Does God pursue us?

I certainly believe He does.

It was the summer before my senior year of high school. My last summer of freedom!!! It was supposed to "The Summer of Tab." Then one word changed everything:

CANCER.

My mom. Breast cancer.

The summer became HER summer.

A diagnosis. A mastectomy. Recovery. Healing.

My mother became....human. She became mortal.

My mom's cancer rocked my world. And I was angry as hell about it.

Why would God mess with MY MOM of all people??? Why cancer? Why at so young an age? Why during MY SUMMER??

Dealing with all of that put me in a baaaaad spiritual place. I was giving God the silent treatment. I held back a lot of tears and frustration, trying to be strong for my mom. Meanwhile, I felt very far away from Him....and guess who had moved??

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." {Come Thou Fount lyrics}

But all the while, He was beckoning me back. He was silently wooing me.

He allowed me some time to pout and feel sorry for myself. After the summer was over, I was walking the beach one afternoon, lost in my own little world. There must have been a recent memorial at sea because as I walked along, I came upon dozens of fresh flowers strewn across the sand. I smiled....it was beautiful. I didn't think much of it.

I continued walking. Then...all by itself was a single rose, resting on the sand. It was like God had set it there, just for me. Just as a gentle reminder. "I'm still here. I see you. I know the pain you're going through. I've never stopped loving you."



So I picked it up and took it home. That moment was a turning point for me. It was like God turned the lights back on in the darkness I had been living in and flooded my soul with peace. I knew we were all going to be ok.

God pursues us. He doesn't let his sheep wander for long, even if we're the ones who insist on being left alone.

Have you wandered away? He can take your doubts, fears and frustrations. He is big enough to handle it.

How is He pursuing you today?

David Crowder, "Come Thou Fount."

One Flower Every Day week

I had fun coming up with new flowers for a whole week!

Monday :: music notes



Tuesday :: tuiti fruit



Wednesday :: peacock organza



Thursday :: red bandana



Friday :: deep waters



Saturday :: pink lemonade



Sunday :: teal and black



All available in
my Etsy shop

Where the magic happens

I looooove to see other ladies' craft spaces, whether it's the kitchen table, the corner of a room or an entire basement! It's fun to see how people organize their STUFF and where they work. It's always so inspirational!

So! For anyone who is curious....here's a tour of MINE!

{P.S. For anyone who loves to know paint colors, the turquoise is Glidden's "True Turquoise." I think it's perfect for a creative space! The orange is Glidden's "Orange Slice" and the green table was spray painted "Apple Green."}

I occupy a bedroom at the end of our hall that previously belonged to my sister-in-law, who lived with us for over six years (almost my whole married life). When she moved out, I was eager to transform this room into MY creative space. Granted, I often end up working at the kitchen table, BUT...I do love to go in here, close the door, crank up some tunes and "get my craft on."

My dad painted it for me and my husband moved in the furniture, put up the shelves and built shelves in the closet. Now it's soooo organized and a pleasure to work in. My family all gravitate toward this room, too....I think it's just a FUN place to be!

OK. Here's the view from the door. It also serves as a guest room when my mom spends the night. The futon is nice for a friend to nurse her baby, for someone to sit and flip through one of my idea books or just a nice place to relax.



My boys usually join me when I'm working, so I added an easel for them. Plus I always have paper, crayons and kid stamps at the ready.



Here's looking back at the door. I love having a bulletin board to post my calendar, inspirational tidbits or reminders.



Here's my work space. The table was given to me by a friend (when I just came right out and asked her for it!) but was a shabby chic white. I thought I should jazz it up a little! I love it!

Items of note: the IKEA jewelry tree I use for ribbon...the IKEA tray I use for an even stamping surface...



...my decorative file folders (in "Cosmo")...the mail sorter I use for my pretty papers...and my Ott-Lite lamp.



My friend Jen gave me the fabric owl bin.



I ended up corralling my stuff in this cute Southern Living At HOME basket. It limits me as to what I can keep out on my table!!



