My new blog friend Karen is hosting a tassel giveaway at her blog, Faith, Family, & Fibromyalgia!
Karen and I kept passing each other at Relevant and never got to meet. Hopefully that will change this October and we both get to attend Relevant 11.
Head over to her blog to enter to win one of my favorite tassels ever!
Today was a snow day. I mean a SNOW day. As in, (you gotta hear this in a movie big voice) SNOWMAGGEDON III: Fear the Frost! Frost Frost Frost...
Now, we got nothing like the Midwest did earlier, but for us, this snow storm crippled our area. This is the first time I've been scared for my husband to drive home. I begged him to leave work at 1:45 when I started hearing reports of 5 car pileups and road closings. I wasn't worried about HIS driving...it was all the crazies out there (you know, the ones who have to drop everything and BRING THE BACON!) that I was worried about. A friend of mine said her husband counted no less than 20 cars that had run off the road on his way home from work. A trip that normally takes thirty minutes or less took my husband an hour...which was REALLY good time, considering so many people had hours of driving instead of their normal minutes.
At one point in the afternoon, I had gotten so worked up about him coming home I was almost in panic mode. I had to do something to get my mind off of it, so I trudged outside and fed the birds. I made sure to put some seed on the porch so they would come up to the window where I had been sitting.
Sure enough, minutes after I sat back down at the computer, I could hear the peeping of juncos and white throated sparrows. I looked outside and there were at least three juncos and a sparrow...and I was reminded of the verse that Kiddo was reviewing for Awana this week. I asked him to say it to me, and without hesitation, he quoted,
My heart was immediately filled with peace.
Sound Man returned home without a scratch, and I learned my lesson. As children of the Most High God, we are so much more than sparrows...we are not forgotten...we do not have to be afraid! Thank you, Lord!
Sarah Mae's birthday is today, and she fearlessly posted a Glamor Shots pic of her 16 year old self on Facebook, then invited us all to post our own big hair, boa wearin', glamor shot selves. Mine is not Glamor Shots, but part of my senior pictures...oh, yeah, baby! I am rockin' the red boa!
Happy Birthday, Sarah Mae! Thank you for making me eat my words! Ha!
I've been wanting to spruce up the place (meaning my blog) for a few months, and I've just now had the energy (or some semblance thereof) to get to it. But, it's far from finished.
I asked my husband to make a new banner for me, and I love it. We're still tweaking it, so it's not completely finished. Hence the disclaimer right underneath it. I'm also trying to figure out how to widen my columns. I might even be inclined to go back to two columns if I can find the right template. There's so much stuff I need to get rid of at the moment. I want to go back to a simple look, and I've already taken off my Facebook thingie. I might put it back on later, but for now, it's out. I'm seriously considering taking the Twitter thing off, too, but I haven't quite made my mind up about that.
I'm just bit tired of the visual mess on my blog. Don't get me wrong, I love the blogs (and more importantly, the people behind them) that I have buttons for, but they might just be more clutter I need to get rid of.
Now, here's where I need your advice. Do you think taking buttons off will improve the look of the blog? What else could I take off that will clean it up? I would love your advice!
I will be posting more in the future, once I get settled in my new digs (or spruced up digs, anyway). I have one post that has been mulling in my head for quite a while. I hope to get to that next week. In the meantime, I'm having a blast reading the Bible in 90 days. More posts to come on that soon. A lot of posts, if my notes have anything to say about it.
Oh, and I got this book this week. Chapter one already has tear-stains on it. Sigh...she always makes me cry; in a good way...most of the time. : )
And because I can't stand to have a post without a picture on it, here's something I've been working on...
That's something else I've been doing. 'Cause my poor Etsy has seen better days. More tassels (and pics!) to come.
Three weeks. I've read the Bible every day, except one, for three weeks. I have never been this consistent. Even reading for quiet times I would skip the weekends because my routine was always different. And you know what? I'm loving it even more now than I was when I started.
