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filled with outdated Mary Engelbreit calendar pages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.

Home

Home. Hopefully it's a safe haven from the world for you. The place you cannot wait to get to at the end of the day.

This summer we had fun going to Charleston with our friends Larry and Tracy. It was sweet, beach by day (every day), pool in the afternoon and some of the best food ever in the evenings. I had my very first blueberry pie and never would have guessed I would love it so much. The best part was getting to spend time with our friends. As much fun as the trip was, it was good to be back home.

Most recently I have traveled back and forth to Raleigh for the birth of my granddaughter Charlotte Ruth, for her heart surgery when she was three days old. The next trip we went so Ray could see Jenn, Tim, Sam and Charlotte. The final trip was to help out when Charlotte was released from the hospital in record time. As much as I loved being with Jenn and her family during this very sweet and sacred time, when I walked into my bedroom on Saturday, it was good to be home.

When we've been away for fun or for difficult and unsure times, coming home usually represents a time back to what we know as normal. Back to a normal work week or routine. Back home because circumstances are well enough for life to resume the normal pace.

When I woke up Sunday morning it was as though I heard "welcome home" in my head. I thought it was funny because I had thought about being glad to be home, but this was welcome home.

I got dressed and headed off to church. As I looked at the bulletin I realized that we were observing The Lord's Supper. I remembered that was what we did our first Sunday at SCC back in January. At the beginning of the service we watched a video about The Lord's Supper and they spoke of being at home.
http://www.sermonspice.com/videos/840/suppertime--short-version-
When I heard the word "home" it literally took my breath. I asked of the Lord... is this my home? It doesn't feel like home, but then, I guess when Abraham followed God and pitched his tent it didn't either. I wondered if we would have to take that step of faith and cross on over before it will feel like home.

Father I trust you because you are a faithful God. You have walked me up many a mountain from the deep valleys below. On those days when it didn't seem like there was any reason to carry on... bless your heart... you carried me and on we went. We have cried, we have laughed and we have danced, oh, we have danced. I thank you for dancing feet, feet that long to be at home, wherever that is.
I love you :)

Insufficient Evidence...

or so it seems.



This morning when I came to my computer to open my daily Harvest devotion I was a little confused when no daily scripture popped up. That's normal for Saturday, but not any other day of the week. In the place of the scripture was a tribute to Greg Laurie's son who was killed yesterday in a car accident.

Not so very long ago we heard of the tragic death of Maria Sue Chapman, daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman.

Just last Friday I was remembering my were abouts a year-ago to the day. Several of us had traveled from Wellford to Charleston to be with our dear friend Susan, Steve and their boys. Many of us had believed with all the faith we had that God was going to do this great healing miracle in Steve Dyar. Even after Steve had passed on over into glory, we were believing he would open those eyes again. After all, who better that Steve Dyar, right?

When all these tragedies are occurring to the most faithful of the faithful... where is God?

Is there sufficient evidence of His presence?

Many would say no. That the evidence of God's presence was insufficient, and thus turn away in anger, depression and for some maybe even hatred.

One of the scriptures that I have come to love is

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the
LORD in the
land of the living.
Psalm 27:13

I understood what that meant a little better after Steve changed his residence. It seems as God is telling us that the goodness would be for us to get it "our way". But the true goodness comes in when we allow God's graces and truths to penetrate the marrow of our being in those most difficult times.

I knew that there was sufficient evidence as we came to realize that Steve's earthly life had ceased. When Susan Dyar said with a strong confidence to all of us in that room that day, especially to her sons, that we do not grieve as those with no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Then she ever so soundly said "hand me my Bible". I cannot tell you the verses she read. I do know it was one of those incomparable moments that I will forever hold dear in my heart. That room was pretty crowded with friends and family. I don't think one of us would say "where was God?". It was more than evident that He was there.

I imagine it was the same for the Chapman family and is also true of the Laurie family.

It is my prayer for you that no matter what has happened to you that you will allow the presence of God to invade your heart and bring you wholeness and healing. Your enemy has lied and is lying to you now. He is saying that it's not possible in your case.

He is kind of like an attorney who knows his client is guilty of all the crimes he is charged with. He is the one saying that there is insufficient evidence of God's presence in your hard times, knowing all the time that God was there.

Dive into God's Word; listen to those who have experienced His presence in times of trouble. Seek God with your whole heart and do not hold back. Be crazy in love with the one who knows you better than you know yourself.

One of the best parts of my life whether in good times or bad is my prayer group. We started out calling ourselves "The Women at the Well" because we were so desperate to see God move. We have changed faces and places as the years have come and gone. We saw our beloved sister Denise pass over into glory. We have grown from one prayer group to many. The thing we have carried with us is our belief in God's ability to be who He says He is and that H can and will do what He has said He will do. It doesn't always look like we think it will. But His Glory takes our breath each and every day.

We hope to always be found guilty of believing Him to be our everything.

Who knows... you may end wearing crazy homemade jewelry out in public just like us!

Stop and smell the roses

Today we are taking a field trip away from the normal blog entry. Pretty much every post prior to today's has had a Wellspring theme or connection. Maybe before this one is complete God will have tied it together too.

But for today, I'd like to invite you into my recent trip to the "Rose Garden". Not that it was a formal garden of any kind, and there weren't really any roses, but just glorious displays from God's hand over the past week of our lives.

