Little Jewells

They're back!

2012-01-23T11:27:00.001-06:00

The Cedar Waxwing and Robin flocks are back in our trees today. They were here on February 23 last year. I don't know if they are really exactly a month early, or if my calculations are off.

Either way, they are here making our back yard an aviary! I love it. It is pouring down rain but the birds are flitting from tree to tree eating the mysterious berries we have and sounding like they are enjoying themselves.

Happy Monday!

My first scarf!

2012-01-18T14:09:00.002-06:00

I wanted to learn how to knit this year because my daughter just learned. So, I asked her to teach me! She learned at Christmas when Grandma was here and could give a few lessons. Our church has a new knitting group starting up this month, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity for the two of us to join a club together. We'll be donating the scarves we knit to Shepherd's Gate in Livermore, a shelter for women and children.

I've been excited to knit this first scarf and make the embellishment for it too. It has been even more fun to make it knowing that it will be a special gift to a woman who needs to feel the warmth of Christ's live in the midst of crisis.

Then, as I finished the scarf and I took the picture...I remembered, "HEY!! My word is "share"!! What better way to share than to be knitting for other people."

How cool is that!?

Presidio National Cemetery San Francisco, California

2012-01-17T12:28:00.003-06:00

John G. Lindgren of New York died on April 21, 1940. He was a Private, First Class in the 11th Infantry. I can't find out much about John other than the fact that he may have been a firefighter in New York at some point. The 11th Infantry was in the Civil War, a unit comprised of New York City firemen. Lindgren is my maiden name. We did not find anyone with my married name.

We found his gravestone on a recent trip to the Presidio in San Francisco. You can search the burial sites by last name which tells you the grave marker number as well as the location of the stone.

I chose this picture as my first picture of myself for the new year to use in my One Little Word class. We were assigned to take a picture of ourselves as a sort of time marker. I picked this picture because it was one of the first family outings we did for the new year.

But I also picked it because of the significance of the grave. I am using this picture to help remind me that I am choosing to bury the past, especially the junky stuff.

This year I am choosing to share myself more with my God, my family and my friends. This means that I am burying my old habit of keeping things to myself. Mind you, I'm not going to become a person who spews whatever I want whenever I want to. But, I am going to choose to be more actively open to others. I'm sure I'll learn more about that as I journey through this year of sharing.

The definition of Share

2012-01-16T11:33:00.003-06:00

Part of the Word of the Year, or One Little Word as it is called, is to define the word and follow more prompts from our teacher as we work on the word.

The definition of "Share" is

to participate in, take, possess, or undergo in common
to grant or be granted a share in
to experience, or enjoy with others
to divide or distribute in portions

How interesting it was to look in the dictionary for the definition of a word that I thought I was pretty familiar with. Of course the dictionary definition was way longer, but I picked out parts of the definition that spoke to what I wanted to learn this year. The things that talk about being in common with others stood out to me. I thought of corporate worship, of meals with family, of conversation with others.

Tomorrow I'll share the picture I'm using as my "self-portrait"...another part of our assignments.

Word of the Year

2012-01-01T12:19:00.002-06:00

I'm taking a class over at Big Picture. It's a great scrap/craft/life lesson website. You can find them at www.bigpictureclasses.com I've taken lots of classes there and have enjoyed every one of them.

This year I'm taking a year long class taught by the talented Ali Edwards. She's a big wig in the scrappin' world. The class is called, "One Little Word". The idea is you choose a word that you'll focus on for the entire year. Sounds pretty interesting. For a word lover like me...it seemed like trying to pick your favorite child or something!

However, the word I'm going to use presented itself to me in August. It has been banging around in my head since then trying to figure out how to get me to notice it. So, this is the chance it needed.

The word I picked is, "Share". I love that it's a verb. I love that it has a bunch of different meanings. Our first assignment was to design a cover for a scrapbook that we'll fill up all year long. That's my cover at the top of this post.

Our next assignment is to begin to define what the word means. I'd already been thinking about that. I'm sure the word will come to mean more to me throughout the year though. For now, I've said that "share" means sharing who I am with my family, sharing what I know with others, as well as sharing what I have.

I spent the last hour of 2011 doing just that with my daughter and her friend and her friend's mom. While the boys watched Star Wars Episode Somethingorother...we retreated to the craft room and made cards!!

This morning before getting out of bed my darling hubby and I shared our wishes for eachother and our family in prayer.

Can't beat a start like that!

Happy New Year's EVE!!

2011-12-31T11:54:00.002-06:00

Just a quick entry today to officially declare that I do hereby resolve to be better at posting something every week to the blog. I have dreaded saying that "officially" every year, so I just never said it.

However, this year, I really do want to write more.

Stay tuned....for more!

World Card Making Day!

2011-09-29T12:36:00.003-05:00

These are the cards that we'll make on Saturday at my house to celebrate World Card Making Day! Hope you are having a lovely day!

What is truly lovely?

2011-09-21T12:03:00.005-05:00

Finally brothers and sisters, 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. --Philippians 4:8

These pictures are from Mt. Diablo, where you will find the amazing Manzantia Tree. It is a beautiful tree with incredible bark. I can't get enough of photographing it when I go to Mt. Diablo.

I just memorized this verse. Lately I have been struggling with my thought life. I begin to think about things which are really not lovely. I don't mean that I think about an ugly building, or some dead plants that lurk nastily in my yard, or an abandoned house out in the country that is falling down in disrepair. I'm talking about just plain negative, hurtful thoughts about people I love and the situations that I find myself in. I realized that this has been damaging to my spiritual life and growth. Just like nasty, ugly weeds in a garden, those thoughts were choking out the things that I should have been thinking about.

I had also studied this verse from 2Corinthians 10: 5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." It wasn't so difficult to recognize the thoughts that I was having as thoughts which wouldn't really stand up to what Christ would want me to be thinking about. I quickly learned when one of those negative type thoughts came to mind that I should pray and ask God to help me by taking those thoughts which I had started to think and remove them from me. It was working. But soon I found that I was not thinking much of anything else!

Then I came again to the Philippians verse. Now, I can focus my thoughts! I should be thinking about things which are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Why? So that I can truly worship and glorify Christ.

So, last night when I couldn't sleep, I started calling things to mind which I knew were true as opposed to the things which I had been thinking which really weren't true but were instead those garbage like thoughts.

What I know is true is that God is good all the time, that His word endures forever, that He loves me so much He sent Jesus for payment of my sin, and that because I have chosen to follow Jesus as my savior and Lord I have the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me everyday.

What I know is noble is a little harder to come up with. A starting point will be living by God's word instead of the world's standards is noble.

It is much easier to think of things which aren't pure. So, a starting point for purity is to realize that things which don't honor and glorify God should not be things that I think about. This includes gossip! And, it also includes tv shows that I have really enjoyed in the past but I've come to see are purely smutty! My diet of purity beginning now is that I've trimmed off some of my tv, I actually quit reading a fiction book that I had been looking forward to reading.

Thinking about things which are lovely really leads me to God's creation. I'm so glad that God gave us such variety in nature! There is always something new to discover there. The Manzantia tree is where I'm starting my worship this morning.

What do you think might be excellent and praiseworthy to think about? The truth of the matter is that in life many times the only things which you will be able to think about which fit the criterion of Philippians 4:8 are the attributes of God Himself. No person you love will ever fit all the categories, no situation will either. So, when I'm stuck in a pit of darkness, I will be aiming my thoughts up and out of the pit and to the High and Mighty Christ who alone saves me.

Doors at the Presidio in San Francisco

2011-09-04T17:04:00.004-05:00

All of these doors can be found on the grounds of the Presidio.

Hats

2011-08-29T15:31:00.002-05:00

This first hat's flowers are made from my favorite shirt that David finally retired. I figured making some flowers with the shirt would allow me to sort of keep the shirt around without having to complain that it was so worn out it should not be seen in public! I learned how to make these flowers from a book I checked out at the library.

The second hat has butterflies that I made using the BigShot Butterfly die. I had to stick the butterfly on the brim with sticky strip, I couldn't stitch it on the brim. The buckle is blingy, encircled with rhinestones. The hats are from Target. I bought a bunch of them on sale for 2.58!! Original price was 9.99. I'm going to try to sell these on etsy. I've got three more to make. I gave one away for a birthday gift yesterday.

Golden Gate Photo Essay

2011-08-24T16:21:00.002-05:00

View of the bridge from historic Fort Scott parade grounds built in the 1910s.

Historic Fort Point, pre Civil War, beneath the bridge...which had to be built around the Fort.

Deus Ex Machina

2011-08-22T17:32:00.002-05:00

In ancient Greek Theatre there was an element called, "Deus Ex Machina". It meant "god in machine" and was utilized by Sophocles and other Greek theatre guys. Sometimes the plot would get sticky and the main characters would find themselves in a situation that was truly impossible to escape or resolve. The play-write would then write in this marvelous machine which would bring a god down from on high to magically sort out the situation and restore all things aright. It was one of my favorite Greek devices because it was so handy to resolve any and all theatrical problems. I distinctly remember in college talking with my theatre buddies about how useful this would be in real life. We would make up situations, many times including exams we didn't study for, which were impossible to come out of smelling like a rose...and then we'd introduce our crazy god-machine and a beautiful resolution to our glitch.

Today in my quiet time something I read made me think again of Deus Ex Machina. This quote is from "Streams in the Dessert" by C.E. Cowman. The reading was talking about how the apostle Paul was often in dire straights. Onetime in Damascus, he had to flee for his life. In order to escape from those who would harm him, Paul's friends hid him in a basket (!!) and lowered the basket over the wall of the town. Once on the other side, Paul clambered out of the basket and ran for his life! Paul also survived a treacherous shipwreck, none of the passengers on the ship died either!

Read here what I read about Paul's shipwreck: "Again we find {Paul} left for months in the lonely dungeons; we find him telling of his watchings, his fastings, and his desertion by friends, of his brutal and shameful beatings, and here even after God has promised to deliver him, we see him for days left to toss upon a stormy sea, obliged to stand guard over the treacherous seaman, and at last when the deliverance comes, there is no heavenly galley sailing from the skies to take off the noble prisoner; there is no angel form walking along the waters and stilling the raging breakers; there is no supernatural sign of the transcendent miracle that is being wrought; but one is compelled to seize a spar, another a floating plank, another to climb on a fragment of the wreck, another to strike out and swim for his life. Here is God's pattern for our own lives.....God's promises and God's providences do not lift us out of the plane of common sense and commonplace trail, but it is through these very things that faith is perfected, and that God loves to interweave the golden threads of His love along the warp and woof of our every day experience." (emphasis mine)

God is not the god of the Greek Deus Ex Machina! God is the very wise God who knows that if He were to come and remove us from the sticky situations of life we would be none the wiser, no more mature, no more faith-filled, and no more trusting of Him than before we got into the sticky situation!

I loved being reminded this morning of my theatre knowledge, but I loved even more seeing how faithful my God is. He allows me to be sticky in the sticky messy situation so that I can grow all the more beautiful in Him. He is not absent, He is not ignorant, He is not malicious! He loves me so much that he allows me to be sticky in His presence. He equips me to get un-sticky through the power of His very Holy Spirit.

Praise God for my Jesus who did come down to earth and does know all about sticky messy lives, yet loves us in spite of that, even died to save us from the eternal consequences.

Amen!

Less...Control

2011-08-19T21:17:00.008-05:00

I'm taking a fun class at Big Picture Classes dot com. It is a 12 day class. Each day we are assigned a word to scrapbook, the end result will be a 12 page book of "Words to Live By". So far the words have been: Share, Wonder, Less, and Enjoy. I haven't finished the page for Enjoy yet. I think my favorite page so far is what I created for Less. I wanted to talk about having less control of things in my life. For some reason the idea of an acrostic of "C O N T R O L" seemed like just what I wanted. I used a picture of a crazy looking flower that I took at Legoland for my background paper. Then, I used my digi scrapping program to do the rest. I am striving for less control, not less childlike faith.....

August Already?

2011-08-14T18:22:00.002-05:00

I should go back through my blog since I started and find out how many times I've said something like, "Wow, where has the time gone!?" I'm thinking it would be something I've said almost as many times as I have posted.

Time has flown this spring into summer and on into school planning already!

I have taken hundreds of pictures since last I posted. The above monogram was a door hanging that I made for my friend Carla for her 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebration. I collaborated with a local guy for the wood letters. Carla's instructions were "something with silver and Jeff's and my letters". So, pretty wide open instructions! I liked how the end result turned out. I ended up hanging it on Carla's door on the 4th of July weekend.

Since then, well, a month has gone by. A month crammed with lots of stuff. I was describing what's been going on in my life to a friend by saying that it rather felt like someone picked up my fruit basket, tossed it up in the air and yelled, "CATCH" at me. So much fruit was flying above me that I couldn't seem to grab just one piece of fruit and I ended up missing most of the fruit. AND, I don't juggle!

My husband has been going through some job stress for some time now; who hasn't been there lately? My children are growing at a predictable, but scary fast, rate. High School is half over for my eldest already! Our lives are on a path that we've never been on before. I find myself saying, "It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out".

I'm going to remember Summer 2011 for a long time. So much has been happening. I hope that someday really soon I'll be able to say that it was a real turning point in our lives and that we have seen God clearly through all of the turns.

Hopefully the fruit has all quit flying for a while and I'll be able to pick it all up and return some to the fruit basket for eating, some to the compost heap, and maybe even share some of the remaining good fruit with friends.

Flowers of Spring and Cherry Blossoms!

2011-04-02T18:39:00.005-05:00

These lovely tulips and daffodils are on the corner at a neighbor's house. I love the skinny tulips!

A Honey Bee busy at work. When there weren't any cars whizzing by me, I could hear the very loud hum of a multitude of bees.

These are not the famous Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C. But, I think they might rival the ones there. These are on Sycamore Valley Road, close to my house. I took these pictures on Thursday when almost 75% of the blooms were open. Today, only two days later, all the blooms have blossomed, and lots have even fallen off already with new green leaves quick behind them. Enjoy my pictures!

Recent Cards

2011-03-31T15:17:00.002-05:00

Bird Migration! Spring IS on the way!

