Tap...Tap... Is This Thing On???

Wow! It has been exactly a month since my last post. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back over here. It was a nice break once I stopped stressing about it though. :) Today I thought I would share with you a few projects and recipes I have used from Pinterest this month. I always feel so accomplished when I actually follow through and use something I have pinned.

Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownies

All I can say is Oh ma' lordy! They were delish!!!

Homemade Body Wash

I have 5 kiddos and one of them has sensitive skin. This was a great way for me to save a TON of money on body was and make sure that it was safe for their skin. I think I will use less glycerin next time but this recipe was very helpful.

Simple Cabbage and Chickpea Soup with Fresh Basil

This soup was so warm and yummy! PERFECT for Fall. I added some zucchini and northern beans, just because. We also put a heaping spoon full of cooked Quinoa in the bottom of our bowls and ladled the soup over it. YUM! 

And on a more personal note, I have been reading this book...

Started this journal...

and dwelling on one word...

I am amazed at how one little book can change your life. If you need some encouragement, godly wisdom, and a new outlook on your life, I HIGHLY recommend One Thousand Gifts. 

Have a great week!

Kenya Dig It?

Hello there! Sorry I've been so quiet this week, but I have been BUSY working on some new things for the shop! Today I am introducing you to...

The Dig-It Daisy!

Aren't they sweet?? I love how flouncy they are! ;)

But they aren't just sweet and flouncy. They have a special purpose.

These Daisies are part of a fund raiser for the 

Tumaini Miles of Smiles Orphanage.

Each year, my dear friend Amber hosts a fund raiser called Kenya Dig It. The purpose of Kenya Dig It is to raise funds for the Tumiani Orphanage. She also takes a trip to Kenya every year with a physician, nurse and people who do wound care as part of a mobile medical clinic.

This year I created a flower pin (and a necklace coming soon) to help with the fund raising. 50% of the proceeds of the Dig-It Daisy will go straight to helping the children at 

Tumiani Miles of Smiles.

Each flower pin is $12, or you can also get the full set of 3 Daisies for $34.

They look great on a jean jacket, clipped to a headband, or stuck on a tote bag.

And on the back is a little reminder to pray for the children you have helped.

so... U Dig? :)

If so, come visit the shop!

Sweet 16

They met one night.

She "piqued his interest".

They drank tons Diet Coke and laughed till they cried.

He says he knew from that very moment.

{She was only 16.}

Two years later, they made it official.

It's been 16 years now.

She has been with him longer than she hasn't.

And she loves that thought.

But mostly, she just loves HIM.

Happy Sweet 16, Charlie.

I love you more. <3

Time to Breathe

Yep, we are still trying to breathe around here.

 We were recently offered some special time to retreat and relax with some dear friends who counsel pastors and pastor's wives for a living, and we jumped at the chance. We still need to work out some of those lingering feelings that make our stomaches twist in knots.

So this weekend The Man and I are getting away for a while. 

And we really need it, lemme tell ya. 

Because honestly, sometimes, this is what I feel like...

Lets just say it's pretty, but it's also a mess.

 I am praying that we both relax and completely decompress before we have to head back to life.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and get the chance to chill for a while.

Saturday Snapshot - Easter Edition

 "Henceforth, your trunk will be thin and twisted, with white blossoms having four petals in the shape of a cross.  The outer edge of each petal will show nail prints stained with red, and the center will be like a crown of thorns as a reminder to all."  ~The Legend of the Dogwood

 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. Mark 16:5&6

Happy Easter!

Breathe

     Our family has been searching for a church ever since we moved back to my home town. We visited around, but we would always end up going back to the same one. Every week I tried hard not to cry, and many weeks I would look over and see a tear sliding down my husband's cheek. It had been a long time since we had heard God speak so clearly. 

     A few weeks later, we had the chance to attend a fellowship for people who were interested in joining. I stood beside my husband and listened as he told the pastor where we had come from, what we were going through, and why we were there. When my husband was done speaking, the pastor looked him in the eye and said "Breathe deeply, my brother." 

     For days, his words were all I could think about. "Breathe deeply." It is the only way we will ever heal. And sometimes it is all we can do. Breathe. I believe these were the very words of God, spoken from His heart to ours. 

     I have been planning to share this little story with you for a while, and I'm not sure why I waited so long, but maybe it was so that I could also share with you this next bit of news. My husband was offered a full-time job this week! The job is here in town, so we will be able to continue living with my parents as we catch up on bills and save up for whatever is next. We are relieved and so grateful for His provision.

     God has, once again, proven himself to be faithful and constant. We know that He is for us. He always will be. And that makes it much easier for us to breathe.

 

  

When You Don't Have A Home

    It came! Spring arrived! 

I LOVE Spring. But then something else showed up. I began feeling a bit jittery. It finally happened. Honestly, I knew it would. Discontentment. This is something I really dislike about myself. I wanted nothing more than to decorate with birds and eggs and nests and tulips, or even paint a room in a bright robin's egg blue.

