six years ago. We wanted to see what God had to tell us about this period of time. He's shown us some amazing truths and caused us to begin examining what we are to do with the lessons learned from the discovery of His purposes for us.
I intend to summarize what each purpose meant to me so I'll have five posts coming up soon! They'll be rough and full of feeling instead of polished and well thought out - LOL!
I'll have an FO for you as well and some pics of how big our chicks are :)
Until then,
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
Stay safe!
XXOO
Hubby and I have just finished our 40 day study of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and I can't wait to share what I've learned. It's been a remarkable journey, one of many "aha" moments and "WOW" comments. We did this study at this time in memory of our little angel, Owen, who only lived for 40 days six years ago. We wanted to see what God had to tell us about this period of time. He's shown us some amazing truths and caused us to begin examining what we are to do with the lessons learned from the discovery of His purposes for us.
I intend to summarize what each purpose meant to me so I'll have five posts coming up soon! They'll be rough and full of feeling instead of polished and well thought out - LOL!
I'll have an FO for you as well and some pics of how big our chicks are :)
Until then,
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
Stay safe!
XXOO
Friday, June 3, 2011
{this moment}
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| 14 days old |
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Joining up with SouleMama this week - have a great weekend!
XXOO
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Inevitability...
Never fails. Doesn't matter how old I get or how carefully I watch what I'm doing. Every season I end up with poison ivy. *sigh* This season is no exception, however, it is the most intense case I think I've ever had. I believe I had direct contact, usually I get it through secondary contact; like my dog, cat, chickens, etc. This year I think I managed to get into it somehow. My left arm is swollen, red and itchy/sore constantly. I have it on the fingers of my right hand which makes typing interesting and knitting or crochet impossible! I have it all around the ankle on my left foot and the ankle is also swollen and red, though not quite as itchy. And it's on my neck and chest, but those patches are almost done. Since I'm a veteran of this stuff I've tried everything under the sun and have a few favorite treatments, like Gold Bond Medicated powder. But mostly I wait it out the week to two weeks I'm covered with it. Even my Dr says I have a high tolerance to it and won't prescribe steroids. He is of the belief that steroids don't really enhance healing anyway and the side effects are worse than the treatment. I'm ok with that! I don't want to take or use anything else that has icky side effects! Unfortunately my regular course of favorites aren't cutting it. The rash is so intense and severe that I've had to research new options. I'm trying one now that's a bit on the expensive side but will allow me to reapply as often as I need to. Tecnu Rash Relief seems to be working and providing some relief from the relentless itch and inflammation. It should for $15! If this doesn't work then I'll go back to Ivy Dry which I've had success with in the past. The Caladryl spray works quite well too but on milder cases. I'd use jewelweed if there were any around here but I can't even find it in our local whole foods store.
We're supposed to head down to Massachusetts for a family reunion and 50th wedding anniversary party on Saturday. Not sure I'm going to go if this rash hasn't let up. Not my idea of fun, seeing family I haven't seen in years while I'm all covered in poison ivy and bandages!
On the yarn front, there is nothing going on. I had been working on a Shell Stitch blanket for some friends who are expecting in the fall but I've had to put it aside as I can't effectively work on it and be covered in an itchy rash at the same time! So I'm in limbo at the moment :\
I have been doing a lot of Bible study lately and I've been reminded how amazing God is in how He works in our lives. I've been discovering how all the books I've been reading and messages I've been hearing are tied together in God's Word. Our Sunday sermon series, Loony Towns, is focusing on fleeing from evil and pursuing righteousness and along with that I've started a book (and study) called Forgotten God by Francis Chan that ties in with the messages our Pastor is delivering. In addition, my small group in Women's Journey at Curtis Lake is studying 1st John and some of the Scripture we are reading also ties in with the message series and what Pastor Chan is talking about in Forgotten God! Also hubby and I are reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren which ties into all this as well! So, in my own inadequate words, to the best of my ability this is what I'm seeing; love the people of the world but do not love the things of the world because the things of the world are fleeting and you cannot take them with you when you die. God wants you to build your character by striving to be like Christ, loving Him first then others and viewing the things of the world as a good steward would. Likewise, pursue the Holy Spirit and let Him guide your actions because if you only concentrate on fleeing evil without pursuing anything you will only cycle back to evil and find yourself doing the very things you attempted fleeing! We have minimized the effect of the Holy Spirit relegating Him to our own comfort level when we should be embracing the Holy Spirit with fear and awe, knowing that our bodies and souls are in His hands alone. Our bodies can be destroyed here on earth but ONLY GOD can condemn our souls. Whew! We need to stop and ponder the awesomeness of that! Only GOD can condemn our souls and we are so busy ignoring the Holy Spirit that we are making a mockery of our belief. You cannot reject the Son and have the Father. The Bible says "No one who denies the Son can have the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well." 1 John 2:23 (HCSB) Jesus is the Way! We need to remember that the Holy Spirit is God as well.
