The
Lord is the
everlasting God,
the
Creator
of the ends of the earth
He
does not faint
or grow weary;
his
understanding is
unsearchable.
…….Isaiah
40:28
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
{Fall Reading List}
Welcome Fall!
I love fall.
It is BY FAR my most favorite of the seasons.
The best day of my life happened in the fall....our wedding day.
Carmel Apple Cider
The Fair
Pumpkin Patches
Corn Maze
Carmel Apples
Bond fires
Hayrides
Cinderella Pumpkins
Homemade Pumpkin Bread
Crisp Air
Changing of the leaves
Smores
Football
And just for Fall, I have put together another reading list.
My Fall Reading List Includes.......
Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith
Love Does by Bob Goff
Mended by Angie Smith
Sparkly Green Earrings by Melanie Shankle
Ever After by Vickie Courtney
I'm so excited about all of these books.
Two of them are from my Summer Reading List. (Better late than never!)
Most of these books are recommendations from friends.
I can't wait to dive in!
Hope you find a book or two to add to your list.
And if you have book suggestions, I would love to hear them.
I am compiling a list for a Winter Reading List, now.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Circle Paper Garland added to the Shop
I sold my first item in my ETSY shop last week. Such a special story behind the banner. It was a joy for me to make it for a family who is holding out HOPE in celebrating their soon to be one year old little boy! He is 4 months in to his cancer treatment. It was an honor and a joy for me to make this treasure. Praying this family and little boy get years and years of use out of something that came from the shop.
Today I have added a few paper garland items to the shop. You will find: white, black, natural, and lavender paper garland. I hope to add a few more colors by the end of the week. I would love for you to visit the shop and if you love the circle garland and can not find a color that works best for you....contact me.
Today I have added a few paper garland items to the shop. You will find: white, black, natural, and lavender paper garland. I hope to add a few more colors by the end of the week. I would love for you to visit the shop and if you love the circle garland and can not find a color that works best for you....contact me.
Neutral
White
Black
Lavender
Paper Garland looks great strung across a mirror
Wrapped around a solid candle
Hung along side of another garland on your mantel
Or stretched across open shelving
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Compassion Blog Month {Week 3}
My 2 year old needs new shoes. He has outgrown his tennis shoes. The weather is turning crisp, rapidly diminishing his summer shoe days. My to do list includes taking him to buy 2 new pairs of shoes this week.
The Compassion writing assignment for this last week was to select 1 of 4 pictures given and write. Write whatever is impressed upon your heart through one of the four pictures provided.
I selected this photo.....
It resonates with me because I have a child in need of new shoes. It resonates with me because I have witnessed first hand shoes like these in several countries around the world. It resonates with me because I sponsor a child in Kenya and often wonder about his shoes. It resonates with me because of what God taught me 11 years ago.
I don't know if these are boy feet or girl feet. It doesn't really matter. What I do know is they need shoes that fit. Shoes that have laces. Shoes that have less wear. Shoes that keep his/her soles separate from the soil on which they walk.
I wonder where these shoes have been. I am sure they have seen sights my eyes will never see. I am sure they have trampled through stench that is beyond wretched. I wonder how many owner's have slipped their feet into these shoes. I wonder if these shoes were a gift, a found treasure, a hand me down, or even stolen.
I wonder if the feet that inhabit these shoes are filled with light. I wonder if light has come to the soul whose tiny feet inhabit these shoes. I wonder if these are the shoes of our sponsor child.
Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the new that the God of Israel reigns".
I look at these shoes and think back over the nine years we have supported a child in Kenya through Compassion International. I look at these shoes and think about my children and where their feet will take them. I look at these shoes and I remember the following journal entry from my summer spent in South East Asia.....
"I am asking that as water fills the sea, that this land would be filled with an awareness of the Glory of Daddy (Habakkuk 2:14). This week my feet have trampled many new roads, paved and unpaved alike. I have stepped through dirt, water, mud, food, open sewer and much much more, but the thing that I have come to rejoice in is the fact that BEAUTIFUL are the feet that bring good news. I encourage you to go beyond your boundaries this week. Reach out into the wretched smelling places. Allow the Father to take you down paths that are not comfortable and alleys that you never dreamed of. I am confident that with each new street we venture down LIGHT is flooded even to the smallest places that are filled with darkness."
Even though our children's shoes may never look this worn.....we support a child who may wear shoes this worn. Even though our children's shoes may never look this worn.....we desire they serve a world whose shoes may be this worn.