I knew that not having a home would catch up to me soon enough.  It actually took longer than I expected, so that's good, right? But Spring arrived and here we are. Still waiting on God. Sometimes I wonder if He is paying attention. I know He is, of course. I trust Him and I believe what He is planning is better than anything I ever could. This is where I quote 2 Peter 3:9 and remind you and me that God is not slow in keeping his promises. Some might call that a Sunday School answer. I have become sick of that phrase. I LOVED Sunday School. I learned a lot there and yes, I learned the answers to my questions in bible verse form. What's wrong with that? Jesus answered questions with bible verses too. I'm ok with Sunday School answers. (Sorry. **steps off soap box**)

     I pray and ask God to help me enjoy this time. Time with my parents that my children and I haven't had in years. I am so thankful for that. I am thankful for parents who were not just willing, but EXCITED to have us. But it keeps coming back. This is not my home. Which reminds me of another bible verse. :) It also reminds me of my favorite quote... "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy , the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis

     When I read that quote for the first time, i cried. It struck something deep in my soul. That is exactly how I feel. I feel as if NOTHING can satisfy my desire for home. Which leads me to another question. WHY did God make me this way! I actually typed this with a big silly smile on my face, because it sounds so dramatic. I don't mean it that way, but I can't think of a better way to say it. Why do I have such a strong desire to nest? I think it has a lot to do with my spiritual gift. Hospitality. It's hard to be hospitable in someone else's home. Actually it's pretty much impossible. And that's ok, for now.

  
     God gave me a desire, a yearning, for home. And I know that if He gave it to me, I don't have to feel guilty about it. But I can't allow it to overwhelm me. So for now, I dream. 

     I dream of a home with robin's egg blue walls and a vase full of tulips. I dream of a big table full of friends, food, and laughter. And I dream of a home in heaven that I don't have to redecorate because God prepared it for me and He knows just what I like. :)

Linking up to This Blessed Nest's Spring Fling

Getting Back to "Normal"

     Well, it has been an interesting couple of months! We had a huge yard sale and moved from Louisiana to Tennessee all in a couple of weeks. It was craziness, to say the least! Things are finally beginning to calm down and we are beginning to settle into a new sort of "normal". Its weird living with most of your things still in boxes and getting use to being in my childhood home for longer than a week or two, but we are so thankful to be here. We are praying that God would strengthen and prepare us for our next ministry and grant us patience as we wait for that next opportunity.

     Christmas shopping has been a wonderful distraction and we even have most of the wrapping done! I always get a little sad when its all done. I think the anticipation of Christmas is just as much fun as Christmas itself.  Of course, the kids are dying to open all the pretty packages under the tree!  :)

     I have been keeping myself busy by making flower pins for myself, my girls, and my friends. I've had such a great response and so many people asking my friends where they can get theirs, that I have decided to sell them.

     I would love for you to come join my new facebook group. The link is over on the sidebar. This group will be where I post pictures of all my products. You can also message me from here for special orders. There are lots of colors available and I would be happy to take requests. Here are a few of the pins you will see over there...

Ruffled Satin Flower Pins

Flutter Flower Pins

Specialty and Special Requests

 I hope you are all enjoying the season. Don't forget to slow down and enjoy it before its gone! 

Happy Christmas!

Sacred Surrender

     Sometimes life turns on a dime. I have heard that said, but never experienced it until recently. I can tell you now that its pretty painful when it happens.

     Thirteen months ago, we moved our family from the church that we had been ministering to for over 5 yrs to begin a new ministry.

     We knew God was moving us and never doubted His call and His provision. He has not disappointed us. He is faithful. However, after Thirteen months, the leaders at our church have decided we are not a good fit and have requested that we resign. I can't lie, it hurts, but my God has not disappointed us. People may have, but He remains faithful.

     Let me tell you what He has done. He never allowed our home in AZ to sell, which means we were never able to buy the house we had a contract for here in LA. I did not always see this as a blessing, but I understand now. He has given us renters for our house in AZ, so that it is not empty and providing is some help with the mortgage. He has been so faithful.

And now, as we prepare to leave, He continues to provide with sweet friends who love, pray for, and encourage us along our way. He has provided a haven in the midst of the storm in the form of godly parents who will share their home, once again, with their children. And He has provided unity between husband and wife as we struggle though unanswered questions and feelings of inadequacy. He remains faithful to His children. And we ARE His.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

                                                                                                                        1 Corinthians 1:3-5

Loo-la-bee on Sacred Simplicity

Sacred- Holy; pertaining to God or to his worship; separated from common secular uses and consecrated to God and his service; as a sacred place; a sacred day; a sacred feast; sacred service; sacred orders.

I am a wife and stay-at-home mother of 5 beautiful children. I am very blessed. I admit though, that the everyday workings of our home seem quite daunting each morning. There is the homeschooling, laundry, dishes, planning of meals, dusting, vacuming... even as I type this list I feel a bit overwhelmed. Why do we as wives and mothers do all this? Is it out of sheer necessity, or is there more to it?

"She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might...Ecclesiastes 9:1

Have my daily tasks been "consecrated to God and his service"? Is it possible that everything we do can be sacred? Can we live every moment as an act of worship to God? I am certain of it. I am also certain that the only way to do this is to trust Him to be the strength and help we need to accomplish our tasks.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. Psalm 28:7

I ask you join me in this journey, and to make it your own. Let's accomplish every task to the glory of God.

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2


Invade
Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house Tread this place and turn it inside out with Your mercy Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms Jesus invade...