2011-02-23T11:56:00.003-06:00

This American Robin seemed to be a tag-a-long with the flock of over 200 Cedar Waxwing birds that stopped in our backyard this last weekend. There was a smaller flock of Robin along with the Cedar Waxwings.
There were so many Cedar Waxwings that it truly was difficult to catch a close-up of just one bird. They enjoyed flying to and fro between the trees with the little berries and the big Cedar trees in our yard. I think they were enjoying an all-you-can-eat buffet!
The markings of the Cedar Waxwing are striking! I love the mask around their eyes, it's not just black, but outlined with white. Their tails have yellow feathers at the end. The marking for which they are named is the red "wax drip" on their secondary wing feathers. Their bellies are a buff yellowish color. I had seen them dashing back and forth in the yard while I was sitting on the couch in the house looking out to the backyard. I had heard the Robins outside earlier, so I just thought that it was Robins. But when I looked closely, through the raindrops, I saw the Cedar Waxwings on the Cedar tree. I dashed outside to first hear the birds and then see the massive amount of them!

They would take breaks from berry eating by perching in the naked Sycamore tree in our front yard. It was really impossible to count them all!

If anyone can tell me what type of tree this is, I'd love to know! I don't have a tree book and I'm not sure where to find it on the web.
Aren't they beautiful!? God is so amazing. When I did the Bible Lesson for the Level 3 kids at BSF I was able to use these birds as an illustration of how we can see God in His creation. Hope you have a wonderful day. Take these birds as notice that Spring is on it's way my East Coast friends!!

Out from under winter

2011-02-08T14:21:00.003-06:00

I made this wreath for Valentine's Day. Using old book pages is quite trendy these days. You know already how I feel about that! The base of the wreath is a wire form that I wrapped book pages around and taped them on. Then, I made giant rosettes of book pages, just like I did for the pennant banner that I showed you how to make in an earlier post. I hot glued the rosettes onto the wire frame. I made a center plaque with a piece of chipboard that I covered with a book page. I embellished that with L O V E and some ribbon. I glued a wrinkly piece of pink scrap paper on the back of the chipboard and then stuck that with hot glue onto the wreath.

I gave this wreath to Carla for her front door as a hostess gift for having friends in to make Valentine cards. There were ten of us who got together to make 6 Valentine cards! Here are five of them. The sixth one was camera shy. So, I'll post a picture of it in a day or two. Three of the cards were little mini ATCs. ATC stands for Artist Trading Card. They measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches and are lots of fun to make.

Have a great day!

Birthday Blessings

2010-11-23T13:39:00.007-06:00

My little sister turned 40 this year. To help her celebrate, I gathered wishes from friends and family members and then scrapped them into a Birthday Blessing Book. I made an altered tin for the book to go in. Her initials are on the front cover.

The tin got a little bulgy with all the wishes in the book...so I had to tie the tin shut with ribbon!

I made special pockets for the book for the original emails from her friends. The pocket paper was from Martha Stewart and had a sort of vinyl feel to it, so it is stretchy and able to hold folded paper. I punched a notch in the top of the pocket. The papers that I used for the book are from Heidi Grace.

I wanted to make the book interactive, so I hid things here and there. Traci had a Bible verse for my sister which I hid under a taggy flap, securing it closed with a mini magnet.

This picture shows Traci's verse when the taggy flap is closed.

For Rebecca's wishes I used clear buttons that I glued matching papers on the back, then tied the buttons with frayed ribbon fibers.

On Rachel and Marsha's wishes I used super cute epoxy brads as little accents. I also made "ribbon" with paper strips.

When using ribbon on projects, make sure that you use super adhesive to help the ribbon stay put. I love Stampin' Up's sticky strip.

Carolyn and Abby's page both had interactive elements. For Carolyn's wishes I put them on tags that I made by using the birdcages as shapes for the tags. For Abby's, I folded paper and used a punch to create the circle flaps. Fold paper in 1/2 and then put it in your punch without punching through the folded bit and you'll create a sort of book. I made the tag on Traci's the same way.

For the greetings from Grace and Michelle I just kept it simple, adding a little texture with ribbon.

Here's another look at the email pockets. I only used adhesive on the bottom of the pockets because the inside edges were held closed by the black rings, while the outside edges were folded over in one continuous piece of paper--didn't need adhesive.

Janey's greeting was the last one that I put in the book which was getting really thick by now! Because I was worried about the tin being able to close, I didn't put any embellishments on Janey's page.

You can click on any of the pictures for an up close look. Happy Birthday sis!!

Things in my backyard

2010-11-18T17:08:00.003-06:00

This year Fall has been more colorful than I remember it being last year. It could be that I'm just used to the perpetual green around here now and I can see the fall colors in the midst of that and not be overwhelmed by the green. Whatever it is, I find it beautiful! This Japanese Maple is in our backyard not too far from the swimming pool.

I think I might be obsessed with mushrooms! The yard guys come on Tuesdays and mow through any mushrooms that have grown. So, if I want to take a picture I have to look sometime before they get here. These little red mushrooms keep coming back in about the same spot every week. I finally got down on my knees to take this picture. Shots from above just look silly, like there is a clown nose in the grass. When I pick the mushroom to take pictures that way, it feels like something gets lost in that process. I'm sure I'll keep trying.

Happy Fall!! Soon it will be Thanksgiving. May you be blessed with much to be thankful!

Still MORE Jellies

2010-10-23T18:11:00.003-05:00

These last jellies were pink, and not in the same tank as the orange jellies. Hope you've enjoyed my jellies!

Egg Yolk Jellies

2010-10-22T12:21:00.005-05:00

These are the Egg Yolk Jellies I saw at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Aren't they cute!? They remind me of my Egg Yolk poppies that I took pictures of this summer! Check out my posting on 7/14/2010 if you want to compare.

Happy Weekend! I'll post even more jellies tomorrow.

Spotted Jellies

2010-10-21T11:17:00.006-05:00

These pictures I took are of the Spotted Jellyfish from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Aren't they amazing!? At the aquarium there is an entire room full of various Jelly Fish. Tomorrow I'll show you the Egg Yolk Jelly. Can you guess what it looks like? Jellyfish are zooplankton.

Jellyfish do not have brains. They are cnidarians, pronounced nih dhar' ee uhnz. Their name comes from the Greek word, "knide", which means nettle. The spotted jelly in my pictures are Phyllorihiza punctata and are commonly found around Australia in the summertime. Most people know that Jellyfish sting anything that comes in contact with their tentacles. Their stings can be deadly. The process for stinging is similar to a bee sting. The bee inserts the stinger which then leaves the bee's body, while the Jellyfish inserts a hollow thread that is attached to a cell within their body called a nematocyst. The thread is attached to a little arrow like sharp point which breaks the skin, then the thread delivers the poison to the victim. The threads are attached to the tentacles which then bring the now paralyzed victim to the mouth of the jelly for consuming. Humans are too big for a jellyfish to digest, so if stung by a jelly, you will not be eaten by one! However, the jelly's sting is full of poison and will cause swelling and irritation. Some people are allergic to this poison and may suffer more than others; still others have died from jellyfish stings. So, stay away from jellyfish!

While it is true that jellys do not have brains, they are far from simple. In reading just a few pages from my kids' science books, I am truly amazed! Once they use up their nematocysts, more grow in their place. Once a bee stings you, it dies. If a jellyfish stings you, it just regenerates the nematocysts. Their lifecycle is complicated. The way they reproduce is astounding. They are not able to process visual information, but they DO have eyes which can detect light from dark! This is very important for their survival because it allows them to tell up from down. Survival is toward the light, or the surface. They rise to the surface at night to avoid predators like the leatherback turtle. In the day they sink toward the bottom of the ocean. Some jellyfish can grow to be 400 pounds! Jellyfish eat fish. A group of jellyfish is called a smack.

I'll post the Egg Yolk Jelly tomorrow along with an orange jelly. My information on jellyfish comes from "Exploring Creation with Zoology 2" from Apologia Science.

What I've been up to...

2010-10-15T11:42:00.005-05:00

I have been having such fun playing with the Stampin' Up Owl Punch! This card I made for our neighbor's birthday. The front of the card has the large woodgrain stamp from SU so that it looks like a tree the owls are peeking out of. I stuck a speech bubble on the front that says, "Whoo's birthday is it?" I focused my shot on the owls though, so you can't read the bubble!

I stamped the woodgrain stamp on a piece of brown card stock and cut it to be shaped like a tree so the owls would have somewhere to perch. Since the card was for a 12 year old's birthday, I used googly eyes on the owls.

The next creations were inspired by the coolest catering truck I saw on 680 South a few days ago. The truck was covered with a huge black and white graphic floral design, with a splotch of golden yellow. Made me go, "Oooo, I want to make a card with those colors!!" Here is what I came up with:
Then I made a little box using an old Altoid's Tin and a very HUGE button that I got from Nancy.

Last, but not least!! Me with my new haircut!

Ah, the life of a dog!

2010-10-14T13:53:00.003-05:00

Good news! My watch will be repaired. It won't be free...but it will be fixed, and cheaper than a super expensive, nice watch. ::sigh::

If I were a dog, I wouldn't worry about things like watches and what time of day it might be. I might be thinking about my next meal, but only if I'm not sitting calmly in a sunny spot soaking up God's good sunshine. I would be looking at the world from about a foot off the ground. I would be looking for my comfy spot in my little bed in the school room where my people seem to spend so much of their time. It would not bother me if my mailbox only had political ads in it. I wouldn't be concerned about what shoes match with my pants. I would understand that my people love me and care a lot about me. I'd be thankful everyday for the place God put me those many years in San Diego when I first came to them.

What time is it?

2010-10-12T19:34:00.003-05:00

Oh, it's a sad day today. I've realized, after three battery replacements, that my very favorite watch is about to die. At least, I think it is. My watch is a Raymond Weil, "Tango". She is the best! I've worn her everyday for twelve years. My wonderful husband gave her to me when I turned 30 and retired from teaching. I had been joking that I wanted a Rolex watch for my retirement. I was young and nieve! We'd been married only five years then. I'm not sure how I thought my hubby could afford a Rolex! He is truly the best though, he researched Rolex and tried to find the beginner one for me, but just couldn't shell out the dough required. So, he went for the Raymond Weil instead. I love this watch and never thought twice about Rolex after David presented her to me at my retirement party! If you are shopping for a watch, check out Raymond Weil.

I'm not sure what I'll do without her. I'm hoping that I can take her to a good watch doctor for a check-up and a fix-up. I'm heaving heavy sighs for her right now.

Perhaps this rapid decline of my time keeping device can be blamed for my behindedness state on the blog? I have many pictures of cards made that I want to share with you, but time has gotten away from me...litterally!

Monday Already?

2010-09-20T14:16:00.002-05:00

Monday, already?? The weekend flew by really. I had intended to post this weekend, but didn't get to it. Oh well.

We are back to school full swing now. All the kids' activities have started and we are all back to BSF for the study of Isaiah. This week we'll be talking about chapter 1 in our discussion groups. It should be pretty exciting. I'm teaching level 3 kids, 5th and 6th graders. It is pretty exciting to hear what they learn when they do their daily study questions. I will miss being with a group of ladies as I was last year as a group leader, but I'm enjoying the switch already.

Even though I didn't post this weekend, I did make a fun card that I have to share with you! See if you can recognize the little creatures in my card from previous cards where they appeared as different animals....

Treasures of the Earth also known as Mushrooms

2010-08-24T18:38:00.004-05:00

It never ceases to amaze me the things that we find in our yard. I think it's all about having your eyes open and just being generally observant. Isn't this the strangest looking thing!? It's a mushroom! Lactarius is the variety of this Mushroom. I've never seen anything like this before. Surprisingly, to me, this mushroom has gills under the cap. This second picture makes me think of a character that Jim Henson might have come up with as a Muppet. Can't you see it? A sort of friendly, green monster with a wide mouth...or something like that. I came across this one yesterday morning.

I have never seen red mushrooms! Have you? I was pretty excited when we found these growing in our yard last night. They looked just like the mushrooms that I remember from stories like Hansel and Gretel or other woodsy-type fairytales. I found out that these are a variety of Russula. I had so much fun taking pictures of them last night. I actually took about 40 pictures! LOVE my camera.

These cuties were deep in the grass, I had to dig them out to be able to take any pictures of them that made sense. They sort of just looked like red new potatoes laying on my lawn! Thanks to Darvin, SOMA Science Advisor at the Sonoma County Mycological Association for helping me to identify these.

It was such fun to discover these mushrooms...it really was like finding little treasures of the earth!

What have you found in your yard!?

Bounty of Summer

2010-08-16T16:10:00.002-05:00

Does it feel like Fall is around the corner? I know that my Midwest friends really want Fall to be that close, and my East Coast friends have been sweltering too. Thoughts are turning toward Fall for the cooler temperatures as well as for sending children back to school. Friday I did a little watercoloring. I loved how these birch trees turned out. I could almost hear the cool breezes rustling through the leaves. However, August though it may be, it does not seem like Fall is on its way any time soon.

So, I bring you some of Summer's Bounty in these beautiful Dahlias that my friend Mary brought me today.

Aren't they lovely!? Thanks Mary for brightening my day!

Big Picture Scrapbooking Summer Idea Festival

2010-08-12T22:06:00.003-05:00

This last picture is the full shot of the door knob cones, or Tussy Mussies that I made today for Day One of Big Picture Scrapbooking Summer Idea Festival. The design idea was from Elizabeth Dillow. The first shot shows a close up of the chunky pink glitter that I used, the second shot shows the huge flower embellishment that I did. I used an antique button for the center of the flower and about 15 layers of paper for the flower! For the next two weeks I'll be "in class" at Big Picture with a different assignment every day. I can't wait for each day's assignment! Come back often and check my progress.

Details on "Read" banner and some cool paper flowers

2010-07-25T16:51:00.007-05:00

This post starts with a look at some re-purposed book pages and a disclaimer. The public library in my town has a little cart in an undisclosed location that has books on it with a little sign, "FREE to a good home". I discovered the cart one day when I had wandered down the hall by the library's used book store. On the cart that day I saw some old textbooks, a few Nat. Geo. mags, some outdated travel books, and the discovery of the day....really aged, out of print books with wonderfully yellowed pages that were crying out for a useful purpose. I took one of the books off the cart and flipped it open. As I ran my fingers across the pages, I about gasped. Suddenly lots of crafty ideas were creeping into my brain. I snapped the book shut and looked behind me. No one was around. I held the book in my lap and looked on the shelf for more. I only found one that day that was truly useful. Now, I have to say that I'm not really sure that I was taking the book home to a "good" home since I fully intended to cut the thing up once I got it home. However, in the spirit of all things "green" and re-purposed, I KNOW that I've done a "good thing". At least, I think Martha Stewart would agree with me.