I only want to be a vessel for God to use. I want to be His hands and feet. I want to learn more about Him because the more I learn the more I want. If I were to look objectively at my level of belief say six months to a year ago, I would have said it was the size of a mustard seed. Looking at my life and growth now, I would say the mustard seed has definitely sprouted!
I pray for the discipline and maturity to continue in God's Word. If I'm not surrounded by Him, I'm drowning in despair for I cannot live in a world without Hope. I am flawed, imperfect, and a sinner, completely unworthy to be in His presence yet somehow He loves me anyway! He loved me so much He sent His only Son to die for my sins so I might have eternal life with Him! In my finite mind, I can never understand that level of love and feeling. That being said, I have lost a child and therefore know the human limit of that kind of pain. Just thinking of the Cross brings me to tears... And knowing God is a God of emotion, His sense of loss is surely incomprehensible to us since it's of a level so much higher than ours. Remember to thank God for all your blessings!
Stay safe y'all and have a happy week!
We're supposed to head down to Massachusetts for a family reunion and 50th wedding anniversary party on Saturday. Not sure I'm going to go if this rash hasn't let up. Not my idea of fun, seeing family I haven't seen in years while I'm all covered in poison ivy and bandages!
On the yarn front, there is nothing going on. I had been working on a Shell Stitch blanket for some friends who are expecting in the fall but I've had to put it aside as I can't effectively work on it and be covered in an itchy rash at the same time! So I'm in limbo at the moment :\
I have been doing a lot of Bible study lately and I've been reminded how amazing God is in how He works in our lives. I've been discovering how all the books I've been reading and messages I've been hearing are tied together in God's Word. Our Sunday sermon series, Loony Towns, is focusing on fleeing from evil and pursuing righteousness and along with that I've started a book (and study) called Forgotten God by Francis Chan that ties in with the messages our Pastor is delivering. In addition, my small group in Women's Journey at Curtis Lake is studying 1st John and some of the Scripture we are reading also ties in with the message series and what Pastor Chan is talking about in Forgotten God! Also hubby and I are reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren which ties into all this as well! So, in my own inadequate words, to the best of my ability this is what I'm seeing; love the people of the world but do not love the things of the world because the things of the world are fleeting and you cannot take them with you when you die. God wants you to build your character by striving to be like Christ, loving Him first then others and viewing the things of the world as a good steward would. Likewise, pursue the Holy Spirit and let Him guide your actions because if you only concentrate on fleeing evil without pursuing anything you will only cycle back to evil and find yourself doing the very things you attempted fleeing! We have minimized the effect of the Holy Spirit relegating Him to our own comfort level when we should be embracing the Holy Spirit with fear and awe, knowing that our bodies and souls are in His hands alone. Our bodies can be destroyed here on earth but ONLY GOD can condemn our souls. Whew! We need to stop and ponder the awesomeness of that! Only GOD can condemn our souls and we are so busy ignoring the Holy Spirit that we are making a mockery of our belief. You cannot reject the Son and have the Father. The Bible says "No one who denies the Son can have the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well." 1 John 2:23 (HCSB) Jesus is the Way! We need to remember that the Holy Spirit is God as well.
I only want to be a vessel for God to use. I want to be His hands and feet. I want to learn more about Him because the more I learn the more I want. If I were to look objectively at my level of belief say six months to a year ago, I would have said it was the size of a mustard seed. Looking at my life and growth now, I would say the mustard seed has definitely sprouted!
I pray for the discipline and maturity to continue in God's Word. If I'm not surrounded by Him, I'm drowning in despair for I cannot live in a world without Hope. I am flawed, imperfect, and a sinner, completely unworthy to be in His presence yet somehow He loves me anyway! He loved me so much He sent His only Son to die for my sins so I might have eternal life with Him! In my finite mind, I can never understand that level of love and feeling. That being said, I have lost a child and therefore know the human limit of that kind of pain. Just thinking of the Cross brings me to tears... And knowing God is a God of emotion, His sense of loss is surely incomprehensible to us since it's of a level so much higher than ours. Remember to thank God for all your blessings!
Stay safe y'all and have a happy week!
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day
Thank you to all the men and women who have died protecting our freedom.
