Abiding Monday

This excerpt is from "Captivating" by John and Staci Eldredge

"Why did God curse Eve with loneliness and heartache, an emptiness that nothing would be able to fill? Wasn't her life going to be hard enough out there in the world, banished from the Garden that was her true home, her only home, never able to return? It seems unkind. Cruel, even.

He did it to save her. For as we all know personally, something in Eve's heart shifted at the fall. Something sent it roots down deep into her soul - and ours - that mistrust of God's heart, that resolution to find life on our own terms. So God has to thwart her. In love, he has to block her attempts until, wounded and aching; she turns to him and him alone for her rescue.

Therefore I will block her path with thorn bushes;
I will wall her in so she cannot find her way.
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Hosea 2:6-7

Jesus has to thwart us too - thwart our self-redemptive plans, our controlling and our hiding, thwart the ways we are seeking to fill the ache within us. Otherwise, we would never fully turn to him for our rescue. Oh, we might turn to him for our "salvation", for a ticket to heaven when we die. We might turn to him even in the for of Christian service, regular church attendance, a moral life. But inside, our heart remains broken and captive and far from the One who can help us.

And so you will see the gentle, firm hand of God in a woman's (or man's) life hemming her in. Wherever it is we has sought life apart from him, he disrupts our plans, our "way of life" which is not life at all."

She will chase after her lovers but not catch them..........

what do I, what do you use to fill the void, the ache, the emptiness?????

they/it might satisfy for a time, but never fully.

Today's Journaling Group

Rebecca

Alice

Carrie

Wendy

Mary (photo of my Mom)


These are the wonderful journal pages, some finished, some not from today's journaling class. It is so much fun seeing their ideas and excitement.

Ladies you are doing some fantastic work, and I love spending time with you, and getting to know you all better.

Good morning

I slept on the screened porch last night.
There was a lovely breeze, it was even a little chilly.
I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to the most brilliant beautiful moon shining down on me. It is a few hours later, when the sun is up but it is not fully light yet. The birds are chirping, the leaves are swaying, such a beautiful morning. I am going to grab a coffee and head back to the porch.

This is a painting I did last year. It now hangs in my oldest son's apartment.

Have a lovely weekend my dear blogging buddies!!

33 years

Today is our 33rd Anniversary.

We were married at sunrise on top of a mountain.

A wind chime in the tree was our music.

It was beautiful.

Though we have had our ups and downs as any marriage has, we are still growing and learning more about ourselves and each other. I believe God uses marriage more than anything else to mold us. To show us were we are in need of changing. Showing us how to love. It's not always easy, sometimes it's downright hard. But it is so worth it. To have someone like minded to walk this journey with.

I have been blessed over and over again by this mans generous heart. By his unconditional love for me.

Thank you honey! I love you, and appreciate you more than I show!!

She graduated!!!

This just about says it all!!!

Grafitti Grad Party

Look what they did!!!

I love it!!

This side of the barn partially faces our home so we can see it. I convinced my husband to let them do the side not just the back as there were lots of vines on the back of the barn. He said, "if you don't mind seeing it". If I don't mind, are you kidding!! I want to see it!!!

I want to do the rest of the barn!!!

They did this in semi-darkness too. The party did not start till 8pm. I did not get pics of them in action, I so wish I had!!!! It was so fun to see my daughter enjoying herself, dancing, and laughing. The kids had a great time!!

I must tell you I am pooped!!!! Between the wedding rehearsal dinner and grad party I am totally wiped out!!! Monday is graduation day!!!! At least I have a day to recuperate!!

Finished the flowers

I slept out on the porch last night.

In the middle of the night it began to rain, hard!

Some lightening and thunder.

It is still raining.

Please pray that it stops for the rehearsal dinner. Our porch stays 99% dry when it rains, but if it is windy well.... it is a screened porch!

I finished the flowers last night. I am so glad I did not wait till today. I always forget how much time they take, and the mess they make. I had leaves and stems and papers all over the kitchen floor. I'm messy in my floral arranging just like I am in art!!! lol The large arrangement is for the buffet table and the smaller ones are for the dining tables.

This was not the color scheme I had planned. Now I love it, but I was planning on something a little softer. But this is all our farmers market had. I am learning to not fret and just go with the flow. I did add some of my hydrangeas which are the brides favorite flower. I am using plain white dishes, and blue and white transfer-ware so I think they will look fine.

As much as I want everything to look great, my greatest desire is that it will be a blessing to all who attend.

Thanks for the prayers my sweet blogging friends!!!

For Martha

Martha asked to see the front of my home.

Notice the leaning rooster on top??? No one wants to climb that roof to straighten it. So leaning it stays!!! lol

I had a special treat today. I got to have coffee with a wonderful woman I met through blogging. Vicki at "Windows to my Soul". We live in the same town! We met and talked like we have known each other for years.

Vicki, it was a pleasure to finally meet you!!

Off to wash the living room slipcovers and all my glass candle holders for the party!!

Home pictures

In between ironing napkins,

washing slipcovers,

washing glass hurricanes

and getting things pulled together

I thought I would post a few pictures of the top of my old plantation desk.

It's in the dining room, and we use it as a buffet.

Do something fun today!

Abiding Monday

Still abiding, but leaning into the joy of celebrating the events of life this week!!

We are hosting a wedding rehearsal dinner here Friday night for a friend. And Saturday we are having a graduation party for Meg.

These are pics of the front porch. We will clear the screened porch and put up tables for the rehearsal dinner, I'll be sure to take photos. Let me rephrase that. I'll try to take photos!!!! :) We will replace the furniture for the graduation party and hang some of these fun paper lanterns. It's going to be a dessert and bonfire get together. We are also offering spray-paint!!! Yep, we have an old barn that is beyond saving, so we thought we would let them spray-paint the back of the barn!! Should be an interesting and fun night!!