So, on to the banner and cool paper flowers. Here is a look at the pages of the book that I started with. Just use your craft knife as close to the binding as you can go and begin cutting out the pages. If you need to have a moment of silence before you cut, go ahead and do so. Once I had cut my pages out, I placed them on the Sizzix Pennant die and ran it through my Big Shot machine. You can see in the picture below that the die cuts two sizes of pennants as well as scalloped circles. I used the smaller size pennant for the book page element on my "read" banner. For the larger pennant, I used a lunch bag. I crumpled up the lunch bag, smoothed it out, folded it in half and then ran it through the machine. After I did that I wanted to add more texture, so I ran the paper bag pennants through the machine again with the texture plates. It was difficult to get photo detail on that, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I have not tried heavy duty grocery bags yet. The lunch bags are smaller and of lighter weight paper and work nicely. If you try it with paper grocery bags, let me know how it works for you.

I used eight scallop circles of book pages to make the paper flower embellishments. Take the eight circles, line them up and then poke a hole through the middle of all of them. You can use a piercing mat and poke the hole through all eight at once if you like. Put a brad of some kind through the hole of all eight. I used a mini brad, but I think you could use any kind of brad you like; one with some bling would be really nice.

Now you will begin to make the flower. Take the top layer of book page and crumple it up as you can see in the picture. Proceed to do that with all the layers until you get to the last one.

Crumple the last layer too. Some people like to crumple the paper first and then punch the hole in the middle. I tried that and didn't like those results as much as I did when I punched first and then crumpled. I think it was just easier to manage the papers when they were already joined together. A side note about papers: these flowers are lovely to make with the old book pages because the paper is somewhat thin, and really flexible making it easy to crumple. If you want to make these flowers with card stock, you can use the same steps. However, (and this is important) before you crumple the paper you might want to mist it with some water first. If you have some misty stuff that has sparkle in it, use that. If you just have water, that works well too. The water will help the paper crumple more easily. Or, if you know how to do faux suede, do that first and then crumple. At any rate once you have crumpled all the layers, your flower should look like this:

Now comes the fun part. Begin to uncrumple the flower bit by bit until you come up with something like this:

On my final banner I took a glue pen and dabbed it around the edges of the flower and then smooshed it in some glitter....looked really pretty! Once you get the hang of the steps on these flowers you can let your creative juices flow and come up with really pretty things. You can ink the edges of the scallop circles before you crumple to give some depth to your flower. If you ink the same shade of ink in darker intensity on each layer you'll end up with a sort of ombre flower. All kinds of possibilities for these beauties! Just let your mind wander and see what you come up with. Remember my favorite crafty mantra: "There are no mistakes, only creative opportunities!"

A second variation on this flower is shown in the picture below. There you'll see a flower that I made with just the lunch bags, it's on the top right hand side of the picture. Next to it on the left is a really big flower. I made that one with the book pages as the center of the flower, and then I added some crumpled strips of paper bag on the outside of the flower. I've got the instructions for that bit just a bit further down in this post. The third flower is one that I made with a scallop circle base, and then a torn strip of book page. That one is made just like the paper bag strip flower that I'll show you next. The picture of it turned out a little bit flat. However, if you are going to make these flowers for a card that you want to send in the mail, you might want to go with that option or you'll be paying extra postage.

Now the instructions for the simple paper bag strip flower. Begin with a circle of card stock in any size. The size that you begin with will determine the size of your final flower. A smaller circle will yield a smaller flower. The big flower above used a 2 inch circle to begin with. My example below is a 1 3/8 inch circle. Oh, and by the way, you can do this with other shapes too, squares, rectangles, whatever you want.

Once you have determined the size of your circle, all around the outer edge of the circle put adhesive. I used tape type adhesive, but you could use liquid glue, or whatever you have on hand.

To make the strip of lunch bag, I cut open a lunch bag, cut the bottom off and then crumpled and crumpled. It's a great way to relieve stress! :) After I did that I smoothed the bag out enough to use my paper cutter on it to cut strips because I really can't cut straight at all. I cut strips of about 1/2 inch.

Begin to stick the strip of paper to the adhesive on the circle, working it all around the edges.

When you reach the place where you began the strip of paper, just rip off the excess paper from the strip. You may want to flip the circle over to the other side to see what it looks like before you rip the strip off.

Now just flatten the circle out a bit and you've got the base of the flatter strip flower. You will add layers on to this with more lunch bag strips. You can either apply more glue to the center of the circle and add the strip there, or punch out another smaller circle and do the same thing over again and then attach that to the center of the first flat strip flower you made. It is kind of addicting to make these. They are lovely in tissue paper too!

Now we've got the embellishments for the banner, so back to the banner itself. As I mentioned, I cut the pennants out of book pages and lunch bags. Here they are:

I assembled them with the paper bag on the bottom, book page on the top, glitter on the edges of both. I stamped the letters "r","e","a" and "d" on scallop circles in a neutral color ink. Then I took a white gel pen and highlighted the letters a bit. I attached the letter scallop circles each onto a strip flower and then put those on the banner.

The rosettes in between each letter are the paper flowers that I showed you at the beginning of this now very long post. To attach them to the top of the banner I used mini clothes pins which I put a stripe of sticky strip, also known as "red line tape", on the clothespin and then pressed the flower onto the adhesive. These clips will be removable from the banner so that when I'm done with the banner I can use the clips as a pretty pin on a gift bag or even on the lapel of a blouse.

If you didn't see the post from yesterday go check it out because it has a nice picture of the banner en situ.

I have a feeling that I've only just begun to play with these flowers. I'd love to see what you come up with! Have a happy day!

Read!

2010-07-24T19:45:00.003-05:00

Here is the banner I made with paper bags, lunch bag variety, and old book pages. I'll give you all the details on how to make it tomorrow.

Even more projects!!

2010-07-23T14:00:00.007-05:00

This little book, "Our Family's Favorite Fortunes" was inspired by Lisa Spangler from Hero Arts. You can find the instructions for Japanese Book Binding at youtube.com. Just go there and type in Lisa Spangler in the search and you'll find how-to videos that she has done. Look for the one called "Lucky Fortunes and Japanese Book Binding" and you'll know how to do what I did. The fortune cookies were also inspired by Lisa. Just punch a big-ish circle, fold in half so that the back side of the "cookie" will be taller than the front side. Ink the edges with some color of brown so that the cookie looks baked. Crinkle fold the middle of the cookie to give it that fortune cookie look, ink the middle ridges of the cookie, glue on the book. If you right click on any of these pictures, you'll get an up-close image so you can inspect the cookies!

For my book, I used scraps of paper that I had left over from a project that I did long ago. Fortunately for me, I saved the scraps because I just loved the papers. I have no idea who the papers are from.

I used only one stamp, and even that I just used part of. The stamp was an invitation stamp. I just inked the bits I wanted, "place:" and "date:".
The measurements of the book are: 5inches X 4inches. I used the "ticket punch" from Su for the right handed corners of the pages, the corner rounder on the left handed sides.
I went ahead and made all the pages of the book so that I can put the fortunes in the book as we get them. I wonder how long it will take to fill up the book!? If you are wondering, I made the strips where I'll put the fortunes to measure at 1inch by 2.5inches.

Products of my creative juices

2010-07-23T13:15:00.003-05:00

I have to confess that I CASE'd this idea from Kristina Werner. She has a video that will show you how to make a similar card if you want to learn how. Her site is kwernerdesign.com. I'm only telling you her site because I know you love me and won't completely abandon me for her. I used the retired "Gratuitous Graffiti" background stamp, a white gel pen, scallop circle punch and white gel pen.
I created this card because I have a load of summer sun, only orange and pink passion that are now retired and need to be used up. Fox and Friends is the stamp set that I used, along with various circle punches. The pink passion circles are the faux suede technique. If you want instructions on how to do that let me know.
Ok, this one is sooo cute! Don't you think? I love owls, they are so hot now. I didn't really love them until they became hot. Although, I did have a favorite stuffed owl when I was a small child, named Xy, after Mister Roger's puppet character of the same name. This card doesn't have any stamping on it! And, it has a hint of my secret new found passion--using old books for interesting background papers. The cute owls are from the new punch Two Step Owl Extra Large. I just punched out a bunch of the little guys with different designer papers, and there ya go...so many fun combos! The tree branch is hand cut from Soft Suede textured paper. The background is a book page that I ran through the Big Shot with the Top Note die. Stay tuned for more with old book pages....
This one is using the new stamp set, Artistic Etchings from SU, the words are from Sincere Salutations. Enjoy these and stay tuned for more even better stuff!

Vine and Branches

2010-07-18T18:09:00.005-05:00

In Napa we took our "old neighbors" to the vineyard of Robert Mondavi. If you are ever in Napa, go there for a good tour. We started out in the vineyards looking and learning a little bit about the grapes and then went in to the grape press, the fermentation room, and then the bottling area. It was fascinating.

I really enjoyed looking up close and out in the distance at the vines growing. If you look closely at the second picture, you can see tiny clusters of very small baby grapes. Look again at that first picture though. What do you see?

How cool is that green tendril wrapped tightly around the guide wire!? It is a good picture of how the vine is always seeking something to wrap on to. What ever is close, it grabs and hangs on. I was reminded of passages in John's gospel when Jesus talked about vines and branches and His relationship to all of that. Read what Jesus said about the vine and branches.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. . . . Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John's gospel, chapter 15:1-2, 4-5 New International Version

Looking at that tightly wound tendril I want to think of it like this: I am the little tendril, green and seeking out good support. Jesus is the guide wire. When I wrap myself around Him, He will steer me in the way to grow. As long as I'm hanging on to Him I will grow strong and productive. In order to "wrap myself around Him" I need to read His word everyday. To "grow strong and productive" I need to seek His guidance in all that I do, be obedient to His commands and trust Him for all things. All of that can only be done with the help of His word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I pray that this week you will be strongly rooted in Christ!

Trefethen Vineyard in Napa

2010-07-14T19:17:00.004-05:00

Quite possibly this is my most favorite wildflower to date. I first met this flower when we lived in San Diego and would visit the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. The Wild Animal Park has a lot of botanical displays where I saw this flower for the first time. I couldn't remember the name of the flower, just called it the Giant Egg Yolk Poppy. So, today before posting my most recent pictures of this beauty, I had to see if I could find the name of the flower. I finally found the name! It is called the Matilija Poppy, apparently named after an Indian Chief from the Chumash Indians. Chumash Indians were a group of Southern California Indians. I'm so glad to finally know the name of this flower. I wonder if I could successfully grow a few in my yard? Wouldn't it be fun to try? This flower was living in the Trefethen Vineyard in Napa, California. We had a lovely day trip with our "old neighbors" from Missouri who came to visit us this last week.

More flowers and vineyard scenes will be posted tomorrow.

Part Two of to be continued

2010-07-10T18:58:00.008-05:00

Part of "blogging" for me is like therapy. Therapy is good, but it is usually done behind closed doors between two people who know and trust each other. At first my blog was kind of like that, just me and the computer. I didn't really think anyone read my blog, I wasn't in it for that; it just feels better somehow to get the words out. Therein lies the problem! Cyberspace is after all, very public. I knew that, but I think I might have been choosing to ignore that fact.

A couple friends have been bugging me for "part two" of my issue post. If you haven't read part one, you might want to go to my post called, "Texas Wildflowers" then come back and read this part. I'm just going to jump right in with part two......

I believe that all people are created in God's image, men and women. I believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all those who have chosen to have Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I believe that the first gift, the Holy Spirit Himself, is given the moment somebody chooses to truly associate with Jesus and make Him ruler of his or her life. I believe that the gifts of the Spirit are given by the Holy Spirit to believers for the purpose of building the body of Christ. I believe that those gifts are given in the same amount to both men and women.

Here is my line of reasoning for my beliefs:

1. Ephesians 4:4-7 "There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when your were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; and one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it."
I see no distinction here between men and women getting different treatment. It says that we all have the same hope, the same God; even the same grace given to each of us who were called by Him to be His.

2. Ephesians 4 goes on to say, "It was he (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure the fullness of Christ." (verses 11-13)

Again, I don't see a distinction here between men and women. The point is the gifts of the Spirit are to be used to build the body of Christ to unity in Him.

3. Galatians 3:26-28 "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Ephesians and Galatians are both letters written by Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to churches to whom he was a missionary after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The letters were written to encourage, teach, and even correct these early believers. They are the words of Paul inspired by God.

I believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. That means that I don't believe there are any mistakes in the Bible and that everything in it is there because God Himself wanted it to be there. I believe that in order to understand any of the Bible, one must be blessed with the indwelling Holy Spirit. I don't believe there are any contradictions in the Bible, the Bible interprets the Bible. The New Testament only makes sense in light of the Old Testament, you can't have one without the other.

Now we come to the sticky point of something that Paul said. This is where I have met with disagreement with some dear friends. Listen to what Paul says in 1Timothy2:11-15 "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety."

My dear friends believe that because of this verse women should not teach Bible studies or even give their opinion of scripture to men. They believe that church offices should not be held by women. And yet, to believe this--in my opinion--is to misunderstand the apostle Paul. There are many times in his letters where he encourages men and women to be equal. Did he not say that in Christ there is neither male nor female? The thing about Paul is this, when he was writing his letters to the early church, women were only considered property. They were not thought of as much more than clean laundry and food on the table. They certainly were not thought of as thinking beings.

Yet Christ taught true freedom. Christ gave Himself to any who would accept Him. Christ routinely associated with women; even women of ill repute whom the rabbis of the day would have spit upon. Rabbis prayed frequently, "Praise God that you did not make me a woman." Christ showed love. Christ did not say, because you are a woman you must only serve me. No! He dearly loved both Mary and Martha. In fact when Martha asked Jesus to chastise Mary because she was more interested in learning from Jesus than serving Him, Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42) Christ never said that the Holy Spirit would only be given to men.

Paul was writing in a time when women were nothing. He was helping to usher in world changing Christianity. He was well aware that the Christian views on equality among all people were earth shattering. He was writing to warn the early church that they were being watched and should be very careful with their new freedoms. The time period during which the early church was birthed was not ready for women to be given the same freedoms as men.

My very favorite Bible scholar and commentator, William Barclay, says this about 2Timothy:2:8-15 "..this passage deals with the place of women in the Church. This is a passage which cannot be read out of its historical context. It springs entirely from the situation in which it was written. It is written against a double background. 1. It is written against a Jewish background....It was absolutely forbidden for a woman to teach in a school; she might not even teach the youngest children....2. It is written against a Greek background. The place of women in Greek religion was low." Barclay goes on to say, "In Christ the differences of place and honour and prestige and function within the Church were all wiped out."