For without their sacrifice, we wouldn't be free to speak, pray, read,
or live the way we do.
or live the way we do.
We have not forgotten.
And,
Thanks are not enough.
May God bless each and every one of you
and may He watch over those who remain behind,
serving and protecting this great nation.
serving and protecting this great nation.
Friday, May 20, 2011
{this moment}
Joining in with SouleMama
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Have a great weekend everyone!
XXOO
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Still here...
I'm still here, I'm simply taking a break from blogland for a little while. I'm realizing there are some things in my life that need taking care of and I'm focusing on that for right now. Part of that is starting a new Bible study with my husband using Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. We started on May 11th, which would have been O's 6th birthday, and we'll conclude on June 20th, O's day of passing. Since he lived only 40 days and the number 40 has so much Biblical significance, hubby and I wanted to do this 40 day study to see what God has to tell us about his period in our lives. We have been floundering around for a long time and we both feel that our focus needs to be refurbished. I'll be back soon, hopefully with something profound to say and if not, at least the experience will be one of growth.
Stay safe!
XXOO
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Joining in with SouleMama
Joining in with SouleMama
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Resurrection Day!
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| HE IS RISEN! What a glorious day! |
We have been spending a lovely weekend as family doing a whole lot of nothing much :) We did some grocery shopping yesterday with an attempt at couponing and managed fairly well! Hoping to see some real results within the next month when we start getting coupon packs in the mail and our rewards cards begin showing some savings. I guess if we keep at it we'll start seeing huge savings within about six months. If we could just cut our grocery bill in half we'd come out on top! Anyway, it was a pretty messy day so other than grocery shop we just hung around the house. Sometimes it's really nice to just do nothing!
We had a great morning at church listening to a wonderful and emotional message from our Pastor. Our worship music was even more amazing than it usually is - the band performed all new worship songs and absolutely rocked the house!
Then we came home and had an Easter egg hunt in our front yard:
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| Egg hunt booty |
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| Foil covered chocolate eggs |
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| More booty |
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| Who knew Easter eggs contained money??? |
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| One happy boy! |
I couldn't be more blessed than this - it makes my heart so happy to see my two favorite men so glad to be together! Of course you don't see me in any of these pics - LOL - I'm the one hiding behind the camera lens!
I'm taking a mini break from knitting for a while - I decided to finish a cross stitch project I barely started eons ago. It's a lovely angel playing a harp and I thought it would be the perfect gift for my MIL's birthday in July. This gives me lots of time to finish it up and maybe have it framed for her. No worries - she doesn't read my blog so I'm not spoiling her surprise!
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| I had done most of the dark blue years ago so that was the first color I finished. |
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| Added the aqua accent to the gown and started the pink sash - the book in the above ground is my current read a thread so thin by Marie Bostwick |
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| Here is my current work with the pattern photo - pretty, isn't she! |
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| This is a piece I made for my Dad for Fathers Day nearly 10 years ago! I still love the beaded stars :) |
I wish you all a very Happy Easter! Eat a lot, stay safe and praise the good Lord above for all your blessings!
XXOO
Friday, April 22, 2011
{this moment}
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee,
stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke 23:44-49
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Visit SouleMama for more!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Feeling Plaid
My sister in law is the crafty one. She always has great project ideas and is a very talented multimedia artist in her own right. And I try to copy her as much as I can! She gets a kick out of it and loves to share her projects so we can have craft time together :) Today was such an occasion! Our niece is almost eight and absolutely adores horses. She asked her talented Auntie to paint a horse in her bedroom. So my intrepid SIL went online to see what she could see for ideas and came across this lovely idea for cardboard horses. The artist, Ann Wood, made up 100 of these lovelies and named each and every one! She provides a link to her templates so today we printed off a couple and cut out some cardboard horses. My SIL has been working on this already and is making 25 horses to race across our nieces bedroom wall! What a clever thing to do! So I made this one for the wild man's room:
We originally were going to paint them and then I came up with the idea of covering the horses in fabric - see? Sometimes I have an original crafty thought! Anyway, she loved the idea and made one covered in pink flowery fabric with pink and brown legs for our niece. I wish I had thought to photo it before she left! Anyway, this is such a clever thing to do and with a little bit of time cutting out the pieces and decorating them you will a wonderful horse-y silhouette to dance across your wall, too!
In other news, I whipped up a beaded and felted purse for a friend who is getting married next month. It was a quick knit and the first time I've ever used beads! I think it's lovely and when it's completely dry I intend to do a little accent embroidery around the flap. I also need to figure out what type of fastener to use. Here's a peek!