If you think about it please say a little prayer that all goes well. I really want the dinner to be a blessing for them all, and Meg's party to be a sweet memory she carries with her.

I'm still hobbling a bit, but the toe is healing.

beautiful

Such beauty in a single flower!

Greg and I came home Friday night and found this beautiful plant on our back steps. No card, no note. Saturday morning Brian (my oldest son) called and asked if we saw the plant he left for us. So sweet! He is planting it for us as I type this. An added treat!!

It's a Passion Flower - and it has the most glorious fragrance.

(you can click on the photos to enlarge them - then click them again for an even closer look)

Blessings!

New Journal

I love this new journal. It measures 5 1/2 by 11 inches. When opened it's almost square.

Our journaling group met for the second week. What a great time we had. It is so wonderful to see the excitemen in discovering all that visual journaling is.

I have been hobbling around today - I broke my little toe last night!!!! I have one of the busiest weeks coming up and I broke my toe!!

I have learned the little toe is necessary - for balance - especially in the shower!!! lol

Porch pictures

The pollen is finished for the most part.

The porch has been hosed and swept.

Pillows washed.

It's ready for summer living.

I slept on the daybed last night.

Lovely!

Journal page

A little

paint

stencils

spraypaint

ink

and a journal page you have.

One of the ladies from Saturday's journaling class said,

"This kind of journaling is a dream come true that I didn't even know to dream yet."

Makes my heart sing!!

Celebrating

We purchased a page in Meg's senior yearbook. I wanted to do something a little different than just pictures placed randomly on the page. I used one of my unfinished paintings for the background (it still sits waiting for something more on it). Then I dove into the array of family pictures.

Now Meg would have preferred posed, "pretty" pictures of her. I wanted to capture her. I see more than just a photo. I see her at different ages, different stages. I see her sweet spirit in these. I see joy in these.

And she is beautiful!!

In the finished version the lines around the individual pictures are softened, the paper clips are gone as are the red eyes, and there is a message to her from Greg and I.

I love how it turned out.

I can't believe she has three days of school left!!!!

Abiding Monday

I am getting so much out of "Surrendering Hunger" devotional, by Jan Johnson

This is day 57.

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD
looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

"Looks Can Be Defeating"

My outward appearance has been the downer in my life for a long time. I was never thin enough; when I weighed the right amount, I was never proportioned correctly; even when I thought I looked good, my face was such an odd shape!

As I moved through life, my belief that God loves me grows; this helps me accept my body, my face, and my normal shape (even though some would say the last item resembles a pear). There are still days when no matter how skillfully I apply makeup and how deftly I work with my hair, I don't look good enough to suit myself. So I remind myself that I'm OK. I lean forward and whisper to the face in the mirror, "Hello, world. This is me. This face is as good as it's going to get, and that's OK! OK?"

Because God looks on my heart with mercy, I can learn to look at my outward appearance with mercy.

It is a rare woman that is not discontent with how she looks.

There are a lot of beautiful women around who do not think they are. My daughter is one of them.

I do not like my picture taken. I have joked that I should be happy with the current photos, because in 10 years time when I look back at them I will say, "I looked pretty good." Now I say that in jest, but there is truth in it.

I have never been happy with how I look. And I have measured my worth in how I look.

God is changing that.

But I still struggle with it.

I hate how much time I have wasted focused on me!!!

God is changing that too.

I am thankful!

Exciting Day!

What an exciting day today was. I shared visual journaling with a group of women. I have been wanting to open my studio and share my love for it, and the experience of it. Visual journaling is more than putting color, pictures and words on the page. Somehow it goes deeper and allows one to get in touch with one's heart.

We are all in different places on our journey, but there are points along the way where we can join each others journey to help, encourage, to give support.

I had so much fun, and I think the other women did as well. They are coming back next Saturday!! After sharing some basic techniques, and some of the wonderful supplies that are out there I am hoping that we can continue to get together at least once a month. It's really a lot of fun doing this as a group.

Did I take pictures??? Of course not!!! I meant to, but got too involved in the process and what we were doing! I'll try to remember next time.

I did play around with an old journal page. I cropped the page and messed with the contrast and brightness a bit.

I love how it turned out. I love that the cross is so brilliant against the colors! I printed it out on 4x6 photo paper and it looks great. I think I will make some cards with it.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday, and wishing all you Moms a Happy Mother's Day!!

Blessings and hugs!!

Abiding Monday - on Tuesday

I had nothing to give yesterday.

Some days are like that.

In my reading this morning I found this from "surrendering hunger" by Jan Johnson

Brokenness Gives Life
The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.
(1 Samuel 2:6)

I welcome my pain and desperation because they force me to examine myself and come clean. They bring forth life.

I feel so miserable that I gather up my courage, set aside my pride, and admit to someone else that I have been dishonest and conceited. Then this person thanks me, saying, "You have named my problem for me. I see it all now and I want to change, just like you said." This person's brokenness speaks to mine and we are a team. We form a strong friendship and continue to share our stories.

I'm glad I've surrendered to this death of myself. Without it, I would not have found life.

Help me God, to accept your way of bringing me new life from my brokenness.

This is what happens when we begin to remove our masks.
This is what happens when grace is extended.
This is what happens when we feel safe and secure in God's love and stop performing.
This is what happens when we stop pretending.

I see more and more of this.
Is it just I have eyes that see more of it now?
Or is there a fresh wind blowing?

I think it is both.

Thank you my blogging friends for being so supportive and encouraging to me.
You bless my socks off!

unfinished journal pages

Here are a few unfinished journal pages.

It seems to be the way of things right now.

Unfinished

In my art, in my life

That's okay