Perhaps the real issue for me is this: I feel that God has gifted me with the gift of teaching. I do not believe that He gave me this gift only to be used among women. I don't think God has given me a gift but then put conditions upon that gift. As long as my gift of teaching is being used to build the body of Christ, I'm using it correctly.

When someone tells me that they believe differently than I do on this issue I feel as though I have been told that my gift is counterfeit. How is it possible for my well meaning friends to understand what is between me and God? It is as though my friends have looked at my God given gift and told me that the gift I received is really junk.

My therapy session is over now. Thanks for your time! There has been so much written on this subject, I'm sure I have not covered everything. This is just my quick response to my well-meaning friends.

Blue Star Moms

2010-07-06T13:10:00.002-05:00

I love that top one, "My Sons, My Heroes"! Did you notice how many were in the picture? Three! Thank you to all of the service men and women who work so hard every day to protect our country. My daughter and I pray every night for your safety, protection, and the well being of your family. You have our thanks as well as our prayers. God bless you!

Danville Fourth Of July Parade Pictures

2010-07-06T13:02:00.003-05:00

Click on "older posts" at the bottom of this post to turn the page for more pictures.

Fourth of July Festivities

2010-07-06T12:53:00.003-05:00

Texas Wildflowers

2010-07-04T09:13:00.005-05:00

These are the last of my Texas Wildflower pictures. Today I'm hoping for some good pictures from the Danville Fourth of July Parade.

I left my last post with some pondering. I have pondered and prayed as I have read God's word in the Bible. Now I feel I can share what I've learned. These things I have learned are not things I've learned over night, or even over a few days. Since living in Virginia, which was about 10 years ago now, I have been living each day in faith, carefully listening to the Holy Spirit's guidance as I have read and applied God's word to my life. I do not think the issue I have struggled with is only my struggle. I do know that the answer I have learned is the answer that God has given me.

If you disagree with me, we can agree to disagree. I am comfortable doing that with issues that are matters of tradition in the Church. I have struggled with this issue because for me, it is a scritpural issue. Some have called this issue, "non-essential to salvation". While I agree that what I feel about this issue will not make one bit of difference to my salvation; bottom line is that in scripture this issue is a visible issue, God and Jesus both had a lot to say about it. If Jesus cared about this issue, it is essential.

The issue is the position of women in God's kingdom and Church.

I believe with all my heart that God gifted women specifically for His body. The gifts that God has given to all people are to be used to build His body, the church, until His return.

My line of reasoning looks like this:

1. Genesis 1:27 God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male AND female he created them.

Just as Adam was created in the image of God, bearing His qualities, His character, so God also created Eve. There is no subordination here.

2. Genesis 2:20b-22 But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with the flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Even as Adam was created first, completely with God's image; woman was created for Adam from that which was already established as God's image. She was created for Adam because he found no completion of himself, no suitable helper, in all of the animal kingdom. In Genesis 2:18-25 God said that it was not ideal for man to be alone, so he wanted to make a helper for him. Before doing so, God brings all the created things to Adam for his inspection and naming of them. As Adam was looking over all the animals, studying them, naming them, I'm positive he noticed that none were like him. God knew this too, so he created woman.

Of course points 1 and 2 occur before the fall, or before Adam and Eve disobey God so completely that they are banished from His kingdom forever. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve the perfect union between God and the first couple was ruined. Because Adam and Eve both chose disobedience rather than an intimate relationship with God, they were given exactly what they wanted. Some have said that because Eve caused the sin, women are discredited in God's eyes. I believe that is only looking at half of the issue. Genesis 2:16-17 God gives the command, which is ultimately broken, to Adam before Eve even exists. If Adam, as a man, was so superior to Eve, why did he let her get away with even a conversation with the serpent? If Adam, as the head of woman, was her leader and guide, why did he not instruct her in the error of her ways when she first desired the fruit of the forbidden tree? If Eve were truly the "bigger sinner" why were all three parties involved in the fall punished? The serpent was cursed, the woman was given increased pain in childbirth, and the man was commanded to a lifetime of sweat and toil.

According to Genesis 3:15 because sin entered the world through both Adam and Eve, we have all been living in an upside down world where the Creator of all things, the giver of life, and the serpent will be continually at battle.

This is the world we live in, male and female. We have chosen to make ourselves gods instead of following the one true God.

In the Old Testament we read again and again of the struggle of man who chooses his own way rather than God's way and the consequences of that choice. Even as the children of Israel were rescued from the land of Egypt by God because He loved them and heard their cries; they would ultimately turn away from Him again to their own false gods.

Today we are still struggling with fallen nature. We do not desire the things of God. We live with false government, false relationships, false sense of "good". All this is because we have chosen our own way.

Praise God that in His great love for His children, He has had a plan all along! Because of God's son, Jesus, humanity can again be restored to its correct place. But, this restoration can only be given through the shed blood of Jesus.

Tomorrow I'll share the rest of my reasoning.

Enjoy the 4th of July!

The Alamo

2010-06-30T14:32:00.002-05:00

The Alamo! I was so excited on my trip to San Antonio to get to go to the Alamo. I have been there before. As a public school student in Texas, in seventh grade, I studied Texas history. I vividly recall our family vacation to San Antonio when I was a seventh grader. It was wonderful. I hadn't been back to San Antonio in many, many years. So, when I knew that I was going to be in San Antonio and that my girlfriends would most likely want to walk the famous river walk...I secretly hoped that we'd be able to go to the Alamo as well. I didn't want to ask the girls if they wanted to do that because I thought it might be a little bit nerdy!! Getting to go again to the Alamo was a thrill!!

That explains my pictures for today. I always try to post a few pictures when I blog. I know that pictures are usually more interesting than my words!

The real reason that I come to the blog today is because I'm plagued by this question: What do you do when your friends in Christ do not agree with your position on a Biblical issue? I just want to let that question hang out in the open for a bit. I'm pondering, praying, studying and seeking God's heart on the issue all while I wait with my mouth shut.

What do you do??

A Visit to Texas

2010-06-20T14:37:00.004-05:00

I just returned from a visit to Texas. I went to San Antonio to meet up with some friends from Kansas City. We met at the Headquarters of Bible Study Fellowship International. We spent a week volunteering at HQ. Some of us worked in the kitchen preparing food for the following week, some of us worked in the press with colating and then shipping. We prepared materials for the classes. We shipped boxes of class materials and lessons for the BSF study of Isaiah which will begin this fall. I prepared boxes to be shipped to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, California, and even Winchester, Virginia. The box that was going to Winchester was going to a friend I knew from the day class when I was in the class in 2002. I wrote a note of personal greeting on the packing slip for the Winchester class. Wonder if they'll remember me?

It was great fun to catch up with my friends from the Kansas City evening women's class. We had so much fun! We were always the loudest laughers at lunch time. When we were working in the press we enjoyed learning more about each other as we colated papers. We laughed a lot at that job too!

You know how they say, "Everything's bigger in Texas"?! Well, I know this to be true since I grew up there. But, I forgot how much hotter it is in Texas. Oh, and the sound of cicadas has nothin' on the sound of the Katydids that we heard. I mean, they made noise all day long and all night long too! This brown guy was outside of our kitchen area by the Obadiah complex. Some of the hoppers were pink! I only found squashed pink ones, so I didn't take pictures of those. These katydids were pretty big too, fit right in with the "bigger in Texas" theme. I usually enjoy bugs of all sorts, love to look at them, study them, find out what they are, etc. But, I'm drawing the line on these katydids...they are pretty yucky! Some of their wings looked like brains, the veins on the wings were so red they stood out agains the brown of their bodies.

I love purple thistles. This one was right outside our rooms. I did have to brave the "goathead" burrs to take the picture. The very next day, the volunteers who did landscaping had cut down all my wildflowers. Ok, not all of them...but the ones that were the easiest to get to were gone.

I'm hoping to post some more of my Texas pictures tomorrow. We start VBS though, so I don't know how much free time I'll have. Stay tuned.....

Photo Essay Japanese Tea Garden

2010-05-30T19:49:00.008-05:00

Pre-Birthday Poetry

2010-05-25T22:14:00.004-05:00

a rose from my garden

geraniums

giant moth I found on my lavender--unusual for him to be out in the daylight!

In honor of my birthday tomorrow, here are two acrostics.

Born in 1968
I think it was great!
Ready to celebrate?
The baker will decorate
Hundreds of cakes,
Dollops of ice cream lakes
All to feast this special day!
You'll never guess what I'll say.

Please
Remember
Eleven
Select
Exhibits
Named,
To
Sarah

Report on my Kingdom Assignment

2010-05-12T15:11:00.008-05:00

What a glorious day it was Saturday! I had friends praying with me for a day of beautiful weather, and it was just that! Saturday was perfect, then Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it rained! So, I know that prayers were answered. Carla and I had hoped to raise 1000.00. We did! In fact, we raised more than that...a few checks are still coming in.

The whole thing was just wonderful! The things that Carla and I learned along the way have grown us in our faith. I learned more about trusting God. Trusting God for all things has been a new thing for me. I've trusted God easily for the big things; like finding a new place to live. I know that God is in control of the weather, but really trusting that He'll provide a fantastic weather day for a party!!?? Really?! But, that is just what we did. God is so amazing. What fun it is to really trust Him with everything. I know that trusting Him fully will be a lifetime journey for me. I love how He answers and encourages me in little baby steps!

Let me show you some pictures of our event!

This is my friend Carla counting cheesecake bites before our guests arrive. My mom is behind her, Brinkley the dog is hoping for some crumbs!

Our guest of honor, Susan Miller, in the kitchen putting baked goodies on trays for our tables.

I have to tell you something that my daughter said about Susan. When my dot found out that Susan would be coming to our tea party, Christine said, "MOM! Isn't she famous!?" Christine had come with me to two Moving On After Moving In classes and seen Susan on the video. Christine was really excited that someone "famous" was coming to our tea party. Susan was so very gracious to Christine. What a joy for my dot to meet someone "famous" who truly loves the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind! Then to boot, Susan helped us prep the tables, set out the goodies as well as being the speaker! She rocks!!!

Carla, myself, and Susan took a minute before everyone arrived to have our picture taken.

Carla introduced Susan before she spoke. We had everything set up outside on Carla's back patio. It was lovely!

Some of our guests enjoyed the sunshine while others enjoyed the shade of the umbrellas.

We began our tea party with refreshments of tea sandwiches, petite fours (made by my mom with "imported" from Missouri royal icing flowers!), tea cookies, scones, Devonshire cream and lemon curd, mini cheesecake bites, lemonade and of course tea!

Carla told the story of how she and I met and then I spoke briefly about the history of tea. Then Carla introduced Susan as "her dear friend and mentor as well as President and founder of Just Moved Ministries". Susan gave us a talk on how our lives are like tea cups. She encouraged us to treasure our friendships, and to look at life with the hope that Christ has given us. And because we were there to support Just Moved Ministries she gave us a little inside look at Just Moved Ministries and how wide spread the ministry has become. (you can click on my link for Just Moved to find out more!)

At the end I thanked everyone for coming and told a little bit about how Carla and I came up with the tea party as our Kingdom Assignment. I encouraged those who were there to join us in the assignment by donating whatever they felt led to give. It was a good day!! God is good...all the time!

On Saturday we raised right at 1000.00! Carla and I had prayed for that exact amount! But, as of today we are closing in on 1300.00!!! Go God!

At the beginning of my Kingdom Assignment I challenged you to come along and be challenged to extend the invitation to God's Kingdom to those around you. Have you done that? I still smile when I think about how much God has given me! What better way to celebrate that than to invite friends to a tea party where we shared fellowship and talked about how God has blessed us.

So, I'm challenging you again: have a friend over for a cup of tea and share with her how God has blessed you this week. If you don't feel so blessed lately, ask your friend to share with you how God has blessed her and I'll bet you'll finish your cup of tea feeling blessed by the friendship of your friend!

Tea Time!!

2010-05-07T23:59:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is the Kingdom Assignment Tea Party! I can't wait to tell you how it turned out! I met Susan Miller today. She is a genuine charmer. Tomorrow is going to be lots of fun. Mom and I made petite fours today to serve tomorrow. Stay tuned....

Sunshine Award Winner, pass it on!!

2010-05-04T11:37:00.005-05:00

How fun, and what a bright spot to my morning today! I just received this "award" from my friend Buffy Cooper in Winchester, Virginia! Buffy's website is buffycooper.typepad.com. She was one of my very first Stampin' Up! team members of my downline, "Shenandoah Stampers". I'm looking at this award like a Random Act of Kindness. Thanks Buffy for the award!

The award is for blogs that are a little spot of sunshine in your day. Originally, it was awarded by Sharon Fritz at sharonstampsalot.typepad.com, who got it from a group to whom she contributes stamped cards for troops. She passed the award to Buffy with the following rules:

1. Put the Sunshine Award on your blog and/or within your post.

2. Pass the award to 12 other bloggers.

3. Link the nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award.

Now, this award was started, and has been circling, within the paper craft type blogs. I suppose then that I should continue that. However, I have to say that I read quite a few non-paper craft blogs. Besides, it's my award now, I should get to give it away to whomever I want! So, I now deviate from the rules! Buffy, don't look!! I'm going to award the top spots of my awards to paper crafting bloggers, the other spots will go to other blogs! heehee!!!

1.Sarah Jane Studios @ sarahjanestudios.com/blog I love going here for general creative inspiration.

2.Sideoats and scribbles by Lisa Spangler @ sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com An all around fun site, great pictures, and some fun adventures too.

3.Kristen Werner @ kwernerdesign.com For card ideas when I'm stuck, I go visit Kristen!

4.So Shelli by Shelli Gardner @ soshelli.com THE original stamping guru and true Stampin' Yoda!

5.Cake Wrecks by Jen Yates @ cakewrecks.com For a laugh a day, this is a MUST visit.

6.Vintage Books My Kid Loves by Scribbler @ vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com When I'm looking for ideas for quality books to read to my kids, this is where I go.

7.I Take Joy by Sally Clarkson @ wholeheart.typepad.com Sally is truly a woman after God's own heart, she will inspire you. If you click this link, you'll want to click the "blog" link that you'll see.

8.Hi Kooky by my secred "41 year old" friend @ hikooky.blogspot.com A fun new reconnection with a college friend has led me to her website.

9.Capture the Moment by Nichole Heady @ nicholeheady.typepad.com Find great tips and tricks for all things paper arts at Nichole's site.

10. You'll have to come back tomorrow for this one!! :)

Have fun visiting my friends!!