That's it for now! Hope you have a marvelous Monday!
XXOO
We originally were going to paint them and then I came up with the idea of covering the horses in fabric - see? Sometimes I have an original crafty thought! Anyway, she loved the idea and made one covered in pink flowery fabric with pink and brown legs for our niece. I wish I had thought to photo it before she left! Anyway, this is such a clever thing to do and with a little bit of time cutting out the pieces and decorating them you will a wonderful horse-y silhouette to dance across your wall, too!
In other news, I whipped up a beaded and felted purse for a friend who is getting married next month. It was a quick knit and the first time I've ever used beads! I think it's lovely and when it's completely dry I intend to do a little accent embroidery around the flap. I also need to figure out what type of fastener to use. Here's a peek!
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| Before felting... |
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| After felting - still a bit wet :) |
XXOO
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Ta-Dah!
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| Finished project complete with buttons :) |
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| Aren't they just darling? |
Unfortunately my camera isn't very good at true color pics because this green looks very washed out. It's much prettier in person and doesn't clash so horribly with the buttons! LOL! In any case, it's been completed, wrapped and delivered and will hopefully provide my friends baby with many months of warmth :)
Have a lovely weekend!
XXOO
Friday, April 15, 2011
{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Yarn Along
Joining up with Ginny at small things for her weekly yarn along :)
It's a ta-dah! moment over in my humble abode - the Bernat baby hoodie is done! Well, except for the buttons anyway. Instead of covering them over with knitted swatches, I'm getting something cute and baby-boyish. This pattern was super easy to knit up and very difficult for me to seam. I'm really all fingers and thumbs when it comes to sewing - I have no knowledge of how to piece things together - so I did the best I could using internet video tutorials and I think it came out pretty ok. The side seaming and sleeves came out very nice. The rest? Well, hopefully no one looks too closely!
I'm finishing up the Fannie Flagg book, I Still Dream About You, and it's really good. Started off slowly, in fact, I considered not finishing it at all it was dragging so much, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. About 2/3rds of the way through the story starts moving along and you get more background to the characters. I can't wait to see how she ends it!
I've got lots more to post about but little time to do it in...I still need to get lunch for my wonderful hubby and pick up the wild man from preschool. So I'll close out for now and catch up with you soon!
Have a lovely week!
XXOO
I'm finishing up the Fannie Flagg book, I Still Dream About You, and it's really good. Started off slowly, in fact, I considered not finishing it at all it was dragging so much, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. About 2/3rds of the way through the story starts moving along and you get more background to the characters. I can't wait to see how she ends it!
I've got lots more to post about but little time to do it in...I still need to get lunch for my wonderful hubby and pick up the wild man from preschool. So I'll close out for now and catch up with you soon!
Have a lovely week!
XXOO
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Yarn Along
Joining up with Ginny at small things for her weekly yarn along :)
I'm doing Bernat's knit hoodie for a friend's baby shower in 10 days and I hope I can finish seaming and doing the button bands by then! I've never assembled a sweater this way. I've always done raglan style baby sweaters so this will be a new experience for me :) The pattern also calls for buying buttons and covering them with knit swatches - YIKES! I'll give it a try then maybe just get some cute baby boy style buttons that don't need any extra fiddling around :) I'm using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice yarn in Dusty Green, worsted weight. The sweater should be size 0-6mo.
The book is Fannie Flagg's I Still Dream About You. You may know she authored Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I love her style and have just started it. So far so good but I'm only a few pages into it. I'm hoping it's as well written and captivating as Fried Green Tomatoes :)
We've been fighting a bit of the stomach flu around here...wild man had it on Monday and now I've got it. Blah! I'm hoping it's just the 24hr variety like he had. My poor belly is feeling very unsettled :(
Hope you all have a wonderful week! I'll post more when my energy isn't flagging so much!
XXOO
I'm doing Bernat's knit hoodie for a friend's baby shower in 10 days and I hope I can finish seaming and doing the button bands by then! I've never assembled a sweater this way. I've always done raglan style baby sweaters so this will be a new experience for me :) The pattern also calls for buying buttons and covering them with knit swatches - YIKES! I'll give it a try then maybe just get some cute baby boy style buttons that don't need any extra fiddling around :) I'm using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice yarn in Dusty Green, worsted weight. The sweater should be size 0-6mo.
The book is Fannie Flagg's I Still Dream About You. You may know she authored Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I love her style and have just started it. So far so good but I'm only a few pages into it. I'm hoping it's as well written and captivating as Fried Green Tomatoes :)
We've been fighting a bit of the stomach flu around here...wild man had it on Monday and now I've got it. Blah! I'm hoping it's just the 24hr variety like he had. My poor belly is feeling very unsettled :(
Hope you all have a wonderful week! I'll post more when my energy isn't flagging so much!