There are days when the reading gets long (HELLO? Leviticus and Numbers, anyone?), but I keep at it. Let me share a quote from Amy at Mom's Toolbox...
When I read something or hear something in a sermon now (like Wednesday night one of our pastors preached about Jacob and Joseph - "Hope Deferred") I understand so much more now about why things were the way they were. I am starting to see now how Israel and Judah are becoming two separate countries...I never understood that before. Oh, I heard the "why's" a long time ago (and let them go in one ear and out the other), but now I can SEE it happening.
It's just like Amy said, "When you read at this pace you can see how it all fits together." It excites me so much I want to cry. As someone who grew up in church, I can now see the hand of God moving in the lives of His people more clearly than I ever have before. I also see His heart breaking at their disobedience. Lessons for my life today.
And so, you're probably saying, "Well, good for you! I'm so glad you're doing this!" But I want to encourage you to do it, too. I promise only one thing...that if you stick with it, it will not only change the way you see God's Word...
...it will change how you see God Himself.
In my last post I talked about Traci at Beneath My Heart. Well, not only does she inspire us to get our homes organized, this week she is hosting a Silhouette Electronic Cutting Tool giveaway!
I have wanted one of these for a long time, but it just wasn't in the budget. Hopefully I'll win! Unless, of course, one of Y'ALL win! Then I'll just have to borrow! ; )
When Traci from Beneath My Heart and her sister, Cyndi, from CyndiSpivey.com/Walking in His Grace decided to collaborate on a January project, I knew I was all in. I met these beautiful ladies at Relevant, and I'm so thankful I got to know them a little bit. I wish it had been more.
They decided they wanted to do a series on organizing...Traci would take the home organization part; Cyndi would take the heart organization. I loved the idea.
This week's Heart post by Cyndi is "Three Tips to Organize Your Quiet Time with God." It's a great post, whether you have never had a quiet time or if you've been having one for years.
"Having a consistent Quiet Time can make a difference in how we handle this journey we’re on."How true.
For my post, I'm linking up to Traci's half. Her challenge for organizing our homes this week was a closet. Any closet. Linen, bedroom, coat, whatever. I wanted to do my bedroom closet, but that would take so much more energy than I have I decided to do the next one that came to mind: the linen closet. I must give a disclosure here. My linen closet (and my linens, for that matter) is nothing fancy. By far. But it's what I have, and it needs to be neat, so I got to work on it.
Here's the before:
One word. Yuck. We had been shoving stuff in there for who knows how long, never taking the time to really find the correct spot for it. The floor was so full when we'd put a new thing of TP in there we'd just set it down and squeeze the door shut, hoping it would latch. Pitiful.
After doing like Traci did and designating three piles (throw away, sell/give away, keep), it now looks like this:
Top two shelves...I actually was able to completely clean out the left half of the top shelf and put our extra pillows up there (the blue one is a body pillow folded over. And yes, those are hardhats. See, Sound Man has worked in the safety industry for 15 years, and, well, he had access to them, and when a tornado threatens...well, I'd just rather be safe - albeit silly looking- than sorry. I have a GREAT story about Sound Man and the hard hat in a hail storm...for another time). The second shelf is just better organized, plus cleaned out of expired stuff. I used a basket I found on the bottom for corralling sunscreen and extra shampoos and other stuff that tends to get knocked down.
Bottom two shelves. Okay, this looks really pitiful and it looks like we don't have any real towels to our name. But we really do. If you come visit, I promise you will have a towel to dry off with. Currently, our three big, huge towels are in use, hanging on the back of the bathroom door. We have a couple more preventing drafts from sneaking in under drafty doors. Anyway, the point is, this used to be a hodgepodge of towels, hand towels, and bed linens, none of which I knew went with what bed. Now, the towels and other bath linens are on one shelf, and the sheets are on the bottom shelf. I put them in bags I got from Dollar Tree to keep the dust off of them. Even if they are clean, if they're not put up like this, I think they smell like dust and I won't use them. I'm weird.