Fruits of My Labor for the Kingdom

2010-04-28T19:57:00.003-05:00

I've been working like a card making elf! In the last week I've finished seven boxes of cards that I'm going to sell for my Kingdom Assignment. I invested the original 100.00 in supplies. My goal is to sell 8 boxes of cards and 10 journals. I sell my boxed cards for 25.00, the box has 6 to 8 cards, depending on the design of the cards. Journals that I make are 30.00 and usually include a matching gift bag. If I can sell everything that I make, I will have multiplied my Kingdom Assignment money by five! I'm going to have my goodies at the tea party on May 8th for sale. But, I thought that I'd also offer my things to anyone out there who is interested! I know that May 8th when people see my cards and journals in real life, they will go quickly. So, now is your chance. And, since I haven't finished all the journals yet, you could maybe even talk me into making something sort of custom for you. Let me know what you'd like and I'll see what I can do!

I went to Carla's today to pray some more and to finalize our plans for the tea party. Again we were reminded that this is really God's tea party. How much fun it is to trust Him everyday with even this! I know the tea party is going to be fun. As Carla and I talked about the details we felt ourselves slipping in to worry. What if we don't have enough people come, what if it rains, what if we don't end up multiplying our Kingdom Assignment money very much?????? But, that is just fear talking; and us forgetting who is really in charge. God is really the party planner and grand invitation extender. Carla and I are simply the hostesses of the day.

Here are some words from Scripture that helped me remember our purpose today:

"All this {new life, new hope, no fear} is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Corinthians 5:17-21

That is what our tea party is all about, extending the reconciliation of Christ to any who might need it. We have been given a beautiful party because of His death for us. What a joy it is to extend that party invitation! Who will you invite to go with you to the party?

Kingdom Assignment and how I got to the Tea Party

2010-04-09T09:52:00.003-05:00

In Kansas City I had volunteered at Ronald McDonald House in their craft room. I helped to keep it as organized as possible, helped stock it with donated supplies; and to come to the house once or twice a month and do craft projects with who ever would be there and interested. The idea was to help with an activity that would take moms' and dads' minds off doctor appointments, therapies, and generally stressful stuff. It was one of the best experiences of my life! I have truly missed that since moving here.

So, I began to wonder if I could do something similar here. Nothing panned out...and then the Kingdom Assignments happened. I tried to make this same idea fit for the academy. At this point with the academy, it will not work.

When we first moved here I attended a class for newcomers, hosted by CPC and Carla at her home, called Moving on After Moving In. It was a Bible study developed by Susan Miller. I can't tell you how important this was to me. During a move, any move--across town, or across the world--emotions are raw and hearts are more inclined to the Lord than ever as folks seek direction in their new place. How wonderful it was to be reminded that God is in the move, that He is with me and never forsakes me. This is something that as a Christian I knew...but so much had happened in our lives before getting here, and on the way here, that I really needed to be reminded. The mission of Just Moved is:

Just Moved! strives to equip and encourage women who move through personal contact, Moving On After Moving In classes, newsletters, books, videos, seminars, conferences and prayer support. We are a non-denominational, outreach ministry that is committed to the spiritual growth and emotional well-being of women going through the transition and adjustment to a move.

No, it is not anywhere near the needs faced in the inner city. No, it is not a stretch, nor is it difficult for me to help to host a tea party. But, here is what I experienced in the class: Women who are hurting and need Christ are more open to seek Him during difficult periods of life. In the class I was a part of, one woman was grappling with her need for a savior, while another woman was experiencing for the first time love and care through the prayers of others. 25% of the population moves every year. That is a potential 25% people group that could be reached for Christ!

My gift mix includes teaching; and I love God's word. I am passionate about ways to help the Bible and a relationship with Jesus make sense in the lives of people. I believe through Just Moved, that's what I'm helping to do.

Our tea party is coming at a time when the ministry has been offered a matching gift opportunity. Carla is a good personal friend of Susan Miller. When Carla told her about our idea for a fund-raiser tea party, Susan was excited and found that her calendar would allow her to come! Susan speaks all over the world, teaches classes to military families, and to corporations: yesterday she was in Utah at In and Out Burger teaching to some corporate types who had just moved. Susan has written two books about moving and has spoken on the radio at Focus on the Family and Family Life Today many times.

What we are hoping to do at the tea party is reconnect some of the women who have been through the class, as well as connect Just Moved Ministries to a couple other churches in the area. Personally, I'm hoping that we can crank up the classes at CPC again this summer or fall. We are asking for donations of any amount that will go to Just Moved. I'm going to make boxes of cards and journals to be sold with all proceeds going to Just Moved. I'm pretty sure that after our tea party, I'll be more involved with Just Moved in some way. I have a heart for families who have been pulled up by their roots and are seeking, perhaps without knowing it, for the love of Christ.

Originally I thought that this assignment needed to be difficult, needed to be to start up some new ministry that had not existed before. However, through reading the parable of the talents again and through prayer, I have begun to see that the task put out with the Kingdom Assignment was to simply trust God with His finances, trusting that He'd lead the way to multiply the original 100.00 for the good of His Kingdom.

Kingdom Assignment Celebration Time

2010-04-08T16:17:00.002-05:00

Two sure signs of Spring: rainbows and blooming pretty things! I always try to share some recent pictures when I blog, so I picked spring shots for today. The rainbow was viewed from our back yard about two weeks ago. I have no idea what the flowers are, but they bloom on a bush in my yard.

So much to update you on regarding my Kingdom Assignment! I'm giddy with excitement! I'm not sure where to begin.

This Saturday I'll be helping my friend Mary with her Kingdom Assignment. She is having a friend, who just happens to be a chef, teach a class on how to make marmalade. Mary is inviting friends to come and participate in the class, and then go home with a jar of marmalade. She'll ask for a donation for the class "fee" which will then go toward purchasing foreign language materials and curriculum for the San Francisco City Academy.

Then, next month; I'll team up with my friend Carla and do a joint project for our assignment. We are both passionate about a ministry called Just Moved Ministries. It is headed up by Susan Miller. Susan has a heart for those folks who have moved, uprooted from life they knew before coming to a new community. Susan has written two books about moving and developed a wonderful class called "Moving On After Moving In". I took that class, facilitated by my friend Carla, when we moved here. I can't tell you all the ways this blessed me as well as my family. Check out the website www.justmoved.org and justmovedministries.blogspot.com too. I could go on and on about this class, but I'll save that for another day.

Right now I want to let you know how my Kingdom Assignment is going to work. Carla and I will be hosting a Girlfriends' Tea Party Fundraiser for Just Moved Ministries. We are inviting anyone in our area who has attended the MOAMI class; as well as all the girlfriends we can dig up to come and have a tea party with us the day before Mother's Day. We'll ask for support for Just Moved at the tea party. I'm going to have boxes of hand-made by me cards and journals for sale, all proceeds from those will go to Just Moved.

Carla is a good friend of Susan's. When we had all the details nailed down for our little tea party, Carla sent an email to Susan to let her know what we were doing and how excited we were about the whole thing. And, then God just surprised the socks right off Carla! Susan is going to come to our tea party! How cool is that!!?? You probably can't tell by this...but I'm really, really excited! Carla and I acted like we had won a new car or something equally cool when we found out that Susan is coming!!!

So, now I've really got to get busy and get cards and journals made.

It has been so much fun to trust God and see what would happen. Still more to come, I'm sure!

Happy Tomb Sweeping Day

2010-04-05T12:17:00.002-05:00

Have you ever heard of this traditional Chinese Holiday? It was new to me. David told me that a counterpart of his from work in China had sent him an email that she was out of the office for tomb sweeping day.

How ironic is it? Yesterday, as Christians, we celebrated the empty tomb left behind Jesus as He was resurrected to new life. In fact our faith relies on the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead and is Lord over all!

Do you know the story of Aslan from CS Lewis' Narnia series? When he is about to turn himself over to the White Witch to be killed by her as a brutal sacrifice in return for the life of Edmund, he refers to the "deep magic" with which the White Witch was not familiar. That deep magic said that a perfect, willing sacrifice would suffice to pay the debt that Edmund, a son of man, owed to the White Witch. The deep magic meant that the witch's brutal murder of Aslan would not hold him to death. In the story, after he is killed and the Witch has celebrated her victory over Aslan, she and her ensemble of hoodlums leave Aslan's body on the stone table. Alone on the table, the deep magic begins to take hold; the earth rumbles, the ancient stone table cracks in half, and Aslan roars to life!

Perhaps this Chinese tradition of sweeping the tombs of long dead ancestors is rooted more deeply in the "deep magic" than anyone can truly know!

Jesus, the son of God, willingly gave His life as a perfect, sinless sacrifice; once for all, to pay all sin debts. The fact that he did not stay dead proves that God accepted this sacrifice as payment. No longer do sacrifices need to be made! No longer do we need fear the power of sin and death. For as long as we belong to Jesus; there is no condemnation! Aslan was CS Lewis' allegory of the life of Christ.

Hallelujah! Christ is risen indeed!

Here is some more information on tomb sweeping day. I found this in a quick internet search. Any spelling mistakes, are not mine!
*************

Celebrated two weeks after the vernal equinox, Tomb Sweeping Day is one of the few traditional Chinese holidays that follows the solar calendar-- typically falling on April 4, 5, or 6. Its Chinese name "Qing Ming" literally means "Clear Brightness," hinting at its importance as a celebration of Spring. Similar to the spring festivals of other cultures, Tomb Sweeping Day celebrates the rebirth of nature, while marking the beginning of the planting season and other outdoor activities.

Qing Ming Jie in Ancient Times
In ancient times, people celebrated Qing Ming Jie with dancing, singing, picnics, and kite flying. Colored boiled eggs would be broken to symbolize the opening of life. In the capital, the Emperor would plant trees on the palace grounds to celebrate the renewing nature of spring. In the villages, young men and women would court each other.

The Tomb Sweeping Day as Celebrated Today
With the passing of time, this celebration of life became a day to the honor past ancestors. Following folk religion, the Chinese believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family. Sacrifices of food and spirit money could keep them happy, and the family would prosper through good harvests and more children.

Today, Chinese visit their family graves to tend to any underbrush that has grown. Weeds are pulled, and dirt swept away, and the family will set out offerings of food and spirit money. Unlike the sacrifices at a family's home altar, the offerings at the tomb usually consist of dry, bland food. One theory is that since any number of ghosts roam around a grave area, the less appealing food will be consumed by the ancestors, and not be plundered by strangers.

Honoring Ancestors
Honoring ancestors begins with proper positioning of a grave site and coffin. Experts in feng shui, or geomancy, determine the quality of land by the surrounding aspects of streams, rivers, trees, hills, and so forth. An area that faces south, with groves of pine trees creates the best flow of cosmic energy required to keep ancestors happy. Unfortunately, nowadays, with China's burgeoning population, public cemeteries have quickly supplanted private grave sites. Family elders will visit the grave site at least once a year to tend to the tombs.

While bland food is placed by the tombs on Qing Ming Jie, the Chinese regularly provide scrumptious offerings to their ancestors at altar tables in their homes. The food usually consists of chicken, eggs, or other dishes a deceased ancestor was fond of. Accompanied by rice, the dishes and eating utensils are carefully arranged so as to bring good luck. Sometimes, a family will put burning incense with the offering so as to expedite the transfer of nutritious elements to the ancestors. In some parts of China, the food is then eaten by the entire family.

Kites
Besides the traditions of honoring the dead, people also often fly kits on Tomb Sweeping Day. Kites can come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors. Designs could include frogs, dragonflies, butterflies, crabs, bats, and storks.

Kingdom Assignment day 45 Half Way Point!

2010-04-02T14:43:00.004-05:00

Wow! At times it has seemed that time on my Kingdom Assignment project has really been dragging, but at times it has seemed to whiz by too. A lot has happened since my last posting though.

First a shout-out to my eldest who is going to Mexico for spring break to build houses with the youth group through Amor ministries. He's on his very own Kingdom Assignment. I'm so proud of him!

We packed his suitcase this morning before beginning school because we were all so preoccupied with thoughts of the trip! I thought it best to get things sorted out and packed up so that we could continue on with our day. He'll be gone for a full week. I know he is going to have wonderful stories to tell when he returns. Secretly, I'm wondering if the Latin he's been studying will come in handy with figuring out Spanish! I did send along an English/Spanish dictionary! Via con Dios my son!

Now for a little update on my Kingdom Assignment. Since last I posted I've been down to the school to volunteer for a morning and had at least two meetings with my other friends who are also doing Kingdom Assignments. Just being able to meet with these gals and pray together has been so helpful! We have been able to share concerns and doubts and take them to the Lord together.

From the beginning of this challenge I've felt that I needed to do something close to my heart; something that I can be passionate about. Having seen the examples of other assignments, I wanted to do something big! Pairing a desire to choose something I feel to be in my gift mix with an opportunity to volunteer at the city academy, I felt I was on the right track.

When I went into the city I was filled with anticipation and a little bit of dread. Would this turn out the way I was hoping it would? Would I be able to see how my idea could come to fruition in the way I wanted it to? Little did I know what I was in for.

It was a morning of joy in serving the children at the academy. But, it was obvious that my project was just that, my idea which did not fit the needs of the academy. I enjoyed the day very much and can see the good that comes to the kids at the academy as the volunteers spend time with them.

Remember though, that I had thought that I could gather art supplies for a school which had none, that I might go and volunteer my time to help the kids with art. One of the things I needed to do was come up with a list of supplies that would be needed. I was told to go to the basement store room and see what I could find there. I knew this was just what I was looking for! Imagine my feelings when I saw the shelves filled to overflowing with watercolors, watercolor paper, construction paper, glue, paintbrushes, colored pencils, crayons, scissors, and most everything needed for a basic elementary age art program. I was told, "we get so much stuff donated to us that I almost don't know where to put it all!"

How wonderful!! Really! But, now you see, my idea is one that really doesn't fit the situation. Oh, I can see how I can further volunteer my time at the academy. What I had in mind though, is not what the school needs right now.

So, I've resolved that I will volunteer at the academy again; and I will most likely do so in some kind of art vein. I know that once their new building is built I will go and help move them in and hopefully organize supplies along the way to the shelves!

For now, it seems that I'm back to square one! I'll post more later....stay tuned!

Making Progress for the Kingdom

2010-03-17T09:25:00.007-05:00

Do you like this picture? It's of an orchid bloom that is not quite open yet. Does it remind you of anything? I think it looks like a little lamb face. Ok, you have to ignore the forked tongue that the lamb seems to have! Do you see the lamb? This is the only of my four orchids that has a name. I call it "Jennifer" because that's the name of the person who gave it to me. It has beautiful pink-ish white blooms.