And here's my best stamps organizing secret: school supply boxes. Most of these were less than $1 and stack nicely. I label them with a paint pen. I also can't get enough of the stacking drawers for ribbon scraps, glitter and a million other things.



I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Come tour my home!

Yes, we just put our home on the market. Know anyone who wants a great deal in the west Phoenix valley?? :)

Take a tour

HERE

Looking in the mirror

You've undoubtedly heard it before. You may have even said it yourself. The "anything-but" statements.

"I'd do ANYthing to lose weight...but changing my diet or exercising."

"I'd do ANYthing for more time with my family....but cut back hours at work."

"I'd do ANYthing to fit exercise in....but get up earlier."

"I'd do ANYthing to have a clean house...but work all day at it."

Yup. Been there, done that.

We'd all love to change...if it wasn't for all the dadgum hard work that goes with it.

Recently, I was truly desperate to feel well again. I laid down with my son to help him take a nap and found myself exhausted and nauseated, my head spinning and emotions swirling--as usual. I was fed up with feeling "a little off." I made an appointment to see a chiropractor who also does applied kinesiology to help me with my nutrition and to help me get my health back on track.

Leading up to the appointment, I found myself telling people, "I will do ANYthing to feel well again." I really did want to know what I could change and I was willing to give up some things if it meant I could feel like my usual energetic, clear-headed self again.

On the day of the appointment, however, I found myself thinking, "I just hope he doesn't tell me to give up sugar. Or caffeine. Or red meat. Or Cheezits. Or tells me to start exercising. Beyond that, though, I will do ANYthing!!" I realized the absurdity of my thinking and actually laughed. I told my doctor about this and he had a good chuckle, too. It is, after all, so....HUMAN.

It struck me that we approach the Bible the same way.

We need help. We need to change something in our lives. So we do a Google search. We do some research. We talk to some wise friends. We read books and blogs about it.

Then when none of that works, we get really desperate. We may even be at a crisis point. So we turn to the Bible.

We brace ourselves. "Lord...I'll do anything for some help on this."

That's when the 'but' enters the picture.

"Oh, yes, Lord. I'll do anything. Well....anything BUT..."

Anything but change my way of thinking. Anything but repent. Anything but challenge the status quo, hurt someone's feelings, rearrange my schedule, reprioritize, risk my popularity, break a bad habit, forgive someone from my past, or even...GASP!..ask for help.

"Yeah, just not that stuff, Lord."

Changing is just too hard. God is asking too much.

So we do nothing.

James compared it to looking in the mirror, noticing something we need to fix and then walking away.

It's Friday and Drew and I have a sitter coming for a date night. It's an hour before we're supposed to leave for dinner and a movie. I stand in front of the bathroom mirror. There's yogurt smeared across my $3 Target clearance shirt from the baby's breakfast. Yes, that's right, I haven't bathed yet today. My pajama pants are too big, faded and don't match. Mascara is smudged under my eyes because I dropped into bed last night, too exhausted to wash my face first. My hair is sticking up in all directions. I look like a beast. But...I do nothing. I just...walk away. No problem. Drew won't mind and the people in the restaurant will just think I'm getting a night out from the mental hospital. No biggee.

It's ridiculous to think of, right?? But that's the comparison James makes. You see what you need to change--and you do nothing.

James 1:23-24 "Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

See, the person James is talking about DID look in the mirror. He just didn't do anything about what he saw. It's not ignorance! He couldn't say, "Oh, i didn't realize I had lettuce stuck between my teeth! Why didn't anyone tell me???"

When we see what the Bible has to say, we have to decide what to do with it: change...or do nothing.

Now, whether I go on a date with my husband looking like a weirdo is, at worst, potentially embarassing for both of us. But let's get real. There are times that, if someone held a mirror up to my behavior, I would look away, repulsed.

Case in point. I have discovered my angry face.

I didn't really know it existed until my second son was born.

