miscellaneous monday stuff

this could be a weekly topic - miscellaneous monday stuff - MMS!!

• when kevin & sarah moved i gave them "things from my house" as a going away gift.  one of the things was my decorated match box.  i couldn't stand not having a cute match box - everyone needs a cute match box!! - so i made a new one!  i liked my red one, but i really like this black & white one a lot. 

• felt naked all day!

cuz i forgot to wear my "hope" & "Jesus" rings!!!!

• yeah, the long fingernails are long gone!!!!  they only lasted while i was doing absolutely nothing!  after i got better & started working & doing things again, they all broke & keep breaking.   (my sister's are still long though!  proves my point though!  "she who does nothing has long fingernails!!!")

• my sister's sister is the best sister in the whole world!    (thought i'd better throw that in there after that comment about the fingernails!!  hope she doesn't "get it"!!!!!!!!!!!)

[this MAY NOT be a weekly topic........................!!!!]

• made some birthday cards to have on hand for my sunday school class kids.  birthdays are VERY important to them!!!  these are for the boys:

and for the girls:

this was my "swap" card for our workshop on saturday:

this was one of the projects we made at the workshop - a gift card holder:

just another idea for the stocking die cut - made into a card:

playing with the camera  --- it was a good hair day!!!!  (wish i didn't have the glare on the glasses)

i have a doctor's appointment in the morning.  think i'll go read awhile & go to bed.  not in the mood to do anything else.

have a really blessed week!!

bed & dresser reveal

i meant to post this before, but forgot!  well, not really - just had other stuff i NEEDED to post before i got around to this!!!

here's the bed & dresser, before:

and here they are, done:

i'm really pleased with how everything turned out!   as soon as i put the knobs on the bathroom cabinets, i'll show you those!  i'm anxious to start the kitchen!!

have a blessed weekend!!!


linking to miss mustard seed's furniture friday:   http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/09/furniture-feature-friday-favorites-link_15.html

savvy southern style's wow us wednesday #31:  http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/09/wow-us-wednesdays-31.html

this gives me goosebumps!

well, He's done it again!

you know how i wrote the other day that i've been trying to live philippians 4:11-13.......well last night on the way home from prayer meeting i was talking to God.  i was telling Him that even though i am content, i have mixed feelings.  i am content.  but i'm not happy.  but isn't happiness contentment?  it could be.  it might be.  sometimes it is.  sometimes not.  i was thanking God that He's my father & i can tell Him anything & everything.  and i say it out loud.  and i tell Him things that i could never voice in front of anyone else.  i was thanking Him that i have the priviledge of talking to Him.  out loud.  and He's usually very quiet during these times. 

He just listens.

and He lets me rant & rave & tell Him everything.  and He lets me cry. and He doesn't tell me not to.

He just listens.  and He loves me.

i was telling Him that i KNOW He wants the best for me & He WILL take care of all my needs.  ALL my needs.  i was telling Him that i want to know what He wants for me & that i want to be the kind of Godly woman He wants me to be.  i told Him i just didn't understand His timing & didn't know why my prayers weren't seeming to be answered when other people's seem to be answered before they're even finished praying.  i told God exactly what i wanted but that i wanted everything to be lined up with His will.  and i was telling myself that i need to really want God's will to be God's will and not MY will.

i have this written in the front of my Bible:  "for God's will be be done, my will needs to be done."  (my will needs to be finished!  over with!  done!)

He just listened.

i had told my friends at prayer meeting that i just felt like crawling in bed & crying.  sometimes you just need one of those refreshing good cries.  well, i did that when i got home.  and i talked to God some more & cried some more.  then fell asleep.

this morning here's my proverbs31woman devotional!!!!    God WAS listening to me last night!!!!

(highlights for emphasis = mine)

September 15, 2011
When God Hurts Your Feelings
Lysa TerKeurst

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV 1984)

Has God ever hurt your feelings? I’ll be honest, sometimes I’ll read those verses from Philippians listed above and think to myself, “This is a tough pill to swallow.”  Content in any and every situation?  Really?
Several years ago my daughter was a state champion gymnast. To see her do gymnastics was like looking at God smile. She was beautiful, graceful, and captivating to watch.  One night while practicing for one of the largest tournaments she’d ever compete in, she fell. It was a move she’d done hundreds of times with the greatest of ease. But this time something went terribly wrong and that one mistake ended her gymnastic dreams.  We spent a year going from doctor to doctor only to be told she’d never be able to support the weight of her body on her injured shoulder again.  I’ll be honest, this was heart wrenching. Watching a 14 year old girl wrestle with the fact her dreams were stripped from her doesn’t exactly lend itself to feelings of contentment. Now, I know in the grand scheme of life, people face much worse situations. But in her world, this was huge.

It was so tempting to wallow in the “why” questions and tell God He’d hurt our feelings.  Why did this happen?   Why didn’t You stop this God?   Why weren’t my prayers answered?

Have you ever been there? Have you ever had a big situation in your life where you just couldn’t process why God would allow this to happen? Or maybe even a small annoyance like losing your keys or having a flat tire on a morning you really needed to be somewhere.     It’s so tempting to wallow in the why.  Asking why is perfectly normal. Asking why isn’t unspiritual. However, if asking why pushes us farther from God rather than drawing us closer to Him, it is the wrong question.   If asking why doesn’t offer hope, what will?   The what question.

In other words: “Now that this is my reality, what am I supposed to do with it?”
Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)
I like to call this verse “directions on where to park my mind.”   And that’s exactly what Ashley has had to do with her dashed gymnastics dreams. Instead of wallowing in why did this happen, I’ve had to help her say:

This is my reality, now what am I going to do with it?
What can I learn from this?
What part of this is for my protection?
What other opportunities could God be providing?
What maturity could God be building into me?