Kingdom Assignment? It's going well. It is taking a little bit longer than I'm comfortable with. I want things to be moving along much more quickly. But, this assignment is about learning to trust God, so I have to wait on His timing. Which, really, is impeccable!

On Sunday I met the principal of the San Francisco City Academy, Marie-France Ladine. The academy is the place that I want to use my $100 for. My idea is that I will help them gather art supplies for the school as well as spend some time each month with the students doing art projects. I'm really excited now! I've got the school working on a wish list of supplies so that I can better gather donations. And she put me in touch with a gentleman at my church who has been doing some art projects at the academy already. When I called him he was so excited that I called because he had been thinking how nice it would be to have someone else working alongside him doing this art thing! Monday I'm going over to the school to see how I can best jump in.

Helping a private school academy doesn't seem like that big of a deal, until you find out a little bit more. This school is located in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco. Not a good place to be, especially if you are child. Sunday one of the students, a 12 year old boy, was at our worship services to share his story. He was a very poised young man who told how he is discovering how much Jesus loves him. His parents do not live together. His mom was going through a rough patch because her own mother had died, so she sent her son to live with his dad. In his own words, the son said, "My dad was doing things he was not supposed to be doing. One day, I saw him on the front porch, I called to him, but he didn't answer me. I went up to him, his eyes were open, but he still didn't answer me. I shook him, but he didn't move. He was dead." Truly, the school and the people there are the only family that most of the students have.

I have a feeling this will be a big thing. What I want to do now is begin gathering supplies. I also need to multiply my Kingdom Assignment money. I think that what I'll do is have a card class for some friends and ask them to donate the class fee to the Academy so we can buy the needed art supplies. I've also been thinking that I could make some really cool framed pieces and sell those. I'm still praying for direction on that part.

I hope to post a list soon so that if you'd like to donate anything you may do so. Stay tuned....

Sunday

2010-03-07T18:29:00.003-06:00

My daughter asked me this week, "Mom, is it possible to worship God through art?" This morning in church a man who was giving his testimony said that in a moment of worship he began to notice all the different hues of green around him, so he began to count them. At 22 he stopped counting and said, "God, two or three shades would have been plenty! But you didn't stop there. How amazing God is!" Which made me think of the backyard Red-Tailed Hawk that I've been trying to capture on film this week. Two or three different kinds of birds would have been enough, right? But, oh the joy of watching this guy in action! Absolutely we can worship God through art, through His creation, through music...through the development of ourselves in these areas. What do you think?

Kingdom Assignment Day 17

2010-03-03T16:38:00.003-06:00

Ho hum. It is raining, windy, grey and cold outside right now. It was raining when I awoke, so the kids and I were not able to go on our walk today. My favorite outdoor lamp just blew over and broke. It's so grey and wet that I can't go outside and photograph the hawks in the back of the house doing their afternoon acrobatics. Oh, and I don't think that I've mentioned here that our rental house is full of mold and we've got to move. Tonight we are looking at the first of what I'm sure will be many looks for a new place to live. Did I say that it is dark and rainy right now? Did I mention that I'm sleepy and would really like a nap? It's been raining all day. Wonder if it will be raining tonight when we go look at the house.

I just saw a hawk, hovering over the big cedar trees behind our house, right out the window of the school room. How do they do that!? Even in the driving rain, they hover as they hunt for their food. They seem to be oblivious to my broken lamp, or my moldy house. They are focused on survival, whatever it takes.

This afternoon I finished reading a book about Harriet Tubman, or "Moses" as she was often called. It was a historical fiction account of her life as a "conductor on the underground railway". What a faith in God she had. What determination she had! In spite of great danger she faithfully held "steady on to you Lord". She never lost a passenger on her railway journeys. She conducted hundreds upon hundreds of slaves on to freedom. "We got to go free or die" she'd say. When the going got tough, she prayed and trusted in God's hand of protection and deliverance. When her way seemed somehow blocked, she opened her eyes wide to what was around her and told God about her fear, but said, "I'm holding steady on to you Lord, steady on to you." Because she knew that freedom is not a right just for a few, but for all people, she risked her life time and again so that others could have freedom.

Harriet's story reminded me what gifts I too have been given in Christ. Who cares about a broken lamp!? The rain is necessary not only for the natural things growing around me, but for the water supply of the state. The grey skies are perfect for nap taking...no sun to get in my eyes! What do I really have to complain about? The hawks do not worry about their nest getting wet, they know that all will be well. God is good, all the time.

Can I rest in my Savior, holding "steady on" to Him? Will I let go of myself enough to trust His provisions for me?

I think that this Kingdom Assignment is about just that for me. How far will I be willing to go to honor my God? What small thing might I do that will increase His kingdom? Will I use the talents God has given me in order to bring Glory to Him? These are the things I pray about.

Last night I met with a friend who has some ideas about how we might help a school downtown. The school is in the tenderloin district, not a fun place to be. We talked about how we might gather books in French for their French classes, and/or art supplies for their art classes. My creative juices are beginning to flow!

I'm holding steady on to my Lord now!!

Kingdom Assignment Day 8

2010-02-22T08:41:00.004-06:00

I'm still thinking and praying about what God would have me do with this Kingdom Assignment. Because our church has 5 services over the weekend, and because I don't always attend the same services that my friends attend, I didn't know that I have three other friends who have also accepted the Kingdom Assignment. One friend is completely lost about what she's going to do. Two friends have little ideas, all are praying about the next steps.

As I was thinking about this last night, all of God's people are on Kingdom Assignment. Really, all we have is His, entrusted to us to be used to help build God's Kingdom in some way. My corner of the Kingdom right now might be Chinatown, or it might just be my cul-de-sac. The tools I've been given to complete my task are not different than the tools you've been given. The time in each day, the food on the table, the books we read, the places we visit, the coffee we share with a friend--all are tools given to be used for God's glory. Sure, these tools are not a crisp 100.00 bill in an envelope issued in challenge.

But, they are still tools which God expects that you will use to share the love of God with whomever you come in contact with each and every day. Each one of God's children have been given wealth beyond imagination! Not only the physical comforts, but also talents and passions...creative minds, logical minds, your job, or your stay-at-home-ness....all of these things can be used in ways that honor God by showing His love to others, by sharing His resources with others.

What are you doing for your Kingdom Assignment?

Kingdom Assignment Progress on Day 2

2010-02-16T09:22:00.003-06:00

What is power? Is it electricity? Is it a position of authority? Is it simply the ability to accomplish a task? Where does power come from?

What if I told you that I know the answer to this? I do! The power I know about is from Jesus, given to those who have accepted Him as not only Savior, but Lord of their lives. It can not be understood by those who do not know Jesus. It is not electricity, it is not authority, it is not success, it can not be achieved.

Power is found in God's word. Those who are true believers are given access to the very power of God Himself through the Holy Spirit! When Jesus was giving his last instructions to his disciples he told them that after he was gone they would have the power to do even greater things than he did. He would give them his very spirit, the Holy Spirit to be their comfort, guide, counselor, and teacher who would remain with them forever. It would be through his Holy Spirit that the disciples would do great things. They would share the love of Jesus to the ends of the world, they would teach the words of Jesus to many people. They would fulfill the great commission given to them by Jesus. The power they needed to do much more than Jesus did was given to them freely by Jesus. However, it would require of them a much deeper union with Jesus than they had ever known.

Today, anyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord of their life is given the Holy Spirit. When we have accepted Jesus in this way, we too are given the same power that the disciples were given.

The thing is, although we are given the power of the Holy Spirit, something is required of us. We are given the Spirit so that we can be empowered to live the life that God has intended for us to live as His agents of change upon the earth. But to utilize this power, we must be in prayer. We are to use the Holy Spirit's power to do God's work. It requires prayer to know God's heart for me and to know how He would have me use His power. I can only know His will as I grow deeper in Him. I grow deeper in Him through conversation with Him in prayer. How can I have a relationship with Him if I don't talk with and to Him as often as possible?

I grow deeper still when I live in complete obedience to His commands found in His word, the scriptures in the Bible.

I can only be completely obedient to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a circle!

God has asked me to do something big for Him with this Kingdom Assignment. I'm pretty sure that I can't figure it out on my own! I have no idea what I'm to do. The only way I'm going to find out is if I ask for His guidance. I need His great power to accomplish this! If I am to be His agent, I need to live completely by His commands. That means that I need to be daily reading and studying His word. Then, praise God! I can rely on the Holy Spirit's great help.

Interestingly, while all true believers receive the Holy Spirit, He is given to each believer in a unique and specifically tailored way. How cool is that?! Because God made me, He knows where my weaknesses are and how I need the Holy Spirit. So, rather than just giving me some sort of vague power for good...God gives me His Holy Spirit who also knows me AND knows God's plan for me as well as how to accomplish God's will in my life while building His Kingdom.

By giving the Holy Spirit to true believers Jesus has basically given unlimited resources! How will I use God's resources today?

So, I'm praying that I will be truly empowered by the Holy Spirit for this Kingdom Assignment. I'm seeking His power through prayer, asking for His help to be completely obedient to all God's commands, and depending upon His Spirit to guide me as well as empower me.

What is your prayer today?

Kingdom Assignment

2010-02-14T17:08:00.006-06:00

At church this morning Pastor Mark (also our small group leader) gave a message on Luke 19:11-27. It is a passage in scripture where Jesus tells a parable to his listeners about a ruler who is headed to Rome to be officially declared a King. Before the ruler leaves he chooses some people and gives them an amount of money that was worth about a month's wages. This money was from his treasury given to about 10 people to take care of until the ruler returned as King. Each of the 10 did something different with the money with which they were entrusted. The way that each of the 10 reacted to the responsibility given to them by the ruler is a mirror into the lives of many believers who are entrusted with gifts from God. Will they share what they have been given, or will they hoard it? Read Luke 19;11-27 and decide what you think the reactions of the characters in the parable say about them...and to you.

This parable has been written about in countless Bible commentaries, as well as taught and spoken to God's people for centuries. If you want to read what others have said about this parable and how they have interpreted it, find a commentary in your local or church library. I'm not going to interpret the parable here.

But, here is what I learned in Pastor Mark's sermon today. Pastor Mark reminded me that when Jesus spoke in parables it was to help his listeners learn something more about Himself. Pastor Mark said, "The character of the Kingdom must reflect the character of the King. Jesus' kingship is about servanthood and sacrifice." Interesting that it's not just about serving, nor is it just about sacrifice...it's about both together. That is the nature of Jesus Christ! Jesus came to earth, leaving the glory of Heaven behind, not only as a helpless baby, but as a man who loved his disciples so much that he washed their feet! He didn't just wash their feet, he told them to do the same to and for others. Serving and sacrificing. While we live here and now in between the time after Christ first appeared on earth and the second coming of Christ we are to be busy doing just that, serving and sacrificing.

So the guys from the parable who got the ruler's money to take care of...the ones who did something with the money besides wrap it up and hide it until the ruler's return...they knew the money was not theirs! Because they knew the money came from a man who had plenty of financial reserves, they were not afraid to invest, even spend, the money! Because of that understanding, they were able to grow the ruler's influence. I'm guessing that they must have thought that if they took a chance and lost the money, the ruler would be able to cover the loss and chalk it up to experience gained. The poor guy who just hid the money did so because he did not trust the ruler, he was afraid.

See, here's the difficult part: When I don't use all of what God has given me out of His vast stores I'm actually indicating that I don't trust God. Ouch.

The men who invested the ruler's money knew that they would have to give a report to the ruler about what they did with his money. They wanted to do the best they could with that money. They were not afraid! Instead, they were motivated by the ruler's great resources to take a big risk.

How I see that in my life is this: God has given me sooooo much! He has given me an abundance really. I have a nice warm bed to sleep in every night. I wake up having slept in peace and comfort all night long. I get to have my children with me all day and teach them at home. My husband does not worry about loosing his job. We have food on our table three times a day. That's just the physical, creature comforts! I've been given salvation from my sin, saved from the deprivation that is myself by the ultimate sacrifice of love--Jesus' death on the cross for my sins. Because of Jesus' resurrection, I know that the sacrifice was accepted and I've become one of His family. It doesn't stop there! I've been given the Holy Spirit to help me understand mighty God's words written in Scripture so that I might know the way to live in Christ.

What do I have to loose by sacrificing my self, my time, my resources so that I can make a difference in God's Kingdom? Nothing.

Not only was I challenged to rethink my "stuff"; but I was challenged to think about the very real fact that I don't truly trust God enough. Oh, I know how to act like I trust Him. I have trusted Him many times as we have moved five times in 17 years of marriage. But, I wonder do I really trust Him with all of me? with my entire life down to the point of the food on the table?

So I was processing all the things Pastor Mark was saying, then he told us of five or six folks from our church who ten years ago were given Kingdom Assignments with 100.00 to do something for God's Kingdom. The projects varied from helping in our community in some way, all the way to Uganda! Check out http://www.children-of-grace.org/ for the result of Mary Ann McCoy's Kingdom Assignment. Fabulous things were done in the name of Christ those ten years ago.

I had to ask myself at that point, "What do I have to loose?"

And THEN Pastor Mark said that the opportunity had come again to do the same thing again! 25 people would right then, on the spot, be handed a 100.00 Kingdom Assignment if they were interested. No need to have a project in mind, just a willingness to pray patiently for God to reveal something to the heart of the person and then the boldness to do it.

What do I have to loose? So, I found myself raising my hand and taking the assignment! I really have no idea what I'm going to do next. I do know that I'm excited to see where God takes me on this Kingdom Assignment journey. I am really wondering what I'm going to do next! I don't have that many connections in the community since I'm still new here.

Here's the deal though, I know that God has a plan which includes this assignment for me. The question will be, will I cooperate with Him? Will I trust Him enough to wait and hear what His assignment for me is? Will I be able to stay completely focused upon Him and building His kingdom and not my own reputation?

All of this means that my prayer life is about to take an interesting ride! Stay tuned for more to come.

La Jolla with Vanessa

2010-02-06T18:35:00.003-06:00

I spent a lovely hour in La Jolla with my friend Vanessa this past week. It was a quick stop on our whirlwind organization task at Vanessa's apartment. We had fun in spite of the pain of letting go of some things. Our jaunt to La Jolla was our little reward for a hard job well done. Then, I hopped back on the airplane and flew home.