The child we support through Compassion International is just one way that we as a family serve a world much different from our own. The child we support through Compassion International is just one way that we as a family shed LIGHT to the darkest corners of the world.
We pray that our children's feet would venture down streets and flood them with LIGHT. We pray that our sponsored child's feet would venture down streets and flood them with LIGHT. Their shoes may be very different but our prayers for them are the same.
You have an opportunity to support and pray for shoes that trample down roads you will probably never physically see in your lifetime. Please visit the link below to find out more on how you can become involved with Compassion International and support a child whose shoes may look much different from yours.
http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=133453
And as always....if you have any questions.....shoot me an email. I'd be more than happy to answer.
Compassion Blog Month Week 1 // What I would say to my childhood self
Compassion Blog Month Week 2 // Wrestle
The Compassion writing assignment for this last week was to select 1 of 4 pictures given and write. Write whatever is impressed upon your heart through one of the four pictures provided.
I selected this photo.....
It resonates with me because I have a child in need of new shoes. It resonates with me because I have witnessed first hand shoes like these in several countries around the world. It resonates with me because I sponsor a child in Kenya and often wonder about his shoes. It resonates with me because of what God taught me 11 years ago.
I don't know if these are boy feet or girl feet. It doesn't really matter. What I do know is they need shoes that fit. Shoes that have laces. Shoes that have less wear. Shoes that keep his/her soles separate from the soil on which they walk.
I wonder where these shoes have been. I am sure they have seen sights my eyes will never see. I am sure they have trampled through stench that is beyond wretched. I wonder how many owner's have slipped their feet into these shoes. I wonder if these shoes were a gift, a found treasure, a hand me down, or even stolen.
I wonder if the feet that inhabit these shoes are filled with light. I wonder if light has come to the soul whose tiny feet inhabit these shoes. I wonder if these are the shoes of our sponsor child.
Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the new that the God of Israel reigns".
I look at these shoes and think back over the nine years we have supported a child in Kenya through Compassion International. I look at these shoes and think about my children and where their feet will take them. I look at these shoes and I remember the following journal entry from my summer spent in South East Asia.....
"I am asking that as water fills the sea, that this land would be filled with an awareness of the Glory of Daddy (Habakkuk 2:14). This week my feet have trampled many new roads, paved and unpaved alike. I have stepped through dirt, water, mud, food, open sewer and much much more, but the thing that I have come to rejoice in is the fact that BEAUTIFUL are the feet that bring good news. I encourage you to go beyond your boundaries this week. Reach out into the wretched smelling places. Allow the Father to take you down paths that are not comfortable and alleys that you never dreamed of. I am confident that with each new street we venture down LIGHT is flooded even to the smallest places that are filled with darkness."
Even though our children's shoes may never look this worn.....we support a child who may wear shoes this worn. Even though our children's shoes may never look this worn.....we desire they serve a world whose shoes may be this worn.
The child we support through Compassion International is just one way that we as a family serve a world much different from our own. The child we support through Compassion International is just one way that we as a family shed LIGHT to the darkest corners of the world.
We pray that our children's feet would venture down streets and flood them with LIGHT. We pray that our sponsored child's feet would venture down streets and flood them with LIGHT. Their shoes may be very different but our prayers for them are the same.
You have an opportunity to support and pray for shoes that trample down roads you will probably never physically see in your lifetime. Please visit the link below to find out more on how you can become involved with Compassion International and support a child whose shoes may look much different from yours.
http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=133453
And as always....if you have any questions.....shoot me an email. I'd be more than happy to answer.
Compassion Blog Month Week 1 // What I would say to my childhood self
Compassion Blog Month Week 2 // Wrestle
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
::BOO Wreath:: ETSY SHOP
Several years ago I made a "BOO" wreath for Halloween. I had it on this blog for a long time and then I reconstructed the blog and deleted the page. But what I keep finding is that this wreath keeps getting "pinned" on Pinterest using my old page link. It has been pinned over 265 times! Crazy. I don't have a Pinterest account but maybe I should.....
So this last weekend, I decided to recreate the "BOO" Wreath. I had some time last week to shop for supplies with only 2 kiddos in tote! So here is the finished project. I really do love this wreath! My friend Stefanie has encouraged me for many years to take a leap and put some of my stuff out there in a shop.....
SO.........