Switching from the why to the what question paves the road to parking our mind in a much better place.
Is it always easy? Nope.
But is it a way to find a perspective beyond situations where we feel God has allowed something in our lives we don’t understand and we absolutely don’t like? Yes.  I pray this helps you today.

Dear Lord, I want to process everything I face in life through the filter of Your love. I know You love me. But sometimes it’s just hard to understand the circumstances that come my way. I find myself consumed with trying to figure things out rather than looking for Your perspective and trusting You. Thank You for this new way to look at things. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

(my prayer last night was VERY similar to this!!!!  wow!!)
Application Steps:
Mentally walk yourself through parking your mind in a better place by remembering an event that happened this week and looking for God’s protection, provision and process of maturing you.

Reflections:
Am I afraid to have honest conversations with God about how I really feel about some of my circumstances?
How might it be helpful to really talk to God about things that hurt me?
Why is it helpful to ask what now, instead of wallowing in the why questions?

Power Verses:
Isaiah 55:8-9, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” (NIV 1984)


God was listening.  gives me chills!!!


tomorrow's friday!!!!!!  have a blessed night!!!

it's my blog's birthday!!!!!

i just realized that ONE YEAR AGO TODAY i started my blog!!!

it started out as a business blog for my stampin'up! business.

 - well, a lot has changed in a year!!!!  it's now more of a journal about my life.  a way to stay in touch with family & friends.  a way to share my faith in God with the world.

i closed down my stamping business.  i'm stamping for my own pleasure now.  i'm doing lots of other things too.  and i'm not doing lots of other things too!!

over the past year i've shared things i've made - cards, refinished furniture, decorating projects.  i've shared happy times, sad times.  i've been honest & transparent.  i've learned a lot - about things, people, & most importantly myself.  i've had some important things to say & i've said some dumb stuff.  i've hurt some people & i've been hurt.

but i've also grown.  i've grown in my spiritual life & hopefully i'm a better person than i was a year ago.

i know i'm in a state of more peace now.  and i also know that God has a LOT MORE WORK to do in me.

thanks for going on this journey with me.



at the beginning of 2011, i posted that this was going to be a good year.

well, despite the fact that i got sick & ended up in the hospital, and despite lots of other things not working out the way i wanted, it HAS been a good year. 

i'm content.  not always happy, but content. 
i keep trying to live as paul in philippians 4:11-13.  (go look it up!)

i also strive to live as paul talks about in colossians 3:12-17.  (& if we're really being honest here, i'd love to live verse 18 too!!!!!!  but that's up to God!!!!!!!!!!!)

but more importantly, i want to be more like Jesus. 

i keep trying.

i hope you'll keep reading.  

happy birthday, little blog!  thanks for sharing my joys, my sorrows, my life!

looking forward to another BLESSED year!!!!

inside those "dishpan" storage boxes

this is how i organized my "extra" die cuts - you may as well cut a bunch when you're cutting, saves time when you want to whip up something quick.  the individual boxes are the plastic cases from stampin'up!'s stamps, so they were "free"!  for my letters, most of them are in their own box. some letters are doubled up for space.  the whole alphabet fits in this one box.

i loved being organized!!

be blessed!!!

jack's mad at me

he won't even look at me!!

but i cleaned his house, so he shouldn't be too mad!!!


i've been cleaning my house too.  and organizing.  the other night i cleaned up the mess craft room.  i worked on it all night & said i wasn't going to stop until it was ALL done.  i had worked on it for awhile before it hit me that i should take "before" pictures.  how it got like that i have no clue because i haven't done anything in there for quite some time!!!  must have been the hurricane   someone else!!!!!

so here's the "before":

 i got a bunch of dishpans - yes, dishpans - from walmart for $1.97 each to use as organizers!  i had already done a few before i took this picture.  you can see them on the shelf to the right.  i'll have to take some pictures of the "insides" - that'll be a future post!

 if people   i would put things away after they  i use them, this place wouldn't get so messy!!!

 all done!!!   see the time on that clock?  that's AM.  (i told you i worked on it all night!!!)

but it was SO WORTH IT!!!!!!!!

 all my paper scraps are in these containers.  i try to use scraps before i cut into a new sheet of paper.

 my extra die cuts & chipboard letters are in these "dishpans".  my stash of cards are in these boxes.  there's a box for different types of cards - thank you, men, ladies, kids, sympathy......and several boxes of envelopes.  most of the card boxes need re-filling, so i'll have to work on that.  i think that's what i'll do on tuesday at our ladies'craft night time.....

 here's the inside of this:   so nice & organized!

 i'm thinkin' this might be black someday too!!!

and this:

so nice to have a clean craft room!!!!  last night i worked on my swap cards for next saturday's workshop.  and i cleaned up the table afterwards!!!!  yay for me!!!!!!

have a blessed week!!!!  5 days til i go to the virgin islands again!!!! ( i was there yesterday & today though & boy was it HOT!!!!  we were back in triple digit temps!!! but at least the sky was  blue again & there was no smoke smell today!!)

jack keeps calling.....

to me to go for a bike ride. 




i keep avoiding his calls.



i want to, but i don't.



grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

my poor, lonely boy........................



have a blessed last day of the long weekend----it's a long time til thanksgiving!!!!!

now if we'd just get some RAIN with this WIND......

then   everything   would   be   fine.

i like this quote!

i came across this quote today.  i like it!


"the heart that truly loves never forgets"

check out the update to the online garage sale!!  it's going great!!!!

have a blessed weekend - i hope there's sun in the virgin islands!!!!