It was an overcast day in La Jolla, so the beach was not as enticing to me as it might have been if it were warmer. However, the wild creatures I got to see were fabulous. As I look now at the pictures I took, I'm reminded that even when we live in a pile of troubles, there are still beautiful things all around us. The question is, will we be able to see that which is at hand, or will the momentary troubles take over and essentially drag us under with their powerful riptide?

What has been troubling you lately? Do you have a load of "stuff" that has taken hold of you? Maybe that "stuff" is really material "stuff", or maybe it is a situation you find yourself in at work, or in a relationship...something you know you need to shake free of, but find it impossible to begin that process. What would it take for you to see past this "stuff" to what is possible beyond it?

I don't have any answers for you because your situation is your own. Out there in the big world is something special waiting just for you. I know this because I know God is bigger than your problem. Will you trust Him with your "stuff"? Will you ask Him to take it off your hands for you? Then, will you really give it to Him and let it go?

If it is a relationship, you'll have to trust Him each day a little at a time. If it is a true pile of material "stuff", you might need to call in some assistance!

Blessings to you today!

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

2010-01-27T11:17:00.006-06:00

This hymn popped into my head the other day. I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to. But sometimes I wonder! Anyway, I love this one because it is a hymn of surrender. I need all the help I can get when it comes to surrendering to God.

Through this hymn I remember a few things:

Only through Christ do I find true rest
when I surrender to Him, I find myself living a richer, fuller life
my little tiny light is just that in contrast to the ultimate light of Christ, but when I yield myself to Him, I can become that much brighter

Here are the words by George Matheson, written in 1882.

O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee;

I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee;

My heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine's glow its day may brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain that morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to hide from thee;

I lay in dust life's glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red life that shall endless be.

Butterflies

2010-01-26T12:56:00.002-06:00

In spite of the rain, I am thinking about butterflies! It is too early in the season for there to be any butterflies about. But, I can make them on cards! The purple and yellow card was an inspiration from the color article that was in the last Stampin' Success magazine. I really would not have put purple and yellow together. But, it looks pretty cool and is really trendy. Who knew?! The pink butterfly card uses stencils on the face of the card, then heat embossing with white EP over the stencils. The butterflies on both cards were made using the Sizzix BigZ die with butterflies on it. For the background butterfly on the pink card, I used a page from an old book. The yellow butterflies were made using Gratuitous Graffiti background stamp before die cutting the cardstock. I distressed the edges with the same color of ink that I stamped the background with. Enjoy!

Friends Forever

2010-01-25T11:08:00.002-06:00

Valentine's Day is only three weeks away. Well, I guess that's plenty of time to do something about it, right? Here is a cute little quick card. I'll post a few more (the one on the right and the left) tomorrow. Happy Monday! Oh, and if you are wondering, yes...for Pete's sake! it is still raining here!

Rain, rain, and more rain

2010-01-23T16:06:00.003-06:00

Friday for just a little bit, the rain stopped. The sun came out, and all the clouds went away! It was pretty exciting after five days of nothing but rain all the time. I had noticed these little shiny buttons on my deck as I gazed out the rain soaked window. I wasn't really sure what I was seeing, until I rushed outside to soak in a few sun rays Friday. Of course I had to dash back inside to grab my camera so that I could take a picture of these cute little mushrooms. Aren't they cute!

Last Week vs. Today

2009-12-07T11:15:00.005-06:00

These first pictures are from last week.

This last picture is from this morning! SNOW on Mt. Diablo.

Satisfied

2009-11-26T08:56:00.003-06:00

I hope you don't eat too much today, or in the days to come! I wanted to share a hymn with you today from Clara Williams, written in 1881. I tried to find out more about her, but was unable to.

All my life long I had panted for a draught from some clear spring, that I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt with in.

Chorus

Feeding on the husks around me till my strength was almost gone, longed my soul for something better only still to hunger on.

Chorus

Poor I was, and sought for riches, something that would satisfy, but the dust I gathered round me only mocked my soul's sad cry.

Chorus

Well of water ever springing, bread of life so rich and free, untold wealth that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me.

Chrous: Halleluljah! I have found him whom my sould so long has craved! Jesus satisfies my longings, Thro' his blood I now am saved.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T11:16:00.006-06:00

It's almost time for the big Turkey feast here in the USA. This will be the first time in four years that we are celebrating with just the four of us, no extended family, no strays, no extra places to set at the table. Last year there were 21 of us gathered at our house. So, I have a feeling that this year's feast will be a little bit strange.

But, we are still thankful! There is so much to be thankful for this year. Which makes me wonder what it takes to make me feel thankful. Is it money? A nice house, a car to drive, an education? Sometimes as I look around at the current situation of government in my country, I don't feel like being thankful. My taxes are already too high, next year they are supposed to be even higher. The people who have been elected to my government don't speak for me, they don't even really speak for the people who did vote for them. I feel like my country is becoming something other than what I want it to be. How in the world would I do anything to change the situation? It makes me feel small to think about these things.

Feeling thankful? How many people are now unemployed or under-employed in your state? How many people do you know who have lost their jobs this year? Now are you thankful?

As a follower of Christ however, I am called to be thankful in all things. How can this be? I read the apostle Paul's words to his friends in Philippi like this, "Don't be anxious about anything! Instead in all that you do at work, home, school, or as you are looking for a job, and even just out running errands--be in conversation with Christ telling Him all your woes, all your needs. As you talk to Him be thankful for what He has given you! Tell Him you are thankful for the simple air that you breathe, for the fact that you woke up this morning and got out of bed. As you do this, you will be covered with the very peace of God Himself. You will not even be able to understand the peace that will overcome you as you lay your trouble with Christ. But this peace will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus." {from Phil 4:6-7}

How about this from my favorite book of the Bible, Psalm 95
"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depts of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."

There is a lot to notice in this Psalm! First of all, God is great! He is the creator of all things! He is worthy of our praise; in fact, He is the only one worthy of our thanksgiving. Not only is He the creator of the entire world, He is the tender shepherd of His people. Yet, we are reminded that those who have hardened their hearts toward Him, like the nation of Israel in the desert after they fled Egypt, will never rest. So, when we give Him thanksgiving, we rest from the woes and anxieties that come to us because of the stresses of the world. Wouldn't you rather be thankful than bitter!? Wouldn't you rather be at peace than war? Wouldn't you rather enjoy the fellowship of God than continually be on the run from Him?

These roses were actually blooming in the park here about four weeks ago! Tomorrow I'm going to share a favorite hymn with you. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving-Eve. Make a list of all your blessings and things you are thankful for. Then, praise God for them!

Fall Colors

2009-10-22T14:22:00.004-05:00

Fall is here in NorCal. It is not like Fall in the Midwest, nor like fall in San Diego! :) There are actually some decidious trees here that do turn color and loose their leaves. They are even quite pretty! I found a few things at my house that have great fall color. The top picture is of some berries on a tree in the yard. I have no idea what they are, they look like bittersweet, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. The second picture is of yummy mini heirloom tomatoes which taste as good as they look. The third picture I call "fuzzy lavender" because it looks similar to lavender but is fuzzy like woolly lambs ear. It's pretty strange and a favorite of hummingbirds! Last photo is a purple flower from a plant called Potato Bush. I still haven't harvested any potatoes from the bush, so I don't think it produces fruit. Tomorrow I will show you a picture of my very tiny pumpkin growing in the yard.

Happy Fall!

Been a long time

2009-10-20T14:03:00.002-05:00

Wow! More than a month since I've been here? Where does the time go anyway? I can think of a few places that it doesn't go....

Since last we met I've turned the calendar to a new month. We've had two round of unit testing in school, and we've survived the first fall rain dumps here in our area. That was a weird deal. I think it rained from about 3 am to 6pm. You'd have thought it was snow...no one around here quite new what to do. The kids and I almost had a snow day just because it was so weird.

But, no snow. Christmas is coming though...so I'm working on Christmas cards. I've got some other fun papers that I want to use, so I need to get these Christmas cards done. The cards are acutally for a friend's Christmas...I have no idea what I'm going to do for our cards this year.

I promise to post something more interesting before the month is over. Till then....

sin

2009-09-14T14:49:00.003-05:00

Here is my deep thought for the day: Sin is my decision to ignore God.
Sin is me choosing to do something other than what God wants me to do. Sin is staying in bed when I know that I need to get up and honor God and begin my day. Really, sin is hitting the alarm and choosing to ignore God for a few more minutes before I grace the world with my presence. Sin is acting as though the little things I do to put God aside won't matter in the long run. Sin is choosing to turn to things that turn me away from God.

The Sock Monster

2009-08-27T09:45:00.003-05:00

We have a monster that lives at our house. His name is "Sock Monster". He even has descendants, they're called "Spawn of Sock Monster". Sock Monster is invisible but leaves traces of himself behind frequently. I'm the one who has to pick them up. I call this invisible creature "Sock Monster" because the presents he leaves me are dirty socks. Usually I find them by my husband's favorite chair, sometimes the socks get folded up in the footrest of the said recliner. The poor socks always look so tired and worn out, like they have been worn all day. The Spawn of Sock monster are not always found in the same place, they seem to get around a little more easily than their creator. Sometimes I find them under the dining room table!

I used to complain about picking up Sock Monster's leavings. But then a dear friend, who didn't have a Sock Monster living in her house anymore, reminded me that the gifts that Sock Monster left me really were reminders that he was around and was really thinking sweet thoughts of me. That didn't make much sense to me until I realized that her Sock Monster had died a few years ago, and the Spawn of Sock Monster had long since grown and moved away. She had chosen to see the leavings in a more positive light than I had. At first I didn't really like her words! I told her that she must not have had as prolific a Sock Monster as I did! I mean really, one day I picked up no less than five gifts from Sock Monster!! But, then I decided that my response to Sock Monster was a response that I would make depending upon my own attitude. (hate it when I learn stuff like that!!) Truly though, she had a very valid point and I'm grateful that she shared her positive outlook with me. Since then, I can't say that I look forward to Sock Monster's gifts...but I do see the gifts as more than just dirty socks now.

But, then yesterday happened! I awoke to the usual stillness of the morning. My husband had already gone to work and the children were still snuggled in their beds. I wandered into the kitchen to turn on the tea kettle. I looked out the window over the kitchen sink to see the hummingbirds and other morning creatures. I glanced over the sink...but then had to quickly look more closely into the sink to figure out what the mass of dark wetness I saw there was. There was nothing on the counter, nothing in the sink, nothing on the floor, all was clean.....but for the lonely mass in the sink. Perhaps you may be able to guess by now that I saw socks in the sink. However, I'm sure that you wouldn't have guessed the state of the socks. They were folded together (just the way my mom taught me) sopping wet, and draped across the sink divider. I picked them up to make sure that I was actually seeing what I thought. My mind fleeted backwards over all the gifts Sock Monster, and even Spawn of Sock Monster, have left me over the last 16 years. Never had he left me a gift like this. I was completely baffled about what could have caused this gift and the wretched state it was in. Poor Sock Monster! What on earth had happened to him??? All day long the children and I invented all kinds of stories about why and how Sock Monster's gift had come to be soaking wet. I meant to ask my husband if he had heard any unusual sounds in the night, or seen anything strange on his way into bed the evening before. But, my day got ahead of me and I forgot to ask him when we chatted quickly on the phone mid-day.

When my husband came home from work we discussed dinner and then he went upstairs to change clothes. By now, I had completely forgotten poor Sock Monster! As my husband returned to the kitchen he shyly said to me, "So...did you see my wet socks in the sink this morning?" I quickly looked at him and said, "Yes! We did! All day long we wondered what in the world had happened. We thought perhaps Sock Monster had actually drowned....or something!"

The story he told me was this: You may recall that I had posted that we are trying funny new ways of being green. One of them is to put an empty bucket in the shower to catch the water in as the shower water heats up. When the water is hot, we take the bucket out and then proceed with the shower. The collected water then is used to water a few plants. My dashingly handsome husband had done this for his morning ritual Wednesday. After he had gotten dressed, he put his socks in his pants pocket--the front one--and then picked up the bucket and gone on with the bucket down to the kitchen. As he opened the door to the deck to set the bucket out for me to water the plants later.....his socks fell right into the bucket with a sad little plop.

So, now we knew how Sock Monster's gift had gotten ruined. I must say that we had come up with better stories. I certainly hope that the poor Sock Monster is not so embarrassed by this one ruined gift that he doesn't leave me more gifts later!

Tuesday Morning

2009-08-25T09:58:00.002-05:00

So, if I call this post "Tuesday Morning" that means that when I'm behind this week, say like by Thursday, my blog will be as behind as I am. Soo....I suppose I should not leave the title as "Tuesday Morning". But, maybe it's a good challenge to see if I can keep up. Hmm...we'll see.

This morning I'm going to a class called, "Moving On After Moving In". It's a study group based on the book by Susan Miller, "After the Boxes are Unpacked". It's all about how to transition well after moving to a new community. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is moving. I have moved 5 times, so I know a lot already about how to make a move work for my family. However, the insight that Susan offers is just wonderful. Not only does she have practical hints she also offers support to you as you read her book.

We had a great weekend, celebrated DH's birthday. We went on a short trip to a State Historic Park, called Marshall Gold Discovery. It was the location of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill by John Marshall. The park was lovely, had a lot of cool buildings and historic stuff. I had my camera....but I had the wrong lense!!! Argh...so I didn't take many pics at all. I was sad.

Zebra!

2009-08-14T08:22:00.000-05:00

Back To School

2009-08-11T15:15:00.003-05:00

We started back to school here yesterday. I think everyone was actually excited to get going again. DS is now a Freshman while DD is a fifth grader. I am looking forward to new things this year, especially as we journey the High School road.
One of the new things we are doing this year is taking 30 minutes each school day to do some guided journaling. I thought I'd play along with my students so that I would have something to share on my blog.
For today's assignment we are supposed to write a letter to a person from History who is no longer alive. We had fun talking about who we thought would be worth a letter. We also talked about using a person who was truly historical, or just someone we had known who had died. DD said she was going to write to Jesus; then said, "But, you know, He's not really dead." DS is writing to Thomas Jefferson. I'm writing to my Grandma Gladys.