{Here is the Original "Boo" Wreath}
So this last weekend, I decided to recreate the "BOO" Wreath. I had some time last week to shop for supplies with only 2 kiddos in tote! So here is the finished project. I really do love this wreath! My friend Stefanie has encouraged me for many years to take a leap and put some of my stuff out there in a shop.....
SO.........
This particular "Boo" Wreath is now for sale, here.
It's such a cute addition to a "Happy Halloween Door"!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Wrestle
wres·tle
"To struggle with a difficulty or problem. Take part in a fight, either as a sport or earnest, that involves grappling with one's opponent and trying to throw or force them to the ground."
We all wrestle with something(s).
We wrestle in the physical, the spiritual, and emotional realms.
We wrestle because we are unsettled.
No matter what continent's soil you sink your feet into.....
we all wrestle.
We may wrestle different issues.
But we wrestle.
Nine years ago, my husband's spirit wrestled.
He came face to face with a sponsor packet through Compassion International.
Something wrestled within him as he held a picture in his hand that would lead to a life long friendship with John in Kenya.
God stirred his spirit for that 5 year old little boy a million miles away.
And 9 years later, God continues to wrestle our family's heart as we think about John, pray for John and learn more about the world where John lives. We wrestle to teach our children about a world outside of their own. A world that does not afford them all of the luxuries of the modern world.
A world where people wrestle with issues such as: water, food, illness, and death.
There are days that I wrestle personally as a mom.
I wrestle thoughts of insecurities and not being able to manage it all.
I wrestle with thoughts of my children's future and the world they are growing up in.
I think about John's mom a lot and I know she wrestles.
My heart is somehow settled when I take the time to remember her.
When I take the time to shift my focus off my "wrestle" and pray for her "wrestle".
My feet walk down the hard wood floors of my home.
Her feet walk on dirt floors.
My water comes out of a faucet: clean and cold.
Her water, she gathers and carries: not always clean and rarely ever cold.
My table often has food left over for many to eat.
At her table every morsel is devoured.
My hands open His Word each day begging Him to breath more of Himself into me as I wrestle with all that I have and yet a heart that at times is unsettled.
Her hands open His Word each day begging Him to breath more of Himself into her as she wrestles with all that she has and yet a heart that at times is unsettled.
We've never met this little boy we support.
But we know him through his written word on paper for the last nine years.
We've never met his family.
But we can picture them through his description of them.
Our hearts wrestle as we long to meet.
To place a face with a name.
To embrace, through hug, a little boy who reminds us daily that the wrestle could always be greater.
Wrestle.
God may our hearts be forever unsettled against poverty.
Wrestle.
God may we teach our children about worlds whose wrestles are greater than their own.
Wrestle.
God stir our hearts to the point of wrestle. Where each day we long for more of you. Where we realize our shortcomings and beg for your blessing upon our lives.
"This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until down. When the man saw that he couldn't win the match, he struck Jacob's hip and knocked it out of join at the socket. Then the man said, "let me go, for it is dawn." But Jacob panted, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." "What is your name"? the man asked.
He replied, "Jacob."
"Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won." "What is your name?" Jacob asked him. "Why do you ask?" the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
Jacob named the place Peniel - "face of God" - for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared."
Settle.
Settle our wrestle.....
Through the return of your Son!
To learn more about how you can sponsor a child through Compassion International please click on the link below. In 9 years of sponsorship we have given $4,104.00 to support John in Kenya. There is not a day that goes by that we think, wish we had that $4100.00 for ___________. There is no price you can put on wrestling out something as great as child poverty.
Do me a favor......just click on the link.
And if you need more reason to believe visit Ann Voskamp's link below.
The numbers are staggering and the statistics are amazing
And always....
Questions?
Email me!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
DIY Open Shelving
A few months ago we added some open shelving to a couple of areas in our home. One being our office. I needed an area in our office where I could store office supplies out of reach for little people. I admire people who have placed open shelving in their kitchens. I am not that brave. I like to be able to stash "stuff" behind closed cabinet doors at any moment.
I braved open shelving in our office using these items:
Ikea Brackets
Home Depot primed 8ft boards {they cut them in half at the store}
Anchors {I chose the one that hold up to 70lbs...just incase a little person got any ideas}
1/2 inch or 3/4 inch screws to secure brackets to boards
Drill
Here is how the finished project turned out. I really do love it! Our little people have not attempted to climb them. Purchasing the primed boards from Home Depot saved me time from painting each board. The total project for 3 shelves cost ~$50.00. In my book....you can't beat that!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)