God's Word Speaking to Me

I don't know how many people actually take notice or follow my photos and scripture from my 365 Project. In fact, it doesn't even matter.

However, I am astonished by how God speaks to me and assures me through the verses when I'm not even trying to "find" something. For example, today I began the tedious and meticulous task of cutting out the pieces for Kendrick's new full size bed quilt as he was napping in my sewing chair. It's usually early afternoon when I begin thinking about a picture, if I hadn't already captured one. Of course my mind goes straight to the sweet boy catching some Z's 8 feet away from me. But, I have just about exhausted all of the sleeping verses.



Then I turned to what I was doing-cutting. Surely there was a verse there. So, I snapped and edited my photo and began to search for the scripture to accompany it.



Proverbs jumped right out at me. I wasn't even looking for anything within this context.

"Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing." Proverbs 12:18.

Not only have I been praying for wise words for a week, but also for healing through those words. God is so good to give us reassurance through scripture, to validate our requests and give us His words to pray.

May you find random blessings through His word as well.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Renewed Hope

I decided to pick up quilting again, now that I have my own huge craft room and I
needed some new bedding. 

Guest Bedroom Argyle Pattern
 

Most of the home decorating was done in the recently added part of the upstairs and I
was looking for a new project to enjoy in my newly organized and spacious room. 

Back in the fall I had decorated my craft room with a pretty Moroccan print made of
gold, black and a brownish-gray for the valance and add a throw pillow of the same
fabric.  On the walls I  used Gran's pencil sketches blown up on large canvas.  I
wanted to keep it fairly neutral since it was a walk through room and yellow and
grey seem to be a go-to color combo currently. 

As the queen size quilt came together for the spare bedroom,  I needed to find
fabric for the backing. This warranted a trip to the quilt store. If anyone knows
me, a trip to a quilt store is like putting a kid in a candy store with all of the
beautiful colors and prints.  Of course I found a jelly roll of modern prints as
well.  Since I had never tried a jelly roll quilt I thought I would try out one pattern
as a great addition for my upstairs little throw when I'm chilly.

Moda Jelly Roll

The fabric sat for a good month while I finished hand quilting the original queen.
But two weeks ago,  I had some extra time and I decided to get started.  Naturally,
I chose a chevron Art Deco pattern using all the grey, black and gold colors in the
roll.  I only barely got started before my grandmother was in the hospital in
Dallas.  So, there it sat for another week. 

With so many troubles on my mind and the after math of tornadic destruction just 2
hours north of us, I cut and pieced and sewed with a heavy heart. Sewing is so good
for a time of prayer and thought.  There were many mentioned as well as my own
emotional well being.  Little did I know I was sewing God's answer for me. 

Today I went to my last BSF meeting today and it was "Share Day"-- meaning you share
what you learned, appreciated or what God taught you through the study.  One lady
spoke of Genesis 1 and specifically verse 2-3.  It stayed with me and resonated in
my head later this afternoon as I was finishing putting the pieces together.

Art Deco Chevron pattern

The verses speaks about the Spirit hovering over the darkness of the deep.   That is
exactly what I have felt like over the past week.  I have been deep in darkness but
have also felt the Spirit hovering over me knowing He has been there the whole time
in control--from the beginning.

But, as I remembered verse 3 looking at my finished quilt God smacked me on the
forehead.  Let there be light!  There is hope!  And then I was taken to John 1. 

Because the Spirit is with us today and hovers over us--no matter what happened, is
happening or will happen--we can have hope because the Light always overcomes the
darkness. 

What a reassurance that is!  We can have hope no matter how bad things seem.  (See 1
Thes. 4:13)

I typically have a hard time coming up with a creative quilting idea once the
piecing of the top is finished.  But, this time I knew exactly what design it needed
to be--a sun (son) with rays of hope.


Pattern to be stiched as the quilting

Maybe this speaks to you right now but truly this was a reminder to me because
usually I give away quilts or they are for some specific purpose.  This one was
always going to be mine though.  It was God's little quilted reminder  just for me.

Just remember that His Spirit is always hovering over you no matter the
circumstances and He has the ultimate plan in mind for all things to work for the
good of those who love Him. 