Dear Grandma G,
How are you anyway!? What is it like in Heaven? Were you glad when grandpa finally joined you? I'm guessing that you are enjoying lots of fun things in heaven, like eating homemade bread and custard whenever you want it, or singing just like an angel! Then there is the constant Holy presence of God and His son, Jesus. That must be awesomely amazing! Someday I'll be there too.
For now, I thought you might be interested to know that since you've been gone, I've gotten old myself! Last year was my big 4 OH birthday. It was a big celebration in Liberty with many friends, good food and fabulous music, all arranged by my wonderful husband of 17 years. I felt like a movie star that night. This year I've just added a one to my years...it sort of felt anti-climactic after last year. I keep plugging away every day.
Your great-grandson just turned 14 last weekend. See, I told you I've gotten old! I was 13 when you left, which was just yesterday...so surely I don't really have a 14 year old myself! Ah, but I do. You also have a soon to be 10 year old grand-daughter. Both of them are kids to be proud of. Not only do they do their best in school and other things, they both love the Lord and have asked Him to be their Lord and Savior. They are really good friends to each other as well.
I "retired" from teaching Public Speaking when I turned 30, and have been a stay-at-home mom since then. It is the most rewarding job ever! Really! Each day we have school at home, learning new things together. What a joy.
Speaking of school at home, it is time for me to wrap this up so that I can get back to teaching. Before I go I wanted to let you know how much I love you. You were always there to listen to me when I needed to be heard. I loved playing games with you even if you tried to bend the rules a little bit just for fun! Thank you for helping me become the woman I am today. Thanks too for all the things you taught my mom who also helped me become me!
Love you!! Give all the people up there that I know a really big hug and tell them I love them and look forward to one day joining in the singing with them.

Saturday

2009-08-10T13:28:00.004-05:00

Saturday was my son's 14th birthday. I can hardly believe that I'm old enough to have a child that old! There is no sense in moaning about it because time will continue on, no matter what I have to say about it.

We had a fun day of celebration that we let the birthday boy plan. We began the day with a trip to the Oakland Zoo. This zoo is not very big at all, so none of us had high expectations. Before we left for the zoo, we went to Whole Foods to the deli counter and picked out what yummy sandwiches we would eat for a picnic lunch at the zoo. As we were paying for our sandwiches, the checker asked us which zoo were were going to, Oakland or San Fran. He said that he thought each had their own good points. According to him, Oakland is more intimate because it is smaller, but they have less programming than San Fran. Then he said, "Well, at least no one has died at Oakland!" Last year three boys were attacked by a tiger because they were taunting it. It was very tragic, two of the boys died, the tiger had to be put down. So sad for so many reasons. I will admit that was one reason that I had chosen the Oakland Zoo over San Fran!

I digress...the Oakland Zoo was really nice. We got there at about 9:30am and had prime shade parking. As we walked into the zoo, we were greeted by the strangest noises. They sounded as though someone were screaming a sort of melodious scream for no reason...unless they were insane! As we followed our ears, we came to the "Howler Monkeys" also known as Gibbons. Oh, my, goodness!! They were loud and so hilarious. It was mesmerizing. I have never heard or seen anything like that in all the zoos I have ever been too. I think we must have stood there laughing at them for 15 minutes. DJ didn't really like them, so I didn't take a picture. What was funny about this, to me anyway, was this sign that the zoo had posted on the sidewalks: "Quiet Please. Our Monkeys are highly sensitive to loud noises. Please use your quiet voices!" What??!! Across the way from these guys were the White Handed Gibbons who were also making noise, but not quite as loud.

My next favorite thing that we saw was a big exhibit of fruit bats. Weird, I know. However, I have never seen a bat in the daylight...let alone 19 of them at once all hanging upside down and folded in to their six foot expanse wings! It was so cool. When they moved around, they used the hook like claw that is in their wing. As I watched a few of them moving, I thought they looked just like Captain Hook! Interestingly, there was a banana palm plant in the exhibit. It has big fan like leaves that are colored slightly green with red veins all over them which makes the leaves look rather more red than green. When the bast opened their wings and the sun shone through, the wings looked just like the coloring of the banana palm leaves. So cool! I already said "cool", didn't I?

We finished the zoo around 1pm and headed out to have a picnic. By now the parking lot was packed, people were even circling looking for a parking spot. We found a nice shady spot on the park grounds which surrounded the zoo. Then we came home and took little naps.

For dinner, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and celebrated in grand style. It was a wonderful day.

Summer is flying by

2009-07-20T14:43:00.003-05:00

Christine made these cute fairies from a Klutz book about fairies. She named one "Rose" and sent it to a friend in Missouri. They were so cute and really easy to make. Christine occupied herself for an entire day with them. Then, I had fun figuring out places to take pictures of them!

Recipe for a Letter

2009-07-06T11:35:00.005-05:00

I was looking through some old cookbooks this morning. They were ones that I've collected over the years; you know the ones from various fundraisers. In the back of one from my dad's mom, Grandma Aggie, I found this cute recipe. This particular cookbook was from the First Lutheran Church Sunday School in Paxton, Illinois. The cover says, "Favorite Recipes from Our Best Cooks". It has a darling 1970's drawing on the front of a Holly Hobby-esque lady stirring something while her husband has his arms around her waits and is nuzzling her neck. The caption around this picture says, "Kissin' wears out...Cookin' don't!"

I digress, the recipe is what I wanted to share! Here it is:

Recipe for a Letter---contributed by Jessie Kirsche
Take equal parts of hope and laughter (heaping measurements) and after you have mixed, add faith to those. Then pepper just enough to please. Stir friendship (let it rise to double). Add prayers for those who are in trouble. Test your heart for warmth and soften. Close with love, and write one often.

How cute is that? It particularly touched me today because we don't really write letters much anymore. I suppose that I should say that email counts as a letter. But, really it does not. Email is so often just something that you have received from someone else and you forward it to others on your email list. Frequently there is no personal thought involved in email. Phone calls don't count, in my opinion, because they are often made or received in the midst of something else going on and lack focus. Don't get me wrong! I do love a good email with personal thoughts, news and good wishes; same goes for phone calls.

However, there is something in an old fashioned, hand-written letter that goes lacking in our day of super technology. A handwritten letter seems to indicate that the writer of it has taken a few moments aside from his or her otherwise busy life to think about the one to whom he writes. It takes some time for the writer to think of things to say that are meaningful and not just bits of news. At times the writer might have to pause to think more about the recipient in order to know what to write. The savvy writer will ask just enough questions to spur the recipient on to actually write back! All of that will result in the writer thinking much of the friend to whom he writes.

Which then means that when the letter is delivered and joyously found among the bills and junk mail, the recipient is overcome with satisfaction that there is something more interesting in the mail. Then, upon reading the letter (even if it is rather short!) the recipient feels very special.

What a treat, nay--gift!--you give when you write someone a letter! When was the last time you wrote a letter? Consider yourself challenged to write a letter to someone this week. (hint:my mail box is always game!)

Father's Day 2009

2009-07-05T17:26:00.001-05:00

David and DJ went sailing on Father's Day. They had a great time!

Tagged Friends

2009-06-29T18:36:00.002-05:00

Here is an older card...but I love it! I love the colors. Hope you are doing well today. It is super hot here today! So, I'm trying to be motivated to do more than laundry.

My Handiwork

2009-06-27T10:56:00.003-05:00

These two journals were made for two very special ladies. I was "commissioned" to make them by special friends of theirs. I think they turned out quite nice! I made special packaging for Catherine too, but I didn't take a picture.

Shameless Self-promotion

2009-06-22T18:48:00.002-05:00

Just a small commercial break here on my blog to shamelessly promote myself. You can click on the link over on the right handed side for "My Stampin' Up! Website". There you will find a calendar of all the fun classes that I have up my sleeve for the next few months. I hope you will join me at one or two, or all of them!

Secondly, if you are in need of a box of specially handmade for you cards, I'm your gal! I charge 35.00 for a box of 8 greeting cards. I'm happy to taylor make them just for you, or you can just say "surprise me", and I'll package a random assortment for your sending pleasure.

The Father's Day card that I featured this last week or two is just a smidge of what I can do for you. Let me know how I can help you tap your inner creative soul, or let me know how many and what kinds of cards you need.

I also do ultra fancy, personalized journals for 30.00.

I'll be posting some examples asap.

How to make the Coolest Ever Fathers' Day Card

2009-06-12T19:48:00.003-05:00

Begin with a standard card, closed size is 5.5 x 4.25 inches. You should use a dark suit color...OR a color that will match the ribbon that you will be using to make the tie. (only limited by your creativity!)

inside the card mount a piece of white card stock, 5.25 x 4 inches; this is where you will write your dad a message

Use a straight edge and a stylus or bone folder to score, on the front of the card, a diagonal line which will become the "lapel" for the suit jacket.

2009-06-12T19:37:00.003-05:00

at the score mark, fold to the left to make the "lapel"

now you can see the white inside of the card showing, this will be covered by the designer paper that you'll use for the "shirt" once you've made the "tie"

at the base of the "lapel" punch a tiny hole for a tiny brad "button"

2009-06-12T19:27:00.002-05:00

Use about 10 inches of 3/4 inch ribbon to make the "tie". I'm using two toned ribbon to make it easier for you to see how to do it. The brown is on the front, the pink the back. Hold the ribbon, right side up in your left hand with about two inches sticking out on the back. You will use this back 2 inches to tie the knot.

Now take that two inches and wrap it over the top of the ribbon, going from the right to the left.

2009-06-12T19:21:00.002-05:00

take about 2 inches of ribbon from the top, and pull it over your left hand (pink is the back of the ribbon, brown the front)

pull the 2 inches across from right to left

then take that piece and poke it through the hole to the right side of the ribbon; you will be pulling from the right, across to the left, under the ribbon and back out onto the right side

2009-06-12T19:10:00.002-05:00

pull through to make the knot (back of ribbon is pink)

pull a bit to shap the knot to look like a "tie" knot

the back of the "tie"

2009-06-12T19:03:00.002-05:00

pinch the tail from the knot down to the back of the "tie"

sew the tail down to the knot with needle and thread

finished backside of the "tie"

2009-06-12T18:59:00.002-05:00

use sticky strip on the backside of the tie's knot

put a full strip of sticky strip down the right handed side, flush

with the right edge of the "shirt"

attach the "tie" to this strip, then stick the jacket to the shirt as in the next picture

2009-06-12T18:52:00.002-05:00

The piece of designer paper that you use for the "shirt" will need to be 5.5 x 4 1/8 so that your card will close well. Make sure to line up the right edge of the "shirt" with the right edge of the card's inside.

Apply your adhesive to the "jacket" instead of the "shirt" to avoid getting adhesive where you don't want it.

Close the "jacket" with adhesive on it to the "shirt"

2009-06-12T18:44:00.002-05:00

punch a 1 1/4 inch square of card stock to become the "pocket"
use a scrap of ribbon to become the fancy "pocket square"

cut the scrap of ribbon in 1/2

2009-06-12T18:38:00.001-05:00

use sticky strip on the front of the ribbon scraps

and on the back

then attach the scraps to the card stock square "pocket"

2009-06-12T18:03:00.002-05:00

attach the square of card stock to the front

finished!

optional pocket with a strip instead of a square, and paper instead of ribbon

Fathers' Day Cards

2009-06-12T16:11:00.003-05:00

How about these cards!? Don't you love them!? I saw a Martha Stewart card that was sort of similar. I had to tweak the design of course. I'll post the directions, step by step for you after I take a nap! :)

Random Act of Kindness

2009-05-31T12:16:00.003-05:00

Today is not the official Random Act of Kindness day, or anything like that. But, I have a funny story to tell you, and I thought the moral of the story would be a good way to remind you to practice Random Acts of Kindness.

A couple weeks ago now, my DS and I went on a little trip. In the airport in Baltimore, Maryland, I was compelled to act.

You see, there was a fellow female traveler walking briskly through the terminal hallways, just a little bit ahead of DS and I. We had arrived at the airport farily early for our departure, so we were not in need of brisk walking ourselves. As DS and I strolled along, I noticed this woman. I think I blanched a little bit at what I saw. I said, "OH dear! Someone needs to tell this woman! I've got to tell her!" I looked at DS and asked if he noticed what I did. He did. ::gasp::

I said, "I've got to catch up to her!" I sent DS to our gate and trotted to catch up.

No, she did not have her skirt tucked into her undies, no one wears skirts to travel much anymore. No, she did not have toilet paper stuck to her shoe. No, she was not half undressed, or anything undressed in anyway. But, the problem was all behind her and she was blissfully unaware. You see, she had 1/2 a potty seat cover stuck in her pants.

Now, because she didn't know what was going on. She had no need to be worried about what was following her. I am certain that SKADS of people saw what was traveling with her, but NO ONE stopped her. I was trying really hard to catch up with this lady with out running so I have no clue if people were laughing or not. I have no doubt that there were more than a few fingers pointing and snickering.

I did catch her, thankfully, right in the vicinity of a ladies' room. I got right next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. Surprisingly, she did not box me in the nose! I did not make eye contact with her but spoke right to her ear as she tried to slow down and stop.

"Don't stop," I said calmly. "You have a problem, that's not really that bad. But, you might want to stop in the ladies' room and take care of it."

She began flayling about her person for a bit, but I said to her, "Don't look, just go right her in the bathroom and take care of it."

I have no idea what happened next, because she did just that, slid into the bathroom.

As I walked back to DS, who immediately asked for a report, I sighed a big sigh of relief. Can you imagine if she had gotten on the plane with that! She might have been trapped on a flight full of people whose faces would have been burned into her memory of embarassment. Or maybe not.

But the point is that someone stopped her and helped her out. I can't tell you how many times I've had something on my face and I've wondered how many people saw me like that! It only takes a few minutes to help others. Don't let anyone with a potty seat cover hanging out of their pants ever pass you by! Do not stop to wonder how that happened (it will be amusing and the person will get past you before you realize it!)! Just go, and help the poor person....after all someday it WILL be you who needs help!

Some Gift Ideas for Next Year, Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute

2009-05-26T19:14:00.002-05:00

Just a few trinkets I'd like to unwrap someday! Well...a girl can dream, right??

Crafty Moments

2009-05-26T19:08:00.003-05:00

Best DC Sight??

2009-05-26T19:05:00.003-05:00

Can you read what this says?? It is a little "ad" for an airline stewardess in the National Air and Space Museum. It says, "Stewardess...is your smile friendly and sincere...make up neat and natural...shoes repaired and shined?" EEK!! I couldn't resist taking a pic of myself so obviously not meeting up to those standards! But, back in the day...I sure did wish I was one of those girls!

More DC Sights

2009-05-26T19:00:00.003-05:00

This last one is the "pile of loot" from Night at the Museum. It's a "throne" that the "resurrected" Pharoah made for himself. The throne itself is supposed to be Archie Bunker's chair.

DC Sights

2009-05-26T18:51:00.002-05:00

Pictures of Diablo sights

2009-05-26T18:36:00.001-05:00