This weeks fav song...

Yours by Steven Curtis Chapman

Such Irony

This morning I read something that really caught my attention...

When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned
with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

I Samuel 17:28

That seemed a little odd because yesterday I read what God had to say...

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

I Samuel 16:7

Isn't it ironic that God looked at David's heart and saw it for all it was worth and David's oldest brother looked into his heart and saw the total opposite? How many times have we been accused by those that are closest to us of motives, and actions that are as far as east to west from the truth?

And how many times have we listened to the voice of everyone but God for our self-worth? We think because of our sins or the opinion of others that God cannot use us or we are not worthy to be used. Yes, David was a young man here when all these conversation were going on, but God knew even then the sins David would commit in his lifetime. But when we think of David we always think of him as

"The Man After God's Own Heart"

No matter what, no matter where, may we too strive to live by what God has said about us over the opinion of others!

Just a tiny little question came to mind today...

Is there much difference between a "lame duck president"
and a ""luke-warm Christian"?

I am guessing there is not.

We are always quick to point out others lack of commitment or effort like ours is of little concern.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye

when you have a log in your own?"

Luke 6:41 (New Living Translation)

Will I do what ? ? ?

Will I give $100.00 to the democratic party for the upcoming election... huh? Do what?

My mind began to speculate as to why on earth they would be calling me. As I listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, she continued on and on with reasons why we did not want John McCain to be elected. That's when it dawned on me. . .

She thinks I am one of them.
She doesn't know where my loyalties lie. She is only following the lead of my actions.
She thought I was a part of their "family" because I voted in the SC Democratic Primary.

When she finally took I breath and I was able to tell her I am a registered Republican, she sounded rather surprised - said "thank you, have a nice day" and she hung up.

Like it or not - Democratic, Republican or Independent we are all the same at the end of the day.
I guess that's why people who are not Christ followers look at us and think we are no different than they are. We show up at church on Sunday and live like the world the other six days of the week. At the end of the day there are huge differences between us and the world. But only because we have the assurance of where we will spend our eternity.

We are registered "Christians" because our name is in the book.

But we do what I did back in the spring... we abandon our ship, we don't follow through with who we say we are. If our walk was only for us, it would be of little significance, but what Christ needs out of us is so much bigger and better than what we give to Him or the world.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of
stone but on tablets of human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:3

So, no thanks I don't want to give $100 to the Democratic party... but I do want to give 100% of myself to the work He has called me to.

May we all be living letters of His greatness to the world each and every day.

Finally....

If you have visited lately, you have probably noticed I keep changing my background. After much searching I think I finally found a keeper. I loved the bold colors in a few of the others and what I love about this one are the colors but also the torn paper look.

With the world all buzzing about being "green" I wanted to show you a few of my favorite recycling projects just for fun.
These are all thanks to Jenn who taught me all about decoupaging.

An old trunk Sarah and I did as our first project

A set of clear glass plates with scrapbook paper

to match my bedroom

I couldn't find the wallpaper I wanted,

so I made me a quilt pattern
using about 15 different scrapbook patterns

A locker I purchased at a church yard sale in the midst of being papered

An old window frame with original paint

filled with outdated Mary Engelbreit calendar pages

My dressing room done with wallpaper samples

Those have been fun to do. Taking old things from scrap piles, salvage stores and yard sales. Some were made with brand new things and used in ways beyond what they were meant to be. There are lots more things I could show, but you get the picture. I think my favorite is my foyer. It took months of deciding on exactly which scrap book papers to use and decide how many sheets I would need of each pattern. Then when I actually started the project, it took forever or so it seemed. I would work on it a while and get tired and stop. A few miscalculations were made on the amount of paper. Some of my favorite patterns were purchased at the beach. I had friends who went back to try and find more of the same. When that didn't always work out I realized I would have to work new patterns into the mix. What I ended up with is one of my favorite spots in our house.

Below you will see the really big recycling project that is underway. It has been going on for way too many years to count. It has taken a lot of time and effort on the Crafter's part. Bless His heart... He must be worn out by now. I wonder how many times scrapping the whole thing seemed like the best thing to do.

Huh... "never"... you never thought once about throwing this one out!?!? Wow...

You see, we are all works of art in the greatest masterpiece ever. He knows that we are all worth saving. Once He has pulled us out of the scrap heap that we have worked our way into - we become little pieces of Him. We won't all end up in famous art galleries. He places us where we can reflect Him the best. So, wherever He has placed you today, be glad and rejoice and remember you are an ever changing reflection of your Creator. Hopefully we will all reflect Him bigger and better today than we did yesterday.

See ya ~ gotta go dance ~ it's raining outside and a little splashing around does a body good!

after all...Life isn't about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain!

piddly litte prayers

The sermon topic for the third and final week at SCC was the subject of prayer. Hub's closing remark hit home as he closed in a very powerful prayer.

All of a sudden I realized that according to who God is... my prayers have been way to small.

Here is a thought... imagine Bill Gates has a son/daughter who wants or needs a new phone- Bill who could hook them up with the latest and greatest gets this request from them . . .

Hey dad, I saw in the paper that Walmart has their Trac Phones on sale this week. Do you think we could get me one?

Can you imagine how Bill would feel? Like his child didn't have a clue who he was or what he was.

Father forgive me for the countless times I have come into your presence and been clueless to who You really are. Lead me to immeasurably more in my prayer life.

God can do anything, you know— far more than you could ever imagine or guess
or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us. ~ Ephesians 3:20

Where have all the flowers gone?

You'd have to come real close to being a bona fide "hippie" to remember that tune. But as I started thinking about this time of year and what it represents at our house, the words of the song kept coming to mind.

It was Ray who stirred my heart to think about such things - and there it was...

The mailbox.

To an untrained eye, it was just a normal mailbox on any given day of the week. But it's our mailbox on the first day of school. There are no more kids standing by our mailbox. That was the place we hurried off to before we left for the first day of school. I will have to confess that some years, the picture was probably made a week or so after school started. It was a picture record of how Jenn, P.J. and Sarah had grown from year to year.

I love to look at the old photos. The first year it wasn't even beside the mailbox and Jenn would probably kill me if I posted that one. She was (and still is) a beautiful child. The best mom ever to two very special little characters. P.J. is a self-employed brick mason, who still has the same tender heart he had as a child. Then there is Sarah. The other day my mom was kind of worried about her changing careers. I asked her "when has Sarah ever not landed on her feet?" Jennifer once asked what we did for entertainment before Sarah came along.

They are an amazing group of people. I miss the days by the mailbox. But I am thankful for new days and new places beyond the mailbox. I am glad that God allowed me to be part of their family!

Thinking about our my days as a "hands-on" mom, I think about all the times I goofed up so bad I sometimes cringe when we all get together and we take a stroll or two down memory lane. Often some of the memories seem more like night mares than sweet dreams.

Ahhhhh.... but then there is little thing called GRACE. Actually it's not a little thing at all. It's a great big thing my family and friends offer me when I have done an "A-number-one job" of being a total wretch.

Today Lord, help me to offer it to others with the same eagerness that I want to receive it. God bless our families each and every one... no matter what they look like.