Big Milestones

I know what you are thinking...."Two posts in two weeks!"  Don't get too excited.  We will see how long this lasts.  But, the past two days were too big not to mention.

Yesterday, Cavett headed off to his first day of second grade.

 

He was a bit timid about the day to start off. So I let him know. I LOVED 2nd grade. I LOVED my teacher, Mrs. Stinson. I LOVED making my new best friend for life, Sarah Grace. I had great kids in my class. I just knew that Cavett would have the same experience. We filled him with homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread made into French Toast and made it to school without a hitch.

 

At the end of the day, when I picked him up, the first response was, "All we did today was learned the rules."  After a bit of coaxing with frest baked chocolate chip cookies, we learned he has a new best friend, Tyler Douglas whom he sits next to.

 He did a bar graph learning about how students got home: car riders, bus riders, walkers, day care.  They organized their school supplies.  But, recess was still the best part of the day.  And, oh, Miss Horton is pretty nice and she is engaged, so her name might change at some point this year. 

All in all, a good start to the year.

Today however left us with some challenges.  Luckily, I was up when Stephen was and prepped for Kendrick's Big 5th Birthday.  He awoke to 5 balloons in his room and a big banner and presents in the living room.

It was "Yes Day" for him which means that he can ask any reasonable question and the answer will be YES! But, before that was to begin we had to get Cavett to school. Unfortunately, I had a dead battery in my car. Fortunately though, I called a dear friend and she swung by and picked him up just in the nick of time! 

Kendrick's fun day began by asking for Max's Donuts for breakfast.  (For you Shreveporters, these rival Southern Maid.  Best in Allen, TX)  He ordered two chocolate with sprinkles and a chocolate milk, while I had my protein bar...he ended up only eating one. 

A present was what he wanted next but Dad wanted to be there, so we took one present to his office and opened it there.  A new duffle bag for all his karate gear.

Next up was a playdate at the park meeting all his students in his new Transitional Kindergarten class.  I just couldn't see sending a 4 year old to public Kindergarten even if he was going to turn 5 the next day.  He's not ready anyway and I know I won't regret this choice.  His best bud, Luke was there who we will carpool with this year and we made a couple of new friends-Matthew, McKenna and Hank. 

Best Buddy, Luke

New Friends!

Lunch with Dad was requested at Chick-Fil-A with a Brownie Sundea to follow.  The eyes after all that excitement were looking weary, so I suggested a movie on my bed.  Looney Tunes were the choice of the afternoon.  No nap was taken, but the down time was needed. 

 

The afternoon entailed the usual-Karate lessons.

 

For dinner he chose "Peanuts Roadhouse," a.k.a. Texas Roadhouse in McKinney, but earlier in the day their had been a gas leak/explosion near the restaurant, so they were closed.  Luckily, we have another "peanut" place near us-Logan's Roadhouse.  Definitely not as good, but fit the bill.  We had fun dropping peanuts from our noses at targets, playing tic-tac-toe with peanuts and shells, and creating designs and pictures from them.  Who cares if he ate his Mac-N-Cheese?

 

After dinner we opened his other presents.  Clothes, a crazy fort building thing-a-ma-jig, and WALKIE TALKIES!

 

 

 

Truly, Kendrick's only request for "Yes Day" other than food was to stay up late and watch a movie.  So, wish granted, even though his brother cried himself to sleep.

 

Happy Birthday, to my baby.  I can't even believe it's been 5 years. 

Camping Lessons

Resurrection Fern-Just like the kind growing on a tree near Dadoo's grave.

I know I haven't written in 8 months, but this last summer trip warrented some notes and thoughts.  This past weekend we packed up the camper on Thursday and hit the Arkansas back woods and roads to a very familiar place for me--Petit Jean State Park.  It is a 1,000 ft. plateau just northwest of Little Rock with some specatcular sights.  I went there many times as a kid camping on the weekends with my family and several other families.  It was practically just as I remembered.  The only thing missing was the lack of water flowing in the river causing only a trickle down the magnificent would-be waterfall.  There were also the memories of Dadoo playing his guitar, singing around the camp fire with hot chocolate in hand.  Good times, my friends.  I just hope that my kids treasure these family times as well. 