XXOO
Friday, April 1, 2011
Photo Friday and Thoughts for the Week
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| This is what we woke up to this morning... |
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| It was coming down in huge sticky clumps. |
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| The weight has crushed my outdoor chicken pen. |
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| This tree has been shedding snow like mad, in great scary clumps banging on the roof. |
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| Even the dog was thoroughly disgusted, picking his way out to do his business. |
We also have a tree down across the outdoor goat pen - photos of that to follow when I get the gumption to don my boots and wade outside to see what's what... In the meantime, happier photos from earlier this week:
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| Biking at the school with Daddy |
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| makes him a happy boy! |
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| New haircut! |
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| Maple Sunday - looking through a sap pump :) |
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| Field trip to the local airport! |
It's been a busy week for the wild man and despite a rather nasty cough, he's been having LOTS of fun!
On the knitting front, I missed Ginny's yarn along again this week...I'm working on finishing up a baby sweater for a friends shower next month. I still have an arm to finish up today and then I can cast on for the hood. I'm also reading Kathy Reichs' Spider Bones, it's thirteenth in her fabulous Temperance Brennen series. You probably know this series is the inspiration for the TV show Bones - if not you do now! Anyway, here is a poor shot of what I've done so far...the true color is more a sage green - this pic is a tad washed out.
Hubby and I have been doing our own Bible study after the wild man is in bed. We've done 22 sessions and have begun praying together. I've always been a skeptical believer, if that even makes sense - maybe more of a seeker, I guess, and this week God has given me glimpses of what awaits me when the skepticism finally drops away. We've been in a financial crisis and hadn't enough money to buy groceries. We had started praying about becoming good stewards with the money we were blessed with at the beginning of this crisis and as a result decided to cut out all unnecessary extras; such as eating out, buying magazines, toys, yarn (*sniff*) and we looking at other ways to stretch the dollars. During one particularly bad week we were trying to decide how we were going to get the bare essentials and put gas in the truck so hubby could get to work. I told hubby we needed to scrounge up about $50 so I could get enough stuff to stretch into two weeks. Hubby had about $23 in the bank after the bills were paid and needed $20 of that for gas and I don't work so we were really trying to get creative. I began rolling pennies from our penny jug and hubby made a trip to the recycling center with several bags of returnables. This is what became amazing to me - between the few dollars we had between us in our wallets, the rolled coins and the returnables we had exactly, to the penny, $50! Now you can't tell me God didn't have a hand in that! Not only were we blessed with this small windfall but I was also able to get what we needed for only $40, leaving us with $10 in case we ran out of milk or bread the rest of the week. The bottom line? We ended up with gas in both vehicles and plenty of food and still had a little left over. The math doesn't work and I can't explain it any other way except this is a glimpse of the blessings that await us when we continue in our obedience to Him.
I just read a familiar passage in Philippians 4:10-13 that has been resonating with me in a new way. I know the words, have read them many times before, yet never understood the context the way I think I do now. Paul is talking about learning to be content with your situation, no matter if you have plenty or are in need and then reveals the secret of contentment. It is "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Verse 13. The NIV describes everything to mean everything pleasing to God and him who gives me strength as Christ himself. Giving it all up to God and trusting in Him will give us contentment - the key being to give it all up. That's very difficult for those of us with control issues! It's a learning process, isn't it? And when I get encouragement from the good Lord Himself I know I'm on the right track.
Stay safe, God bless and have a lovely weekend! (Once the snow melts, of course!)
XXOO
**ADDED NOTE: We have two freezers full of poultry and hamburg so we aren't starving - it's needing fresh fruit, veggies and daily staples like milk and juice that supplement the meat. We are fortunate to be very blessed with the bounty of our farm and recognize that many people struggle every second of every day to put food on the table for their families and many are unable. My point is to emphasize stewardship - we created our own crisis by being irresponsible with what God had entrusted us. We have many blessings which we are very thankful for. To God goes the glory!
**ADDED NOTE: We have two freezers full of poultry and hamburg so we aren't starving - it's needing fresh fruit, veggies and daily staples like milk and juice that supplement the meat. We are fortunate to be very blessed with the bounty of our farm and recognize that many people struggle every second of every day to put food on the table for their families and many are unable. My point is to emphasize stewardship - we created our own crisis by being irresponsible with what God had entrusted us. We have many blessings which we are very thankful for. To God goes the glory!
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