I have never known anger like the anger that wells up inside when my older son does something to hurt my younger son, whether it's the physical pain of ramming a train into him or just hurting his feelings when he takes a toy away. It makes my blood pressure sky rocket and elicits sounds I never knew I was capable of making. I don't need to look in a mirror to know: it ain't pretty.

I know I have a problem. So what do I do about it?

I go to the Word.

The Bible has plenty to say about anger. The question is, once I look in that mirror, what am I going to do about it? Am I going to go on that date looking like a vagrant...or am I going to take a shower, put make-up on, style my hair, put on a pretty outfit, accessorize and make my date proud?

Am I willing to do the work?

Or do I just walk away, trying to forget what I saw?

I feel strongely about what our pastor mentioned recently in his sermon on this topic. We don't just change for us...we change for other people. We change for our kids, our spouse, our co-workers, our neighbors, our fellow church goers, even for people we haven't met yet. We need to step up to the plate, put our game face on and engage.

We need to undergo a makeover.

I need to overcome my anger problem for myself, yes. But, even more than that, I need to change for my kids and my husband. I need to change for my future grandchildren. If my kids grow up with an angry mom, it will become normal and they will think it's normal to treat their kids the same way. I don't want that. Not for me, not for them, not for my grandchildren.

So I will stand at the mirror for a while. I will take in what I see, even the ugly "angry face." And I will go to the Bible, knowing it will challenge me.

And I will be ready to change. I will do anything to change. No buts about it.

Flip Flop card tutorial

It's about time I did a card-making tutorial, eh??

I'm addicted to these flip flop cards because there are a million fun things you can do to embellish them and you can use them as cards or invitations for virtually any occasion.

My five-year-old crafting buddy made these. Well, she chose all the "ingredients" and assembled them--I did the tracing and cutting.



Here's another variation....

I printed invitation info. four to a page in Word and used that for the top layer for these. Adorable!!



The flowers are just paper embellishments with a little bling.



First you need to print the template out on cardstock and cut them out.

Materials:
paper
cardstock
glue
flower embellishment
ribbon
scissors

{For these to be sturdy, I prefer card stock for the bottom layer but you can certainly use regular paper, then just add card stock onto the back for durability.}

Using your template, trace and cut the smaller shape out of a solid color IF you want to write on the front. Cut the larger shape out of pretty paper. If the back will be solid, feel free to use two prints for the front.

Before adhering the layers together, cut ribbon for the straps and adhere to the smaller (top) layer. I stapled mine at the top then glued them to the back.

If you prefer to use a silk flower and brad, adhere that during this step, too, so the brad will be hidden between the layers.

Adhere the layers together. If you're using a paper flower, adhere it now.

Viola!!

{notice the ends of the ribbon and the brad are hidden between the layers)



If you use a solid for the top layer, you can stamp a sentiment.



For a folded card, trace the larger flip flop on at the edge then cut. Add embellishments. You could do a double layer on the front, of course. You can use virtually any note card for this but one with a cute print is, naturally, ideal.

I used madras plaid note cards for this one.



Do a search on "flip flop card template" for a gazillion other ideas and templates. The possibilities are endless!

Use them for pool party invitations, birthday invites or just as a thinking of you card. They are so charming! Would also be a fun craft for girls. They love picking out their paper and do-dads.

Have fun!!

Elizabeth's "Going to the Zoo" fundraiser

This is Elizabeth Pitts.



This is Hope For God's Children's fundraiser for Elizabeth.



The theme is "Going to the Zoo" so you'll see a lot of zoo and animal-themed items.

This is a link to Elizabeth's Caring Bridge page if you want to learn more about this special girl.

And THIS is how you can help raise money for her family:
1. Head to my Etsy shop and search "HGC Elizabeth" for the eligible items.
2. Go to ETSY and search the handmade category for "HGC Elizabeth."
3. Go to Ebay and search "HGC Elizabeth."

Now go shopping, knowing it's for a wonderful cause!!