So, now on to the lessons learned during this particular trip...

Lesson #1- If there is a long hike you would like to take, alsways do it first.

Lesson #2-Take carbs on hikes like Pirate Booty.  It will make all the difference in the world.

Lesson #3-Always do the Junior Park Ranger Program  It's worth the extra effort.

Park Interpreter, B.T. Jones and Petit Jean with the kids.

Lesson #4- Pop-Ups are worth the money when it rains.

Lesson #5- Compasses can provide fun games and activities once you figure out how to use them.

Lesson #6- God's creativity and imagination is amazing.  He made some pretty cool things.

Eye of the Needle at the Bear Caves.

Rock House Cave

Natural Bridge on the Seven Hollows Trail.

The light trickle of Cedar Falls.

Cedar Falls Canyon

What we named-God's Jenga.  Kids are trying to pull pieces out.

Lesson #7- Among those cool things God designed, are Dads.

Lesson #8-What we write here and now will probably be around for centuries to come. 

A pictograph drawn by Native American Indians probably around the 1500's. 

Lesson #9- Hide the marshmallows from the "Masked Bandits," even if you are just making a quick jaunt to the bathroom.

Lesson #10- Reece's Peanut Butter Cups make the world's best s'mores.

Lesson #11-There is nothing like worshipping God from a mountain top before you head home on a Sunday morning.

What a great trip and place! I can't wait for our next camping trip!

It's 2012...

Well, I guess I should say Happy New Year, or Happy Birthday, or...I don't know...I can't keep up.

I have just completed editing our Blurb Picture book for the year 2011.  I'm already behind in blogging about 2012 by a month.  It seems I am becoming out numbered.  What seemed to be several of me getting it all done, is now just me (and God).  Now, I take nothing for granted.  I think I am now accomplishing more for Him and his Kingdom than I ever have before, but the blog thing is just going to have to be put on the back burner for the year and I'll have to see how it turns out come Family Picture book 2012. 

Nothing is wrong. 

Family is great.  Everyone is healthy.  The office is prospering, and in fact Stephen may be taking on another side job 1-2 days a week, for the fun of it.  The kids are doing great in school, baseball and karate. 

It's just I am deeply committed right now and doing a ton more reading, researching and teaching, not to mention there is no baby in the house anymore, which means there are no nap times to accomplish my desires.  I am now teaching the K-2nd Children's Choir, teaching 5 year olds at BSF (which takes more prep), I'm volunteering for Cavett's teacher and music teacher more and we are beginning to lead a small group at our house.  Not to mention I need 150 CPE credit hours to renew my teaching certificate.

I hope you will forgive me and know that you can always find snip-its and pictures on Facebook.  In fact, I am uploading Cavett's birthday party next.  So in the words of Paul's letters....

May the Lord of peace himself give you grace and peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you. 

Christmas Is...

After talking with Cavett's teacher about his writing skills and conveying the problem to Nana, Nana helped us come up with a solution.  We are now using graphic organizers to help with getting his thoughts down on paper.  He and Nana did a fairly in-depth practice set about our trip to San Diego.  Tonight while waiting for the 4:00 service to start, we worked on a very short practice-6 sentences about Christmas. 

While he came up with the thoughts, I did promt a little and after the main points were determined he was tired of writing it down himself (the opening and closing) and had we had the time or energy, he could have expanded on each sentence.  We talked about them, but he was done.  I mean, it is Christmas Eve after all.  But, without further ado, if you haven't figured it out yet, here it is from a 7 year old perspective.

"Christmas Is" by Cavett Hill (age-almost 7)

Do you know what Christmas is about?  Christmas is not about toys.  It is not about Saint Nick.  Christmas is about Jesus being born.  It is about Jesus being the best present of all.  I hope you have a wonderful "Christ"mas. 

May each of you have a very special wonderful "Christ"mas and remember the true reason we celebrate.

Christmas Program Videos

This is not the real deal, just the rehearsal, but you can get the idea....




Preciousness.