Hearts in Service

I can't believe the entire month has gone by without a "Crafty Things" post. My newest creations are tissue holders and it is a wonderful way to use up the scraps of fabric.  My scrap pile has diminished greatly the past few days.  For those of you wondering how the cleanup of the sewing room is going, let's just say my scrap pile looks pretty clean! ;-) Here are a few of the tissue holders I've completed.  I made about 25 the past few days. These are in my Etsy shop, along with the others I made.   I also finished up the order of 50 tea totes I had, as well as cutting out fabric for 25 more.  It's been a productive week in the crafting department.

Do you think you can handle the truth? I'm not sure you can handle the truth! For the past 6 weeks I have been refining the book, editing it, and re-editing.  Setting up a new website.  Meshing this blog to that new website and working on book promotions. I love doing online computer work because at the click of a button I can create beauty.  There is a plethora of backgrounds and fonts to choose from.  I can edit my pictures just so to make exactly the image I want to leave my readers. But.... Back to the truth. I'm not known as a "Neat Nellie."  The main rooms of my house are always company ready.  But, do not venture up my stairs to the second floor.  And never, ever walk into my sewing room.   But today I am revealing what my sewing & laundry room look like on a regular basis.  Oh, I'll clean it up from time to time and it's not always this bad.  But drastic times call for drastic measures.  I must motivate myself this week to declutter

Holy Week.   This is a special week on the Christian calendar and many will spend it in reflection on the sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection.  It is good to do this.  Yet, shouldn't every week be holy?  Shouldn't we view all days and weeks as from the Lord?  Shouldn't we spend each day in reflection and gratitude because of His sacrifice for us? Each day should be special in it's own right because it is another day that the Lord has made.  He has allowed us to wake up and take another breath.  Each day deserves its own celebration because it is a day to serve Him.  Every week should be spent in thankfulness and gratitude. This week reflect, ponder, meditate, be thankful, but don't stop there.   Make each day of the year one of overwhelming thankfulness for the blessings He showers upon you. This week I'm thankful for blessings #1 5 21 - 1535 ~     ♥ A celebration of a life. ♥ A friend who blessed me with some clothing. ♥ Positive comments ab

Psalm 116:15 ~  "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants." Dan & I attended a funeral yesterday of a sweet lady who came to our church for a short time before she became too ill.  We have only known Maria since she was diagnosed with cancer.  We didn't know her before she was sick, but we had been praying for her for a few years before we actually met her. Dan had the privilege of praying with her two years ago when she made the decision to follow Christ.  As someone said during the funeral yesterday, it was as if a switch had been turned on inside of her from that point. She smiled all the time. She was joyful, even while suffering. She was encouraging. She had a strong faith. Maria had the ability to do what most don't, and sat with Dan 3 or 4 months ago and planned out her funeral.  She told him exactly what she wanted and what she wanted him to communicate to her friends and family. ♥ She wanted them to know

I took this photo quite a few years ago.  I'm so tired of winter and long for warm weather, flowers and sunshine so I'm staring longingly at this picture.  I posted it though because I have been so busy lately and I feel like this bee, flitting from one thing to the next. I'd love to do nothing but sit on the computer and work on my book, but there are so many things around here that I need to focus on as well.    ♥ There are meals to make. ♥ A daughter that must be educated. ♥ A house to clean. ♥ An Easter egg hunt and craft day to plan.  Can you believe that Easter is only a week and a half away?  We got a snow storm last night so we'll have to see how this egg hunt plays out for Saturday the 30th.  :-) ♥ Thank you notes to write.  God has blessed us in so many ways lately and from the most unexpected places.  ♥ Crafts to sew. ♥ Church work to be done. Like I said, busy ~ busy ~ busy! One of the things I did manage to do the past few days is set

Are you blessed?  Do you spend most of your day feeling blue a bout your life?  Or do you look around and see the small ways God is active in y our day?   I confess that there are times when I spend a large chunk of my da y feeling discouraged about the thi ngs that are going wrong.  I forg et to actually see the blessings.  I don't think to look and see the things that are going right! I have been blessed.  I see God's hand on my life.  I know that He is per forming little miracles each day.  Multitude Monday is my attempt a t namin g those things and staying present in the moment.  I want to have an attitude of gratitude.  I don't want to grow old by developing a grumbling and complaining spirit. I want to age gracefully, by being full of gra ce and thanksgiving. This week I'm thankful for blessings #1 51 1 -1520 ~    ♫ Nathan, chattering happily about his job which gives me peace. ♫ Three separate people who showed a kindness to my daughter.