And the floor. Oh, I can SEE the floor! How nice! Or...well, aside from the '80's carpet, it's nice. And yes, that is a Boppy pillow. Which I will keep forever since not only does it have precious memories attached to it, but it's very useful for my tailbone when I'm in the floor brushing one of the pooches. I fell 15 years ago and bruised my tailbone and it STILL gives me fits. Anyway, I'm so happy to see this. You would not BELIEVE the junk I threw away from down here. It filled a huge bag up!
Ahhhhh...it's so nice to be able to look in there and actually SEE what's there. Especially the floor. And even though it still needs to be painted and the contact paper needs to be changed and the carpet is from the '80's...at least it's clean. So, that makes me happy.
Please click over to see other closet makeovers, some of which will make your jaw drop! Traci's own closet makeover is one of them!
You may have noticed I have a Facebook thingie on my sidebar. Well, if you click on it (and hopefully "Like" me) you will see an AMAZING offer. G'head. I dare you.
If there has been a tassel you've wanted, NOW would be the time to visit my Facebook page. Like, NOW. Just sayin'.
I'm "making room" (even though there's really enough "room" for a bazillion tassels) for the new tassels coming down the pike (or is it pipe?), so have at these while you can!
Happy Shopping!
Yep, I'm still at it. I'm loving it. I haven't read today yet, but we start the Book of Leviticus today.
After finishing Exodus, my brain was so tired from all the exact specifications about the Tabernacle and the priests' garments...oh my gosh...when I just now wrote those words I remembered a dream I had last night! It was about what the priests wore! I saw one of the priests, but it was in modern day, and I wondered if that same garment had been worn by Aaron (God said his clothes were to be passed down through generations...but I may have read and/or interpreted that wrong). How great is that? That God's Word would so infiltrate my mind that I dream about it? Now I'm really stoked about this!
I have to admit, though, it was hard not to run through it all and "skip" those verses. But as I read, I kept thinking that God had a plan and a reason for all those details...how beautifully He designed His temporary dwelling place - AND made it a picture of His Son! I haven't done Beth Moore's study (A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place) on the Tabernacle, but after reading about it in such detail I want to now.
All that minutia also made me realize that our God is a God of order, of detail. He knows down to the most minute detail of our lives what we are going through...and He has a plan for it. Even though it may not have made for the most exciting reading, it did make me love Him that much more.
If you are reading the Bible in 90 days with me, how are you doing? Is it getting harder to get up early (not that it is for me, or anything...no...not at aaaaalllllll....) to read for 45 minutes to an hour? Don't quit. At the end of this I will be so happy to say that I did it. Not for the sake of saying, "I did it," but so that I will have accomplished something I didn't think I ever could. And so that I will have come to know the Lord better. After all...isn't that the greatest goal?
There are so many other people doing this with me! Visit Mom's Toolbox to read about this journey from others' perspective!
Around Memphis, when there is even the slightest mention of snow, it's like people absolutely lose their minds. Well, it just so happens that our "Winter Storm Watch" has now become "Winter Storm Warning." Here's hoping we get more than the usual dusting.
Can I tell you how ecstatically happy I am that I went to the grocery store Friday? Sound Man is wise beyond his years and suggested that, because they were using the "s" word in the forecast, it would be advisable to go before the crazies get out.
This video, done by Olan Rogers, who lives around here and knows, hilariously explains what happens. You have to watch to the end, though, to understand the title to this post. Enjoy.
Last night I read Erin's blog, Closing Time and as I read, I started to get excited. See, Erin is Reading the Bible in 90 days. I immediately wanted to do it, too. Amy at Mom's Toolbox is heading it up, and I have to say, I'm overwhelmed. There are over 750 people already signed up to do this. What an accountability group!
So, how about you? Have YOU ever read through the ENTIRE Bible? I haven't, and I've been in church my entire life. Even since coming to know Christ, I haven't read it all the way through. If you think (like I did when I heard about it at Relevant) that reading it in 90 days is impossible, it's not. It's about 12 pages a day. What? I can do that!