Most of you probably know that my daughter Jenn was pregnant with our little Charlotte Ruth. Dr.'s had seen some problems with Charlotte's heart months ago. So we were all prepared for a heart surgery after her birth. Jenn was scheduled to be induced on 7-13-08, But GOD had a different plan. Instead He sent her a week early on 7-7-08. We were thrilled that He had a say so and had relieved the Dr's of that little duty.

All the days ordained for me were written in
your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

Then they told Jenn the maternity floor had no spaces and she would have to move to the 7700 hallway. 7730 to be exact. Hmmmm... sevens and threes.

Charlotte made her debut looking all pink and beautiful, that was great because Dr's had warned there was a chance that she might be blue. But there was none of that for her.

Then came the day before her surgery - Jenn told me that Charlotte had a surprise for me. I couldn't figure out what kind of surprise it could be. Then when I walked into her little p-icu room I saw it for myself... a beautiful LIME GREEN ribbon in her hair. Many have accused me of pulling that one off, but i have to confess that it must have been a gift from God, because He surely knows what LIME GREEN means around this part of the country!

Like the bow wasn't enough for us to know that God had Charlotte tucked securely away in the palm of His hand. There was a horrible storm in the area with wild winds, thunder and lightening. Jennifer and Tim were on their way home that night and called me when they were almost there. I was instructed to run outside and see what was hovering over their house.

You might have guessed a rainbow, and if you did you were close. It was a brilliant double rainbow that you had to see from the front door as well as the back door to see the entire thing. Just like God had purposely hung it right over their house. Who knows, maybe He did!

There were no worries, just sweet and peaceful sleep until the morning.

Surgery day started just like the night before ended. The trip to the hospital was as peaceful as it could be. Jenn and Tim got to spend some precious time with their baby girl before they took her to surgery. The hospital staff could not have been any better to Charlotte or her mom and dad. This part was really sweet to me. After they took Charlotte to surgery and we had gotten a bite to eat we made our way to the Children's wing of the Hospital. As Jenn sat down I noticed the quilt she was sitting under...

As Jenn sat under that picture i was reminded that this time last year she was heading to Botswana and all God's provisions in getting her there, her time there and her trip home. Especially of a dream, a prayer and a belief of Jenn and many black feet.

Then there was this whole song thing going on from the day Charlotte's diagnosis came until this past Sunday morning after her arrival. To put it in a nut shell worship service to worship service came full circle with the playing of this song then and now, with scripture from the song and the words on a quilt sandwiched in between.

This was the song He used ... Made Me Glad by Hillsong

So, that was a lot to follow for an untrained soul. You know I have to go around a block several times to get my point across. There are tons more I could have shared, but I have about tuckered myself out!

I would like to ask a personal question. Have you noticed all the little "roses" that God has planted along your journey? Have you been so bothered by your circumstances that along the way you have forgotten that you have the best ever tour guide who really knows His way around the garden? You know that was the first place He ever had a relationship, a friendship with His prize creation. Slow down, trust Him in all things big and small. Notice the things that are personal to you like lime green ribbons and rainbows or whatever that He has placed along your path to let you know you are not alone! I love whoever you are that may be reading this! I hope and pray that through the crazy ramblings of this Jesus girl you appreciate His love for YOU!

I know it's not Tuesday...

It's really Wednesday, but there are two things I want to share today.
So it's a "Two for Tuesday" sort of thing.

I'll start with Immeasurably More because God certainly outdid Himself on Monday Night! I think it may have been immeasurably more than more if that's possible. Life Song Church had their "This Night" and had asked me to come and share about Wellspring. Amy Hickman who heads up their Aroma ministry had asked the women who were coming to bring a gift off of the Wellspring registry at Target. So, the ladies paid for a ticket to come, bought gifts and took up a love offering to top off the night!

Did I say love offering? Those sweet ladies gave over one thousand dollars to Wellspring! That's where the more than more comes in. The gifts were unbelievable, but the love offering was truly over the top. It is such affirmation that we are moving God Speed into this, following where He leads. It was evident that He showed up and showed out. I'm ever so thankful that He allows me to hang out with Him in all of this! It is an amazing journey.

Part two probably deserves it's own post. If I had done that I would title it

because that seems to be the theme of things lately. Monday night that was the title of the song that we ended the evening on. But more than that, God gave me a true revelation about a week ago. I was driving down the same old road I travel everyday that I work at Middle Tyger Community Center. As I came up to my final turn before getting to the main highway, is when it happened. For the first time in my life God revealed to me what it meant to have a new day before me. Many of you are probably thinking I have lost it, but stay with me! I know that every day is a new day, but for the first time ever it dawned on me that it feels the same because everything I see and everything I do most days are repeated over and over again. All of a sudden there was such an excitement in my soul to actually realize this new day was unfolding moment by moment before me. The lie had always been "same old... same old" - no more!

Same old... same old has given way to brand new, brand new! It is so amazing to wake up every morning and realize that it's a new start. This day has never been before, so I have a new day with new possibilities that maybe I didn't have yesterday! A chance to believe like I have never believed before. A chance to forgive, a chance to love, a chance to trust! I have savored knowing that even this moment right here has never been! Now that has changed my world. I don't know if I could translate to you what God did for me that morning. It was like looking at a whole new world.

It's coming up on July Fourth... it's my prayer for you that you walk in all the freedoms that you have not only as an American (if you are) but more so that you walk in the freedoms granted you by Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living GOD!