Yesterday was a perfect day.  Why? It's not as if anything exciting happened.  No earth-shattering events occurred.  In fact, it was fairly mundane. Why was it perfect? It was perfect because.... ♥ I woke up and drew a breath.  Many will not be able to do that today.  ♥ I made three meals.  There are people who don't know where their next meal is coming from.  I have a house full of food. ♥ I turned on the faucet to take a shower, wash the dishes, run the laundry, and wash my hands.  So many in this world do not have clean, running water. ♥ I taught my daughter.  Some live in countries where freedom of education is unknown. ♥ I kissed and hugged my husband good-bye and hello.  Many lost their spouse yesterday. ♥ I surfed the internet, watched a movie with my family, turned on the lights when it got dark.  Many have no electricity. ♥ I turned up the heat when I got cold.  Some have no heat nor home. ♥ I sewed for pleasure.  Others are working in jobs the

I've been busy working on an order of fifty tea totes for a friend.  Tea totes are not that difficult to make but if you have the kind of personality that has a hard time sitting still for long periods at a time, it can be daunting to make fifty of them!  I decided to plug away a bit each day.  My goal was to sew five totes per day.  I'm going to see my friend at the end of April so that gives me plenty of time.  Tuesday night I sat down to sew the first five.  By Wednesday evening I actually had completed twenty-five.  It only took me a few hours because once I began to see progress, I got motivated! That reminds me of Philippians 1:6,  " And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."  God started a work in my life many years ago and while I'm not the person I used to be, there are days when I really feel like I'm living in my old nature.  I

Mondays are always sort of a downer.  We are tired from Sundays activities.  It's the beginning of another long week of the same old routine.  Yet, counting the ways the Lord has blessed me over the past seven days gives me the right perspective for the coming week. I'm continuing the count the many thankful things in my life .  By plugging away and naming a few each week, I've made it to 1,500!  And those are only the bl essings I've counted! :-)   This week I'm thankful for blessings #1496 - 1510 ~ ♥ The time change ca using the sunlight to stay longer. ♥ A day home for my husband. ♥ Spring snow which melts quickly.  This was gone wi thin two days.   ♥ A day spent reading just for pleasure. ♥ D inner out with friends. ♥ A b aby shower for a local preg nan cy center.  Blessing them with gifts for the new mo ms .   ♥ Beautiful sunsets.   ♥ Coming home from church to lunch in the crockpot. ♥ Good mid-term grades for Stephen. ♥ A fun nig

I long for this.... But instead, this is what I have today... So I'll be doing some of this... I made some burp cloths for a baby shower I'm going to this weekend. I'll be doing lots of editing ... Mostly though I think I'll just do some reading. And try really hard not to moan, complain, wail, and sulk about this... I remain optimistic that the snow will melt and the weather will be nice in time for Easter which is three weeks away!  Maybe?

As I've shared before we lost two of our roosters over the past few months.  I woke up on Tuesday morning to find that something got the remaining three.  I'm pretty sure it was coyotes because for all three of them to get killed at once meant it was probably more than one "something."   As annoying as they were, they will be missed.  I had always planned on writing a children's book about them but never got very far with it. I thought I'd share the beginnings of  the story I was writing about them.  I'm warning you; it's very rough around the edges. :-) Rooster Tales On a country road, at the edge of a forest and next to a little white church lived five handsome roosters.   Their names were Brewster, Malcolm, Soar, Falcon, and Adventure.    These five brothers spent their days running through the woods, roaming the fields and basically making a nuisance of themselves The brothers looked exactly alike, except for the color

Angry words from me. Tears from her. Pouting lips from both of us. Clenched stomach and taut nerves on both sides. I so want to reflect Christ in my dealings with my children but often I reflect nothing but anger, fear and stress.  As my children become young men and women I find that I get worse.  It was so easy when they were little. I would tell them to go here and they went.  I would say pick this up and they did it. Now, they have minds and wills of their own.  They have their own opinions.  They have their own likes, dislikes, and aren't afraid to express them! :-) I have to be honest and say I really do have good kids.  They aren't rebellious.  They generally do what they are asked to do.  They make good choices. But I get concerned.   When I get concerned, my gut reaction is to control. Trying to control someone almost always leads to the other person pulling against the reins.  I know this from experience and yet, I keep falling back into that trap.

There are so many things to be thankful for and yet, I often look at the negative.  So I'm continuing to plug away at deliberately looking for those ways that God blesses me.   #14 81-149 5 ~  ♥ A bit of Spring. ♥ Encouragement from the women in our church. ♥ Watching father and son together. ♥ A gift from my mother. ♥ Cleaning the church with a friend.  Many hands make light work! ♥ Hearts swelling with pride. ♥ A new hair cut. ♥ Seeing my words in print. ♥  The feeling of satisfaction that comes from finishing a project. ♥ A fun night out with my husband. ♥ Being able to visit someone for what may be the last time, and praying with her. ♥ The contented clucking sound they make when being fed. ♥ The days are getting longer. ♥ A friend who gave up two Saturday mornings to help Dan fix the car. and finally... ♥ Waking up to another new day.