The more I talk about it the more excited I get. I mean, there will be things that, as a 40 year old Southern Baptist girl, I have never laid eyes on. How cool is that!
I can't wait to see what God has in store for me through this! It's not too late to get started! Today was the first day's reading. You can do it!
That's what I want for 2011. Recovery. 2010 has been the hardest year for us, ever.
Yet as much heartache as we've had, we've also seen God move. Mightily. He's never left us.
My precious friend, Jennifer, wrote this song, "Recovery." She sings it on our newest CD, Love.
I would love for you to watch and listen, and maybe find your own Recovery...
"Your freedom spilled out, it was thick and it was loud when the cross was painted with glory..."
Have a very, very Happy New Year.
I LOVE THIS VIDEO! It makes my heart happy for a number of reasons. First, because it is probably the sweetest video of the Christmas story I've seen. And second, because these kids are in New Zealand, and sound very much like my beloved Australia. Thanks to fellow Relevant gal, Mitzi Eaker for swiping it from Ann Voskamp so I could swipe it from her. : )
Last year I posted this recipe on Facebook and thought I posted it here. Evidently I did not, or else Blogger ate it. Get it? Recipe? Ate it? Nevermind.
My step-mom, Margie, usually fixes this candy, appropriately named Out of This World Candy, at Christmas and gives me a tin to share (or not) with the fam. It is my fave-o-rite candy ever. I thought I'd try it this year. As if my rear end isn't big enough.
It's a simple recipe, but boy howdy you better be prepared to stir. When I was mixing the butter and powdered sugar I thought I was going to pull a muscle. I should have used a bigger mixing bowl and it would have been easier. Make sure your bowl is bigger than 8 cups. You could use a mixer, but I'm not sure how a hand mixer would handle the load.
Anyway, here's the recipe:
I promise, you WILL hear the Hallelujah Chorus when you eat one of these.
Or maybe that's just the sugar buzz.
And the winner is... (drumroll please...)
Bonnie!
Sending you an email now. Congratulations!
Are you sick of me talking about Relevant yet? Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is still posting about it. There was just so much. I haven't even really gotten into what I learned. Or the people that touched me the most.
I have, however, talked about how much stuff we racked up. The "Ever Grateful" Pitcher. The "Studio Dayspring" cards. My Vintage Pearl necklace. Plus so much more stuff that I haven't even begun to tell you about.
Here's one of those things I haven't told you about.
Dayspring has a line of Christmas products called "Jesus is the Gift"...and it is beautiful. Everything I saw on the display table, as well as what was around "The (in)courage Lounge" was just lovely. Things I really wanted in my home. When the opportunity to receive and review a "Jesus is the Gift"13.5" Serving Platter came, I JUMPED at the chance.
I love it. It's HUGE. And even though it's a serving platter, I doubt I will ever use it for that. It's just too pretty. And right now, Dayspring's "Jesus is the Gift" line is on sale! So you can get this gorgeous platter for $8.49! 
What a great way to express your faith...it has the first part of John 3:16 around the edge of the platter. Very pretty, and not over the top. That's the way the whole line of "Jesus is the Gift" products strikes me.
And as my Christmas gift to you, you have the opportunity to WIN a $20 credit toward Dayspring products. Just leave me a comment. That's it. You don't have to tweet, facebook, post, jump through hoops, sell me your first born, or anything else. But, I'd like you to answer this question: What is the best gift you've ever given or received? Besides receiving the gift of salvation. That's a given. : )
I can't wait to hear what your best gifts are.
Giveaway ends Tuesday, December 21st, at 11:59 PM, Central time. You won't have time to purchase any Christmas items for this year, but what a way to rack up for next year!
Edited to add: I just found out that the $20 does not cover shipping, so keep that in mind!
Disclosure: Dayspring compensated me for this review by giving me a "Jesus is the Gift" Platter. My review was my own opinion.
